Used Scout - what to check?

[gldgti]

well, we just had a discussion about this in the diesels seciton - but - the service schedule states it.

As for the time interval - thats what VW say.

Honestly, its half an hours labour to inspect the belt at worst - perhaps the dealers charge more - I dont know. In any case, there seems to be a lot of extra servicing going on - and its all good paying work for the dealers

[wfdTamar]

Beats me why it's all so secretive. Should be available on their web site. So it's obviously not in the owners manual then?

[woofy]

It is in the manual but sounds like these guys are going off the VW schedule whic Skoda don't use. I think someone needs to ring Skoda HQ again as I've always got the same answer from them.

[Transporter]

Beats me why it's all so secretive. Should be available on their web site. So it's obviously not in the owners manual then?

It should be in the owner's manual when the timing belt needs replacing. Just check it out.

[wfdTamar]

Another thing I'm wondering about is the injector and loom failure issue. Not sure if this engine has the type of injectors that fail. Apparently it's the piezo and another earlier non-piezo type that do, but a solenoid based one doesn't.

Anyone know which type are on the PD engined Scout?

[wfdTamar]

Found this too - 2008 Elegance 4wd 65,500 km $21,990 dealer seems unsure of its specs (did have it listed as an Ambience till I pointed out the error), doesn't have xenon lights by the looks. I've offered $19,500 sight unseen (with a few clauses to cover my bum if he's dodgy).

2008 SKODA OCTAVIA ELEGANCE 1Z Wagon Cars For Sale in NSW - carsales.com.au


Pretty much the Scout in sheeps clothing. The only thing it has going for it is the 4wd, otherwise it's pretty old and old spec.

[BluChris]

Hey, don't knock the pre-FL Octy's (I have one). See the other recent thread where vRS resale is discussed. Suggests trade in valuations are low as is interest (especially pre-FL). Octavia's not alone in that but certainly as the car is still a relative unknown they can be hard to sell second hand. Doubly so once the warranty is out.

This suggests 2 things: 1) if you buy, plan to keep or expect to literally pay the price 2) bargain hard. The dealer will know the car is hard to shift, and you should make it clear you know it too.

I'd say Elegance spec diesel 4x4 would make a nice ride, pre-FL or not. The Elegance has the better diesel (compared with my Ambiente), decent equipment. Ad suggested it does have xenons, but double check they got it right. Bargain at the right price, like all second hand Octy's.

Oh yeah - if the 3 year dealer warranty is included in the price but is NSW only, tell them you want $ off instead - you won't be going to NSW to claim on it...

[wfdTamar]

The dealer didn't have a clue what it was. Listed it first as an Ambient with the Ambient specs (77/250), but in the comments had 103kw, 6 gears and xenons.

It was only after I questioned it that they realised it was an Elegance. It definitely doesn't have xenons as it doesn't have the washers.

So yes, it's not the 1.9 engine which would have been a compromise choice (probably rule it out for me completely), but the 103kw PD one which is ok, not Common Rail, but ok still.

I'd think most people after 4wd would want the Scout, so this really is an orphan model. Maybe a few suspension parts peculiar to this model (as I think it has a slightly higher ride height than the standard model - 20mm).

They did offer one of those third party 3 year warranties for $1600, but I didn't want it having seen one before they are very limited in what they cover and the dollar value of what they do cover. Said they would cover the 3 month statutory warranty where I am (Tas) and give me a letter to that effect. It was a demo model before the previous owner had it which I'm not that keen on (lots of short, cold, thrashing drives). Just got to hope that the kind of people looking at this model wouldn't be the kind to thrash it in a test drive. I've almost bought it, just waiting on the results of an inspection.

---------- Post added 07-02-2012 at 04:35 AM ---------- Previous post was 06-02-2012 at 05:13 PM ----------

I was also considering a Passat V6 3.2 litre, 4x4 like this:

2007 $28,888, 42k km

Nicely spec'd, but another rung up the price ladder and a lot of bad stories about Passats.

2007 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT V6 DSG 4-MOTION FSI Type 3C MY07 Wagon Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au

[BluChris]

Mine was a demo. The issues from that are (a) used brushes during the drought to wash it. Pity but only really noticeable under fluoro and a bunch of car care products have helped (b) a couple of persistent rattles. Should be fixable but the dealer was both deaf and not particularly helpful. Mechanically have yet to notice any problems arising 3 years in (though not big k's).

The 1.9 is slower and noisier but I kind of like the character and for what I do, 90% suburban commute, it's fine. Cruises easily too.

Yes, the AWD Octavia is unusual here, but in the context of being a Skoda in Australia, kind of moot really. Most people have no clue about the brand and it largely sells to the well informed. Hope the inspection is positive and you enjoy the car.

[wfdTamar]

Back to when to change the timing belt. According to this UK site it's 4 years/60,000 miles

Octavia 2004 | Skoda | Car Reviews | Honest John