Opinions & advice on Skoda Octavia vRs

Seaney86

Hey, im currently on the look out for a mk1 Otavia vRs (03 model).

Im just looking for peoples personal experiences and advice on what to look out for.

I'll be looking for a real "minter" with a good service history etc
anybody have any idea on an accurate mpg for both town driving and long journeys. Doesn't really matter but good to know!!

TestTransmission

30-35mpg I used to get I think.Never really kept track of it though tbh.

Seaney86

Thanks, I was thinkin it would be around that. What was your opinion on them?

Quazzie

Why buy a MK1 when you could have one of other other superior 1.8Ts for the same money?

Seaney86

I like the Octavia the best, rather the bigger car. Not a fan of Golfs, too small and all. Leon wouldnt be my cup of tea either.

What else is there?

bop1977

I own a 2004 vrs and here are some of the common faults I have found:

1. Central locking works on all doors except the drivers door. Also the heated mirror on the drivers side doesn't work. They are all related to a controller in the driver side door, it gets corroded by water. The part alone is about €250 plus labour to fit but it can be done as a diy job. This might also require a new wire loom according to the dealer.
2. The window regulators have a habit of getting water damaged and this is a €79 part. This is a DIY job but will cause a lot of swearing and brushed knuckles.
3. The engine oil filter in the sump can get clogged. This can lead to lots of warning lights on the dashboard.
4. The rear wiper motor is poorly designed. The water goes up through the middle of the winter motor and eventually seeps into the motor causing it to stop working.

One final thing to look out for is the wheel size. If you get 16" wheels then it is an early Irish car but by 2003 I think they increased it to 17". Uk cars were all 17".

Seaney86

bop1977 wrote: »

I own a 2004 vrs and here are some of the common faults I have found:

1. Central locking works on all doors except the drivers door. Also the heated mirror on the drivers side doesn't work. They are all related to a controller in the driver side door, it gets corroded by water. The part alone is about €250 plus labour to fit but it can be done as a diy job. This might also require a new wire loom according to the dealer.
2. The window regulators have a habit of getting water damaged and this is a €79 part. This is a DIY job but will cause a lot of swearing and brushed knuckles.
3. The engine oil filter in the sump can get clogged. This can lead to lots of warning lights on the dashboard.
4. The rear wiper motor is poorly designed. The water goes up through the middle of the winter motor and eventually seeps into the motor causing it to stop working.

One final thing to look out for is the wheel size. If you get 16" wheels then it is an early Irish car but by 2003 I think they increased it to 17". Uk cars were all 17".

It'll be the model with the 17" wheels ill be going for. Doesnt seem to be much choice out there at the moment. All those problems ive heard of and all so fairly confident ill know what to look for.

TestTransmission

Seaney86 wrote: »

What was your opinion on them?

From personal experience, I didn't find it very reliable.Too many niggling issues, it was pretty comfortable, well specced and relatively quick for what it was.

Seaney86

OSI wrote: »

S3? 225BHP and 4WD. In saying that, if you think the Golf or Leon (which share their base with the Octavia ) is too small, you won't want an S3.

They all look great and the s3 is lovely but I rather the saloon car because it usually feel better on the road (from standard Golfs and Octavias ive driven)

Seaney86

TestTransmission wrote: »

From personal experience, I didn't find it very reliable.Too many niggling issues, it was pretty comfortable, well specced and relatively quick for what it was.

Ive been told by a few VAG specialists that it all depends on the car you buy. Get a good one and your sorted but buy a bad one and your heart will be broke

bazz26

Octavia is a hatchback, not a saloon.

spank_inferno

Would you consider a Mark II Vrs instead?

Depending on your budget of course....

They seem much better cars though, compared to the Mark 1.

Drummerboy08

Quazzie wrote: »

Why buy a MK1 when you could have one of other other superior 1.8Ts for the same money?

I'd rather the Octavia over a golf If I'm honest....

stooge

TestTransmission wrote: »

From personal experience, I didn't find it very reliable.Too many niggling issues, it was pretty comfortable, well specced and relatively quick for what it was.

