I have sampled an Octavia

My Leon had a navigation database error when I test drove it.
I think they take the disc or SD card out that sits in the glovebox unit and put it in when sold to stop it being nicked.

Given it's age, it should have Android Auto or Apple Carplay available.

The clutch pedal isn’t a mile high because their isn’t one so the cartledge in my knee will get a well earned rest.

PLUS

Now I’ll do what I always do, which is dawdle and dillywally until someone else buys it. Then I don’t have to spend any money or make any big decisions.

Are you me?

The dealer spec sheet says it’s got Android auto.

I do like the colour of that car.

" I wasn’t allowed out of the grounds of the dealership!"

Why ? I'd be a lot more comfortable buying having had it up to speed (and corners). Hope they had some believable reason why you were not allowed to drive it otherwise I'd be suspicious.

Interesting that it was MOT tested in August 2022 when it’s registered in February 2020- I didn’t know that that could be done . It did 16000 miles in 2 1/2 years and then 16000 each year afterward, also no advisories on either MOT. Presumably changed hands at about  2 1/2 years and been used much more on the motorway since? How many owners?

My Leon had a navigation database error when I test drove it.
I think they take the disc or SD card out that sits in the glovebox unit and put it in when sold to stop it being nicked.

That actually makes sense, I never thought of that.

The dealer spec sheet says it’s got Android auto.

You're right it does, I didn't look properly. I found it on ebay and just went to the dealer site hoping for more pictures.

Why ? I’d be a lot more comfortable buying having had it up to speed (and corners). Hope they are some believeable reason why you were not allowed to drive it otherwise I’d be suspicious.

I wasn't suspicious, they've just got a massive site and had about 4 of us driving cars around it. There were more people test driving cars than there appeared to be staff available to accompany people on proper test drives so it's probably much easier for them.

I'd insist on a proper drive out before I handed the cash over.

Interesting that it was MOT tested in August 2022 when it’s registered in February 2020- I didn’t know that that could be done . It did 16000 miles in 2 1/2 years and then 16000 each year afterward, also no advisories on either MOT. Presumably changed hands at about 2 1/2 years and been used much more on the motorway since? How many owners?

3 owners apparently. Not sure if each one is a real person and not a dealer or something. I noticed it had one more MOT than I'd expect for the age of the car.

The main hurdle is the grief of selling the Yeti. It used to be a really smart Monte Carlo and now it's got nearly 3 years worth of child-muck ground into it.

That colour is popping, rotten primer grey.

Nice apart from that tbf.

I'd have any colour, I'm not bothered. Just concerned about the functional bits.

All it needs is a tow bar and it's ready to go to work.

Congratulations player,you have now completed STW.
Please upload your score so that it may be added in the hall of fame 😉👍🤣

It's called meteor grey I think.  It's not one I like but it's not me looking to buy it.   The windows have been AM tinted as they are far darker than the skoda tinted glass.

windows have been AM tinted as they are far darker than the skoda tinted glass

I think you could spec at additional cost a 65% tint on rear glass on Octavia estates- you still can on Golf estates, but no mention in advert?

I was wondering about the windows. I knew they were dark but I've never been in a standard one.

Our second Octavia is 9 years old and just over 100k miles, and we can't see a viable alternative to getting a third later this year frankly.

What is it with test drives at the moment? We got a Fiesta last year (our mistake, should have got another Fabia) and were only allowed to do a short loop round the industrial estate. Bollocks to that again, I'll go somewhere else.

dawdle and dillywally until someone else buys it.

Well, everyone on this forum is either buying or selling an Octavia so it might be one of us thanks to your promo! 😆

The main hurdle is the grief of selling the Yeti. It used to be a really smart Monte Carlo and now it’s got nearly 3 years worth of child-muck ground into it.

Stealth ad? Is the clutch high because it's knackered or because they're all like that..?

We looked at an Octavia a few years back and thought they were a bit basic / crap

You could get a Merc e class estate of similar vintage, different league of car for similar money

Stealth ad? Is the clutch high because it’s knackered or because they’re all like that..?

