I kept promising Dave (Fatty) I would put something together in the way of a buying guide so here it is. If you could sticky this, and if anyone can think of more bits to add we'll edit it and update it.

I haven't bothered putting in much info about the specs and history of the Mk1 vRS as I think one of the other sticky threads has that.

Octavia vRS buying Guide

First point - vRS and RS are the same. You may see it described as either in adverts but it is the same car.

Basic checks to do

Check service history, V5 and all receipts for any work done & modifications

Check cambelt and water pump have been done, every 4 years or 60,000 miles. If not done within the last 3 years then try and knock the seller down £300 as you will need to pay to have it done yourself within a year.

HPI check if not provided already

Check panels are flush, no signs of overspray, appearance of accident damage

VIN numbers match V5 - these are on a plaque in the engine bay, or on a plaque at the bottom of the windscreen

Suspension in good condition, no rust or damage

If possible, jack the car up and check:

Wheel bearings ok (hug each wheel and see if it can be rocked from left to right or up and down, if not then its ok)

Driveshafts ok - no splits in rubber gaiters

Exhaust in good condition and no mounts broken, any heatshields secured correctly - if exhaust looks very rusty then budget for a new one

Brakes not binding on rear wheels (chock front wheels, take handbrake off and rotate each wheel to check, if binding then could need a new caliper)

Check condition and wear on tyres (including spare)

Then pop the bonnet and check:

Check oil, coolant, brake fluid and power steering fluid levels

Oil should not be overly dark and thick (shows it hasn't been changed in a while)

Coolant should not contain oil and vice versa.

Mayonnaise on the bottom of the oil filler cap does not necessarily indicate headgasket failure, sometimes moisture can accumulate and do this. Combined with a lack of coolant though it is possible there is HG failure.

Check general condition of engine bay, any signs of leaks or split hoses

If the car is a vRS the engine code should be AUQ, this is stamped on the front LH side of the engine block and should also be in the sticker in the manual with all the three digit option codes on it. If this engine code is different then it has had a different 1.8T engine transplanted in and this should be indicated on the V5.

Start car and check for smoke from the exhaust. There should be some white smoke at start-up which is condensation in the exhaust system but this should clear.

Check the dashboard for any warning lights. If the Engine Management light stays on then there are stored fault codes and it will need a scan (see below)

Let the car warm up and rev it, then look for smoke from the exhaust:

If there is persistant white smoke it can indicate a headgasket problem, or a turbo problem

If there is persistant black smoke it is running rich, check for problems with the fuel injection

If there is persistant blue smoke it is burning oil, could be a problem with the valve stem seals

Check operation of all electrics - wipers, washers, windows, horn, electric mirrors, air conditioning, stereo, lights including foglights, interior lights, instrument lights and door puddle lights (get someone to help you).

Check all doors lock with remote - central locking is expensive to fix

Check there are no water leaks in the footwells or boot

Check brake pedal is not spongy, and that the handbrake goes on firmly

Check when you press the ASR button to turn traction control off it lights up and the traction control light on the dashboard comes on, then turn it back on again.

If the car is a 4x4 Turbo or WRC vRS, Check when you press the ESP button to turn ESP off it lights up and the ABS light on the dashboard comes on, then turn it back on again.

Look at wear and tear on seats and whether the belts retract properly. These are signs of age and high mileage, so if the clock is only showing 20,000 miles then ask some questions

Take the car for a test drive on various roads, including some around town driving, some country A-roads, some motorway or dual carriageway and at least one opportunity to do a hill start.

Check steering - if car pulls to one side then brakes could be binding, tracking could be out and a wheel could be unevenly worn, or suspension could be damaged.

Check brakes (if safe to do so), car should not pull to one side under braking and if braking hard you should feel and hear the ABS kick in

Check clutch - after changing gear, if revs rise quickly when accelerating but the car does not accelerate then the clutch is on its way out.

Gearchanges should be smooth and not notchy, if changing gear is like stirring glue then the bushes have probably gone.

