Which of these two cars should I buy?

[Carishues]

I’m hoping to buy one of these two Škoda Octavias to replace my very old and very small city car. I need a nice spacious family car but the sports car has come up and is a good price so I am considering it albeit don’t actively have a reason to have a sports model over a normal car. We mostly do very short drives within the city and occasional longer trips ie 1-2 hours each way. One year we only did 300 miles 😂 but I want to do more UK family trips especially now I’ve bought a lovely tent.

Would really value your thoughts! Especially as it was you guys who convinced me to go for a Škoda Octavia!!

www.adgsevenoaks.co.uk/used/cars/skoda/octavia/vrs-tfsi-dsg-5 2012 VRS 2.0 litres, some kind of strange automatic dual-clutch

www.harbourgarage.com/used-car-details/used-skoda-octavia-se-tsi-14-suv-met-oyster-manual-petrol/id-28771/ 2016 1.4 TSI

Both have similar mileage and are similarly priced. Service history sounds fine and no concerns based on reviewing the MOT history. General preference is for manual since that’s what we’re used to. Also concerned about higher pollution of the sports model but even with the extra family trips we will still be very low car users.

Thank you!!

I would go with the second one as a family car, it's newer and good mileage.
Not my favourite colour, but I think it look better than the 1st IMO

The red one has fewer miles on the clock, but is 4 years older.

Is the oyster one an ex company car? How many owners does each one have, and what is the service history?

The oyster will be more fuel efficient.

Just check the prices versus others online. The second seems expensive I think

First one is a bit overpriced, second one is a good price. First has had 3 owners, second has had 2. I am leaning towards the second but just wondering if I’m missing something great about having a well-kitted out sporty car 🤔

@Imissmoominmama the previous owner of the oyster was a private individual but the dealer doesn’t know about the first owner.

Service history - 1st car has been serviced most years but not all due to low mileage in those years (eg a few thousand). Second one, seems like it’s had 2 and will have a third prior to sale so is one short? Will enquire about that.

I’d run a mile from either of these, no way I’d want to own a DSG gearbox out of warranty and the 1.4 TSI is notorious as being a piece of shit. Buy something decent like a Honda.

@Elai1978 I’ve not seen anything bad about the 1.4 TSI, what have you heard?

On a separate note, how do I get myself taken seriously with dealers? As a petite Asian woman I find these male car types tend to write me off. I’m actually a pretty successful lawyer but obviously they will be going off (prejudiced?) first impressions and I always feel I’m on the back foot 😭

Loads of problems, mainly around high oil consumption. As I said, they’re notorious.

LOL

Both are shit cars. I wouldnt piss on either if they were on fire.

As @Elai1978 says, loads of DSG issues on dogshit VW-brand cars.

And @Elai1978 is right - get a Honda of some sort.

You could get a HR-V for that sort of money, or a bombproof Civic.

That first Octavia is a fucking joke - nearly 9K for a car thats almost a decade old?! 🤦‍♂️😂🤦‍♂️🤣

Not sure why the previous poster felt the need to be so offensive but I see they have form for such posts.

Anyway I bought the oyster one and am delighted!

Oh good, I was going to say buy the newer/higher milage one and you have

Enjoy your new car and lots of family trips.

Enjoy OP!
fwiw automatic gearboxes are ruinously expensive to replace if they go wrong and you don't need to worry about that as you went for the manual.
4 years old/50k on the clock should give you years of happy motoring

Thanks @Pacif1cDogwood and @ChiaraRimini! We are going camping next weekend and will be needing that spacious boot!

I don’t have an opinion really about either, but what is that red light on the dashboard of the second car?

@Carishues

Not sure why the previous poster felt the need to be so offensive but I see they have form for such posts.

Anyway I bought the oyster one and am delighted!

So you start a thread asking for peoples thoughts. All good.

Then when you get an opinion that you somehow find offensive, you complain?

If you read what I wrote, the viewpoints were levelled at the cars in question. Nothing more, nothing less.

No drama. Best of luck with your new / used purchase 👍

@TheFaerieQueene

I don’t have an opinion really about either, but what is that red light on the dashboard of the second car?

The handbrake light

Keep an eye on the oil level!

If I see a lot of strong assertions, supported by nothing but swear words, I just tune it out as noise.