New Octavia Ambition 103TSi + OR Used MkII vRS ?

[li21]

That's a steal Harlie! What would the DSG have cost to fix if you didn't get vw to cover it? How did you convince them?

[GTR27]

The 103tsi has the timing belt at 105k but all the rest are relatively cheap. Be aware it has the 7spd dsg though (smoother, more economical), not the 6spd which is more reliable.

[brad]

Are there any services after the 60k one that are similar in $$$? Assume the DSG need another expensive service around 120,000kms?

My search for a facelifted wagon with sunroof hasn't gone well.. Seems like a rare combo in the sub 30k bracket. (Or any price bracket)

There's a few hatches with sunroof though but those have been listed for a long long time which is somewhat worrying .

Do you really need a sunroof? We've had a few cars with sunroof & for the amount of use they get I don't think it's worth it. OTOH, we've also had a convertible & had the roof down all the time.


As a rule of thumb, count on every 2nd service being expensive. Find a a good independant & think about moving some of the items forward a fraction. eg: Fuel Filter is changed at 90k IIRC (in the Australian service schedule), move that to 60k. DSG every 45k. Pollen Filter every 12 months. Air Filter at 60k. Some of these things are faily cheap & you can DIY

Here's a Service Schedule guide from BriSkoda & it's pretty good:

Servicing Intervals

Engine Oil Change:
Petrol
Long Life / Variable - Up to every 30,000 Km (18,641 Miles) or 2 years maximum
Time & Distance - Every 15,000 Km (9,320 Miles) or 1 year
Diesel
Long Life / Variable - Up to every 50,000 Km (31,068 Miles) or 2 years maximum
Time & Distance - Every 15,000 Km (9,320 Miles) or 1 year

Air Filter:
Replace every 90,000 Km / 55,923 Miles or 6 years

Cabin / Pollen Filter:
Replace every 60,000 Km / 37,282 Miles or 2 years

Brake fluid change intervals:
Up to MY2010 - Every 2 years
From MY2011 - Initial change at 3 years, then every 2 years

Fuel Filter:
Diesel - Replace every 90,000 Km / 55,923 Miles
Petrol - Skoda state no interval / Lifetime fit, however would advise changing every 4 years (the fuel filter isn't expensive)

Spark Plugs:
1.8TSI and 2.0 TSI/TFSI (BZB, CDAA,BWA,CCZA) - Replace every 90,000 Km / 55,923 Miles or 6 years
All other Petrol Engines - Replace every 60,000 Km / 37,282 Miles or 4 years

Haldex 4x4 Oil Change intervals:
Up to MY2009 - Every 60,000 Km / 37,282 Miles
From MY2010 - Every 3 years

DSG (6 Speed) Oil Change interval:
Replace every 60,000 Km / 37,282 Miles

[GTR27]

I think on the wagon the pano roof is almost a must. It makes the interior so light and open feeling. Especially good if you have kids. Having seen one in the flesh, I wouldn't have one without it now. Just that wait!

[harlie]

You can DIY everything....

That's a steal Harlie! What would the DSG have cost to fix if you didn't get vw to cover it? How did you convince them?

Quick answer $1300. Which still makes the car a really good buy, you have to be able to see past what others can’t. And you don't need a hole in the roof if its going to cost an extra 5-7k or more - and I'm a fan of holes in the roof!

Really Long ranting answer:- Couple options for changing the Mechatronics Unit (MU) for the DQ250 (I assume the 200 will be the same).

1 Cough up at the dealer. Seriously, you need your head read if you do. They want $2500-3000 for the part depending who talk to. The new part has no firmware so you cannot get anyone else to fit it either, so even though it is a sub 1hr job add a lot more for labour, because they have you by the curlies. They billed VW Aus $2100 for fitting which is downright criminal.

2 Source a MU from OS. Denmark to be precise. It will cost about 1200-1300 landed depending on exchange (770 euro). It is an easy job to fit and these units are preloaded with the exact firmware that your old one has so you can DIY. You need VCDS to get all the details for them prior to the unit being shipped, but hey, if you’re cracking the DSG open you are going to have VCDS…. This is what I was planning on.

3 Get your MU repaired. Take the car off the road, remove the MU and send it to Manchester UK (or the supplier in Denmark) to be repaired – seriously it is just a valve block with a couple extra sensors and the ECU built in – unfortunately no one is equipped for testing them in AUS. Shipping is a killer but they charge up to 650BP depending on what they find. You get you old unit back with its software intact. I seriously considered this option as a friend was heading over for a wedding in Liverpool – shipping cost = a nice bottle.

The transmission needs to be completely drained to replace the MU so add
$31/L x 6 for fluid from the dealer, it takes about 5.5
$45 for a filter - you don’t need to touch the filter.
I didn’t include fluid & filter costs in my budgeting because it was due for a service anyway - the $800 60k service was taken into consideration

If you needed someone to fit the MU then it would be the cost of a full DSG service + 0.5-1hr for the MU change – so about $450-500 which would include fluid& filter. That was quoted by an auto trans shop in BNE. The indi VW shop was also happy to do it.

