Arosa 1.4 TDi

[GarethJB]

Hello everyone... excuse the newbie questions... i have done a quick search which has given me a lot of info, but hopefully you might be able to help me out with a couple of other queries - excuse the long post as well!

I'm basically looking at a commuting car for my GF as she is now doing an 80 mile a day commute. At the moment we both currently have Clio 182's which tend to be juicy on the fuel although we have managed to eek out 40mpg by driving like a granny!! However they are hot hatches not really designed for fuel efficiency

By chance, i have come across a Arosa TDi (having read that the TDi is the one to choose over the SDi).

The car in question is a 52 plate with 79000 miles. cambelt changed at 60000 and a full Seat main dealer history up until now. The mileage has mainly been motorway miles.

My first and main question is this : would the almost 20000 a year average miles put you off at all?

At what sort of mileage will the engine run for (being VW engine my assumption is it will probably run for well over 120000 at least). 10000 mile service intervals mean that it is now due a service - done by Seat i'd be looking at about £150? It also has tax and MOT til the end of the year

Is there anything Arosa specific that i need to look / listen out for on the test drive aside from the obvious things that you look at when buying a car?

The car is advertised for £3000 - does the price seem fair or what would you be negotiating it to?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help

Gareth

 

[driveforward]

Hello and welcome!

The mileage does seem a little high, but that will give you room to squeeze the price a little. The 1.4 3-pot TDI is the same as in my A2 and I know of people with cars hitting 150K miles without any issues at all. Correct me if I'm wrong but the TDI should also now fall into the £35 per year road tax bracket

 

[cardaft]

I do 60 + miles a day in my TDi, its great, very refined for a small car but with lots of pull to keep up with the reps on the motorway

Mine averages about 55-60 MPG depending on how i drive it that week. I have had 75MPG out of it on a longish motorway run. It cost me £10 to do 180 miles!

The TDi is the one to go for. The SDi is only available in the mk1 Arosa or a VW lupo, which isnt as nice looking as the mk2 arosa imo

Mileage wise i wouldnt worry about that at all. I know of an Arosa TDi which has done 195K and is now remapped, the remapping company had no worries about doing the map either.

I bought mine last september, its a 02reg, it had 26K on the clock and full Seat service history. Its now just turned 40K. I paid £3300 for mine, which i thought was a good deal. They did want £3500 but it had some light scratches and it needed its cambelt doing.

So now ive got all its minor issues sorted out it looks really good. I was looking for the lowest mileage car i could find really. As i didnt want to go from my 03 reg arosa 1.0S which had done 35K to a 03 reg arosa TDi with 90K or whatever. I also got a private reg so it hides its age.

But im sure there wont be any reliability issues with the one your looking at, providing its a good one. Ive had no problems with mine what so ever, just things you'd expect like tyres, servicing etc, but its cheap to keep.

As long as its been looked after and you continue to look after it, it will keep on going.

Cambelts should be done every 40K or 4 years now, its been brought forward from the 60K or 6 years that it says in the owners manual.

It seems a good price really. Maybe try and aim for £2800 id say.

Tax is £35 a year. I taxed mine the day before it changed thinking it might go up but it went down

I bought mine for my commute to and from uni every day. I used to have (well ive still got it) a 2003 Aorsa 1.0S, but i thought i needed something more economical as its quite a drinker. And its amasing just howmuch less fuel the TDi uses.

Its the perfect commuter car, cheap to run, very reliable if you keep on top of it and has plenty of power. I really cannot think of another car that id replace mine with to do the same job as well as it does. I love mine, excellent cars.

I dont think there is anything arosa specific to look for really, on the whole they are pretty bomb proof little things.

Great value too, you get much more for your money than you wuold buying a lupo TDi/SDi which is virtually the same car.

Spec wise: I think the 52reg one you are looking at might have the darker interior and a passenger airbag. Mine has a light interior and no passeneger air bag, i quite like the interior though. ABS was an option so if its advertised with it make sure its got it.

They all get Drivers airbag, RCL, EW, Alloy wheels, Access plus front seats, height adjustment front seats. Oh and a pollen filter, something you dont get on a lupo!

Sorry for the longest post ever! but i hope its helpful.

Let me know if there is anything else you want to know about them

Chris

 

[GarethJB]

Chris - thanks for such an excellent and informative post - that kinda summarises most of the general questions i currently have bopping round my head at the moment!

what sort of life do you get out of the tyres? price for new ones? i don't know the sizes yet as i havent seen the car

only other thing i've seen is that the brakes are not great - is that right? tbh it's going to pootle to and from work, most of which is a 40-50mph journey with one small fast section at the end of the journey so i expect it'll be very fuel efficient

 

[cardaft]

Chris - thanks for such an excellent and informative post - that kinda summarises most of the general questions i currently have bopping round my head at the moment!

what sort of life do you get out of the tyres? price for new ones? i don't know the sizes yet as i havent seen the car

only other thing i've seen is that the brakes are not great - is that right? tbh it's going to pootle to and from work, most of which is a 40-50mph journey with one small fast section at the end of the journey so i expect it'll be very fuel efficient

My tyres last about 15-20K front, depending on what make i go for.

