1st diesel.....need advice

[munch8987]

Hey all,

First up, I apologise if there is a section or sticky on this already, but I couldn't find anything

Basically, I've got my other 2 cars up for sale at the moment and being a petrol head for the last 7 years, I want to have a go at playing with some diesel power.

I've got my heart set on a mk1 cupra tdi, after seeing a few very tidy examples on here

I'm after advice on what to look out for when viewing / test driving. What mileage should I am for etc. Also if there are any common known faults with this particular model?

Many thanks in advance and I look forward to joining the Leon crowd
Ben

 

[Martin_FR]

Im an ibiza PD130 owner but im aware the PD150 engines suffered from a worn cam shaft? Might be worth using the search to find out more info.
Not sure if the model your looking for has climate control but I remember reading about the Leon Cupra R's needing the climate control checked as it can be an expensive fix (something to do with fans)
Obviously look out for the uual things, service history and in particular timing belt and water pump

 

[sssstew]

yeah have a search for chocolate cam on the PD150s.

 

[fr930]

keep an eye out for clutch slip, especially if the car has been mapped... mine is starting to go

EDIT: not really a diesel specific problem, oops!

 

[vroomtshh]

IMO, the cam isn't as big an issue as its made out on this forum.

Its certainly worth checking, but if you believed what you read on here, 95% of them have had catastrophic cam failures and I don;t believe its anywhere near that bad

 

[munch8987]

Thanks for the tips guys, shall keep an eye out. As soon as I pick one up,it will be booked into somewhere for a full overhaul and check up.

 

[Martin_FR]

Thanks for the tips guys, shall keep an eye out. As soon as I pick one up,it will be booked into somewhere for a full overhaul and check up.

Full overhaul? What you mean by this? Or did you mean full service?
By overhaul im thinking pistons, seals, bearings etc

 

[Engimaneer]

VAG TDI engines are built like tanks, I would say NEVER be put off by milage, anything over 180K miles I would start to look elsewhere, but cars on 160K miles are still well worth getting.
Try to find one with a FSH (not book stamps, but recipts, stamps mean sod all) as this will let you know what has/has not been done.
If they claim the car has had a remap or new/bigger turbo, ask for recipts for that, as you want to know WHERE it was done, and is there any sort of warranty on the tuning?

You cant go wrong going TDI with VAG, I was driving an A4 last week that has 340K miles on the clock and still drives strong.

 

[munch8987]

Full overhaul? What you mean by this? Or did you mean full service?
By overhaul im thinking pistons, seals, bearings etc

Yes sorry, i meant full service etc

VAG TDI engines are built like tanks, I would say NEVER be put off by milage, anything over 180K miles I would start to look elsewhere, but cars on 160K miles are still well worth getting.
Try to find one with a FSH (not book stamps, but recipts, stamps mean sod all) as this will let you know what has/has not been done.
If they claim the car has had a remap or new/bigger turbo, ask for recipts for that, as you want to know WHERE it was done, and is there any sort of warranty on the tuning?

You cant go wrong going TDI with VAG, I was driving an A4 last week that has 340K miles on the clock and still drives strong.

Thankyou very much, that was the answer i was waiting for, have seen a few on ebay with 70-80k miles for about £5k, but just waiting for my car to sell so i can actually go view with intention of buying

Im probably looking at spending around £3-3.5k on one, would like a standard one so that i can play about and my my personal touched to it, plus then i know it hasnt been thrashed

 

[Engimaneer]

TBH TDI Leons have not yet been abused and were very much used as work horses.
If you were looking at an A3 TDI or MK4 Golf TDI, I would say steer clear, as many of those have been well abused, but most of the Leon TDI's seem to be well looked after and have good SH.
Mine was a minter (Plain TDI 130PD not FR) and had stacks of recipts as it was originally a lease car. These are the ones to go for, it had 130K on the clock, but have not had many issues at all. My golf had 96K miles on the clock and was only fit for the scrapheap.

 

[munch8987]

TBH TDI Leons have not yet been abused and were very much used as work horses.
If you were looking at an A3 TDI or MK4 Golf TDI, I would say steer clear, as many of those have been well abused, but most of the Leon TDI's seem to be well looked after and have good SH.
Mine was a minter (Plain TDI 130PD not FR) and had stacks of recipts as it was originally a lease car. These are the ones to go for, it had 130K on the clock, but have not had many issues at all. My golf had 96K miles on the clock and was only fit for the scrapheap.

Fantastic, so maybe auction houses would be the best place to look for an ex lease car.
What sort of budget should I be setting aside, as mentioned I should have about 3.5k to play with, I just don't want to spend 4k + and get mugged off for a "minter"
I was looking at an a3, but they seem to have a million miles even for 06 plates.
The car itself won't be used all that often, as am starting a new job and get a work van, so wont be putting any miles on it, but want one I can play with and hopefully develop diesel tuning, using a few cars on here as a basis

 

[Engimaneer]

I cant even guess at the price of a TDI cupra, however a non cupra TDI you are looking at £2.5K-3.5k
I got mine for £2800 last December and it was mint, even though it has covered a decent amount of miles.

Diesel tuning is great fun, as you have sky high levels of torque to play with!