Skoda Superb 2011

Burnham10

Hi. Sorry for the long post. I would appreciate some advice/guidance. Looking to buy a Skoda Superb estate. Have the search narrowed down to two 2011 models. We are going for the Superb because of its huge boot (two dogs + baby paraphernalia). It'll be mostly city driving we'll be doing along with motorway drives to the West c.10 times a year. Our budget is 18k and we'd like to keep running costs low. Our average mileage is 15k kms per annum. We have a bit of wiggle room with the budget.

The two cars are:
A. 1.6 litre, Greenline, manual, diesel, 105bhp, ambition spec., 123k km, silver colour - €17.5k.
B. 2 litre, manual, diesel, 170bhp, elegance spec., 177k km, blue colour - €18.75k.

The 1.6 litre's interior is in slightly better condition than the 2 litre. It is in a cheaper tax bracket and is apparently more economical to drive. The 2 litre is a UK import. I know that the 2 litre would be a better drive but I am not sure if we do enough long journeys to justify buying the more expensive car for that reason. I am unsure of the benefits of the Elegance model over the Ambition-sat nav (not too bothered by that), full leather seats, electronically controlled seats. There are probably more advantages. The 1.6 is being sold by a dealer who drove it himself for a year and it seems better cared for than the 2 litre. He swears that the 1.6 engine is more than enough for our requirements. I queried if the timing belt on the 2 litre should be changed (I understood they have to be done at 170k kms) and I was told it doesn't have to be fine for another c.30k kms.

Any advice on which to go for/advice in general would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

clogher71

Hi

I might be wrong but I think you have already made up your mind, you are going for the 1.6, but just need someone to tell you you are doing the right thing!!

Am I correct?

On paper it sounds the better car and a no brainer for you....

For me personally the 1.6 are underpowered, and yes I have driven them!!

So far the most things that are failing on the 1.6 engine, are EGR coolers, and waterpumps, SKODA are covering a % of the repair costs on the EGR's, a bigger percentage of the bill if the car has a full Dealer history!

CJhaughey

To be honest a manual diesel for city driving sounds like a recipe for a big bill in fairly short order.
Modern diesels don't like stop start city driving and problems associated with modern diesels are not cheap to fix.
If you can find a petrol it will not only be cheaper to buy it will also be a lot less expensive to fix.

Burnham10

Thanks for your response Clogher71. To be honest I am a bit all over the place about the two cars! My husband wants to go with the 1.6 and I was more keen on the 2 litre. I think you're right that I'm looking to be told I am making the right decision. I guess we will only miss the power of the 2 litre when we're on the motorway. I know this probably shouldn't count for anything but I got a good sense from the seller of the 1.6. I'm not sure how battered the 2 litre has been. The dealer didn't seem to really know anything about the history. That just sits a little uneasily with me. But then I know nothing about cars so that that is all probably rubbish.

May I ask why you think the 1.6 is a no brainer for us?

Thanks.

bazz26

There is an ample choice of Superbs for sale, if one is not in great condition then look for one somewhere else. The Superb is a big and heavy car so the 2.0 litre would be more suited than the 1.6 litre.

H.E. Pennypacker

Plenty of people on the Superb 2 forum on Briskoda.com (http://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/136-skoda-superb-ii/) believe that the performance of the 1.6 diesel is much better than they expected and meets their needs. Different people have different expectations of performance so you really need to drive both models to see what is suitable for you.

Its worth noting that DPF regeneration technology has moved on considerably over the last few years so its something of a myth to say that all modern diesels are unsuitable for urban use. Not all modern diesels need to be driven at higher speeds to allow DPF regeneration to take place.

Have a look at the Briskoda forum to get a sense of real world users experience of the car.

Casati

bazz26 wrote: »

There is an ample choice of Superbs for sale, if one is not in great condition then look for one somewhere else. The Superb is a big and heavy car so the 2.0 litre would be more suited than the 1.6 litre.

You'll see a few for sale with 13 or 141 plates, but very few at the OP's budget level.

I have a 2.0 Combi and find it a great all round car, the power is adequate for the car, and for your motorway runs to the West I think the main advantage is the 6 speed box- as well as giving you a third more power I think the economy at motorway speeds might be better in the 2.0 and its more relaxed. The 1.6 feels very weak in a car that size, even around town you need a bit of zipp occasionally so 140 or 170 bhp is not overkill

I would think you'd do better than that 2.0 your looking at, seems like mad money for a car with that sort of miles on it and limited history- as well as timing belt your a lot nearer to the time when other expensive stuff will wear out. As another poster said, if you have a car with FSH then if needed Skoda goodwill payment might be there, so try to buy with history in place. I'd keep searching around for a better one in your budget

Burnham10

Thanks for all the advice. The briskoda forum is very informative. Yes, the 131 plates are way over our budget. I will keep searching!

Tzardine

Nearly €19,000 for a used skoda with 177,000 km on the clock.

Christ on a bike, no thanks.