Skoda Octavia Estate - any good?

DarrenGreen

We are a family of 4 (kids age 6 months and 4), and need to buy a new car.

Ideally looking to spend no more than £1500, preferably £1000!

Need something with plenty of boot space as the amount of stuff we carry with the 2 kids seems to get more and more! Small car with a roofbox is not an option for us.

Originally looking at a Skoda Fabia estate I've spotted an Octavia Estate I'm interested in. A 2003 model, 1.6 Ambient with 80,000 miles on the clock. It's £1500 at a dealer, 6 months MOT but no tax or warranty. Warranty is about £200 for 6 months which sounds expensive to me.

Anyone have any experience of the Octavia Estate? Anything specific I should look for when buying second hand? Alternative suggestions always welcome.

Thanks for your help.

interstellaflyer

Not sure about the 1.6 but Skoda Octavias are popular cars, especialy estates, a 2003 model at £1500 from a dealer sounds a bit cheap although I accept that prices vary depending on where you live. If I were buying from a dealer I'd expect them to give a 12 month MOT.

ItMightBeUsefulOneDay

I owned an Octavia Estate 2.0.

Great car, one of the largest boots you'll find on the market. Very solid, feels like a tank. I'd be wary of the 1.6 simply because that sounds a bit underpowered - they are very heavy cars. As I said, I had the 2 litre (auto) and it was surprisingly nippy to ~60mph.

Things to watch for:
They use a fair bit of oil
They use a lot of fuel (I got ~25mpg from the 2.0 petrol auto around town, 40 on longer runs).
The leg space for rear passengers is limited (hence the large boot).

JimmyTheWig

How long are you thinking of keeping the car and are you planning on any more children?

Generally you can't get three car seats in the back of a 5 seater, so you might be better off now going for a small people carrier (e.g. Vauxhall Zafira), though you might stuggle to get anything decent in your price range.

But from what I've heard the Octavia is a good car.

Weird_Nev

Yes, they are in general good cars.
However, you're buying at the bargain basement end of the market. Unless you're handy with spanners then I'd be looking to spend a little bit more: There's nothing to be scared of with higher milage cars, but as they age, suspension, brakes and engines are going to be worn. To insure against costly failures, you want to buy a well cared for example with full and regular serivce history, and unfortunately with that kind of money you don't tend to get too much choice.

Try an autotrader search: put in your general requirements: £1000, estate ,petrol (you won't get a diesel worth having at a grand), Manual, less than 10 years old and less than 100,000 miles for example. See what it throws up - you'll need to hunt hard but there are bargains to be had. I speak as the owner of a £700 BMW estate car! (That said ,it's a 2.8 petrol - undesirable as they're perceived as thirsty and expensive to run).

DarrenGreen

Thanks for the quick replies, keep 'em coming please.

To clarify, when I say 'dealer' I mean 'back-street-independant-dealer' with about 12 cars on a forecourt on an industrial estate, who's cashed in what was left of the tax and is selling the car with the remaining 6 months MOT from the previous owner. Not a Skoda dealership.

Price seems about right to me, there are a few 2002's on Autotrader and eBay classified's for around £1250. There are also a lot of 2004 for £2500 - £3000 mind!

DarrenGreen

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

How long are you thinking of keeping the car and are you planning on any more children?

Planning on keeping for 6 - 12 months, depending on how much it costs us in repairs in that time. Plan on sticking at 2 kids so not expecting to need an MPV anytime soon.

JimmyTheWig

DarrenGreen wrote: »

Warranty is about £200 for 6 months which sounds expensive to me.

Have you looked at the AA Breakdown Repair Cover? Not the same as a warranty, but we've recently taken it out as it sounds great. Haven't had to claim, yet, so can't comment on how it works in reality.

Weird_Nev

Yeah ,I got Flux rescue for £53 for the year. It's slightly uncovnentional, so check T+C's. They basically tow you to a garage so that the fault can be fixed. I'm happy with this as it's not the £200 AA wanted, and I know wnough about my car to hold my own in a random garage should the worst happen.

rodenal

Good cars, though as advised unless you're a bit handy with spanners go for something closer to your 1500 budget, try to get a car with recent suspension refresh and recentish cambelt/ waterpump change and you should be sitting pretty

I would personally try and find a 1.8t, had the engine in an a3, easy 35mpg and a nice drive with the added torque. Don't touch the 1.6 it will really strugglein that car. Had a look and most at the lower end seem to be 2 litre. Not sure but if thievish the same 115bhp unit as was offered in the golf etc then its ok, reasonable torque despite the real lack of overall power.

[Deleted User]

we are on our third octavia estate. Solid, sensible, roomy and reliable. Ours have all been trouble free but you will get all the info you need from

http://briskoda.net/forums/