It hasn't changed in 3 years so I'm sure it's not broken yet. It's not that bad but I've got knackered knees and the traffic in Sheffield is diabolical so it really triggers it. It's fine out of town.

We looked at an Octavia a few years back and thought they were a bit basic / crap

But I'm a bit basic and crap and I've got cheap taste. I'd feel out of place in a Mercedes.

All it needs is a tow bar and it’s ready to go to work.

@sharkattack  Worth checking the VIN plate before you buy.

Looking at them a while back it seems there are some models and years of Octavia that needed factory prep for a tow bar.

If you don't have that prep then you cannot tow with it and may not be able to fit a towbar at all for a bike rack (I'm not sure of the legality of the latter / whether a fitter would fit one).  I believe it shows up on the VIN plate as the second mass number being a series of dashes or a zero.

People have been caught out by this - there's a few caravan/Skoda forum threads on this.

I think it's the smaller engined variants that are problematic but do make sure as I think that car might be in the affected age range.

You could get a Merc e class estate of similar vintage, different league of car for similar money

Yeah, the Merc for all it's leather and bling appearance will creak like crazy, be less reliable and a lot more to fix. But yeah, you can pop a Merc keyring into the glass bowl when needed for bragging rights.

I'm a Fabia owner, even more plasticity than an Octavia. It's great.

I liked mine.

Navigation on an SD card isn't uncommon, but I don't recall mine having one.  Updates were done via USB.  You can snag this from Skoda's website, you just need the VIN.  Different head units may be different.

I think.

FunkyDunc
We looked at an Octavia a few years back and thought they were a bit basic / crap

You could get a Merc e class estate of similar vintage, different league of car for similar money

That wasn't my experience when I got my Leon in 2020, although I was comparing with the C class, not E. The Octavia, Leon and Ceed estates were similar prices, while the Mercedes I looked at would have been 4 years older at least with around 50-70k more miles on the clock. And at that age they didn't come with Android Auto which was pretty high on my priority list. Nice car though.

A4 Avant was the same and definitely not worth the extra cost or same cost but extra age & mileage.

being picky you're just missing the 2020 facelift

Missing the 2020 facelift proberbly means you miss out on the clusterf*ck that is the Infotainment system so that's a plus. Today mine decided I had crashed, phoned the emergency services, cancelled the call, left me without sounds or satnav then said I needed to go to a Skoda garage to sort it. Problem went away next time I drove it. This sort of shit happens all the time and is very common with that generation of VAG cars.

My Octavia is an older one. The satnav requires a specific Skoda SD card to work. You can download the maps from the Skoda website onto it, just need the VIN.

So if buying from the dealer ensure it has the correct SD card and satnav is working, as they cost a few bob. Briskoda will have more details.

A4 Avant was the same and definitely not worth the extra cost or same cost but extra age & mileage.

I went out to buy an Octavia, came home with an A4. They were very similar money for equivalent (4wd) spec and the Audi is nicer inside. I wouldn’t pay thousands more, but I was actually surprised by the lack of a price difference, so do have a look around. OTOH there are a few components on the Audi that are more expensive to replace. Touchwood it’s not needed much so far. I like it. Skodas feel more wholesome though.

Using the STW standard unit of car values - how many Porsche's does it cost?

That's the same price we paid for our '22 plate Focus ST Estate in February with around 16K on the clock.Ive noticed Skoda's fetch more money maybe they are better?🤔

That wasn’t my experience when I got my Leon in 2020,

Nor mine when I got my Superb. I was looking at A4s and 3 Serieses and ended up with a Superb because for the same money I could get a newer and lower mileage one.

The main hurdle is the grief of selling the Yeti. It used to be a really smart Monte Carlo and now it’s got nearly 3 years worth of child-muck ground into it.

Looking for a yeti, child-muck not an issue. Could you let me know some more details?

