Currently Interested In Perchasing a Cupra R!

[Al_G]

Hi There,

I’m currently looking to purchase a used Leon Cupra R (roughly 1 year old) however before I plan on going for a test drive I was hoping that you could provide some useful information in relation to SEAT and the Cupra R.

I currently live in Manchester and work in Chester (MBNA) - 80 mile round trip but I car share so I do 280miles (max) per week. I currently drive a 2002 mk5 Fiesta Zetec-S which I pay a fortune to insure due to it being modified. As a result I’m looking to trade in the Fiesta as it doesn’t cope well with motorway speeds. I have looked at purchasing a CTR to replace the Fiesta but I'm extremely keen on the Leon as I appreciate that for 'value for money' the Leon cannot be beaten. I have been reviewing the used car listing at Seat Oldham, Seat Warrington and Seat Crewe and by the looks of things they have a few Cupra R’s for me to test drive. Before I do go though I have a few concerns which I am hoping that you will be able to put straight:

1) Depreciation looks to be extremely steep on Cupra R's - Is this due to their high running costs?
2) Is it likely that the Cupra R will depreciate much more over the next few years (I'm a little concerned that a 13k car will soon change into a 4k car within 1 year of ownership)?
3) I have read many horror stories about the reliability of the Cupra R and quality of service from Seat dealerships - Is this really the case?
4) How often (miles) are the Cupra R's service intervals?
5) How much does the Cupra R cost (in terms of everyday ownership) in comparison to the CTR and Focus RS?
6) Are VW really looking to sell Seat? If this did happen would Seat become the next Rover?

Now I guess you are reading the questions above and think that I might be a scrooge ? Fortunately this is not the case, however, this will be the first proper performance car (25 years old with 5 years NCB) that I have ever owned and don’t want to have to sell it as a result of unexpected running costs (I take home roughly 25k).

I hope that you will be able to take the time to answer my questions. I am extremely keen to take the plunge and purchase the car that I have loved since they were first released.

Thanks
Alex Gamble

P.S. I think the site is brill!!!

[andycupra]

i cant answer too much,

but the depreciation side i think has taken a hit recently due to the new leon coming out. this resulted in a bit of a loss in value.
Then seat decided to put the body kit on nearly all the last run of cars...
Then they also sold off last few around 1,500 cheaper.

so i think depreciation wise they have done a fair bit and that will calm down.

running costs, id imagine driving reasonably sensibly 280 mile sounds like a tankfull. 50-52 litres.
tyres, 7-10k, decent set after ringing around alot will be about £115 a corner. eg goodyear f1s which last little longer than stock tyres as wel as being a better tyre.

If you are comparing ANY car to a honda, it will seem to unreliable, but they are not an unreliable car per say. they have there bits that go wrong but not usually anythig too major.

i think servicing is 10,000 intervals
at a guess id say the leon may cost more than the civic to run, but not by much, and about the same as the focus.

insurance, dont expect it to be cheap, esp given your area. not meaning to be rude.
on that though, lots of civics are getting nicked or jacked in manchester.

are VW selling.. well there are rumours... but i dont think it will be another rover.
its anyones guess, but i think not personally*


*i will not be held accountable for my personal opinions!

[andycupra]

ps

if you looking as a 1 year old... would a brand brand new leon TDI with cupra R body kit be tempting? £13,500 on seat site at mo. well was other day.
if you are looking to save some £'s and they are quicker than you think...just a thought

[AlphaMale]

Originally Posted by andycupra

but the depreciation side i think has taken a hit recently due to the new leon coming out. this resulted in a bit of a loss in value.
Then seat decided to put the body kit on nearly all the last run of cars...
Then they also sold off last few around 1,500 cheaper.

so i think depreciation wise they have done a fair bit and that will calm down.

More like £2,500!

Glad I got rid on my LCR when I did ... I will buy another one soon though (maybe this time next year).

Alpha

[225]

SEE BELOW IN QUOTED BIT

Originally Posted by Al_G

Hi There,

1) Depreciation looks to be extremely steep on Cupra R's - Is this due to their high running costs?

Brand new ones are now pretty cheap but as expected due to the new Leon depreciation has got worse, I would look for a 1 year old or less example and it wont be so bad. Don't forget you get an awful lot of car for 13k

2) Is it likely that the Cupra R will depreciate much more over the next few years (I'm a little concerned that a 13k car will soon change into a 4k car within 1 year of ownership)?

See above, not that bad!

3) I have read many horror stories about the reliability of the Cupra R and quality of service from Seat dealerships - Is this really the case?

