Newbie, lusting over Cupra R

[Number86]

Hey chaps

Seems like a fairly busy forum. Always good news!
I've been considering a new car for a while as my 99 Hyundai coupe is feeling a bit tired now!

I was originally looking at an 2nd hand RX8 but I can't really justify that much expense at the minute, add apparantly dreadful alloys that corrode after a year, care needed of stop starts and fuel economy of a V8 no matter how you drive it puts the scares into me

So, the LCR looks like a good candidate for me.

I've browsed the forum a bit checked out some remapping threads etc.

I wanted to ask a couple of questions though. Apologies if it's been had before but I haven't seen them.

Reliability issues - Used examples I'm looking at seem to be averaging about 60k miles. I'll probably keep the car for a good 3 years. So I was wondering if anyones knows about any potential pitfals with this car once you're reaching the 100k mile mark? As I don't want to be stuck with massive repair bills a few years down the line!

Remapping - This holds massive appeal to me, as it's a huge increase for what you spend. Am I right in the udnerstanding it's around 500 for the remap plus 100 or so for associated bits (dump valve?) So I shouldn't be looking at anything over 700...
Oh, almost forgot. Will the insurance company be able to tell if it's been remapped or not. I heard this was a bit of a stealth mod...Alternatively in your experience what's the reaction from your insurance companies when you tell them of the mod?

Radio - While I'm no audiophile, I place importance in an good sound system in my car. I've seen threads which indicate it's fairly straight forward to add addtional power wires to the battery. This is great! Is it a ball ache to feed the wires through the rest of the car and the boot if I so wish?
Can I fit 6x9s in the Cupra, or are there better suggested alternatives? The head unit...From what I can see, it's not a problem to upgrade?

Anything else I should be aware of, or look out for when viewing LCR's up for sale?

Thanks ever so much for any advice.

Rubbish cars btw

 

[RobM]

Welcome to the forum

Reliability is as good as the way it's been treated. As with any car these days, if the car has been serviced well and treated with respect, you will sail into the 6 figure numbers without trouble. Obviously things like clutches, cambelts etc need to be changed as they are semi-consumable. But the important bits will last you well. Just ensure services are done correctly and on time and the car is properly warmed up and down with each journey and you'll be fine. For extra peace of mind, oil changes between services can really help things.

Remapping is a straight forward thing. £500 for the map (some are cheaper) gives you around 250-260bhp. A new DV is a must IMO as the standard one is prone to failure.
Technically, it is possible for your insurance company to see if the car has been remapped (a hex dump can be taken that shows various hints that this is the case). It's always worth declaring all modifications as these days, as I'm sure you know, insurance companys will do everything they possibly can to get out of paying! And if they refuse to pay out, you're left liable for ALL costs. That's the repair of your car, any other cars, any property, any personal injury claims, legal fees, hire cars etc etc etc. All of a sudden it doesn't seem worth hiding it really, does it?
Some insurance companys are better than others with things like this. My insurance company, Greenlight, will cover remaps on new policies for free or existing policies for free after a £25 admin charge.

I'll let others answer the bit about the stereo, as I've not gotten around to doing anything other than a head unit swap in mine yet One thing I will say though, is please for the love of petrol don't fit 6x9s into the Leon! They have no place in any ICE system if you enjoy 'music' over 'noise'

 

[mkm250680]

Welcome,
i bought my LCR in october after wanting one for ages it 03 with 54k on the clock and its still as tight as a ducks arse!!

if done a few minor mods myself in the ice dept.. added a JVC dvd player and removerble 7" monitor
got a custom 4" round s/s exhust all the way through from cat back
bailey D/V
also fitted a HID 6000k converstion kit
and fabia rear wiper
and not sure wether its beeb remapped cus it goes like F***!!!

 

[Number86]

Hey,

2 replies already. Awesome

I've ALWAYS wanted HIDs on my car, so that's another tempting mod (was just reading the HID FAQ - very handy!)

Rob, good news on the insurance! I was under the impression telling the insurance company would slap on hundereds of pounds. I mean, they sting you like a ******* for alloys and such, so I would of thought a significant power hike would be painful. 25 quid isn't worth worrying about though!

I kinda disagree about the 6x9s. While my car won't win any audio awards, I get 70% of the sound for 20% of the cost. £90 6x9s ported from previous cars. a 40quid maplin no name amp, and punchy £110 sub. All 6 years old swapped from car to car. The only purchase I made was 3 years ago for an alpine head unit, at about 300! I've heard vastly more expensive systems, with your huge 500w amps etc. While they sound better, it's not a massive difference and when you compare that Ive essentially paid peanuts for it, it's no contest!

6x9s give good all round performance if you're not going for an all out install (so are cheaper). Well that, and the coupe has 6x9s as standard in the rear so it would be silly to muck around with that.

How is wheel spinning out of junctions on the LCR. I get enough grief with it on my coupe, and that's only pushing 150bhp! I'm guessing the LSD helps with that somewhat, unless you're being ham(foot?)fisted with the clutch?