Buy the vRS, great cars. Miss my petrol estate that was written off by a van a few years ago. Way more practical than the 335d I replaced it with.

Yes 'privacy glass' was/is an option (it wasn't much cost, £200 or less iirc) but the factory privacy glass still isn't that dark.  That car has had them tinted after market to be that dark. Which is fine,  I'm just pointing out.

I'm also wondering if it's been lowered.  Only ever so slightly.   It's not uncommon for owners to lower them about 20mm as lots felt the wheels didn't fill the arches so for pure aesthetics they'll spend a couple of grand on upgraded shocks and springs.  Bilstein (?) Shocks were the briskoda favourite.

I think I'm going off to look at a low mileage 66 plate one after lunch.  Only major downside Vs newer ones seems to be Xenons Vs LEDs.

Oh and why in the name of all that is fetid and disgusting did someone at Skoda give them mechanical handbrakes when the equivalent Passats had electronic parking brakes and auto hold for at least 5 years before pretty much across the board.

Oh and why in the name of all that is fetid and disgusting did someone at Skoda give them mechanical handbrakes when the equivalent Passats had electronic parking brakes and auto hold for at least 5 years before pretty much across the board.

Auto? Never need to use the handbrake 🙂

Manual handbrakes mean the calipers will be cheaper to replace when they inevitably seize around 80k miles.

VAG LED headlights are excellent.

I’d have any colour, I’m not bothered. Just concerned about the functional bits.

There seem to be plenty around for that price - a nice red one at carshop in derby for example:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202405079460980

I used carshop last time I bought a car - you don't get much except a decent price, but the trade-in for my old car was "OK" - pretty much what motorway and webuyancar offered me before they'd had a look. Mine had quite a lot of cosmetic issues (scratched up bumper and paint) so I was happy with what they offered.

Looking for a yeti, child-muck not an issue. Could you let me know some more details?

I'm going to try and dig the paperwork out today and if I can cobble together an advert I'll link it here.

There seem to be plenty around for that price – a nice red one at carshop in derby for example:

You're right there are loads to choose from and I'm sure that 6 months ago low mileage facelift cars were all over 20k so I think prices are coming down.

Small point but that red one is missing the fancy dashboard.  I'd like to get the sunroof as well but getting one with all the right options is hard at this price.

Good advice about the tow bar. I've been reading that if the VIN number doesn't state a weight then it's illegal to fit one. I'll have to confirm that if we want it.

Small point but that red one is missing the fancy dashboard.

Is it a digital dash like a screen with no physical dials, like my Golf’s got? If so it does look nice but it wouldn’t be a deal breaker, it doesn’t do anything extra than the non digital version. (Unless it shows Google maps on CarPlay, but I think it’s only the Audis that do that at the age you’re looking at).

At least they remembered to paint the red one 😁

Oh and why in the name of all that is fetid and disgusting did someone at Skoda give them mechanical handbrakes when the equivalent Passats had electronic parking brakes and auto hold for at least 5 years before pretty much across the board.

My 19 Octavia has mechanical handbrake - but if I’m on the foot brake on a hill it will still auto hold.

Hill hold assist.  It closes the caliper using the abs system I believe,  releases after 3 secs,  works well

why in the name of all that is fetid and disgusting did someone at Skoda give them mechanical handbrakes when the equivalent Passats had electronic parking brakes

Look at the price of a Passat vs an Octavia.

I'd love a VRS but I'm precluded from ownership due to the high risk of carjacking / home intrusion-to-seize keys in my wonderful city.

I know two people who have experienced the latter for this vehicle. One of them wasn't even the owner - the car was parked adjacent to his house!

I’d love a VRS but I’m precluded from ownership due to the high risk of carjacking / home intrusion-to-seize keys in my wonderful city.

A mate of mine was the founder of Briskoda.  All his mates had vRS Octys, he bought the 4x4 and it ate the vRS for breakfast.  It was something crackers like 300bhp by the time he'd finished with it.

