Team-BHP - Advice on buying a Used Skoda Superb (2nd-gen)

Congrats man. Good to see the thread helped you make a decision. Its a phenomenal car for the price. The car I shortlisted was unfortunately sold before I could make a call :Frustrati Now planning on keeping my Civic and going for a Harley 883 stupid:

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Originally Posted by novice (Post 3377435)

An update...

Finally succumbed to the temptation..closed the deal yesterday for a 2011 Superb Elegance TSi DSG with 28K Kms on the odo.

Took the car to Skoda service center for a through check-up. On my way to Skoda the car's rear was making huge noises, also the "check engine" and a "lamp malfunction" warning lights were on. Initially thought the suspension is broken and almost gave up on the car. But anyway took the car to the dealer. On inspection they found that the boot door was making loud noises. A missing MAF sensor coupler(don't know what it is) was behind "Check Engine" light. The car has LED rear lights, probably imported from abroad. According to the service advisor the difference in voltage level is causing the lamp malfunction light. He said both these warning lights are not serious problems. They fixed the boot noise and the boot door release switch that wasn't working. Also removed and refixed all boot and door rubber linings. They charged Rs.1100 for all the work.

The Service advisor gave clean-chit to the car, said it is "not bad" (I interpreted it as good :D) and recommended buying.

The return journey was very peaceful and also the roads were free of traffic. I could floor the pedal, it accelerated well and the DSG was super smooth except for the initial gear change which was slightly notchy. Is it normal with DSGs? I had earlier driven a Superb TSI DSG a long time back but only for a short distance. Have been driving Manual cars for a long time and a die-hard fan of manual transmissions. My left foot and hand felt very uncomfortable throughout the drive, they just didn't know what to do. Hope they would get used to the saga of auto gearboxes.

I couldn't resist posting this bit...while the Superb is a very high tech modern car with quality materials. But my current car, Mondeo, is leagues ahead when it comes to the driver appeal - be it the steering and brake pedal feedback, well sorted out suspension that offers good ride and an exceptional handling and stiffer chassis. Superb's suspension setup comes out as hard for broken city roads. And the instant throttle responses of the Duratec, Superb takes a second to respond to pedal inputs in lower gears. And also the build quality, I believe the Mondeo is better put together though the quality of materials may not match the Superb. None of Mondeo's panels squeak or rattle ever after 12 years and 110K Kms.

Decision to buy the Superb wasn't a difficult one to make but guess the decision to sell the Mondeo would be a tough one.

I thank everyone who took time to answer my queries. I would most certainly bug some of the Superb owners on the forum :)

PS: In one of my earlier posts mentioned that the DSG was replaced few months back. But the service advisor confirmed that only clutches were replaced, car is still running on original gearbox. Also queried the service advisor about prices of usual consumables like shock absorbers, lower arms, brake discs, pads etc.,. Most of them are atleast 40 to 50% cheaper than that of the Ford's.

I think it is a fairly good deal, given that you have a Skoda mechanic in your arsenal as well. I too have a fairly decent "Friendly Neighborhood Garage". I had my eyes on a 2011 Skoda Superb Diesel AT, driven for about 46000 km's which was non accidental and had an excellent service history. Given that I am a fairly huge Superb fan, *drool drool*, I was more or less sold on the idea. But, and this one is a BIG BUT, when I checked with my FNG, the mechanic said that parts are expensive and I should go for it only if the owner was well known. He also asked me to be ready to plonk in a lac rupees per annum in case of trouble, which reluctantly made me look the other way. Of course, the horror stories on Team-BHP further solidified my conviction. If you were to go with your heart, then it's a big YES, but if it's mind over soul, then you have the verdict. The biggest issue with Skoda is and remains the after sales service, coupled with the fact that parts cost a bomb. 2011 was when the Skoda DSG issues were fixed (as far as I know). Any car prior to that should be rather carefully examined and then bought, and you will need to expect the unexpected even after the most careful scrutiny.

We're in the market for a used Superb, so looking at a 2011-2012 model with less than 30k on odo preferably.

As of now,came across a May 2012 Superb Elegance MT with owner expecting between 13-14 lakhs, all others in the market (bangalore) are 2010 tsi and expected price in the range of 11-12 lakhs.

The usage pattern will be 90% city(chauffeur driven) with barely 10% in the highway. I've read that DSG failure is mainly on cars which are driven within the city,so is it worth taking the risk with DSG or should I go with a 2012 superb albeit MT ?

We're not in a hurry to buy the car and can wait 2-3 months but considering our usage,which makes more sense MT or DSG ?

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Originally Posted by IshaanIan (Post 3441485)

Skoda experts might be the ones to comment. However, what exactly are your requirements? Just a comfortable car to be chauffeured around in? If it is just that, then don't bother worrying about the DSG and buy a manual, or better still, dump the idea of a Superb and try getting hold of a Nissan Teana :D

Usage:

A comfortable car to be driven around in. Our usage split between city and highway is 90:10 and more often than not,dad would be driven around. If at all driver takes leave,dad prefers driving the Swift to work.
The plan is to have this car for 3-4 years,after which we'll upgrade.
We've had a Skoda for the last 7 years and we can live with their service
We drive 6-7k a year so makes no sense to get a diesel.
Used Laura doesn't feel much of an upgrade from a Octavia mk1,especially at the rear. Jetta is good but the used one's are quite expensive.

