[Cesc]

A few members who have read my long-term ownership report of the 1.9TDI Octy L&K will recollect that I always buy pre-owned cars and usually change cars around every 2 years.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...11111-kms.html

The TDI Octy had stayed with me for longer than that and my brother-in-law had been pestering me for quite a while for that car. He had an Accord and with his daily commute crossing 60kms per day he needed a diesel. The Octy was staying in the family so I parted with it. With no pre-set budget and car in mind I experimented with a lot of cars in the next 3-4 months. Major among those were a 1.9 TDI PD AT Laura (2007 model) and a 220 CDI AT Mercedes C class (2006 model). I didn't like those cars much as they were no fun to drive at all. Plus the AT experience also was underwhelming.

The buying experience:

Then one fine Sunday morning I got a call from a friend telling me about a 2006 Octy VRS with 86k on the odo that had come up for sale. The car had zero accidents and full service history. Front suspension and tyres had been recently replaced. His employer (a rich fellow with a number of cars) was the seller and he had called used car dealers for valuation of his car. I immediately told him to seek first right on the car. Then both of us headed to his employer's home. There were already 2 dealers (Mahindra First Choice and another local dealer) looking at the car when we got there. I knew dealers would quote atrocious prices so I was quite happy to take a back seat and watch the fun. 5-10 minutes later they had their valuations out and they were even below what i was expecting them to be. MFC came up with 2L and the local dealer quoted 2.1L. I was expecting them to quote around 2.5L. The owner told them that he will get back to them.

I chatted up both the guys while they were leaving and they quoted high petrol prices and Skoda for their low valuations. I said 'but this is a VRS' to which they replied that only a few people know and appreciate that. I asked them how much will they quote to a buyer. They replied around 3.25L and look to close the deal around 2.9L. Why the high margins I asked. 'Car might be stuck with us for a long while' was the reply so they wanted to buy at a 'safe' price.

Anyway it was now my turn to sample the car. I took a good look and apart from some scratches, a replaced windshield and a ding on passenger rear door, all looked fine. I took a small test drive just to ensure that there were no major problems with it. Frankly at the 'bargain' price it was available at, I was only looking at any major issues to not buy it. Only impending costs were the mats needed replacement and the car was due a service. Satisfied with the car I quoted 2.25L. The owner said yes and within a minute the deal was closed. I could scarcely believe it. I had landed a 150bhp motor in very good condition at 2.25L! That represented a saving of at least 50k on my optimistic price. It was half the price I had parted my 1.9TDI for!



The driving expereience:

The next few weeks were to tell me how much bang for buck I had really got. I loved driving the 1.9TDI in the turbo zone and the 1.8T's turbo zone driving experience completely overshadows the former. The car pulls well at all rpms in pretty much all gears (except for small lags in higher gears at very low rpms) but above 2k rpm it really is on song. When the turbo kicks in in cold temperatures it almost feels as if something really strong is pulling the car from ahead. The 1.8T motor combined with winters in this part of the world has made a spirited driver out of me.

The ride quality is managable (its neither comfortable nor harsh) and I would put it down to the 16 inch rims and Gurgaon's pathetic (but improving!) roads. I had been driving the 1.9TDI so there isn't much difference in suspension set up (or so I believe) but ride quality difference between the two is quite noticeable.

Gearbox feels as if it is the same one used in 1.9TDI. All the more better because I really loved the GB on the 1.9TDI. It is slick and smooth with precise slots. Steering is neither hard nor soft. Haven't noticed anything different on steering dynamics as compared to the diesel Octy. Braking is par for the course. It does not quite 'bite' as the Laura AT but it is up to the mark. Not bad and not great. I haven't pushed it in corners so really can't comment on rollover and stuff like that but quite a few guys have installed anti-roll bars on this car and feel that it makes a world of difference. For an average Joe like me - the standard package works absolutely fine. And a pretty nice package it is if you ask me.