You can get a 280hp AWD Superb which is about a second quicker 0-60 than the Octavia VRS and just looks like a Superb from the outside so no real increase in theft risk over a 1.6TDi

I checked back, it peaked at 222, I thought it was higher.

Look at the price of a Passat vs an Octavia.

Fair point, well made. 🙂

I may be about to become a stw cliché too. It's by far my favourite of the cars I've poked around in so far.  Usefully sized boot, decent rear leg room, I like the interior and exterior - it's neither too shouty nor too bland. It's the Spitting Image Liberal Democrat of estates.

Boot division for the dog and a couple of holdalls needs thought as half a boot won't be enough.

OP I quite like the "primer" finish FWIW.

Just double-check the boot.  Some variations had weird pokey-outy sides which made them not quite as spacious as they might first appear.  Though I've not looked at the new facelift models.

Having owned all of them at various times, with a blank canvas today choosing between an Octavia and a Passat I'd probably have a Mondeo.  Whilst dreaming sluttily of a Cavalier, my ex-girlfriend who got away.

My last car was an 18 plate Passat. It was a great car with an enormous boot. If I was buying again I’d try and get the 1.5 rather than the 1.4, and DSG rather than manual. But this was from new and in warranty.

I'm considering a Passat - looks like it's possible to fold only the middle seat down, so might be possible to get a bike in upside down with wheels off down the middle... could be useful for carrying four people and four bikes with a 3 bike towbar mounted carrier!

looks like it’s possible to fold only the middle seat down, so might be possible to get a bike in upside down with wheels off down the middle

I had a B7 (previous gen) Passat I think you'll lack height enough height for an MTB.

I’d probably have a Mondeo

Me too.  But Ford have stopped making them and there's precious little choice of good 2.0 diesel autos especially the later 8 speed torque converter ones.

Boot division for the dog and a couple of holdalls needs thought as half a boot won’t be enough.

@garage_dweller if getting a pano-roofed one the standard dog grate doesn't allow for the separator that gives you more than 50% of the boot, so check that out first. I only know as I have one and end up giving the dog all the boot.

@gray Certainly possible to get a kids’ 26er between two rear seat passengers.

Cool, thanks. Would be exactly that initially. My wife's bikes are 27.5 so even if the kids eventually moved on to bigger then a 27.5 is the max requirement for smallest bike. (I'm ignoring the possibility of us all moving to 29ers for now!)

I’ve got a Minoura thing that the forks clamp to and takes two bikes. Regularly took the girls out with the 20+40 side of the seat down, their bikes loaded in lengthways in the boot and mine on the roof and latterly they were both on 26ers. Only thing was that we were getting to a point where I’d have had to drop the bigger child’s seatpost to stop the saddle fouling the roof lining.

Look at the price of a Passat vs an Octavia.

not apples to apples, surely? the octavia is based on the golf platform if i understand correctly?

I think technically they’re both based on MQB.

My Leon had a navigation database error when I test drove it.
I think they take the disc or SD card out that sits in the glovebox unit and put it in when sold to stop it being nicked.

That’s correct, when I was working arrivals at SFS/Cazoo, every car that came in had to be thoroughly checked and and SD cards installed had to be removed, photographed and noted on the check sheet, put into an envelope with car details written on it and stapled closed, then put into a steel cash box. A replacement was about £250-300.

FunkyDunc
We looked at an Octavia a few years back and thought they were a bit basic / crap

You could get a Merc e class estate of similar vintage, different league of car for similar money

If you say so. Not all Mercs are equal. I had to drive an 18 month old A-Class to Cribbs Causeway from Westbury to have the windscreen replaced and the sensor suite recalibrated, about an hour’s drive. By 1/3 of the way there, I’d have happily dumped the bloody thing in Bath Spa station car park and caught the train back; honest to God, I’ve sat on wooden church pews that were more comfortable! Wretched thing, I can’t tell you how glad I was to get it back to work, after an hour’s drive each way. The two and a half hours I spent in the Maccy D’s nearby was more comfortable.

why in the name of all that is fetid and disgusting did someone at Skoda give them mechanical handbrakes when the equivalent Passats had electronic parking brakes

I deliberately chose my current car because it has a mechanical handbrake, along with actual knobs for important controls, and hill hold because it’s got a semi-auto ‘box. I drove hundreds of different cars over the space of about six years - at no point did I ever say to myself “what I really want is a car with an electric handbrake”!