+1
Bought an Octavia in 2010 and have nothing but bother with it:

- AC gone
- EGR valve gone
- wheel bearings gone
- DPF gone

1.6 CR tdi

Seaney86

bazz26 wrote: »

Octavia is a hatchback, not a saloon.

Sorry about that, i meant a 5 door hatch, saloon size!!

Seaney86

spank_inferno wrote: »

Would you consider a Mark II Vrs instead?

Depending on your budget of course....

They seem much better cars though, compared to the Mark 1.

MkII is slightly out of the price range im looking to spend. I think the MkI is a bit meaner looking compared to the newer model. just my opinion of course

Quazzie

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

I'd rather the Octavia over a golf If I'm honest....

You prefer a lot of things that most "normal" people don't.

Seaney86

stooge wrote: »

+1
Bought an Octavia in 2010 and have nothing but bother with it:

- AC gone
- EGR valve gone
- wheel bearings gone

1.6 CR tdi

To be honest these just sound like general wear and tear problems that wouldnt bother me.

Bpmull

We have a 2011 Octavia 1.6tdi which has caused us no trouble whatsoever. We have a 2005 1.9tdi with 170k km which we have had no trouble with. So in my opinion they are a reliable car. Also in my extended family there is 5 octavias one a 2007 vrs none have ever been in a garage outside of a normal service but then are cars are well minded and serviced on time which helps I'm not saying the previous poster doesn't mind theirs I'm just giving my experience with them. I think they are extremely reliable.

Seaney86

Seaney86 wrote: »

To be honest these just sound like general wear and tear problems that wouldnt bother me.

Well apart from the ac but obviously things like this can happen.

TestTransmission

Commonly found faults list from briskoda.net.

I'd sign up there if I was you, it's a wealth of info.

Problems peculiar to the vRS / Octavia

(do a search in the Octavia I forum for more information on any of these)

Exhaust hanging low / lopsided - centre or rear exhaust mount stretched or broken

Water leaks in boot - this is normally where the rear washer pipe has popped off the washer and flooded the boot. Can affect the CD changer (see below)

Coil packs - When these go the engine will misfire and run very rough, they are about ?30 from Skoda to replace with the newer version.

CD Changer - Can be shorted out by water leaks (see above) and also faulty due to dust entering when owners have left the top slide open. Replacements can be bought on ebay.

Mooing brakes - Rear brakes make a loud groaning noise when reversing and braking. This was a known issue by Skoda who brought out chamfered edged pads to fix it but some members have found only re-conditioning the calipers has solved the problem for them.

ARB bushes - The bushes wear out and the ARB corrodes underneath. This is indicated by a clonking noise when going over bumps.

Central locking problems - Connections in the microswitches in the doors deteriorate and need to be resoldered

Secondary air pump - Rivets holding the two halves of the pump together wear out and it makes a lot of noise on cold-startup. This can be fixed by bolting the two halves together.

Radiator mounts - The bottom of the radiator moves back and forward quite a lot and the mounts can deteriorate.

17705 fault - This indicates a boost leak in the pipework somewhere and can be very difficult to track down

Headlight levelling motors - These tend to get moisture in them and short out. Check them by using the control to the right of the steering wheel, they are currently £29 each to replace.

Air con recirc flap motor - This can make odd noises behind the glovebox and while its not a problem it's irritating

Corrosion on boot lid on Estates - Corrosion particularly around the handle area, may be covered under warranty from Skoda?

Faulty dash displays - faulty rev and speed counters, although this problem only seems to be on non 1.8T Octavias

R.O.R

I had an 03 VRs for 2 or 3 years. Thought it was a great car. Decent performance, great seats and large enough.

Mainly motorway use I was getting around 35mpg according to the on board computer.

Did have issues with:

Door Open indicator would randomly come on. That was rectified by using the central locking button to lock all doors. Considered that a safety feature to remind me to lock the doors.

