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VW Golf Estate or Skoda Octavia Estate - High Mileage - tarifa

Hello,

I have narrowed down my search for a Diesel Estate to the models VW Golf Estate or Skoda Octavia Estate both are 1.9D engines for £2000 (year 2002)

Both are high mileage at 160,000 now is this going to cause me problems? Electrical faults etc..

Both have full service history and seemed to have been well looked after. How long will these cars last for? Is there problem with oil changes or things like that?

My other question is does towing a caravan/horse put excessive strain on engines? The reason I ask is alot of these diesel estates have tow bars.

Many thanks for your replies.

Edited by Avant on 02/09/2010 at 20:07

VW Golf Estate or Skoda Okatavia Estate - High Mileage - tarifa

Typo it is A GOLF Estate and not a Polo.

Cheers.

(Now corrected for you)

Edited by Avant on 02/09/2010 at 20:08

VW Golf Estate or Skoda Okatavia Estate - High Mileage - Paul G1pdc

its my thought that gearbox and mainly clutch get more ware by towing...

but you need to find out what they've been towing...ie

a twin axle caravan or a halfords £199 trailer with garden waste to the tip...

who can really say how much life is left in a 160k car....

i personally would sink the 2k into a lower milage petrol car....easier to fix and cheaper to fix when something goes wrong...

chap at work is just selling his Golf 03 plate 1.6 petrol hes expecting £2500 with 80k on the clock and FSH.

VW Golf Estate or Skoda Okatavia Estate - High Mileage - madf

You will need spare monies for repairs. Given you intend towing, if a caravan , then assume water pump and radiator will be worn and car may overheat..

And the clutch may go. And the brakes will need thorough checking...

VW Golf Estate or Skoda Octavia Estate - High Mileage - mrnikko

Always a risk at this mileage I think the petrol v diesel argument is irrelevant at this mileage, I had a Volvo run to over 200,000 miles used as a towcar and apart from routine stuff was o.k.Also I ran a Renault Laguna Diesel to 150,000 miles also as a towcar and again no real problems apart from routine service stuff.

As previous posts have pointed out try to find-out what the cars have towed in the past most caravanners are aware these days of having the right combination of car and caravan as to not put too much strain on the car.

Of the two I would look at the Skoda for one good reason, look at how many high mileage Skodas are still being used as taxis at starship mileages.

Edited by Avant on 02/09/2010 at 20:07

VW Golf Estate or Skoda Octavia Estate - High Mileage - Avant

There will be more Octavias around: Golf estates are quite rare, possibly because the Octavia with the same mechanicals has always been cheaper. Also consider a VW Passat - all three have the durable, non-DPF, 1.9 TDI engine.

But at this mileage condition is more important than make or model, or as Mrnikko says, than petrol v diesel.