I find it better to put slightly more PSI in the tyres than recommended, also improves MPG slightly. So i have 33 front and 32 rear, actually i think its the fully laden pressures.

Prices vary loads depending what make you go for. I got 2 firestone Fuel saver 700 (standard fit for the TDi) for £100. But i got 2 Continental Premiumcontacts (for the front, probably the best tyre for the arosa imo) for £130, but they do seem to be wearing very quickly. And 4 yokohamas for £164. The firestones last for ages, ive seen arosas with 70K on with the original rear firestones!

The size of them is 185/55/14 80H. So i bet they are much cheaper than your Renault tyres

Well actually, while ive been looking through this site ive found someone saying that the brakes are the same as the 1.0 Arosa. Which isnt true.

The TDi has much bigger front brakes, they are vented unlike the 1.0 arosa. They are too big to be able to fit 13" steel wheels over, so thats give you a bit of an idea.

They work fine, mine seem to be very sensitive and responsive. Overall i think they are very strong. They have the same front brakes as the Arosa and Lupo Sport and GTI Lupos. Although they all have discs at the rear, the TDi makes do with drums. But still they are easily livable with and can take some serious stick before they start to fade.

Get some good make discs and pads when they need replacing and they will be very good. Although mine are standard and they do the job fine. And im quite heavy on the brakes generally.

Chris

 

[GarethJB]

Chris,

Excellent - you have been a big help!!

is your mpg figures accurate - our seller seems to think she is getting 50mpg out of it - but that is mainly motorway miles i beleive....

we are going to view the car tomorrow though

 

[cardaft]

Chris,

Excellent - you have been a big help!!

is your mpg figures accurate - our seller seems to think she is getting 50mpg out of it - but that is mainly motorway miles i beleive....

we are going to view the car tomorrow though

Glad to be of help

Yep its accurate, i work it out nearly every time, the worst ive ever got was 52 MPG. I usually get about 56MPG. And im often quite heavy footed. When my dad drives it im sure its in the 60's. The best ive had from normal driving is 62, im not a very eco driver though.

Although if its current owner does a lot of town work then 50MPG might be right. But i do a mixture of town, country and motorway driving, so thats what my average of 56MPG is.

It depends on how you drive it, once you get used to the car then its easier to get good MPG, i just carnt stand driving slowly

Although I do fine that doing 70 is more economical than doing 60 for long periods. I think it might be something to do with the turbo cutting in around 2K RPM.

BTW 70 is just under 2.5K RPM, so its quite high geared.

Chris

 

[GarethJB]

well. we are now the owner of a 2003 52 plate Arosa 1.4 TDi... has 79k and full service history from a main dealer. Cambelt done at 60000 miles, recently has had a new ECU. Tyres are good all round, Dunlops on the front and Michelins on the back. Invoices in the history show a total spend of well over £2k in maintaining the car through it's life.

There's a few bodywork dinks, nothing too bad though. gearknob is the only real sign of the cars mileage, everything else is still looking pretty tidy

And the best bit - the price.... paid £2300 for it after some negotiation

Pictures to follow

 

[cardaft]

well. we are now the owner of a 2003 52 plate Arosa 1.4 TDi... has 79k and full service history from a main dealer. Cambelt done at 60000 miles, recently has had a new ECU. Tyres are good all round, Dunlops on the front and Michelins on the back. Invoices in the history show a total spend of well over £2k in maintaining the car through it's life.

There's a few bodywork dinks, nothing too bad though. gearknob is the only real sign of the cars mileage, everything else is still looking pretty tidy

And the best bit - the price.... paid £2300 for it after some negotiation

Pictures to follow

Thats a bargin! I bet your pleased with that.

It sounds like a really good find.

Ah the good (im mean bad) Dunflops Id swap the michis to the front

What colour is it?

Look forward to seeing some pics of it

Chris

 

[GarethJB]

we'll get some pictures up at the weekend - we've been without the car for a few days.... see here for why :

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1440381#post1440381

 

[cardaft]

I carnt believe how much trouble changing a heater matrix would have been. If mine ever goes i think ill scrap it

Is it all ok now then? hope you dont have any squeeks and rattles after all that.

So its a silver one then? it looks just mine my 1.0 does inside. My TDi has the light interior but its a black car so its a good combination really.

Are you enjoying the arosa and still glad you have got it, even after all that?

Well i hope it gives reliable service from now on

 

[GarethJB]

it's a reasonable job cost wise, but it just needs the whole dash removing to get to the part as its not accessible via the engine bay!

picked it up last night, the GF has used it to drive to work this morning and it's been fine. dash has a little rattle now i think though

the car's grey - will get the pictures up and details over the weekend hopefully

other than that trouble, still glad to have it!