You should hear the turbo start to spool up at just over 1800 revs in each gear, it will make a whistling noise. If you can't hear it try with the windows down and driving alongside a wall.

The whistling should die down at somewhere between 3000 and 4000 revs, this is when the wastegate is fully open and it is not producing any more boost.

If it has a boost guage it should be making around 10psi or 0.72bar of boost if it is a standard car. If 14psi/1bar or more then suspect a remap, if a lot less than 10psi then there is a boost leak problem.

Non vRS 1.8Ts (150bhp) should be 7psi or 0.5 bar standard.

If you have access to a fault scanner or VAG-Com then plug it in to the onboard diagnostics port under the steering wheel to see if there are any fault codes.

Finally, the Mk1 Octavia vRS is widely available at the moment so don't feel pressurised into buying a car you are not 100% happy about.

Problems peculiar to the vRS / Octavia

(do a search in the Octavia I forum for more information on any of these)

Exhaust hanging low / lopsided - centre or rear exhaust mount stretched or broken

Water leaks in boot - this is normally where the rear washer pipe has popped off the washer and flooded the boot. Can affect the CD changer (see below)

Coil packs - When these go the engine will misfire and run very rough, they are about ?30 from Skoda to replace with the newer version.

CD Changer - Can be shorted out by water leaks (see above) and also faulty due to dust entering when owners have left the top slide open. Replacements can be bought on ebay.

Mooing brakes - Rear brakes make a loud groaning noise when reversing and braking. This was a known issue by Skoda who brought out chamfered edged pads to fix it but some members have found only re-conditioning the calipers has solved the problem for them.

ARB bushes - The bushes wear out and the ARB corrodes underneath. This is indicated by a clonking noise when going over bumps.

Central locking problems - Connections in the microswitches in the doors deteriorate and need to be resoldered

Secondary air pump - Rivets holding the two halves of the pump together wear out and it makes a lot of noise on cold-startup. This can be fixed by bolting the two halves together.

Radiator mounts - The bottom of the radiator moves back and forward quite a lot and the mounts can deteriorate.

17705 fault - This indicates a boost leak in the pipework somewhere and can be very difficult to track down

Headlight levelling motors - These tend to get moisture in them and short out. Check them by using the control to the right of the steering wheel, they are currently £29 each to replace.

Air con recirc flap motor - This can make odd noises behind the glovebox and while its not a problem it's irritating

Corrosion on boot lid on Estates - Corrosion particularly around the handle area, may be covered under warranty from Skoda?

Faulty dash displays - faulty rev and speed counters, although this problem only seems to be on non 1.8T Octavias

Optional Extras:

small things - vRS door sill plates (worth £80), vRS mats (worth £90), front mudguards (worth £16), luggage net

options - cruise control, reverse parking sensors, xenon headlights (standard on WRC models), heated seats (standard on WRC models), sunroof, ESP (standard on WRC models), passenger airbag deactivation switch, satellite navigation and multifunction display

toolkit - from new this included a jack, wheel brace, dustcap cover remover, locking wheel nut key, a wire tool to remove the plastic hub covers, a plastic handled phillips screwdriver and a 7mm spanner. Some Non-vRS octavias also have a towing eye.

Buying Modified:

Check that the seller has paperwork for all modifications carried out as you will need to be able to declare any and all modifications to your insurers. Get an insurance quote with the modifications included before you think about buying the car!

Closely check the condition of the tyres, brakes, suspension and oil, as the car may have been driven harder than usual.

Modifications may increase the appeal of the car, but modification that hasn't been done properly or carefully may end up costing you a lot in the long run.

If the car was remapped on 98 RON fuel it should have been run regularly on 98 RON, not 95 RON or it will lose performance.

If previously owned by a member on Briskoda, search for their forum name then click "Find Content" on their profile to see previous posts about the car, you can then see what problems it's had in the past, what's been done to it and if it sounds well looked after.

Good buying guide mate:)

I've stuck this, so feel free to link it when the new members ask the inevitable.

I've stuck this, so feel free to link it when the new members ask the inevitable.

But... I like eating kitties!

