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Hi. I have just been told my 2010 Skoda octavia needs an engine rebuild. I bought it as a demonstrator and have looked after it with regular servicing that is recommended. It has done 140,000k but I have read that octavias generally do well over 200,00k. I have gone back to Skoda to see if there is anything they can do. What are your thoughts? If Skoda do not help, is it better to do the rebuild, replace with a lower km used engine or put the money towards a newer car? Thanks for your help

Hi there,
In general we've found that after about 10 years a vehicle has had its most useful life span and after that it would likely require ongoing maintenance and repairs. The thing with NZ is that we have one of the oldest fleets in the world with an average of at least 14.5 years- so we like to keep our vehicles going as long as we can and this dictates the expectation of how long a vehicle "should" last. Unless there is a recall on the engine, there may not be a lot that Skoda can offer. The car is potentially worth $3k as is, (I bought a 2011 Audi A4 with expired engine for around this), a used engine replacement could cost around $5k, and a rebuild $7-10k (or $18K new from Audi) and in going condition maybe $13K? So it could be borderline you could get your money back, or you might sell to someone who want's to do the work and save you the hassle?