Reliabilty is as at least as good as any I would say, don't forget its a VAG car so quaility is pretty high and you will only hear about things going wrong not that everything is fine on the vast majority of cars


4) How often (miles) are the Cupra R's service intervals?

Every 10k but with major services at 20k if irememebr correctly about £120 a pop

5) How much does the Cupra R cost (in terms of everyday ownership) in comparison to the CTR and Focus RS?

ABout the same I would say, probably cheaper than the RS marginally. If you drive it normally with the odd balt then things last well and mpg is not too bad. Rag it everywhere then obviously tyres, brakes and petrol costs will be high.


6) Are VW really looking to sell Seat? If this did happen would Seat become the next Rover?

THere are a couple of articles on this on the main site but I really wouldn't worry.

Currently you can get fantastic deals on new and nearly new LCRs and with £500 you can get a true 260bhp/280lb torque car! Well equiped and pretty refined, which if your commuting is what you want IMO plus you don't have to rev the nuts off it to get anywhere.

[Ant FR]

just a thought here, but you say the insurance on your zetec-s is crippling due to it being modded, but surely the LCR is gonna be worse as such a high group anyway.

Here's one why not look at a TDi Cupra 150, ok its not the LCr, but image wise not much in it, performance, real world is prety close, economy is AMAZING and i would have thought insurance would be a lot better. plus for 13500 you can have a brand new one that looks like an LCR? it also has the lowest depreciation of any of the Leons. In 2 yrs time it will be worth more than an LCR when you come to sell on.

just a thought.

you still can;t really compare the LCR to the Focus RS, the RS really is a bit special due to low volume, and i think the LCR is a lot more refined than the RS. plus last thing you want to do is get one of those if depreciation is an issue as thy have lost 2k in the last month let alone last year ( honeymoon is over for the RS at last)

and before you poo poo th idea of the TDi, go test drive one, i assure you it will make your Zetec - s feel silly slow.

[AlphaMale]

Originally Posted by Al_G

1) Depreciation looks to be extremely steep on Cupra R's - Is this due to their high running costs?

Nope. I had a revo'd LCR and I was getting around 24mpg. Yes the tyres are about £100+ per corner but you will pay this on any 17 / 18 inch tyre. The only thing I wasn't looking forward to replacing where the Brembo disks, but I don't think these really break the bank when you compare them to other disks of a similar size. Insurance isn't too bad ... Unlike E.g. and Evo you have low MPG / High running costs (parts & servicing) / High insurance.

I had a LCR for about 6/8 months and it lost a fair wack! It had about 42k miles on the clock when I had it and I put another 5k on it and it lost almost a grand.

Originally Posted by Al_G

2) Is it likely that the Cupra R will depreciate much more over the next few years (I'm a little concerned that a 13k car will soon change into a 4k car within 1 year of ownership)?

Nah it's never gonna drop that much, I sold my car for two reasons and one of them was I could see with a new Leon coming out the current mk1 was going to fall as with all models. Sadly the risiduals are not like a VW or an Audi and sometimes not as good as a Skoda either

Sadly SEAT placed the Cupra R bodykit on TDi's etc making the LCR less exclusive really. And then to really kick the current owners when they were down they dropped the NEW price down £2,500!!!!

I sold my 48k 02 plate LCR in Flash red for a little over £10.5k with Revo and SPS3 6 months ago and I imagine that would be worth around £9k now .

Originally Posted by Al_G

3) I have read many horror stories about the reliability of the Cupra R and quality of service from Seat dealerships - Is this really the case?]

SEAT are sometimes ran by a bunch of monkys but you get this with a few dealers. Quality of my car was second to none. The only thing I wasn't happy about was the fact that my Brembo caliper went pink (common fault). There were no creaks in the dash or fading on the paint. So I would buy that car back instantly now it has taken the brunt of the depreciation.

Originally Posted by Al_G

4) How often (miles) are the Cupra R's service intervals?]

Same as normal every 10k or 12 months.

Originally Posted by Al_G

5) How much does the Cupra R cost (in terms of everyday ownership) in comparison to the CTR and Focus RS?]

Hmmm ... not run those two. But residuals are better on a RS so if you took that into account you may be better off with an RS if you can afford the initial outlay. But now the Focus ST is on the scene who knows how much the RS will drop?!?

Originally Posted by Al_G

6) Are VW really looking to sell Seat? If this did happen would Seat become the next Rover? ]

I can't see the whole Rover thing happening very often TBH, Didn't hear much about SEAT going under the hammer so ... No Comment.