Cable that went from the exterior drivers door handle snapped so had to get in from the passenger side for a while. Fixed by a mate with a €15 cable.

Coils, coils, coils. Ended up on 2 cylinders at one point so had to take a detour on the way to work at the Ballymount off ramp on the M50 (Southbound). had to go in towards Ballymount and around the roundabout as I never would have got going again if stopped at the lights to turn right.

Had the clutch replaced around 65,000 miles, but the wife had been driving it for a while before then.........

Sold mine to my Brother in Law, who took it to Germany. I believe they are very stable at autobhan speeds. Unfortunately it got scrapped over there.

stooge

Seaney86 wrote: »

To be honest these just sound like general wear and tear problems that wouldnt bother me.

on a 2 year old car with 50k miles?

Col200sx

I drive a '02 VRS. Have had it since the summer, and so far I've had to change an indicator relay (€45), a new clutch and solid flywheel (guts of €700 for the uprated VR6 + G60 kit) and I know the rear wheel bearing is on it's way out.

I'd recommend them. I love mine, I find the power is adequate enough with it being 180bhp, and that's coming from a 260bhp 200sx s14a.

There's great front end grip and it feels pretty sturdy in the corners.

Surprisingly I've found the main dealers are actually the cheapest place for an oil change kit, cheaper than other motor factors around town.

And yes, the boot is huge, I managed to fit a 2.25 metre Christmas tree in the boot with the bootlid closed a couple of weeks ago

Anyway, here's mine

Seaney86

Col200sx wrote: »

I drive a '02 VRS. Have had it since the summer, and so far I've had to change an indicator relay (€45), a new clutch and solid flywheel (guts of €700 for the uprated VR6 + G60 kit) and I know the rear wheel bearing is on it's way out.

I'd recommend them. I love mine, I find the power is adequate enough with it being 180bhp, and that's coming from a 260bhp 200sx s14a.

There's great front end grip and it feels pretty sturdy in the corners.

Surprisingly I've found the main dealers are actually the cheapest place for an oil change kit, cheaper than other motor factors around town.

And yes, the boot is huge, I managed to fit a 2.25 metre Christmas tree in the boot with the bootlid closed a couple of weeks ago

Anyway, here's mine

Lovely, exactly what im on the look out for, black with the 17" wheels.
All the faults people are coming up with havent bothered me yet due to the fact that the are relatively cheap fixes and are being an almost ten year old car you'll get this. You cant expect to own a car and not have problems.
I should be able to see 220bhp with an exhaust, induction kit and simple remap so power wise it'll be quite good.
Pretty glad to see you saying how good they are on the road, nothing worse than a bad handling car. Does yours ahve standard suspension?

Col200sx

Seaney86 wrote: »

Lovely, exactly what im on the look out for, black with the 17" wheels.
All the faults people are coming up with havent bothered me yet due to the fact that the are relatively cheap fixes and are being an almost ten year old car you'll get this. You cant expect to own a car and not have problems.
I should be able to see 220bhp with an exhaust, induction kit and simple remap so power wise it'll be quite good.
Pretty glad to see you saying how good they are on the road, nothing worse than a bad handling car. Does yours ahve standard suspension?

Yep that's on standard suspension. You do feel every bump on the road though.

You should see 220bhp easily with a remap. Although I've heard the dmf doesn't like that.

But it'll go anyway, as mine did on 131k miles, and then replace it with a solid one. The G60/VR6 kit can easily handle 250bhp and 400nm torque so it's a great setup.

And to be honest I don't think you're wanna go any more in a fwd car

gian

guys i need help yesterday i noticed that my octy's lock and wndow at the rear passenger door starts to act wierd like when i press the central locking the one in the rear just pops up as if it didnt catch the little nub but when i press the lock like twice quickly it locks and sometimes the windows opens automatically without me doing anything and the interior light wont turn off anymore i have check where the switch is position and i always leave it at the car door setting but it just wont turn off anymore