New member - advice required

[saintsdan77]

Hi all

Im currently considering buying a second hand Octavia vrs, 51 plate, 65k on the clock, 2 owners. Got the dealer (a Ford garage in basingstoke) down to £4195. Wanted to get some advice on whether this is a good price and what i should look for? Havent owned a skoda before (currently drive an Alfa 156) so would like to know more about owning one and costs etc.

Thanks and please let me know if you want any more info on the potential car

saintsdan

[Malc]

Sounds like a good price - make sure the cambelt has been changed

Full service history is also a nice to have also check the rubber mine seems to be eating a pair a year

[VRStu]

It's all down to your instincts really with a car of that age. You need to satisfy yourself that it has been looked after, well maintained and of course has good history.

I'd see if you can beat them down a bit by asking them not to service it, they'll probably put the wrong oil in anyway.

[Octavia Vrs!]

Price seems about right, what colour is it? Other colours seem to hold more value than yellow.
Check for cambelt and tyres. Good test drive over a couple of bumps to test anti roll bar bushes also.
Now you've squeezed the dealer on price go in with the cash, wave it in their face and try and nudge a 3 month warranty from them

[Lex Dysia]

As said price seems good but do haggle, They want £4195 tell em you only really wanted to spend £3500 they will come down but you will probably need to go up some also and remember pick up on any faults/niggles even if they are tiny it all helps when bartering, even if it's your favourite colour pretend to be unsure about it. Are you getting finance? I asked and when they quoted APR I said if they could get near to my banks rate I'd take it and quoted lower than their rate and got 2% better rate straight away, their rate was actually better than my bank anyway but what they don't know Remember they don't want a car sitting on their forecourt potentially for months and a small profit today is still a small profit, it's all turnover for them. Go with the attitude that you don't need to buy as much as they need to sell and you will almost always get a deal

[tartanarmy]

I spent only about 100 quid more than that for an 01 black vrs with 66k and fsh

So i reckon the price is good, Although coming down in price even more is a bonus.

As has been said ...cambelts a must and if not done will cost you around £300 on average

[saintsdan77]

Thanks for all the replies. When does the cambelt need changing?

I have now seen a similar car at the Skoda garage in Swindon, does anyone have any feedback on what this garage is like and if i'll be able to strike a similar deal?

Many thanks