Originally Posted by Al_G

Now I guess you are reading the questions above and think that I might be a scrooge ? Fortunately this is not the case, however, this will be the first proper performance car (25 years old with 5 years NCB) that I have ever owned and don’t want to have to sell it as a result of unexpected running costs (I take home roughly 25k). ]

Scrooge ... Nahh if your going to spend £13k then you want to be sure what you are buying. I saved for ages for a Evo 5 and when I did have the money I looked into running costs and the fact it goes through Brembo's every year and a clutch, then pads and oil and just about anything that can wear out over time/miles and servicing the AYC.

Originally Posted by Al_G

I hope that you will be able to take the time to answer my questions. I am extremely keen to take the plunge and purchase the car that I have loved since they were first released.]

Take the Plunge - Make sure you get a good deal though.

Originally Posted by Al_G

Thanks
Alex Gamble

P.S. I think the site is brill!!!

It's very good and with quite a few members you'll get answers at any time of the day or night (like 00:45 ).

The LCR is a good car and with Revo you'll have a CTR killer! (Up to you if you tell the insurance but 'apperently' it's undetactable ... so if you crash remember to switch if off with an SPS Switch)

Hope this helps

Andy

[AlphaMale]

Ant FR is right there.

TDi's will have better risiduals but they cost more new ... SEAT sell them from £16,200 now £13,700. The LCR was £18,055 new and is now £15,555

If your struggling with insurance then the LCR might not be for you, I was 23 with 4 years NCB & 0 Points and paid about £680 FC protected NC.

I pay £550 on the Ibiza Cupra

The 1.9TDi is one of the best TDi's out there and with £400+VAT you can have 190bhp and 290lb/ft from Revo and I can assure you it'll feel as quick as any GTi. You'll get 45mpg on every run even if you rag it I am sure (sister has 130 Sport Ibiza and is getting about 50/55mpg average out of every tank load).

If you do 14k per year to/from work and another 4k for fun you'll spend a hell of a lot of money on juice!!! with a TDi you'll probably save a packet over 2 years!

The LCR would take a beating too if you clock up those types of miles. A girl on here picked up a 52 / 03 plate LCR with 7k on the clcok for just £10k the other day

Take a look at the TDi and get back with some more questions

Alpha

[AlphaMale]

Running cost on a LCR over 15 months:

Had my LCR 15 months and so far I have had to shell out

10k Service - £180
2 New Front Tyres - £260
20k Service - £155
Brake Fluid Change - £40
New Front Brembo Pads - £175
2 New Front Tyres - £260
============================
Total £1065

I don't drive like a nutter either. Is it worth it? You Bet!!!

The thread Rokerlad started is here.

[Ruddmeister]

Originally Posted by Al_G

I currently live in Manchester and work in Chester (MBNA) - 80 mile round trip but I car share so I do 280miles (max) per week.


3) I have read many horror stories about the reliability of the Cupra R and quality of service from Seat dealerships - Is this really the case?

Get the car serviced outside the dealer network, one of the best in the country is in Manchester (Awesome Gti) it won't invalidate your warranty and you will get good service.....maybe save some money too

If you want bomb proof depreciation the Focus RS is number 1, however the Leon is better than the Civic......Just use the fact that £11k is good money for a 2003 LCR as a benchmark to calculate what yours would be worth....I think the heavy dpreciation has passed though (my opinion)

[chriz1]

what insurance company you with

[AKcupraR]

I live in Manchester and work in Lytham St Annes (90 mile round trip) I used to work in Chester funnily enough at HBOS.. I pay £900 with unlimted milage on my LCR through Adrain Flux (cheapest I found).. Seat Oldham are very good I bought the car there and get it serviced there.

As for running costs as I do ALLOT of motorway miles a full tank can get be about 380 miles and an average 34MPG.. front tyres have lasted me about 15k and I've only just changed the front brake discs and pads on 40k miles.. bought discs and pads from this site which saved me LOADS..

Originally Posted by andycupra

ps

if you looking as a 1 year old... would a brand brand new leon TDI with cupra R body kit be tempting? £13,500 on seat site at mo. well was other day.
if you are looking to save some £'s and they are quicker than you think...just a thought

derv's quick? never

[Ruddmeister]

Originally Posted by flashbsd

derv's quick? never

True, good point

[Al_G]

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

My plan is to keep the car for 2-3 years and have a bit of fun before selling up and buying a house. I will then probably get something a cheaper as the monthly mortgage repayments will cripple me!