The owning experience:

The car has a very nice stance if you look at it from the front. I have got quite used to the Octy look and feel. The 1.9TDI looked more elegant, this one looks more smart and at least from the front, more sharp. The alloys complement the car very well and in a silver coloured VRS blend in with the overall image very well. The interior on the 1.9 TDI L&K blows the VRS's out of the water but I ain't complaining (though wifey is). Thankfully the VRS comes with xenons and sunroof - two of our best loved features in our previous Octy. The most missed are steering mounted controls, armrest and lights on the visor mirror. The previous two are missed by me. Who misses the next one is anybody's guess.

Anyway those are the smaller details. Owning this car is all about its driving experience and I must admit I love taking it out every time. Except when it goes to the petrol pump!

I have been variously called as an idiot, a lunatic and nonsensical in various gatherings because I shifted from a diesel to a petrol in these times. I have a monthly running of around 1300kms so the fuel bills had to mount. I am spending more than twice on fuel as compared to the 1.9TDI. The diesel Octy was very frugal for a car of its size and my average fuel costs were around 3.5-4k per month. Now they have crossed 8k per month. The FE I have got in 3 months of ownership is 11.5kpl. On highways at moderate speeds once can expect an FE of 16kpl without AC. In city with AC on expect somewhere around 8-9kpl. One the whole average fuel costs are Rs6/km. You feel the bite at the pump but the drive more than makes up for the bite. I am not regreting my decision one bit petrol prices be damned.


What you will like:

The driving experience
Turbo on a petrol
Smooth and sure slotting gears
Decent equipment - sunroof and xenons
Huge boot
Smart looking front and alloys

What you will not like:

Ride quality. I know this is a VRS and I wasn't expecting a very comfortable ride but still I wish it was better.
Somewhat boring and plain interiors
Cramped rear seat
Missing armrest
High running costs of a petrol
Ill-famed Skoda A**



So there it is then. If you are looking for something fun to drive and are on a budget then find yourself a used VRS pronto. Petrol prices and the Skoda badge has killed their resale value so be sure to bargain hard. For the amount of money I have spent on my horses (Rs 1500 apiece) they surely don't come cheaper than that! Needless to say a liberal use of this smiley is called for

[girishglg]

Geez thats a bargain of a rocket you have got there. Fantastic value for such a well specked car on the BHP front. One of my friends was looking for a good specimen to replace his ageing Viva CRDi but finally landed up with a Fluidic Verna since these beauties are such rare specimens.

Congrats again and have a blast!

[shashank.nk]

At first when i read the title of your thread, I was confused how can a VRS come cheap, but man that price is a shocker! Almost a steal i'd say. Wish we could find such deals down south.

Congrats on yet another Octy wish you many safe miles in your car !

[suhaas307]

This reinforces my idea on buying a a cheap used petrol car vis a vis a brand new diesel car. Think about it. A new diesel car that offers similar levels of space, features, equipment, ride & handling, build-quality, etc (let's say, a Vento / Rapid) would cost you around 10 lakhs. So instead of buying a new diesel car, a fun petrol car @ the fraction of the $$$ is definitely worth a look.

- Petrol cars depreciate much faster than diesel cars.
- Petrol cars now cost much lesser than they used to in the used-car market.
- Sure, maintenance is going to be expensive, but I'm sure the money you've saved would then come in handy.

I'm sure D-BHPian vikram_d would testify!

Cesc,

You're one lucky bloke! These cars are an absolute bargain. Yes, I know it might be expensive to maintain in the long run but you'd have saved quite a lot by spending less than 3 lakhs on buying it in the first place! So you've got money left over for all the maintenance bills and petrol!

So effectively, you'd spend the same amount you otherwise would on a diesel car! Unless someone is averse to buying used cars, I see no reason why anyone would let such an opportunity pass!

Hearty congratulations! Looking forward to further updates! *winks*

[Motoringlover]

Congrats Cesc - Welcome to the league.

RS is a great machine and is a very rare car which pleases the soul, may be its a bit of an over shot, i have had the car for a little less than a year and she has never failed to please me, my ownership review is documented in the link attached

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-2005-vrs.html

Please let me know if i can be of any help.

All the very best.

Cheers - ML.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

A VRS for 2.25 Lakhs? My good god. This is one of my favourites and what a deal you have got. Congratulations..

