Deleted member 13907
D
With the pending arrival of another Wonka junior and the Leon due a change, it was time to take the step up to an Octavia VRS estate. I was always a fan of these cars and while I did explore various options (SUVs, etc.) I always kept coming back to these.
I had been looking on the various classifieds sites for some time and this particular one caught my eye a couple of months ago. It had all the spec I was looking for - under 30k miles, black pack, full leather with heated seats, Sat-Nav and flat-bottom steering wheel. To be honest, the reason it caught my eye was that it was basically the only one in the UK that had the exact spec I wanted. Unfortunately, after I enquired about it a few weeks ago, I was told it was sold.
I pushed on with selling my own car and when I felt I had a proper interested buyer, I checked over all the classifieds again and this one came up. I wasn't even going to bother enquiring about it, as I thought they were just using it to get enquiries, so they could steer potential buyers towards other cars they had in stock. But with nothing to lose, I made the enquiry anyway and was told the previous sale had fallen through (probably down to finance). The car was in England and I was also in England with work (although several hours away) but with snow, etc. I wasn't able to get up to see it, so as soon as I got the Leon sold I was on the blower to put a holding deposit down (after researching the car's history of course).
Anyway, I went across on Friday to pick it up from Derby and drove back through North Wales, before getting the boat to Dublin and up the motorway. The car has really impressed me. Unfortunately it wasn't presented to the standard I had expected (wee nooks and crannies in the interior hadn't been cleaned properly, silicone spray had been applied but not wiped off, etc) which did disappoint me, but at the same time I enjoy cleaning cars, so it just gives me a good excuse to give it a proper clean at the weekend.
A few dealer pictures for now:
The wheels look a bit silvery in the photo, but they're actually quite a dark anthracite colour. They were the one thing putting me off if I'm honest, as I thought I would need to get them painted black, but I'm really happy with the colour in the flesh. Wheels all look to have been recently refurbised and the tyres are pretty much new Michelin Pilot Sport 4s on all corners - I've been really impressed with the grip.
The car drives like a dream. Driving to Holyhead (mostly motorway, although a few stretches were down to 50 and I'd been warned about a lot of traffic cops on the North Wales Expressway) I just sat in Eco mode most of the time and was getting mid-50s mpg - it performs really well as a big comfy cruiser. But then on the way to work this morning, I enjoyed a bit of a blip and it just impresses so much. It's a big car, but it's surprisingly nimble. It's obviously not going to win a race along a twisty B-road, but at the same time it handles much better than I expected.
I have my new plates ready to fit as soon as I get the V5 through. Other plans are a good clean obviously, spray the hubs black (they're quite tatty looking) a good set of mats for the inside, then hopefully some more fun goodies.
A quick snap taken at the services in North Wales too - wheels look a bit better in this one:
I had been looking on the various classifieds sites for some time and this particular one caught my eye a couple of months ago. It had all the spec I was looking for - under 30k miles, black pack, full leather with heated seats, Sat-Nav and flat-bottom steering wheel. To be honest, the reason it caught my eye was that it was basically the only one in the UK that had the exact spec I wanted. Unfortunately, after I enquired about it a few weeks ago, I was told it was sold.
I pushed on with selling my own car and when I felt I had a proper interested buyer, I checked over all the classifieds again and this one came up. I wasn't even going to bother enquiring about it, as I thought they were just using it to get enquiries, so they could steer potential buyers towards other cars they had in stock. But with nothing to lose, I made the enquiry anyway and was told the previous sale had fallen through (probably down to finance). The car was in England and I was also in England with work (although several hours away) but with snow, etc. I wasn't able to get up to see it, so as soon as I got the Leon sold I was on the blower to put a holding deposit down (after researching the car's history of course).
Anyway, I went across on Friday to pick it up from Derby and drove back through North Wales, before getting the boat to Dublin and up the motorway. The car has really impressed me. Unfortunately it wasn't presented to the standard I had expected (wee nooks and crannies in the interior hadn't been cleaned properly, silicone spray had been applied but not wiped off, etc) which did disappoint me, but at the same time I enjoy cleaning cars, so it just gives me a good excuse to give it a proper clean at the weekend.
A few dealer pictures for now:
The wheels look a bit silvery in the photo, but they're actually quite a dark anthracite colour. They were the one thing putting me off if I'm honest, as I thought I would need to get them painted black, but I'm really happy with the colour in the flesh. Wheels all look to have been recently refurbised and the tyres are pretty much new Michelin Pilot Sport 4s on all corners - I've been really impressed with the grip.
The car drives like a dream. Driving to Holyhead (mostly motorway, although a few stretches were down to 50 and I'd been warned about a lot of traffic cops on the North Wales Expressway) I just sat in Eco mode most of the time and was getting mid-50s mpg - it performs really well as a big comfy cruiser. But then on the way to work this morning, I enjoyed a bit of a blip and it just impresses so much. It's a big car, but it's surprisingly nimble. It's obviously not going to win a race along a twisty B-road, but at the same time it handles much better than I expected.
I have my new plates ready to fit as soon as I get the V5 through. Other plans are a good clean obviously, spray the hubs black (they're quite tatty looking) a good set of mats for the inside, then hopefully some more fun goodies.
A quick snap taken at the services in North Wales too - wheels look a bit better in this one:
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