Happy Altea Owner - Thinking of buying a brand new one

[egroover]

Hi all

I'm a happy owner of a 2007 1.9tdi Reference Sport Altea. I was the 2nd owner at 1 year old so have had very few problems in the 7 years I have owned the car (a front suspension bearing and a broken rear spring approx. 300 quid on top of servicing costs)

As the car is getting on a bit now, and will be due another cam belt, full service and possibly disc pads/disc in the summer, been thinking of replacing.

I see the only available new model the Altea I-Tech 1.6 tdi is fully loaded spec wise and I have seen advertised with car brokers at the moment for cash price of about £13,800

As the car still meets my needs, I love the driving postion, seat comfort, handling, size, most things in fact, just my current one is low on spec, but the new version has all the toys, what do you guys think about buying what is a 10 year old design, over a newer model from another manufacturer ?

Be interested in your advice....what would you do in my position?

Thanks all

 

[BJM]

If you're happy with it then that's all that matters. Maybe go and test drive a few of the competitors and see what you think of them.

Try getting a Qashqai etc fully loaded for £13,800 - a few years ago I paid £18k for a year old fully loaded Qashqai!

The end of the line ones should have any production problems ironed out too.

The only big negative I can see is the future value - but it looks like you'll be keeping it a while so that won't really matter.

On thinking further, the new 1.6 TDi drives nothing like the 1.9pd - the 1.6 feels less torque'y! A test drive is in order!

 

[Cupra Ross]

The Altea is still very hard/impossible to beat in it's sector. It's a very very good car by any measure.

If you're happy with it then that's all that matters. Maybe go and test drive a few of the competitors and see what you think of them.

Try getting a Qashqai etc fully loaded for £13,800 - a few years ago I paid £18k for a year old fully loaded Qashqai!

The end of the line ones should have any production problems ironed out too.

The only big negative I can see is the future value - but it looks like you'll be keeping it a while so that won't really matter.

On thinking further, the new 1.6 TDi drives nothing like the 1.9pd - the 1.6 feels less torque'y! A test drive is in order!

The 1.6 CR TDi works best with the DSG box in my opinion. Pure cubic capacity dictates that the 1.9 will be more torquey when tuned. In standard form they produce the same power and torque, but the 1.6 is MUCH more refined and far smoother in it's power delivery. It isn't slower, it just has a much better spread of power so the initial torque surge is less pronounced.

 

[egroover]

Thanks guys for the advice.
I'm now having second thoughts, I only do short 5 mile runs every day, about 5K miles per year beginning to get my head around the DPF issues with short runs, I'm thinking a petrol version might be more suitable for my driving style, and of course, can't get a new Altea with the petrol engine anymore....could be back to the drawing board....
Thanks !

 

[Cupra Ross]

Thanks guys for the advice.
I'm now having second thoughts, I only do short 5 mile runs every day, about 5K miles per year beginning to get my head around the DPF issues with short runs, I'm thinking a petrol version might be more suitable for my driving style, and of course, can't get a new Altea with the petrol engine anymore....could be back to the drawing board....
Thanks !

Ours does less than that and have had no DPF problems. A good half hour run once a week seems to keep it nice and clear.

 

[cadman2k]

Altea

I would assume the New 2.0TDI CR Altea would be a cracking motor, giving plenty of power and torque above the 1.6TDI model. I guess this would come in about 15-16K which is excellent value for money.
The Altea is a proven car which had common faults like other cars but a lot of these may now have been ironed out
Looking at the market and dealers that are selling low mileage examples with a few thousand miles on or even demonstators, it does not appear that many 2.0 versions exist in ITECH spec? Is this because the 1.6TDI is more of an economical engine which SEAT believe would outsell the 2.0 version or are they just not the 2.0 versions around.
I previously ran a 2.0TDI 140 for years and the engine was bulletproof, all prior to DPF requirements being introduced, but again the newer CR engines appear to have a lot less problems than some of the earlier DPF engines introduced around 2008

 

[RadCordy]

Ive just bought a 1.6 tdi dsg se on a 62 plate, 28k miles. Like new for £7200. I think it would be silly buying brand new. 2-3 years old is a sweet spot for value