Someday would want to own this car just for the fun it can offer..

Wish you many happy and trouble free KMs with her..

CHEERS..

[arup.misra]

Mate, that's one heck of a deal. You paid for a Nano and got a VRS.

With the packet you saved you could be zooming off to exotic destinations with a ear to ear grin. Heck you don't even need the MID.

Enjoy mate!!! Hope you stay far away from S*A*S*S

[iSpoke]

Congrats Cesc, you have got a really nice deal. It couldn't have been better at this price tag, as far as "driving fun" factor is involved.
The quote you got it is of the order of some moderate (but repairable!) damage costs!

Originally Posted by Cesc

I chatted up both the guys while they were leaving and they quoted high petrol prices and Skoda for their low valuations. I said 'but this is a VRS' to which they replied that only a few people know and appreciate that.

yeah, this is really true. Its generalized mentality for all the pre-owned car market owners that they hardly care about the variant (be it VRS!), and you got lucky there. We are witnessing a changing time in India, but a friend of mine (after selling his M800) keeps telling me that a typical secondhand car buyer, usually in lack of funds just dreams about having a car. He isn't much bothered about the variants. You can't sell him a top-variant at bit higher price.

[TRANSAM]

Congratulations, thats a cracker of a deal, do post some interior pics, the recent ads i came across on the net, had the vrs over a lac+ than what you got her for. drive safe, are you planning any mods??

[Omtoatom]

This is arguably the best time to buy a fun petrol. Wow the Octy VRS is almost the stuff of legends now and to land one at that price is phenomenal!

Cesc, congratulations on a sweet deal for an even sweeter car. As many BHPians have reiterated in this thread, the money you've managed to put back in your pocket more than offsets the extra bills on maintenance and fuel. So go ahead and let the 150 horses gallop far and wide!

Hey I have to say this mate: hats off to your decision of buying used cars and scouting for a bargain there as opposed to buying new ones that are far less capable. Whatever you say, there is always risk in buying a used car. To be able to look beyond that and toward bigger glory is a rare quality. Not many I know would reason like that. Very commendable mate.

Congrats again on a fab car, and wish you miles and miles of smiles with the VRS.

[Swanand Inamdar]

2.25 Lacs??
Even a humble AStar AT costs double that, here in Pune.

Cheap thrills indeed. And what a lovely thrill, at that!
I absolutely love the Octi RS. Wish Skoda made more of these.

Wishing you a safe ownership with this one too, mate.
How about some interior pics too?

[Cesc]

Thanks to all of you guys. With so omany good wishes I am bound to have a happy ownership experience

Almost everybody has commented on the price and I will be the first to admit that this price was an absolute shock for me as well. My optimistic price was 2.75L and I was hoping to pay around 3L for the car. EVERY single time I drive this car I can't fathom how did I get hold of this car for so less. Maybe my stars were very favourable.

Even if I had paid a lac or even more for the car I would still say its absolutely worth it.

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Wish we could find such deals down south.

Congrats on yet another Octy wish you many safe miles in your car !

Thanks. I absolutely sympathasize with folks in Bangalore. I lived there for 3 years so I do know how much of a pain high car prices are. I like the sound of 'yet another Octy'.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

So instead of buying a new diesel car, a fun petrol car @ the fraction of the $$$ is definitely worth a look.

- Sure, maintenance is going to be expensive, but I'm sure the money you've saved would then come in handy.

Absolutely agree. these are great times to be buying a used petrol car. Specially used petrol sedans. I don't think maintenance is on the expensive side (unless you meant to compare new vs used). Used petrol sedans depreciate close to 50% in 3 years in todays market. The guy I bought the VRS from had paid 13.5L for the car in 2006 so I got it for less than 20% of that price. Thats crazy.

A few days ago I bought a 2006 Honda City GXI with 72k on the odo for my sis for 2L. The first thing that came to my mind was that it is nowhere near VRS in terms of anything but the resale values are similar.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Cesc,

You're one lucky bloke! These cars are an absolute bargain. Yes, I know it might be expensive to maintain in the long run but you'd have saved quite a lot by spending less than 3 lakhs on buying it in the first place! So you've got money left over for all the maintenance bills and petrol!