How did I get Skoda/VW to come to do it? I nearly didn’t to be honest; I wasn’t even going to try and I was planning on ordering the MU from Denmark that night. I called the dealer parts dept for the fluid prices and asked for a MU price for giggles, after looking up the VIN, the parts guy wouldn’t give me a price and just said “you shouldn’t be pricing this, they should be fixing it”. Which was interesting because the service dept didn’t want to talk to me after they looked up the VIN. This made me suspicious – it was the same dealer who had been servicing the car from new and the previous owner had been complaining about the issue.

So I booked it in to another dealer and wrote a letter to Skoda Aus which detailed everything I knew, from symptoms, an explanation of the valving in the MU and how it will be causing the issue, to links off to others with the exact same symptoms. That letter hit a nerve and my phone rang about 2hrs later. Car was fixed within the week and I was given a hire car for the time it spent at the dealer waiting for the MU to arrive. Big win which I didn’t expect.

Car now drives and looks like new (apart from the wheels).
Since the OP asked about buying new or 2nd hand, I will give my 2c - The difference between what it will cost me and what a new vRS would cost me over the next 5 years will provide the cash deposit for another property into my portfolio (which is quite big now) – and some here are talking go new in 2. If I purchased new cars over the last 20 years I would not be anywhere near the position I’m in now financially, and I still drive a nice car (The Octi is for my wife, my side has a late model Range Rover that was purchased in a similar way)…. For what it’s worth I do the same thing with real estate – look for something that can be fixed/improved or developed, try and see past the surface – a lot of people can’t.

At 38 yo, I have several friends who are very successful, we share ideas, feed off each other’s energy whether it be professionally, investing or personally. None of us buy new cars, I’ve never purchased a car in warranty, maybe grab a car coming off lease and run it for several years. I sold my wife’s 2005 Golf V for more than the replacement Octi has cost me which simply should not be possible. I shake my head at new car thread with everyone feeding off each other about tracking their new cars and what absurd options to throw money at – sorry this is not what plp here want to hear - rant over, resume standard broadcast….

[brad]

I think on the wagon the pano roof is almost a must. It makes the interior so light and open feeling. Especially good if you have kids. Having seen one in the flesh, I wouldn't have one without it now. Just that wait!

Was pano roof available on the MK2 wagon (I really don't pay attention to stuff like that).

I agree with Harlie, when it comes to buying used cars you have to be fairly flexible & look at the overall package rather than have your sites et on a particular colour, etc.

[GTR27]

Agreed, but if you really want a particular feature then you need to decide how important it is to you. There is some things I won't compromise on, for example a manual gearbox. I'd sooner wait for the right one, than get something I'm not 100% happy with

[li21]

Harie - Thanks for the long version
I'm 33, never bought a brand new car and not very successful financially.. (bad investments and spent too much on used cars)
I'm a keen investor and always looking for long and short term ways of generating some money , so i'd be interested to chat more about your investment ideas

I think ive always bought poorly which drains my money.
Last few cars:
* Toyota 1983 AE86 - bought 3.5K, spent 15K on engine, rims, suspension, seats, paint job, sold for $12K which isn't too bad for a hobby car.
* Golf MKIII - Paid nearly $5K, sold 1 year later with damaged window regulator for $2K
* Jetta TDI - fully loaded, sunroof, leather, sat nav, manual - bought for $23K from dealer, sold 2 years later for $13K
* BMW X1 diesel - Fully loaded, satnav, pano sunroff, leather, auto - bought from dealer $40K, sold 1 year later for $31K

So i'm not sure if those numbers are pretty normal depreciation figures?
I'm now borrowing a corolla (staff car) from my brother until he changes job which might be soon.
so I might be pressured into jumping into something soon.

If I had to buy today, it would be one of the VRS hatches with sunroof.
Transmission to me doesn't matter as much. Happy to just get into a vRS mkII.

Of course I'd rather the wagon..

Preferences now looking like:

* Top priorty - sunroof
* 2nd priority - Wagon over hatch
* 3rd priority - steering mounted controls , which means DSG only


I think the MK2 only comes with the standard size roof... in 2 years when I do get a MKIII octavia it will be a wagon with panoramic roof

Maybe If I want a true bargain buy, I should be looking at the MKII 1.8 TSIs?

[woofy]

I would agree with Harlie as well. I always found an 18mth old car that suited me well and usually factored in extending the warranty. Although the rules changed about that so not sure whether Skoda lets you do it if you aren't the original owner. I've seen some pretty good Skodas, especially elegance Superbs for very cheap. My circumstances changed in 2006 when a new job I was in switched to car allowances instead of providing them so I have it set up so I essentially have the company pay for a new car, I get some nice big tax refunds and come the end of 4 yrs I buy my own car from myself which becomes my wifes car. They have now relaxed the rules so allow us to keep them longer than 4 yrs so if a good deal comes up on a 12-18mth old new model RS I would be tempted to swap over earlier if it matched my criteria. I want a manual though which will be hard to find.

[donweather]

Geez it appears that if I wanted to sell my 2012 RS TSI manual wagon with leather and sunroof and 5 yr warranty right now I'd have a few interested buyers!!!!

Maybe I will get my Mk III sooner than I thought!!!