Really helpful / well thought out checklist for "newbies" and "oldies" lol

Peter

could add in the peculiar section about the cars that have moo'ing brakes in reverse? (i still can't take that sentence seriously but is best way to describe the noise )

solutions seem to have ranged from stripping cleaning and rebuilding the rear brakes, using chamferred pads (not sure if correct spelling) to completely new brake kits inc upgrades..

appreciate not major issue but could be suprise to the unsuspecting buyer (like me when i got mine!)

Edited 13 August, 200916 yr by mn1981
forgot to add: great guide though!

Bloody hell Jamie. Good guide. Shouldn't you be working?!

Bloody hell Jamie. Good guide. Shouldn't you be working?!

Did it overnight

This was exactly what i was looking for when i signed up, good work!

thats an excellent guide, looks like i bought a good car

Excellent Work

Now can someone do one for a Mk II vrs too - Diesel and Petrol please!

Could do with a simerler one for some of the other octys too, such as what to look for on a Oct I TDi, that I just happen to buy, bringing me back into Skoda ownership :-)

Damn thats good, must print off a copy when i go octy hunting.

Nice one, thanks for that

I've stuck this, so feel free to link it when the new members ask the inevitable.

Har har

This was exactly what i was looking for when i signed up, good work!

Damn thats good, must print off a copy when i go octy hunting.

Agreed to both of the above, thanks very much for putting the time in to write that out!

eck..

Edited 18 January, 201016 yr by octyman

"mooing" brakes ..thank god I read that here - thought I'd got an expensive problem to fix.... will put up with it - besides it is useful as it alerts that oik walking behind me that I am there and to get out of the way lest I reverse over him

yap mooring brakes alright - I just get them cleaned every 3000km. mooring gets crazy in dusty conditions.

...the write-up is awesome.

Hi,

Im currently looking at a 2004 (54) Octy 1 VRS that has done 68k. From speaking to the dealer (haven't actually physically visited the location yet) I dont believe it has

had a cambelt changing.

Now as this guide suggests:

"Check cambelt and water pump have been done, every 4 years or 60,000 miles. If not done within the last 3 years then try and knock the seller down �300 as you will need to pay to have it done yourself within a year."

But the dealer reading from the service schedule says its to be checked at 60k and thereafter every 20k and then changed at 120k.

So who is right and who is wrong? How on earth can I bargain with the guy when this advice seems not to be the official line?

The guy will just laugh at me when I try to get 300 quid off!?

need an answer asap please guys.

Best Regards

Paul

That was what Skoda printed in the service booklet when the car was launched but 4 years later they brought it inline with other 1.8T models in the VAG range and changed it to "the cambelt must be changed every 60,000 miles or 4 years, whichever comes first".

This sounds like it's not a Skoda dealer, just a normal dealer, otherwise they would know this.

If they're being funny about it go somewhere else. There are plenty of VRS's about. If you do have to buy it from this dealer then get the belt and pump done as £300 is pennies compared to the price of a new top end if the belt snaps.

Thanks for the reply mate.

Yes it was an independant dealer and he had no idea.

Not to worry though as Ive just found and put a deposit down on an Octy Vrs that has had its cambelt and water pump changed just 4k ago

Great common sense buying guide used it when I went to check the first VRS I went to see, was a terrible car so quite a few faults on the list were highlighted

Good thread.

I would emphasise one thing OIL!!

Make sure that it is clean, not black and dirty/thick. If it is stay away, you could have the oil sludge problem that at worst can end up blowing your turbo and your engine!

This is a common problem on 1.8T cars, so make sure you check this 100%

Basically the oil pump/pickup gets blocked and stops oil from going to the head. So in the end no oil goes to the engine. So obviously a engine with no oil= dead engine.

looking for my first Octavia vRS this guide WILL b printed off and taken with me when going to look for one

Brilliant thread. Just bought a very clean Mk 1 using a print out as a perfect inspection guide. After a few hotter cars, I'm enjoying the vRS quite a lot. Only one car key, though, so if there's any help on getting a replacement key made that would be well appreciated.