Octavia vRS advice

[McFly]

Hi All,

New to the forum. I am thinking of buying a Octavia VRS soon and was wondering what they are like.

I have spoke to alot of people and they all rave about the VRS being a great car.

So what are they like ? Are they cheap to run ? What is fuel consumption like ?

From what ive heard they seem pretty bullett proof. What should I be looking for when looking at one ?

Many Thanks in advance for any advise

Thanks

Ben

[Babs]

From my own experience, they're very good

My average consumption is in my signature - I do mostly urban stuff, with a few motorway trips. For the power, it's not too bad really!

[chicken_eyebrow]

Mines been pretty good since I've had it (3 months)

The only thing I would complain about is when you open the boot hatch after it's been standing in the rain, you get about a litre of water fall into the boot!

I get about 34.5 mpg, I do 36 miles a day for work, mixed town, country and motorway driving. For a 1.8 turbo car that seems pretty good to me.

[VRStu]

They are a great car Ben.

Usual used car things really when buying, history, HPi and well looked after.

[RichB86]

im very happy with mine is comfortable although niggly things get to me with mine (perfectionist) its a good car, however MPG id say all depends on how you drive tbh.

[bobster]

I was in the same boat as you 6 month ago. Now, 6 month on i know i have made a great choice in purchasing a vRS. Nothing *touches wood* has thus far went wrong with the car.
Value for money wise, there aren't many cars that come close to the Octy vRS for what you get for the money.
If you do look to get one, just one thing to look out for is the cambelt.
The general concensus is change them at 60,000 miles or 4 years.
If it hasn't been changed you will be looking at about £300 to get it done. Just worth bearing in mind.

[PSM]

I had a Mk1 and it was a great car (now have a Mk2). I used to average around 33-35mpg and could get around 40mpg on a long run (so very good considering the performance etc.). However, I could get down in the mid 20s if giving it a little more on the right foot. The engines and mechanicals appeared to be fairly bomb proof. I would check the central locking and wing mirror adjust. There is a known fault of water getting into the central control unit in the drivers door and this can cause funny faults with the electricals. When it happen to mine the drivers door would not lock/unlock on the button on the key fob (had to use the key in the door) and the side mirror adjust would only move the passenger side no matter which side I selected to control.
The only other downside is that the white carpet and seats can be a bit of a pain to keep clean.
If you buy one I am sure you will not regret it.
Hope this helps

[Johnny50]

Moving to an Octavia was the best thing i ever done.
Loved it, although now have a Fabia, the Mk1 vRS was fantastic.

I just wish i'd made the move years ago.

[Bodge]

i bought mine back in mid september last year.

and i love her like a child!

blinding performance, and subtle enough not to get noticed!

as said, check for cambelt, and make sure the front tyres are decent unless your budgeting for new ones.

when i bought mine, i had to get a new belt and tyres straight away, which was quite a big hit to the wallet in one go.

but yeah, great car, plus you can thrash a mk4 golf GTi (even the 180bhp version around the corners!), and bask in the glory of having spent less money on more car!

they also work quite well around the nurburgring!

[McFly]

Thanks for all the replys. Really appreciate it.

Would a high mileage VRS put you off ? Obviously as long as it has full service history and cambelt change etc ?

[Johnny50]

Certainly wouldn't put me off.
Although it's a Fabia.
I've had my "new" car for just over a month and it's on 109k now.

As long as the servicing has been done, it wouldn't put me off.

An added bonus is buying one from a member on here, so the car may be well known, along with it's history.

[chicken_eyebrow]

Mine had 90k on the clock when I bought it - high for its age - but I put my trust in the VAG reliability and the 12 month warranty I got with it.

So far it hasn't let me down, touch wood

[hainzy11]

I just bought mine last week oct 04 vrs, it has 52000k on the clock, the last service as far as i can see (recorded) is around 27000k, do you think i should get it serviced now or hang on until 60000 miles and get the works done to it? By the way it drives like a dream very smooth and quiet !! I don't do big mileage, i would say about 10000 a year at most.