Even with 5 years NCB and being 25 I pay £1250 to insure a modified Zetec-S (Norwich Union). This was the cheapest quote I could get by far as most companies won't insure a modified car for where I live. Believe it or not I can get insured on a LCR for under £1000 (Direct line, Tesco etc) at the same address. Obviously I will have to keep the car standard but I have no plans to modify it as I'm sure it will be fast enough from the start as well as looking lovely in standard trim!

Although the Diesel sounds tempting I don't think I can bring my self to buying one as I've always been a petrol head at heart - I will consider taking one for a test drive though (please don't let this offend you).

My future plans are to find a job in Manchester. If this happens I will be able to use public transport to and from work. I could then use the car at weekend as a toy which I'm guessing will save me lots of money on petrol and mileage.

TBH I'm really keen on getting one. My major concern is that something mechanical may go wrong straight after I have bought it (e.g. Turbo) which will be extremely expensive to fix. My friend used to have a Fiat 20V Turbo and that used to be quite unreliable (it did however have 80k on the clock) and extremely expensive to fix as the parts that went wrong were pretty major. The cam belt change was also very expensive at £700+. Just out of interest how does the non chipped and chipped Cupra R compare to the Fiat in terms of performance?

I think at the end of the day I'm just a little concerned as I've never been in a position to own a powerful (Turbo) more expensive car. I think I need to stop being such a nancy and bite the bullet...

Cheers
Alex

[Matt Cupra R]

Hi

I'm picking up my new LCR tomorrow. The reasons I have bought the car may also answer your questions.

Currently (and don't hold this against me) I have a BMW 330i. In one year it has lost £4k, so I wanted a car that I would not lose so much on in future. The LCR is quoted as retaining over 50% of it's value after 3 years, which is much higher than many other cars and is backed up by cars for sale currently.

As for reliability, you will be buying a car that still has 2 years warrentee. I wanted a car I could keep for 3 years and not worry if it broke down, so now I can look forward to being covered for 3 years or 36k.

Also, after reading this forum, the running costs look tiny in comparison to both my last car and the ones you mention.

If you are at Seat in Crewe on Saturday, I may see you there.

Matt

[paul h]

there not that expensive to insure.i had a golf GTTDI before the LCR and the insurance was £510 a year.my LCR costs me £460 a year with 4 years ncb thats with first alternative

[Ant FR]

Originally Posted by Matt Cupra R

Hi

I'm picking up my new LCR tomorrow. The reasons I have bought the car may also answer your questions.

Currently (and don't hold this against me) I have a BMW 330i. In one year it has lost £4k, so I wanted a car that I would not lose so much on in future. The LCR is quoted as retaining over 50% of it's value after 3 years, which is much higher than many other cars and is backed up by cars for sale currently.

As for reliability, you will be buying a car that still has 2 years warrentee. I wanted a car I could keep for 3 years and not worry if it broke down, so now I can look forward to being covered for 3 years or 36k.

Also, after reading this forum, the running costs look tiny in comparison to both my last car and the ones you mention.

If you are at Seat in Crewe on Saturday, I may see you there.

Matt

In your opinion, which was faster the 330i or the Leon, out of interest

[cornish]

Hi,

Just found this forum and read the post with interest.

Depreciation is the main killer with all cars and take it from me you will NEVER get back what you think your car is worth when trade-in comes.

The magazines, books, web etc. say your car is worth a figure, when you change it is always less.

VW's lose money (had 3 of them), MINI's lose money and prestige cars like BMW's really lose money and the warranty on a used one doesn't cover ANYTHING that breaks.....

I have just ordered a new Platinum LCR after having a BMW 3series for a year and was looking at the Focus ST. I also looked at the Astra and Golf GTI but I thought that they were overpriced. Then came the LCR, £15,500 for a brand new car (+extra for paint) that has 225 horses, five doors etc. etc. When I priced up the Focus the ST2 5 door was £19.5K, to be honest I don't think I will get an extra £4k of car.

So now I wait another week for mine to be delivered and when it comes to trade in the car should be worth 50% (ish) of it's value which will be based on the original £18k and not the discounted one - hopefully.....

cheers

cornish

[AlphaMale]

Well ... Welcome to SCN Ali_G , Matt Cupra R & cornish.

Cornish - I don't think anybody here is dull enough to think that any car will keep their value. 99% of cars will depreciate.

And as you both said it should be worth 50% of it's value after 3 years.

My car had a reciept for £18k+ when new and I sold it 2 months after the warrenty run out (3 years 3 months old) for £10,400 with about 1k of mods (that you never get your money back on). But I am sure I could have got £10k without the Revo & SPS3 (Avg miles and in top condition!).

£18.5k new sold for £10k 3 years later ... I'd say about 55% of the value is held

Alpha