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Hi Tony,

No, no such car exists. They all, when a problem occurs, need a trip to a diagnostic rig. Of the three you’ve mentioned though, the Octavia is by far the best, and yes even better than the Jetta with which it shares its mechanical bits and pieces.

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Hi, it's a little difficult to come up with a solid value for the vRS model as there just aren't that many on the ground here, but a reasonable valuation seem to be between €14,000 and 16,000 and you can knock off about €1,000 to get what you'll be offered as a trade-in from a dealer. Sorry we can't be more precise than that.

Let us know how you get on

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Hi Kevin,

The first piece of advice we'd give is that, if you're not experienced in changing many different types of oil filters, don't do it. There are several things that could go wrong and cause engine damage.

Many oil filters are best accessed from under the car. Be prepared for oil dripping down from it once you loosen it, even if you have already drained the engine oil...

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Hi Geoff,

First thing we'd look at is the air flow meter. Try to get a known good one to swap and re-test.

Let us know how you get on.

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Hi Paul,

Yes, it's just been revealed (see our full news story here). There's a subtle bit of restyling going on, with new grille and lights at the front and new lights at the back. There aren't a huge number of mechanical changes on offer, but the 1.6 TDI Greenline model has seen its emissions drop to a very competitive 109g/km, so that will save a little on annual road tax. Inside, the range-topping Columbus infotainment system now comes with a 30GB hard drive for storing your music and podcasts. It goes on sale in Ireland in July, though we drive it next month (May).

As to which is better, Superb or Octavia? Phew, that's a toughie. The new Octavia is very, very impressive and well priced too, but I personally have a bit of a soft spot for the Superb, with its huge boot and rear seat space. To be honest, you wouldn't go wrong choosing either, but it's worth bearing in mind that we're only a couple of years away from an all-new Superb, which Skoda reckons is going to be competitive with the BMW 5 Series...

Hope that helps somewhat

Expert answer

Hi John,

The Skoda Superb or Octavia would have been our first suggestions. The Octavia hasn't quite as much rear legroom as the Superb, but it's still better than the Golf's - and the boot is huge. High mileages on diesel Skodas are nothing to worry about so long as it has a proper service history and is in good order. Taxi drivers regularly do hundreds of thousands of kilometres. Avoid high mileage DSG automatic gearboxes, but otherwise they are really robust. So long as the history and price are good I'd not worry about buying one with over 150,000 kilometres on the clock.

One last thing to consider: if you do less than 20,000 kilometres a year a petrol car may suit you better. They're generally cheaper to buy and better suited to low mileage use. They're also quieter!

Hope that helps, but do come back to us if you need more assistance and have a budget in mind so we can narrow down the search for you.

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Hi Colm,

Of the ones you’ve suggested, I’d say that the Octavia is the best bet, not least because a Mazda6 or Toyota Avenisis with a 1.8-litre engine is going to be at the very bottom of the range. Your budget should get you an Octavia with the 1.2 TSI turbo petrol engine (which is actually a better choice than a naturally aspirated 1.6 or 1.8) and probably with a 131 numberplate.

Yes, you might have to swallow a high-is mileage, but as long as you get one with a full service history, that shouldn’t be a major issue as the Octavia is a reliable car. Other models worth considering are the Toyota Corolla, VW Jetta, SEAT Exeo (if you can find one) and Honda Civic.

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Hi Thomas,

Well, we can’t predict how much a specific dealer will offer you against a specific car, but in general your 05 Octavia should be worth around €1,000 as a trade-in (depending on condition and history, of course) and your 2010 Combi 4x4 should be worth around €6-7,000.

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Hi Eoin,

The rear wiper is an easy one to start with as it's very common with this car. The wiring loom gets broken near the hinge for the hatchback so you'll need a good mechanic or auto electrician to fix that one, but it shouldn't cost a fortune to do.

It's trickier to assess your fogging-up problem from afar. It essentially means there is moisture in the car somewhere, though sometimes simply cleaning the inside of all the windows properly sorts this out. Other than that, avoid using recirculation of the interior air, do use the air conditioning if you have it and, if all else fails, consider leaving a dehumidifier running for a while in the cabin to take out moisture.

Hope that helps

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Hi John,

Yes, but at that age you’d want to be checking everything over very carefully and insisting on a full service history. That 1.4-litre engine is both ancient and rugged, but it’s also a bit underpowered (most have only 75hp) so keeping up with traffic can be an issue. No major common faults to report, but as I say with a car that old, check everything.