LCR Buying Advice,Going to look Tomorrow..

[nashchrs]

Hi guys, I'm planning on viewing a couple of LCR's around 90miles away from where i live and would like some advice on the following...

*52 Plate LCR 210 on trader for £6800,FSH with 32kmiles,yellow
This seems low price to be honest as far as i know and therefore i'm a little sceptical as to go and have a look at it. its obviously a private sale but what would your opinions be on it as it undercuts most LCR's of the same age/mileage by 1k.I'd run a hpi check prior to viewing anyhow but just wandering on thoughts?

*03 Plate LCR 225 trader for £7995 with 65k from a garage, which seems a little more accurately priced.1 owner,FSH,black

*52 plate LCR 210,remapped with 39k on clock,FSH,private sale for £8000,yellow

Out of the above which seems the most realistic in price and what should i look out for as all have a FSH. which one would you opt for?

 

[Al_G]

Bottom two look reasonable! I don't like the sound of the first one though!

If its sounds to good to be true then it often is!

 

[Mitchy]

There's no such thing as a 03 plated 225 so the seller is pulling a fast 1 by claiming it is 1 (99% of joe public wouldn't know difference)

Had a look at the £6800 car, its listed as an LC not an LCR but that may just be an advertisement error as it looks like an LCR inside and out. Could be a 180bhp LC remapped to 210 with LCR kit on? So just do a quick check 1st

No idea on why the car is so cheap especially with little mileage? When something looks to good to be true it usually is. If you go and view the car make sure you have a landline phone number for them and meet them at their house and not a motorway services area.

Common scam is to advertise a car cheaply, get a lot of interest, meet them at a service station and then to be robbed at gunpoint. There's hundreds of cars on ebay/autotrader/pistonheads that are too good to be true. Seen a 2 yr old M3 the other day advertised for £9k It could easily fetch £20k

I'd personally go for the 03 plated car from the garage for peace of mind. Tell them they're advertising it incorrectly though as its a 210 car

 

[nashchrs]

Thanks For the info I'll arrange to view the one at the garage then for peace of mind.

Yes that's correct i found(on the trader new search engine) by typing in cupra in the keywords box and searching through. As you say its listed as a Leon Cupra but strangely i got an insurance quote for it and entered the registration this However,brought up the make,model & type of the car. it came up as a leon Cupra R?

Would 65k miles be much of a problem? and i'd expect the cambelt to be changed as well possibly?

 

[Mitchy]

65k isn't a lot, just average really for age of car. 03 plate so nearly 5 yrs old now.

Cambelt should be done at 60k service

 

[nashchrs]

Theres another one thats caught my attention,37kmiles and 4 former keepers on a 53 plate. Does this sound fishy? and could it have been clocked with that many keepers and such low mileage?

Looks a nice example too.

 

[Romeoisgraham]

Theres another one thats caught my attention,37kmiles and 4 former keepers on a 53 plate. Does this sound fishy? and could it have been clocked with that many keepers and such low mileage?

Looks a nice example too.

I doubt it would have been clocked, they have digital clocks......my Lc is 04 and only has 31k on the clock. Its not fishy in my opinion TBH.

 

[nashchrs]

Sorry to be pushy guys,just very anxious about viewing a few tomorrow and dont want to make a mistake in a purchase!!

What is a correct price for a 2003 LCR 210 with average or below average miles on the clock, as the ones in the classifieds on here seem to be more expensive than equivalent models/examples on trader etc.

What price are garages offering to part exchange your lcr if anyone has had any experiences in the trade in price.
(What car! seem to only list the 225 cupra on their valuation page)

Thanks so far for the help!

 

[Willie]

Theres another one thats caught my attention,37kmiles and 4 former keepers on a 53 plate. Does this sound fishy? and could it have been clocked with that many keepers and such low mileage?

Looks a nice example too.

I wouldn't touch this car either, 4 keeper and only 37,000 miles.... WHY?
Why would 4 people keep a car for such a short period of time, makes you wonder
Go for the garage one, if its good take it, make sure you get a warranty then repost back on here and we'll help you with any problems it has and get them done under warranty

 

[nashchrs]

I'm thinking maybe, (hopefully) someone part ex'd the car at a garage,the garage needed to tax the car therefore the only option, which adds another keeper on the logbook.

The current owner has had the car since 2005 if that makes any difference.Oh and its had a plate change in the past(just for info),it might be wise to check the mot's to verify mileage and check where the services were carried out as it has a fsh.

 

[Willie]

Usually garages don't register the car in their name when its traded in though
I think

 

[Romeoisgraham]

I'm thinking maybe, (hopefully) someone part ex'd the car at a garage,the garage needed to tax the car therefore the only option, which adds another keeper on the logbook.

The current owner has had the car since 2005 if that makes any difference.Oh and its had a plate change in the past(just for info),it might be wise to check the mot's to verify mileage and check where the services were carried out as it has a fsh.

The garage I bought mine from waited till I bought the car, I sent them insurance docs and they went and taxed it the day I got it. I dont think a garage would risk adding another driver to tax it.

 

[Romeoisgraham]

Theres another one thats caught my attention,37kmiles and 4 former keepers on a 53 plate. Does this sound fishy? and could it have been clocked with that many keepers and such low mileage?

Looks a nice example too.

Instead of having the car and paying it up over say 5 years there is a finance option upon which you only have the car a year and all you pay is the interest on the car. You have to give the car back after 1 year. Maybe this has happened 4 times.

I have a Fiat coupe turbo which the mrs now drives I put it in her name altho its still my car. (adds 1 driver to the list but it just save agro with the tax man)

 

[jonjay]

You can get really good LCRs for 8-9k now. Dont be put off if they have mileage on them, like Mitch said, 65k for a 5 year old car is about average. They are also great engines so if the car is looked after it will last for a long while yet.

 

[andycupra]

check the cam belt has been done / or is due soon. will be a £450 service with a cambelt change...

Check tyres, as being 18" they are not cheap. Same with brakes, the fronts (brembos) are not cheap to replace. (pads and disks). However take into account the pads on the brembos are not massively think when brand new.

Front spitter is only £20 from a dealer, but some people dont realise so if its scratched up / damaged use this for haggling.

Engine code on a 225 should be BAM. for 210s its AMK. Engine code can be found on front offside edge of the engine. Tear drop mirrors were available on the last run on 210s so this does not guarantee it to be a 225.

Engine fans have been known to fail. Put the air con on, (hopefully its not below 5degrees or the aircon wont work... anyway if the aircon is on the fans should run at a slow speed. If they dont it may pulse. ie high speed on off on off. There is a fix which takes a fair bit of work for about £100 i think. A dealer will charge a few hundred to replace the fans.

Make sure you or they do a decent drive in it. Enough for the car to get warm, keep an eye on the coolant temp reading. This should be at 90 and should hardly budge from this before fans come on. So some ticking over or traffic driving would be a good test.

Go to a dealer and drive a few. Then you know how they should feel and can make an informed decision when you see one you may want.
check spare wheel is an LCR alloy. or you may find when you have a puncture that the spare wheel dont fit on the front.

Finally, it would appear from what i have seen that yellow LCRs do nto attract the same money as other colours. (sorry to anyone with a yellow one).