Thanks for the replies so far guys!

 

[RobM]

The Cupra R doesn't have an LSD, so if you want to go wheel spinning out of junctions you can do so all day long. 210+bhp in a front wheel drive car makes getting traction 'interesting' when trying to speed off from a standing start.

But, keep the power controlled and feed it in properly (i.e don't rev it and dump the clutch!) and you can get a great start no trouble at all.

As for the 6x9's... I'll keep quiet on that front. If you want me to provide you with some good reading and some professional opinions on 6x9's I can do. Otherwise, head over to www.talkaudio.co.uk and have a search there and you'll find plenty of information on them and why they aren't recommended.

On, and HID's are a very good mod Nice and straight forward to install and with the bargain price they can be bought at currently, it's a very worthwhile mod

 

[ArosaRacer]

dont cut the shelf in an LCR it will make people think you owned a saxo!

The LCR and the Cupra are the best cars ive driven, get rid of the stir fry mobile and join in the fun!

 

[Number86]

Haha!

While it's not playing in the same league as the Cupra you can't knock the coupe. It's great looking, excellent value second hand, and it just doesn't break.

I'd recommend it to anyone.

On to the LCR however!

I've been scouring autotrader and Pistonheads classifieds. Can someone enlighten me as to why the price of the LCR's quite frankly... vary hugely!

At least from the descriptions in the adds - Sometimes I can see no descernable difference between 2 particular examples, yet they vary by as much 3k

e.g. 2003 Cupra 60k miles ish £8.5K and change. Another similar example going for 10.5/11k. Are the people selling for 8 hiding something, or the people selling for 11 dreaming?

Finally, if and when I have a gander at some a) is it it sure fire sign of a thrashed car if I get a already mapped one and b) what things should I be looking out for when checking the car out? Any knocks/rattles or worn bits and bobs I should be looking for as warning signs?

Other than that, thanks for the info so far chaps!

 

[cobraman2007]

Good choice on the LCR - they are good cars (although I haven't got mine yet).

The prices do vary quite considerably but I think the main price hikes are due to engines being remapped and the condition of the car. But this is like all other cars as well. When I come to sell my MX5, I will be asking for £2,750 whereas there is a similar model (same mileage, interior, model, year) going for £3,600. The yellow and black LCR's also seem a lot more expensive than the gunmetal grey and red ones.

When I come to buy mine, I will be looking to get a standard LCR and then remap it myself. I can then do this to suit my own needs. I don't think remapped ones are necessarily thrashed as standard ones could also be thrashed with 210bhp available.

The main problem is water leaking through the door seals. This is a common fault although others may be able to highlight more faults.

Cheers - Cobraman

 

[RobM]

I've been scouring autotrader and Pistonheads classifieds. Can someone enlighten me as to why the price of the LCR's quite frankly... vary hugely!

At least from the descriptions in the adds - Sometimes I can see no descernable difference between 2 particular examples, yet they vary by as much 3k

e.g. 2003 Cupra 60k miles ish £8.5K and change. Another similar example going for 10.5/11k. Are the people selling for 8 hiding something, or the people selling for 11 dreaming?

Finally, if and when I have a gander at some a) is it it sure fire sign of a thrashed car if I get a already mapped one and b) what things should I be looking out for when checking the car out? Any knocks/rattles or worn bits and bobs I should be looking for as warning signs?

Other than that, thanks for the info so far chaps!

Probably a bit of both The lower priced ones could simply be priced to sell, or have been for sale for a while and the seller keeps lowering the price to get rid of it quicker. The higher priced ones are often from people who can't grasp the idea of depreciation or who think that because they keep it shiny and clean, it's worth more.

A remapped car doesn't necessarily mean it's been thrashed, but you can pretty much guarantee that any LCR you go to look at has been driven hard. This isn't a bad thing though, so long as it's driven with respect. It's usually quite easy to tell how a cars been treated simply by meeting and talking to the owner! If you get the impression it's been used as a bit of a rally car, walk away sharpish, it's not worth the hassle. But don't be afraid of a car that's been remapped and driven hard, as these are performance cars after all and not many people buy them to potter around slowly all day

 

[cobraman2007]

Good point RobM.

I am sure when I buy mine, I will thrash it as I don't want 250bhp just to go around at 30mph all day as I would in my mum's Vauxhall Corsa. The cars will obviously all have been driven hard during the life. Just make sure the turbo hasn't been abused (i.e. it is given time to warm up and cool down before and after use).

A good way to tell is when going for a testdrive, the driver drives under 3000revs for the first couple of miles and then drives under 3000revs just before turning the ignition off. Alternatively, they may leave the car to idle for a minute after heavy use. This is sufficient time for the turbo to warm and cool appropriately.

I've also noticed like RobM has said, that people advertise their cars quite high and the sale price drops more and more when the car isn't sold straightaway. This can be seen in the ads on this forum. People have started at £9,500 and I have seen one drop £1,500 on one occasion.