 

[cardaft]

Oh right, wasnt too costly then, and you got it for a good price too.

Look forward to some pics, arosas seem to be thin on the ground in the pictures area.

 

[Fidge]

Thats a good price! I got my 53 plate TDi for £2500 with 79k afteralot of haggling! I'm confused over the cambelt change tho its every 80k for mine! Apparently there are 2 versions 02 being 60k and 03 80k you can tell by the vin number.

By the way I do 170 mile daily commute and The only problem I've had was the glow plug relay which gave up and resulted in a non starting Arosa in cold weather. Coming up for 100k now and still runs sweet as a nut! The 1.4 tdi is deffo the best engine out there if you want a bit of toke and excellent fuel economy!

 

[cardaft]

Thats a good price! I got my 53 plate TDi for £2500 with 79k afteralot of haggling! I'm confused over the cambelt change tho its every 80k for mine! Apparently there are 2 versions 02 being 60k and 03 80k you can tell by the vin number.

By the way I do 170 mile daily commute and The only problem I've had was the glow plug relay which gave up and resulted in a non starting Arosa in cold weather. Coming up for 100k now and still runs sweet as a nut! The 1.4 tdi is deffo the best engine out there if you want a bit of toke and excellent fuel economy!

You all paid very little for yours, i thought mine was a good price!

Hmm well the cambelt interval is now 40K or 4 years on EVERY model, regardless of age or VIN.

I had mine done as soon as i got it, with 26K on the clock and at 4 and a bit years old. Was the first thing i did.

170 miles a day! my god thats some going

Funny you should mention the glow plug relay...........

......... Yesterday my car cut out as i was driving, so i pulled into the curb and tried to start it, but it wouldnt start. But the glow plug light wasnt coming on.

But after a while of trying to start it the glow light came on and it started up fine, and has been fine every since.

So i took it to a garage and they said its probably the ignition control relay, so i went to seat and asked for one, only it doesnt exist. THey said it might be the glow plug relay, but i thought that wouldnt really make it cut out while i was driving, surely?

And i never use the glow plugs normally to start it, only in the very cold, so it should have started anyway.

So today i went to a VAG specialist and they told me its probably the engine management relay is going faulty. So i got one of those and ive fitted it, so now im just playing thw waiting game to see if it dies on me again

 

[Fidge]

When did you hear about the 40k cambelt change? I last spoke to SEAT last September and they quoted it as every 80k then! You've got me worried now!

Yeah I drive from Southampton to Central London 4 days outta every 8 so its alot of milage!

I can't see how the glow plug relay would cut out the engine whilst running. The glow plug relay will put the management system into a fault conditoin if it fails to function but this will only happen after a cold period below 6 degrees IIRC.

Have you got vagcom? I used this to diagnose mine. It should give you a good indication of whats going wrong. Good luck!

 

[cardaft]

When did you hear about the 40k cambelt change? I last spoke to SEAT last September and they quoted it as every 80k then! You've got me worried now!

Yeah I drive from Southampton to Central London 4 days outta every 8 so its alot of milage!

I can't see how the glow plug relay would cut out the engine whilst running. The glow plug relay will put the management system into a fault conditoin if it fails to function but this will only happen after a cold period below 6 degrees IIRC.

Have you got vagcom? I used this to diagnose mine. It should give you a good indication of whats going wrong. Good luck!

I heard a while ago, i got my car in september and i got it done straight away, It was changed as some were snapping early!

I think its now 40K or 4 years in the new VW/SEAT service books. Worth checking with your dealer but thats what they said, its quite a well know fact on clublupo.

Oh i c, so its not every day then, not quite as bad as i thought

Hmm i know, i did plug it into VagCom but it brought up no fault coded. Ive replaces the engine management relay now and its been ok since so im hopeing thats cured it.

 

[allallyouyou]

Its always good to replace the Cam(s) upto purchasing any vehicle, whatever the mileage. Cardaft done right, i did the same. A cam belt change is cheaper than an engine rebuild!

Its in the back of your mind then its done and dusted for a while

As for the mileage id say every 60K MAXIMUM, would never risk it to 80K reguardless of what the manufacturers say!

 

[Fidge]

Its always good to replace the Cam(s) upto purchasing any vehicle, whatever the mileage. Cardaft done right, i did the same. A cam belt change is cheaper than an engine rebuild!

Its in the back of your mind then its done and dusted for a while

As for the mileage id say every 60K MAXIMUM, would never risk it to 80K reguardless of what the manufacturers say!

I bought my Arosa in September too and with 79k and no belt change wanted to check why. Spoke to SEAT and they said it was due at 80k and every 80k ther after, got it done straight away anyhow but don't fancy having to do this every 40k with the milage I do!