should i be put off?

[geesus69]

Currently on the hunt to find the right LCR that deserves my hard earned moolah

been talking to various people about them and getting all sorts of different comments, dont get me wrong i know all car makes/models have their lovers and haters, but im after a bit more input from the guys who own them (you lot!)

First of all i love the look of the car, think they look the business, no-one can tell me otherwise on that!

secondly is the power, been out in my brothers, love it!! Also a lad i know is a SEAT mechanic and he agrees the engines are top notch and grunt is not lacking

then from the same mechanic he starts to reel off the bad points

interior quality leaves alot to be desired, problems with water leaks and squeeks/rattles, however i currently own a peugeot 106 that is errr LOW and so rattles aint much of a problem, and the 106 has a few leaks, the problem is my brain keeps trying to over-ride my heart, the 106 didnt cost me about 10k, whereas the LCR will!

He also says parts are an absolute joke to get hold of, and that the overall build quality is lacking, he gets alot of unhappy customers, but then i dont see myself as a 'normal' customer, i am a qualified level 2 mechanic myself so tinkering and fixing cars has always been an interest, however i dont want more problems than i can cope with (and my wallet can cope with)

what are peoples thoughts on the overall build quality of suspension components/interior,electrics etc??

finally and more importantly, does the 'grin' factor of driving it outweigh the problems that are associated with it??

thankin you

 

[UncleFester]

No more reason to be put off the Leon than any other car, it doesn't have any more rattles / issues than any of the other cars i've owned over the years.

Best thing is since it's well loved and owned by a lot of enthusiasts, you don't have to rely on the dealer network for advice and help.

Any upgrades will have been done a LOT of times already so there's plenty handy guides around for doing just about everything.

In short - if the bad points are your only worry, just concentrate on finding one you like with service history ( what to look for on this is on many many threads here) and drive away

 

[geesus69]

cheers fester thats the sort of re-assuring stuff i wanted to hear

The SEAT mechanic has said that if i do find one i want he will come along and give it a proper going over to make sure its a minter, plus i work at an insurance assessors so a full hpi check and use of a micrometer (to check thickness of paintwork) is at my disposal

 

[UncleFester]

I should point out i do NOT drive / own an LCR so any comments i make are general comments only.

I think the interiors are ok, certainly no worse than Golf or Audi ( reading their forums i see just as many complaints and they spent a lot more on their cars).

As the Leon shares parts with the Mk4 Golf and AudiA3/4 ( can't remember which as i go for golf bits and bobs) there's a huge supply of aftermarket goodies for it and a lot of places that can service your car outside of the SEAT dealer network

I think you'll find that most people would say get one, the biggest cost of an LCR will be running / maintaining it. Brake discs are NOT cheap although that's if you pay dealer prices ..... petrol will be a constant drain on the pocket too as will front tyres if you drive like a loon

Your biggest expense will be reading here and finding out just how big the list is of modifications you can make

 

[G2232]

i agree with fester

you have to remember it is based on a german deign so you know it is reliable and rebust.
I do agree there are squeeks and rattles but unless you talking loads a money most cars rattle and squeek come on its not a maybach!
The fact of the leak the only leak i have encountered in 3 years is a small leak in the ofside foot well that happened almost a soon as i had bought it and was solved underwarrenty with no problems as i believe seat were aware of this problem so its most likely that that issue will have already been solved on anyone your conciduring buying

end of the day you have to look at both pro's and cons and weigh up your options and you will prob see the pro's out number the cons and im sure you will be more than happy with the outcome

 

[supercuprar]

ive has mine for about 4 months now and its the best car ive ever had !
Fast , practicle , comfortable and build quality is great in my mind interior is very nice seats are brilliant .
The only downside is the cost as has already been said , it drinks like a fish if you have a heavy right foot. But at the end of the day its not a 1.1 so i knew this before i brought it and exepcted that !

had many hours of fun in it and im sure im going to have many more !
its a thumbs up for the lcr in my book !

