Soon to be owner - couple of questions

[danston]

on the very serious look out for an tdi fr around the £10.000 budget.

i have tried to read the forum as indeapthly as i can but i still have a couple of question i hope some maybe able to help with.

i have noticed very few FR have inbuilt sat nav, i have read several threads on replacement units, most to the original option. i was wandering if since this anyone has found any other viable alternatives. for example the zenec system.

Also on going to view the above car are there any areas i should pay particular attention to.


on a financial prospective,

i have an 02 1.2 ibeza to exchange. am i best going to a dealer and trying to haggle the best deal i can or selling separately and finding a private or possibly car supermarket Leon? thoughts on this would be greatly received.

thanks in advance Dan

 

[SeatDanny]

Dont know much about the sat nav business, what i would say is think seriously about what kinda mileage you do, the fr tdi dpf causes alot of problems for those doing short journeys as the dpf doesnt heat up enough to burn off the crap it catches and this begins to cause problems. If you dont have any major miles to do hava look at a 2.0L 140bhp sport and remap it to 170 (same as fr) if its power your looking. The sport doesn't have the dpf. Their is the option of dpf delete on the fr but its pricey!

 

[danston]

thanks for your opinion, v interesting. i intend to keep the car for a few years and do want the power etc.
whats other members opinions on this?

 

[Poverty]

if you do little mileage get the petrol version.

 

[danston]

ooo now you have me thinking, not really an option i had considered, but for no real reason. are they very thirsty?

i shall be doing less than 10000 a year. it is a 2nd car really as i have a works 4x4.

 

[Poverty]

ooo now you have me thinking, not really an option i had considered, but for no real reason. are they very thirsty?

i shall be doing less than 10000 a year. it is a 2nd car really as i have a works 4x4.

less than 10,000 miles then deffo get the FR. It can do 40mpg on a run. 30mpg around town if you really want it to do so. Mod it, get a revo switch, turn down the boost and it will easily do 30mpg everyday.

 

[2zeroalpha]

I agree, do not go near the diesel if you don't get up to speed on a regular basis. Wife had that problem with previous vehicle (granted it was different manufacturer but still...). I owned the petrol FR and it was brilliant.

As to what to do with your current vehicle I would try to sell it first and if really is a dead end then trade it in. Don't go near the we buy any car type people, their valuations are pretty laughable.
If unsure, you can get an idea of the value of your car here: http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vaux/pages/financeAndServices/valueYourCar/index.jsp

Some people have found them to be somewhat optimistic though.

 

[Sooty torques]

I now do less than 10K a year with my FR TDI *but* I don't do many short runs. Providing you keep the revs around or above the 2K mark (peak torque area) you won't have any problems. Flooring the throttle when the exhaust is cold is a big no-no. The DPF problem is on-going but from my own experience of having one DPF prob, it was the sensor at fault - which seems to account for the vast majority of problems. The DPF leaflet which is freely available at SEAT stealers gives good advice.

Many DPF probs came from folks buying the FR to trundle around town / city with the odd jaunt to the shops - this car is not built for that. Neither were the big Toureg 4x4 TDI's which suffered the same DPF problems on the school-runs... My FR takes about 6 or 7 miles (cross country) for the engine (not the exhaust and DPF) to warm up in *normal* winter conditions, about 3 or 4 miles in summer... The new face-lift CR FR TDI is promised to have less DPF probs due to the revised management system and cleaner-burning CR motor, but is probably out of your price range.

Providing you can find a couple of times a week to give it some welly and get nice and hot, you shouldn't have any problems. Ask if any FR TDI you have your eye on has had the ECU software upgraded - this is also supposed to help with DPF issues.

As SeatDanny says, think carefully whether a 140 TDI, tuned or otherwise, may be better for you.

 

[SeanCorky]

I go about 2 miles to and from work 3 days a week and i'm fine in my FR TDi

 

[danston]

it seems to me that although fewer the petrols seem to be less expensive than the dervs, well on purchase price anyway.

is there a noticiable performance diffrnece between the two? the insurnace group jump is high. although im only 25 and have a quote on a petrol at £500 which i though was good.

 

[Maximus2000uk]

With regards to the Sat-Nav query, I have been running a Waywell WD6050 for the past few months. It has worked seamlessly and was very easy to fit. The one thing I would say however, is that the main issue with the unit is delivery. Most of the sellers are based out of the UK, and indeed the manufacturer is based in China. I bought mine from a fellow member of the site, based in the UK obviously, hence no issues for me.

If you buy the car without the larger MFD, namely you buy a car without Bluetooth, then the unit would meet all of your needs.

Any queries let me know.

M

 

[Poverty]

it seems to me that although fewer the petrols seem to be less expensive than the dervs, well on purchase price anyway.

is there a noticiable performance diffrnece between the two? the insurnace group jump is high. although im only 25 and have a quote on a petrol at £500 which i though was good.

wouldnt have thought at your age they would differ much.

Performance wise stock they are pretty similiar. The FR remaps to about 250hp, and if you wnat more can take it up to about 285hp.

Test drive both

 

[Sooty torques]

it seems to me that although fewer the petrols seem to be less expensive than the dervs, well on purchase price anyway.

is there a noticiable performance diffrnece between the two? the insurnace group jump is high. although im only 25 and have a quote on a petrol at £500 which i though was good.

Yep, you always pay more for a derv and for the fuel - although diesel is cheaper in raw product and to make than petrol

Horses for courses. Both great cars, never driven a TFSI but I'd imagine they are a bit quicker off the mark. There is an mpg difference, but this is *so* dependent upon how you drive.

As poverty says, you need to drive both and make up your own mind as to what suits you and as to what you want out of a car.

Either way, I doubt you'll be disappointed...