We had a 2007 one which we bought 3 years old and ran for 5 years until it crapped its engine following an oil pump drive failure at 120k in January his year. It had a full main dealer history on a long life schedule.
If you have a Google around the VAG forums you’ll find this is a pretty common problem with the PD 140 – note the 8V SOHC version (BMM engine code) in the Scout is different to that in other Octavias.
If it’s a later model which has the CR engine then you may be OK but we also had other issues during our ownership: DPF failed after we had it for 2 weeks but we bought from a main dealer so that was sorted under warranty. ABS module also went kaput but again this is a well documented problem and I was able to argue for Skoda to sort it under goodwill despite it being out of warranty by that point.
It also had a few problems with exhaust sensors early on which were mostly sorted gratis by Skoda assist roadside.
DPF light used to come on fairly regularly and need a 5 or 10 minute run at 2500 rpm to clear it. If you do a lot of short journeys this could be a major annoyance.
Economy not too bad but nowhere near as good as a standard Octavia due to the extra weight of the Haldex 4×4 system. We averaged 45 mpg which we could stretch to low 50s on a run.
On a positive note, it was great to drive, had loads of space and was hugely capable on rough ground and in snow (we live on Dartmoor). The 4×4 system was brilliant and made the car feel really sure footed. I still miss it to be honest and I’d still consider buying a CR or petrol version at some point.
They are quite sought after, so you’ll pay a premium over the standard Octavia – I was able to sell ours on without a working engine for about 60% of the list price.