Cheers - Cobraman

 

[Number86]

Interesting!

Thanks guys
How do I check for signs of leaking water? Is this an expensive problem to fix if it happens?

After having a glance through the boards I haven't seen anything major break. But then again, I don't know what to look for, thus don't know what to enter into the search!

Things like the odd rattle (if a non mechanical type can fix reasonably easily) isn't a problem. But gearboxes dying, turbos exploding etc is another matter!

TBH - My aim would be to pick up a red Cupra R (black is awesome, but after a read last night I'm hearing scary things about chipped paintwork, plus it's a bast to keep clean!) for 8/8.5 and leave a grand for a Remap and HID kit.

 

[Ruddmeister]

Interesting!

Thanks guys
How do I check for signs of leaking water? Is this an expensive problem to fix if it happens?

After having a glance through the boards I haven't seen anything major break. But then again, I don't know what to look for, thus don't know what to enter into the search!

Things like the odd rattle (if a non mechanical type can fix reasonably easily) isn't a problem. But gearboxes dying, turbos exploding etc is another matter!

TBH - My aim would be to pick up a red Cupra R (black is awesome, but after a read last night I'm hearing scary things about chipped paintwork, plus it's a bast to keep clean!) for 8/8.5 and leave a grand for a Remap and HID kit.

The water leak was mainly on the older Leons from what I know, as the LCR's came along later this isn't a problem I;ve heard any LCR owners complain about. If it does happen it's usually door seals or pollen filter seals, do some research in the Sticky on LEON MK1 - FAQ's for a more in depth answer.

On the major things breaking No.1 will be the water pump, look for evidence it's been replaced (60k onwards is advised)....the pump is cheap but the cam belt and tensioner etc and therefore labour to replace is circa £275+

Other big cost items, good tyres, disks and pads are worth a thorough check.

 

[RobM]

The sure fire sign of a leak is a wet footwell. It's fairly easy to fix.. sometimes all it needs is the door cards removed and the bottom of the inside of the door to have a good clean out. Other times you need to seal up some holes that may potentially let water into the cabin.

Other than that, the main problems you may come across are with:

MAF
Coolant Sensor
Coil packs
Slight pulling to the left
Water pump failing
Fuse that controls the mirrors, electric windows and remote locking blowing

All are easily and relatively cheaply fixed, so no big concerns. Each are fairly simple to spot too

 

[Ruddmeister]

Water pump failing

Each are fairly simple to spot too

When it fails it's easy to spot but otherwise it's difficult to tell and IMO it's not so cheap with the labour costs + Cam Belt.

Afraid it's luck as to whether yours is going to last though...

 

[cobraman2007]

The only thing that went wrong with my MX5 was that the window seized up and needed a new mechanical arm plus sticking brake callipers. All sorted for less than £100 all in. Make's we happy that I must have brought the most reliable car in the world since these are all the problems I have had in 5 years of ownership of a 1991 classic.

Seriously, the Leon's problems don't seem too bad concerned to other cars. I guess it's because it is virtually a Volkswagon with a different badge which was the reason I decided to look at Leon's instead of other cars.

Thanks for highlighting the problems. The one that does concern me though is the pulling to the left. Is this a common problem and is it noticeable and how easy is it to fix?

Thanks - Cobraman

 

[Ruddmeister]

The one that does concern me though is the pulling to the left. Is this a common problem and is it noticeable and how easy is it to fix?

Thanks - Cobraman

They all do that Sir

Some have traced it to tyres some are still searching for the answer on their car......it's very minor IMO and I just lived with it.

The car brakes in a straight line just pulls left slowly when you let go of the wheel (even allowing for road camber)

 

[RobM]

Mine doesn't pull, so it's certainly not all of them. Mine tracks straight and brakes straight.

 

[GregCR]

Mine drives straight and brakes straight too. Pulls left a bit when the road goes down towards the gutter, but on a flat piece of road all is fine. So make sure you test for pulling by driving in the middle of the road (when quiet...) or if you're sure the road is properly flat. Used to have a pug 306 xsi - it pulled horribly left all the time, garage could find nothing wrong - two new front tyres totally cured it.

 

[readiejr]

With regards to the ICE, the standard speakers are pretty good and only really worth replacing if you're gonna spend £100+ (per pair) on replacements. Replacing the headunit is definately worthwhile and will improve sound.

I'd say a pretty cheap way of getting a decent sounding set-up would be replacing the head unit, run the standard speakers from it and get a sub and amp in the boot (not all about volume, makes a hell of a difference to the sound quality.)

Hope this helps.

 

[hamps_w]

RX-8 is a lovely car. I had a highpower. But the LCR is a much better all-rounder. Plus you get more than 20mpg. I averaged 18 to the gallon out of my RX-8! Didnt ever have any of the flooding problems, but did get e new version starter fitted under warranty.

Still................i would say go for the LCR. i Love mine. and theres less of them than the RX-8's and its easier getting the baby in and out of!