So effectively, you'd spend the same amount you otherwise would on a diesel car! Unless someone is averse to buying used cars, I see no reason why anyone would let such an opportunity pass!

Hearty congratulations! Looking forward to further updates! *winks*

Thanks Suhaas. So I sold my Octy for 4.5L and have saved 2.25L. I am burning 50k a year more in fuel so even if I keep this car for 2 years and sell it off, I would have saved more than a lakh. That's excluding lower depreciation cost and interest on capital. Bring both into the picture and I am looking at a saving of close to 2 lakh over a 2 year period.

Re. further updates - I am not sitting on the savings mate. I plan to spend sensible money on future updates. Since this is my daily drive reliability is top priority for me. But somewhere down the line I do plan to mod it.

Originally Posted by Motoringlover

Congrats Cesc - Welcome to the league.

RS is a great machine and is a very rare car which pleases the soul, may be its a bit of an over shot, i have had the car for a little less than a year and she has never failed to please me, my ownership review is documented in the link attached

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-2005-vrs.html

Please let me know if i can be of any help.

All the very best.

Cheers - ML.

Thanks ML. I did go through your and v&v's thread long before buying the car. Excellent work on your thread. I also have absolutely fallen in love with the car. It is a very pleasing drive. Thanks as well for the help offer. will reach out if needed.

Originally Posted by arup.misra

Mate, that's one heck of a deal. You paid for a Nano and got a VRS.
Enjoy mate!!! Hope you stay far away from S*A*S*S

Have always stayed away from them. The A** workshop is a stones throw away from my house but I avoid them as much as I can.

Originally Posted by TRANSAM

Congratulations, thats a cracker of a deal, do post some interior pics, the recent ads i came across on the net, had the vrs over a lac+ than what you got her for. drive safe, are you planning any mods??

Thanks. I should have something to share on the mods front in next 6 months. Till then let me enjoy it as it is.

Originally Posted by Omtoatom

Hey I have to say this mate: hats off to your decision of buying used cars and scouting for a bargain there as opposed to buying new ones that are far less capable. Whatever you say, there is always risk in buying a used car. To be able to look beyond that and toward bigger glory is a rare quality. Not many I know would reason like that. Very commendable mate.

Congrats again on a fab car, and wish you miles and miles of smiles with the VRS.

Thanks buddy. So far it has worked out for me. It has been effort intensive but I have been able to enjoy a lot many cars that I would not have been able to if I was buying new. Substantial savings on the depreciation front as well.

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

2.25 Lacs??
Even a humble AStar AT costs double that, here in Pune.

Cheap thrills indeed. And what a lovely thrill, at that!
I absolutely love the Octi RS. Wish Skoda made more of these.

Wishing you a safe ownership with this one too, mate.
How about some interior pics too?

Thanks Swanand. Thats thrice the cost of your recent clutch and DMF change . Will definitely post some interior pics soon.

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by Cesc

I have been variously called as an idiot, a lunatic and nonsensical in various gatherings because I shifted from a diesel to a petrol in these times. .
.
.
I am not regreting my decision one bit petrol prices be damned.

Do not mind, but I'm carrying a print out of this one paragraph from your review to show my old man that there are people out there like ME.


Wish you many many kms of turbocharged motoring. The vRS has joined a league of extraordinary yet road cars for India. I only wish Skoda did pay some attention and clean their act on the A** part.

[Vikhyath]

Cesc,

I wondered for long how experienced used car buyers decide the right price to buy a car. Please enumerate the different aspects you look at while judging the "right" price to pay which is also acceptable to the seller.

Congrats on your new buy.

[Motoringlover]

Originally Posted by Cesc

thrice the cost of your recent clutch and DMF change . Will definitely post some interior pics soon.

Speaking of which - Have you looked at some VRS essentials, considering your mileage - Please check out Ajmat's thread on the essentials.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...les-heels.html

What about updates to the clutch and the essential timing belt.

Thanks - ML.