Help!! Please can I have some buying advice!

[P-A]

Not so long ago I sold my Fabia VRS because now that I have a young family it was too small. I've been looking for an estate car and have come across this...

2000 W Skoda Octavia Estate 2.0 (petrol) AUTO

The car has had one owner from new and has covered 68,000 miles. It's priced at £4k, which I think is a little over the book price. However being an auto, I guess they are in demand and do tend to hold their value better than the manual cars? I also don't mind paying a bit more if the car is in very good condition.

I know a bit about diesel engines, but not a great deal about petrols. Therefore if anyone can help with the questions below (or offer any other advice) it'd be greatly appreciated...

- What is the 2.0 petrol engine like? Is it reliable?
- When should the cam belt be changed? Does the belt also drive the water pump, and if so, should that also have been changed?
- What sort of motorway mpg and I likely to get?
- Is there anything specific to the Octavia that I should look for when checking out the car (ie. any known faults/problems)
- When are the major services? Is the car due for one?

Sorry for all the questions! Thanks in advance.

[KenONeill]

On the general point, autos tend to be rare, and should have a premium, not so much for that as cos they're costly options when new.

On the quoted mileage the cam belt should have been done. If not, then I'd change the water pump on the petrol engine with it. The cam/pump drives on the petrol and diesel engines are the same. From memory, the major would be over-due on mileage, and the second is due next year on age.

From all of which I'd be looking at getting the price chipped unless the work's been done.