[Liverpool-Lad]

They are ok as standard but need sharpening up with 3 mods IMO, they arent slow as standard but they certainly dont have 'blistering performance'

- Remap
- Rear ARB
- Superpro dogbone bush

And some good rubber.

[Johnny50]

Originally Posted by hainzy11

I just bought mine last week oct 04 vrs, it has 52000k on the clock, the last service as far as i can see (recorded) is around 27000k, do you think i should get it serviced now or hang on until 60000 miles and get the works done to it? By the way it drives like a dream very smooth and quiet !! I don't do big mileage, i would say about 10000 a year at most.

For peace of mind you could always just go get it serviced.

[V666 VRS]

Check the suspension for knocks as they are very prone to failure. This includes ARB, Wishbone and ball joints. The Rad seating is a very bad design, again the bushes fail. If your looking at a high miler then great as long as it has a service history. Like all cars a 3 year old model with 90k on the clock is a better prospect than a 7 year old with less than 40k. This is based on stop start motoring and probably being left sat outside the house letting the normal weathers atmosphere get too it. Very good car for the family man who likes a blast sometimes and the economy is pretty good too. If i dont get the feckin knocking sorted on mine soon you can have it for £4200

Darren

[McFly]

Thanks for all the replys.

Given me alot to think about.

Let me know V666 VRS if you think of selling.

Thanks again

[Ninja78]

Ive had mine about 4 weeks now and still enjoying it...

Its 4 years old but only done 15k miles.. Its still having its cambelt and water pump changed next week though!!

[DJM123]

As above really had mine over a year and changed from an Ibiza Cupra for more space. Really pleased with it. Make sure it has had cambelt and water pump changed and service history etc. Wouldn't let mileage put you off have seen them at work go over 160k and still pull really strongly and run well. Water in the boot is annoying and also the mats sem to fray around the VRS logo after a while.

Good Luck, you wont regret it.

[judder]

Hi. I've had my black mk1 Octavia vRS from new for three years. It's a great car. The boot is huge, though there are a couple of annoying bars that reduce practicality when the back seats are folded down (I assume they are something to do with the car's rigidity). The handling is fun and overtaking is simple. Town driving is easy and so is parking. According to the onboard computer, my average since owning the car is 35.6 mpg with a good mixture of town and motorway miles. My wife has no problem with it (mostly urban mileage - during which some scuffing of the front wheels has appeared; obviously by magic) and my 3 year old boy loves it. It is plenty big enough for us to take anything we need and much that we don't when we go away as family.

There are a few niggles which prevent it from being perfect, e.g. the leather isn't of the best quality and the main switch on my interior (courtesy) light has broken. The first of these doesn't bother me and the second just requires me to undo a couple of screws and fiddle around a bit to make the repair.

One thing that is bothering me is an irritating knocking/rattling noise from the near side rear suspension/door/seat area which has been there since new.

Two final practical points:
1) Be careful when opening the rear doors as they are quite long. My back seat passengers have underestimated their length on a few occasions and the extreme tips of the both rear doors are rather scratched.
2) If it is very wet and you have to open the boot, do it quickly. Somewhere between fully closed and fully open, water from the rear windscreen will trickle into the boot space.

In the absence of the points I've mentioned above, the car would score a good 9/10. Including them though, I have to call 8/10. My previous car was a BMW 328 which was excellent and better in many ways, but of the two, I rather the Skoda.

Hindsight may be useful. If I'd known 3 years ago what I know now concerning the car and the sum of its good and bad points, would I spend my money on it again? Absolutely yes. For the money (expenditure and maintenance) I don't think there's a better car around.

By the way, in 3 years the car has done 24000 miles and I've just had to replace the front tyres (I like to change at 3mm). In that time, excluding petrol, insurance, 1st MOT and tax, it has cost me £240 - two tyres and £420 - 3 services (not a main dealer; I prefer using the guy I believe to be the best mechanic I've ever come across). One final remark, a mysterious water leak appears to have healed itself.