 

[geesus69]

on the subject of petrol, on average how much you spending each week/month with varied driving conditions?? just as a rough idea

 

[G2232]

Well on average i travel 40miles to and from work every day most being motor way miles and i would say i use HALF a 52 litre tank every 10 to 12 days but that is with a little preserved driving used.

on average i would say i get 23mpg (or thats what the trip computer is telling me)

 

[lard44]

I've owned mine less than a week and she's sprung a leak!

Not too bothered about it as I know it's still under warranty, that there are a few fixes I can try that I've found on here, and that there are so many plus-points.

Petrol-wise according to the readout I'm nearly 30mpg, 40 miles a day - mostly a-roads. A tank will do less than 400 miles though.

Owning a car has never been, and never will be a cheap proposition and the more powerful/exclusive the car the more they cost. But for most of the people on here, myself included, cars are a labour of love. If it was 4 tyres and a steering wheel I'd spend £100 down the car auctions, but I love the appearance, the power, the comments from other people, the mod-ability etc. etc that make the LCR what it is.

But then I'm totally biased.

 

[Al_G]

I don't consider my LCR expensive to run. Yes tyres and brakes aren't cheap if bought from SEAT but I'm guessing it’s probably the same for most performance cars (FOCUS RS, ST, CTR etc).

Petrol isn't as much of a killer as you may have expected either. I used to get 280 miles out of £32 of unleaded fuel in my Fiesta Zetec-S whereas now I get 300 miles from £42 of V-Power. Not really as bad as you would have thought!

Rattles - yes mine does rattle on occasion but so do most sub 20k cars tbh. Build quality is very good though and all the instruments feel well put together!

As for servicing, the servicing costs of an LCR seem to range between £200 - £300 (SEAT prices). This is no more expensive than a 1.8 Ford Focus.

All in all an LCR is a performance bargain. It's devastatingly quick if driven correctly and will most definitely put a grin on your face every time you drive it hard. I don't regret buying mine for a second and honestly wouldn't swap it!

 

[RobM]

I can't agree more with teh guys above. Every car has it's good and bad points, no matter how much you pay for it. But you can count the number of common faults without hitting double figures.

Weak DV, MAF, Temp Sensor, leaks, coil packs water pump.... err.... struggling now. I'm not including interior rattles and squeaks, simply because it's something every car has to deal with over time. Mine is an 03 plate and only has one dash rattle that only happens on cold days when the car is cold

As with any high performance car, you'll get out of it what you put into it. So treat it well, lookm after it and service it on time every time and you'll still be enjoying it for years to come

Also, one important thing to bear in mind....

You have looked for opinions from an mechanic and this forum. Both are places / people that only usually discuss the bad thing. I can't remember the last time I took my car to a mechanic because everything worked? Neither can I remember the last time somebody made a post saying everything works, my car is fine
Both mechanics and forums are there for people to get help with the bad stuff and the problems, so just bear that in mind

 

[Jonny]

I've had my LCR for 20 months / 21k miles and so far it's been the best car I've ever had! Touch wood, I've not had any leaks, MAF or coil pack failures. I do get the creaking rear suspension thing on a wet day, and the boot lid rattle seems to come & go, but other than those niggly little faults I have no complaints!

It's not that expensive to run day to day. I average 25-27mpg day to day back & forth to work on A & B roads with fairly spirited driving. On a long run I can get the average up to 33-35mpg.

Service costs are on a par with most other makes... my 20k service was £134.17 at an independant Seat Specialist - my dad had a 10k service on his 1.5 Almera which set him back around £160 at a Nissan garage.

As has already been said though, the LCR eats its way through brakes & tyres. Must admit I was bricking it the first time I phoned around for 18" tyre prices, but was pleasantly surprised when I found out they were only about £20 per corner more than the 17's I had on my 206! Don't expect to get much more than 10k out of a set of front pads though, and you'll be lucky to get 20k out of a set of discs.