I think technically they’re both based on MQB.

well that's cleared things up. 🙂

Back in the day, the Octavia was indeed based on a Golf so although the boot was bigger, the wheelbase, controls, general feel was more akin to a Golf than, say, a Passat.

Whereas now VW use a single platform for loads of cars. MQB is VAG's modular platform that can be made into various sizes of cars, so even though they're all on the same platform, that's pretty meaningless since they can turn an MQB starting point into almost any size of car.

I just checked. A3 / Q2 / Leon / TT / Golf / Passat / Touran / Octavia / Superb all now use MQB.

So the argument of "Yeah but it's really just a Golf" is even less relevant now than it ever was.

69 plate?

Niiiice.

I see there's a new Passat out that's wagon only (in the UK).

Nice motor OP.

Ive had a couple of Octavia VRS now: A brand new 2016 plate estate 220bhp petrol and also a 2018 68 plate hatch 245bhp.

Both were fantastic cars and I'd have another in a heart beat.

Currently driving a 2015 Passat B8 and whilst its a nice car its not as sporty as the VRS.

I dont think the rear windows on the one you are looking at have been tinted even more, just think its a trick of the light.

I'd be snapping that up.

@cougar

Just double-check the boot.  Some variations had weird pokey-outy sides which made them not quite as spacious as they might first appear.  Though I’ve not looked at the new facelift models.

VRS and potentially other larger engined variants use Independent Rear Suspension (and thus can also utilise Haldex AWD, although annoyingly not in the UK with petrol).

Lower spec / smaller engine variants, use a twist beam rear axle. There are dramatic differences into how much this encroaches into the load space.

If you say so. Not all Mercs are equal. I had to drive an 18 month old A-Class to Cribbs Causeway from Westbury to have the windscreen replaced and the sensor suite recalibrated, about an hour’s drive. By 1/3 of the way there, I’d have happily dumped the bloody thing in Bath Spa station car park

@CountZero

Cheapo Renault powered transverse engined front drive trash. Enterprise have a bunch of them and I keep getting them as rentals. I prefer the current shape Corolla.  C class is pushing it, E class is a proper Mercedes though. Have always been, and still are, superb.

gray
I’m considering a Passat – looks like it’s possible to fold only the middle seat down

Yep you can, it's called something like a 'ski hatch'. As mentioned though the roof height on the passat isn't very tall so whether you could slide a smallish bike in their I'm not sure. I'm a little disapointed with the load space in mine tbh, Previous car was  a lot smaller but I could fit a 27.5" bike in with both wheels on. Can't do that in the Passat, the combination of low roofline, 750mm bars etc make it impossible without removing one wheel. With one wheel off there is loads of room though as lengthways there is plenty of space. Do wonder how the boot layout in the Octavia compares but looking at photos it looks similar.

It's not really a ski hatch, the seat splits 40/20/40 (though the 20 bit hinges off one of the 40 sections). Current A4 is the same, but the Toyota I had before had an actual ski hatch which was great for accessing the boot from the back seat but wasn't much good for anything else.

Ah fair enough, you can either pull part of the seat down to access the boot from the rear seats, or like you said fold down the middle 20% completely.

When an electronic parking brake fails (as it did on my dads A5) then it costs approx 10x that of a manual one to fix.

Oh and why in the name of all that is fetid and disgusting did someone at Skoda give them mechanical handbrakes when the equivalent Passats

Passat is not the equivalent. Golf estate is but the argument still holds, ours is 10 with auto handbrake and they had been fitted for a while before that. Only downside is no handbrake turns :D.