Nissan Teana would be very difficult to source in, especially in the used car market :)

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Originally Posted by shashank.nk (Post 3441470)

2012 Superb DSGs should be more reliable, at least that's what I've heard. Inside the city the driver will have to be instructed to put the gearbox in N if the car is stopped for more than 5-10 seconds, since keeping the brake pressed in D heats up the gearbox, and heat is the main cause of failure of mechatronics.

Of course for absolute and total peace of mind, an MT is better. Then again your driver could mess up the clutch which will be a reasonable big expense, maybe more than a DSG failure since that will be under warranty.

I'm sure there will be some very low run Superbs, and those are the ones which will make the most sense to buy, even at a slight premium.

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Originally Posted by akshay1234 (Post 3441750)

Yes 2012 superb do seem to have less issues,but as of now i'm not finding many such cars on sale. I'll wait and see if a few more cars come up on sale in the next few months.

The car I was considering has no warranty and if it has,will Skoda give extended warranty to the 2nd owner too ? I have my doubts on this.

I'm also looking for a low-run Superb,let me see if something good comes up for sale in the next few months.

PS: An acquaintance is selling his 2011 L&K Laura with 41k on the odo,car seems to be in good condition overall but asking price is 14L,which is a tad bit high. Is it worth considering ? I usage doesn't warrant a diesel but since this is from a known source i'm thinking its worth giving a thought.

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Originally Posted by shashank.nk (Post 3441888)

PS: An acquaintance is selling his 2011 L&K Laura with 41k on the odo,car seems to be in good condition overall but asking price is 14L,which is a tad bit high. Is it worth considering ? I usage doesn't warrant a diesel but since this is from a known source i'm thinking its worth giving a thought.

From the rear seat perspective, Laura is not that great, though it is far better than the Octy Mk1. Tall passengers will feel the lack of underthigh support. The seat back cushions are hard, as is the norm with most Euro cars. I would rate the overall rear seat comfort as 'average'.

If you are not getting Superbs in the market, why not look as used Accords and Camrys? Even the Corolla has a great back seat. Luxury petrol cars are usually highly discounted in the used car market. I don't see any justification in paying a huge premium for a diesel car when your running is low.

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Originally Posted by Santoshbhat (Post 3443217)

Tall passengers will feel the lack of underthigh support. I would rate the overall rear seat comfort as 'average'.

No one's above 5'7" in the family so I think we'll be fine in the Laura. The problem is, to us it doesn't feel like much of an upgrade over the existing Octavia and the L&K models seems to command a healthy premium over the elegance DSG,like 2L+ premium.
The other worry is, its already been discontinued,so does it make sense to spend 13-14L on such a car ? If we're to keep it for 3 years or more there may be spares,resale issues later on.

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If you are not getting Superbs in the market, why not look as used Accords and Camrys? Even the Corolla has a great back seat. Luxury petrol cars are usually highly discounted in the used car market.

I considered all the cars mentioned above,most strongly the Corolla. However there's something I forgot to mention earlier on. On the highways its usually me or dad driving and after having got used to euro cars' ride,braking,stability and handling on the highway both of us will find it very hard to give up on all this for reliability alone.

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I don't see any justification in paying a huge premium for a diesel car when your running is low.

I started of with the exact same thought,but i'm just confused if its worth the premium for the additional reliability alone. If I get a Superb DSG with warranty nothing like it,if not I may have to shell out close to 2L to get the DSG repaired.

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Originally Posted by shashank.nk (Post 3441888)

Extended warranty has to be taken up at the time of buying, so doubt the second owner can avail of it. But if the car already has extended warranty then it is applicable to the second owner too.

Yup keep an eye on the market, when you see a good car, run and get it.

The L&K is a great car, very well loaded with features. It has pretty much the same features as the Superb minus the bi xenon and the sunroof. It has a 12 speaker music system against the Superbs 8 speakers, and even has heated seats which the Superb misses out on.

The back seat isn't as good as the Superb, but for the height of your family members it will be just fine.

I'm pretty sure Skoda does DSG failures under goodwill warranty even if the car itself is out of warranty.

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Originally Posted by akshay1234 (Post 3443297)

The L&K is a great car, very well loaded with features.

Yes. I would've bought it without thinking twice if it was in production. If I spend 13-14L on a Laura today,i'll be the 2nd owner and doubt if it'll be easy to find buyers for this car 3-4 yeas from now when the buyer will be 3rd owner.
If at all we go the diesel way, 2012 Jetta HL at a lakh or so premium make sense. I'll lose out on features and may be DSG also.

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I'm pretty sure Skoda does DSG failures under goodwill warranty even if the car itself is out of warranty.

True but most of the cases seem to be first owners. I doubt Skoda will extend the same courtesy to a 2nd owner. Anyway, I'll have a chat with the service head at my dealer on this.

Hi Shashank,

Any update on your purchase?

Well, I recently went ahead and got myself a mid 2011 MT 1.8TSI Petrol. The car had 34k on the odo and was in great condition, both interior and exterior.

I am the third owner of the car, which translated in me getting a good deal. The car was serviced and handed over to me for 9.3L. I got the 3M treatment on the exterior as well as the interiors done to the car, and now its almost as good as new!! (Great job by the 3M guys, expensive (approx 11k), but highly recommended).

I also got the tyres changed to Michelin Primacy and have driven over 2500kms in less than 5 days out of sheer excitement :)

I am in love with the car! The rev happy petrol engine is a gem, and the handling is outstanding!

Cheers!

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Originally Posted by Bhushanrulz (Post 3570380)

Hahaha, what on EARTH are you doing driving 500kms a day in MUMBAI!? :uncontrol lol: