Need the collective wisdom of the Forum please. I have 2003 Octavia 1.9 Tdi Elegance,non PD , 79000 miles, full history, well looked after. Owned it 6 years. Best car we've ever had. Never given any real trouble. So, in the next few months it will need an MOT and service. It has a noisy wheel bearing which also needs doing. There is a very slight vibration at idle which never used to be there, but it's very minor and not getting worse.
The car is our main family transporter, taking us down to France and Spain every year. The rest of the time it doesn't work too hard, used on light commuting etc, 12000 miles a year max.
The cambelt and tensioner (but not the water pump) was changed at 50000 miles. Tyres will shortly be needed on the front after 20000 miles.
To replace this car like for like will cost me about 12 grand-ish. A petrol version would be less. I can afford to spend this if I subsequently keep it for a few years but would prefer not to have this much money invested in a car. I have 2 kids going to UNi and would rather spend it on them.
So what to do? Logic tells me this car should be good for another 4 to 5 years and up to 120K at least. It will need a belt change in a year or two - possibly less as I worry about that! Or I could bite the bullet and chop it in now, before any expense. But that means wopping out serious dosh which I'd rather spend on other things! I've never run a car beyond 100K, so I'm a little unsure as to what to expect in terms of expense and reliability. Maybe I'm over-worrying on this?
What do you all think?
Cheers
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Paying cash or a loan of some sort ?
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I think you want to keep it don't you ? Half the battle won then. Of course it may need some maintenance but if looked after there's no reason why it shouldn't give good service for years to come. Quite satisfying in some ways.
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Keep it, maintain it well and no reason it shouldn't double it's mileage and it's time with you.
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Remember it's not all about the cold logic of reliability & running costs... do you fancy a new shape model with the improvements in ride/refinement/equipment that brings??
Does a brand new car do anything for you??
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There is a lot to be said for keeping it, it can be very rewarding to take a car to high mileage, though it is old tech non-PD so not very punchy and by today's standards it is rather unrefined, i.e. a late CR version would be much more refined and punchy (as would my 139k miles 2002 Mondeo for that matter).
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>> this car should be good for... up to 120K at least
It'll just about be run in by then.
>> I've never run a car beyond 100K
I ran a 2001 Octavia SDI to almost 300k miles in not much more than 3 years. At 100k passengers would, when asked, guess its mileage at 20k. At 200k they would guess it had done 50k. Mine never needed the engine taken to bits and was still on its original fuel pump, alternator, battery and water pump. It had regular servicing every 10,000 miles on the dot and a timing belt change every 60,000. The only major replacement was a gearbox at around 220k miles, and front suspension lower wishbones at 100k and 200k (probably exacerbated by all the speed bumps I had to drive over).
So I can say IMO keeping the Octavia would be the smartest move, as well as saving you thousands in depreciation on a newer car it should easily cover its current mileage again twice over with no serious problems.
HTH.
Dave TD.
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This is a keeper, especially if you like the car and has been and is likely to remain reliable. I do not practice what I preach but I have the luxury of being able to afford it within reason. However, I would have happily kept my Outback for many more years if the family had not kept growing (as children are wont to do).
Educating children is a far more worthwhile enterprise than keep car companies in profit and you can always assist your children's future by buying a newer car once they were away from university and in industry.
For most people buying a new car is about vanity as their existing car is perfectly adequate other than it is not the latest model. It just like buying a new car to save money on the fuel bill. It doesn't work, but if you were changing the car anyway, then of course buy a car that meets your current requirements.
In the current case, changing the car seems pointless, so don't bother.
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Cheers so far everyone.
PU - I would be paying out of savings for a new one, and pay myself back as it were. Unless there's a better way I don't know about. Can't get my head around PCP and the like, numbers don't make sense to me.
No, I don't really have any burning desire to change for a newer model, quite happy with this one. Yes, it's a bit noisy and unrefined, but it's a great family car. It is the 110, so it does actually go pretty well when asked. If I want real speed, I have the bike to go for a thrash on, but to be honest, must be getting old, as I prefer to potter along these days!! I'm not into having new for the sake of it, I love cars as much as everyone else on here, but at the end of the day they do a job and live in a hostile environment. I look after them but not anally, if you know what I mean.
Sounds like the consensus is to keep..... which is, I guess what I was hoping/expecting!
Cheers!
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Assuming you want to another Skoda why not go and number crunch some stats at the dealers. The reason I was asking was it might actually pay you to take out a HP deal and keep your cash or pretend its on HP and set up a SO to pay 300 a month into your savings.
Keeping it makes sense in a lot of ways as well - put your notional 300 quid into a separate account so in 4 years time you can buy a new one or as a savings fund for big repairs if they happen.
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>> put your notional 300 quid into a separate account so in 4 years time you can buy a new one
PU,
My dad did exactly that 11 years ago. His 95N Passat was perfectly serviceable so it was a question of pretending it was a 99T for five years and putting the "finance" money away every month. Come December 2004 he had enough to buy an 8,000 mile Merc C270CDI Avantgarde SE estate, in cash.
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No harm in seeing what a dealer will give you for it. Chances are their offer will insult you and you'll be more than happy to keep the car and give them the bird!
I'd keep it another year and re-evaluate next year at 90-95k miles. That's often the tipping point when one or 2 larger/pricier parts need replacing in my (limited) experience. It won't devalue that much (more) in the meantime.
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Keep it. Look at Upsolute.com (Chiptuning)
UPSOLUTE England
CCC Technology
Simon Coe
Dronfield - Derbyshire
England
Telephone: (+44)-(0)124 641 1021
Fax: (+44)-(0)795 724 0822
About £300.00 (ish)I guess. Had the 90 BHP van done years ago. Took it to 116 BHP. Torque right up too. Makes hell of a difference. No MPG penalty at all. Just a lot more driveable.
Good luck.
Martin.
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I've got a 52 plate Octavia estate with the same engine which I've had since new (company car, then I bought it). It's done 145,000 miles. As long as it has been properly serviced and you continue in that vein, you should easily see that amount. I'm in the process of evaluating whether to replace it. I think we will, by going back into the company car scheme. The only reason for that is the fact that my children are growing and it would be nice to have a bit more space.
Funny thing is, I had a Mazda 6 Sport estate on 3 day test last week and was expecting to be impressed by it in comparison to the Skoda and while it was a very competent car that was a nice place to be, I can't say it really met my expectations for outperforming the Skoda in anything other than being a bit bigger and a bit quicker.
Over time my Skoda has had, in addition to 10,000 mile servicing and consumables like brake pads, a replacement alternator, air con compressor (stone damage) and a timing solenoid. The solenoid could have been avoided as the car had a problem that was eventually traced to me being a bit careless with fuel but the solenoid was what the fault code said, so it was replaced along with doing the cambelt a second time - one of those things that might as well be done while you're there sort of things.
The rear windscreen wiper doesn't work at the moment either but I'm in the process of getting a second hand wiper motor that I'll have fitted.
I'd keep it for a little while if I were you.
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Just heard and ad on the radio that may be of interest. Skoda dealers (not sure if it all of them) are offering £2500 px on any pre 2003 car. May produce a better 'cost to change' than previously calculated.
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Damn good cars and at this miliage barely run in: find yourself a good VAG specialist and run it into the ground!
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Skoda Octavia I - Octavia: Sell or keep? - R.P.