Well… we had a Golf estate and a Passat estate at the same time, and wife's mate had an Octavia estate. The Octavia had a much bigger load area than the Golf, but less rear legroom than the Passat.

As a total aside, when we punted on the Passat bootliner, it seemed to fit a B7 estate pretty much exactly.

Please tell me your partner's name is katy

I can't comment on the latest models, but my mkII was a proper Friday afternoon special and ticked almost every box of stuff that could go wrong. It was bad enough that I'm still shy about and VAG car, although I'm sure they could only possibly get better than my experience.

Up vote for using Briskoda for help and advice.

@kormoran ?

@kormoran ?

Check out the number plate on page 1...

I'm still waiting to hear from the dealer about the VIN number. If we can't fit a tow bar it's a deal breaker. I spent loads of money on a BuzzRack and I intend to use it!

Anyway, the Yeti is up for sale...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296446773530

Maybe not great to use the wifes eBay account with zero history, zero feedback or anything, but I couldn't face all the FB messages from marketplace so we'll see how we get on.

If anyone knows anyone in Sheffield who could turn off my airbag light that would be massively appreciated!

Please tell me your partner’s name is katy

Sorry to disappoint you but no it isn't.

I know you say the airbag light is only on because you’d unplugged the switch (and I believe you, because you’re on here!) I wouldn’t spend £7.5k on something with the airbag light on.

Get on a Skoda (or other VAG) FB group and find someone to switch it off for you.

know you say the airbag light is only on because you’d unplugged the switch (and I believe you, because you’re on here!) I wouldn’t spend £7.5k on something with the airbag light on.

+1  even spending the 100 quid at Skoda would open up a large market of people that are just scrolling on thinking what else can't this seller be bothered fixing.

I’m still waiting to hear from the dealer about the VIN number. If we can’t fit a tow bar it’s a deal breaker. I spent loads of money on a BuzzRack and I intend to use it!

Hold on. There's a difference between not being rated to tow and fitting a towbar.

I have a (supermini) car that cannot legally tow a trailer ( none of the models made or it's derivatives can tow)  but they produce and I can (legally) fit a tow bar exclusively for fitting a bike rack.

Avenue worth exploring if it's just for a bike rack.

The airbag light is a major annoyance as I didn't realise that disconnecting and reconnecting the switch in the glovebox is enough to trigger it. I'll get it sorted if I can but I wanted the advert up because it's taken me months to finally get around to it.

When an electronic parking brake fails (as it did on my dads A5) then

When my Passat electronic parking brake failed, I was second in the queue leaving a North Sea ferry and couldn't move.  How I laughed.

I triggered the airbag light on my VW when swapping the stereo and turning the ignition on to check all was good before reassembling the dash.  Turns out a dash light fault logs an error code!

I cleared it with a £17 OBD 2 dongle and a free app, no need for a dealer, too about 30 seconds.

Dongle : Veepeak Mini Bluetooth OBD II Code Reader from Amazon

I have seen them on eBay for a tenner, with mixed reviews.  I was time limited so went on recommendation and it worked for me.

App - I think it was DTC Fault Memory Erase for VAG on Android. Other OS may be available...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bluetooth.vagerasedtcall&hl=en&gl=US

If you're staying VAG a decent code reader/resetter is well worth it. Think mine was 60€, bought purely to reset an airbag light after I ****ted a connector under the passenger's seat.

And a real, mechanical handbrake? Sign me up. Her Macan has an electric one and it's a hateful thing, occasionally pulling itself on when it thinks it should, rather than when I tell it to. If I could rip it out and put a lever in, I'd do it tomorrow.

Definitely on the list. I was wondering if the Foxwell ones were any good as I live right next to Halfords and have a trade card. It would come in handy in the future.

I've already got a Bluetooth one and I've tried multiple apps and haven't found the airbag fault.

Just had a cash offer on the Yeti. It's low but not out of the question. Can't accept it on the first day though so we'll wait a week at least.