Like Pat says, the most expensive part of LCR ownership will be in modifying it!

 

[G2232]

I can't agree more with teh guys above. Every car has it's good and bad points, no matter how much you pay for it. But you can count the number of common faults without hitting double figures.

Weak DV, MAF, Temp Sensor, leaks, water pump.... err.... struggling now. I'm not including interior rattles and squeaks, simply because it's something every car has to deal with over time. Mine is an 03 plate and only has one dash rattle that only happens on cold days when the car is cold

As with any high performance car, you'll get out of it what you put into it. So treat it well, lookm after it and service it on time every time and you'll still be enjoying it for years to come

Also, one important thing to bear in mind....

You have looked for opinions from an mechanic and this forum. Both are places / people that only usually discuss the bad thing. I can't remember the last time I took my car to a mechanic because everything worked? Neither can I remember the last time somebody made a post saying everything works, my car is fine
Both mechanics and forums are there for people to get help with the bad stuff and the problems, so just bear that in mind

Well put Rob i couldn't agree more when you look a forums you are bound to find all the problems with the cars thats natural.

 

[si-mate]

I don't think you'll find a better car for the money. I had my LCR for 3 1/2 years and it cost me very little and the only problems were minor.
It was certainly better than my old mans boxster S which has had a clutch and gearbox (under warranty) and had to have the brake discs skimmed (not under warranty) and it's done less than 15k miles.

 

[Cupraloon]

Well, mine isn't an LCR, but a 20VT Cupra, and having had a "lot" of different cars over the years, I can say hand on heart this is the nicest, and so far in 11 months of ownership it's been excellent reliability hasn't been an issue (there i've done it now )

The only problem I've had is rear/right hand window stopped working for a bit, and the central locking kept popping open again when the car was locked but both have since fixed themselves

Touch wood I've not had any of the other problems that some seem to get with their LC or LCR then being a VAG based car I would'nt expect problems, unlike most Vauxhall's with the constant EGR/EML problems, parts seem readily available, my SEAT dealer can get pretty much any part in 2-3 day's.

Ok so it does'nt handle as well as say my old 306xsi, or 205gti, but then it doesn't rattle like they did either especially the 205.

Even with "only" 180bhp it still manages to put a smile on my face, just needs a bit more poke for me Tbh, so the LCR with it's 210/225 will be even more grin enducing, and having driven a 225 LCR last week (probably shouldn't have cos now i want one) I can say you'll be very happy with it, if you can afford the insurence, best to get a quote first.

Overall a top car....

 

[geesus69]

cheers for all your comments i appreciate all your input

cupraloon - got a quote off my current insurer for £1300, which is less than i was paying on the quiksilver when i was 18!!! i think thats possibly the only good thing about getting older, insurance premiums go down!

just gotta find the right one now, rang up about 2 yesterday, both been sold, mind you one is subject to finance agreement so the dealer has taken my phone number in case it falls through

 

[G2232]

Im now paying £700 on insurance and bad the car nearly three years
I would take a look at green light insurance if i were you if your planning on modding your car they are really good and they actually like modded cars

 

[Cupraloon]

Yes indeedy, £1300 is that TPFT or Comp, jeez i can remember paying money like that, it's deffo better being an old git, mines now only a tad over £400.00 comp..

Good luck with finding your LCR

 

[G2232]

But now here is the million dollar question



which colour would you prefere to go for?

Not like it matters it looks great in every colour

 

[lard44]

Green Light quoted me, and I accepted, £570 - £150 less than the nearest competitor.

In terms of finding one, I had trouble too. As soon as they appeared on autotrader they were gone. I ended up putting a deposit down on mine based on photos (I know, I know - but I gave it a good going over in the car park when the time came) the dealer had taken whilst the wheels were being refurbed. The good value ones don't sit around.