Total n00b questions

[Mastodon2]

Hey guys, I'm new here and new to Seats in general!

I have never really considered VAG group cars in my ongoing car hunt up until now, when I happened across a very nice 2003 Leon Cupra R on sale. The price seems good for the amount of car on offer and just sitting in it, it felt brilliant. I'm a massive petrolhead and a total car nerd, but these things were just never on my radar.

I don't know much in terms of specifics about these cars, so I was wondering if anyone could help out;

mainly, reliability is what I'm looking at. It has about 85,000 on the clock which is high-ish, and I wondering if the turbo is going to go. How tough are the turbos on these things? I know that a turbo has to be warmed and cooled to keep it working properly, being a used car it's not possible to tell if the previous owner has been doing this. The car has a good service history, which suggests that it has been cared for. It certainly looks to be in good nick. There is some slight damage to the front grill and a few stone chips on the bonnet, but the wheels are un-kerbed and aside from worn finish on the gear knob it looks very clean inside. I had a bit look under the bonnet today and everything looked good, no obvious dodgy fixes or anything like that. However, I don't want to buy the car and be looking at a big bill in a few months time because I bought a relative high miler!

I've been advised to look for water in the footwell - apparently the pollen filter housing lets in water and the lamps get condensation inside. The one I looked at did have a bit of condensation in the headlight lamp casings, is there an easy way to sort this out?

I'm taking the car for a test drive tomorrow morning so I'll get a better idea of it's condition. Obviously, if I was going to buy it, I'd be having a long sit down with the service history and receipts to make sure it was all kosher.

Any insight on what the car is like to live with would be great also; I'm coming from a Ford Fiesta 1.3L so I know that the Cupra is going to be a rocket-sled next to my Fiesta, but what is it like in the wet? Do the 18" wheels and painted-on tyres see the car stranded in the snow? Does it chow through petrol at an alarming rate?

Any info would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys!

 

[cupra_mike]

Personally i wouldnt buy with that number of miles but theres loads of people on here with 100k plus miles. I had condensation in my headlights took the black plastic housing caps off and they have been clear ever since. I only bought mine about 4 weeks ago. 60k miles was what i said would be the highest id go to, cam belt change and fsh a defo

 

[Trublu07]

I bought mine on 83k and it's now at 101k. Check to see when the waterpump and cam belt were replaced. Need changing every 60k or so. Metal waterpumps are preferred.

 

[Pyro]

Water in footwells Is either pollen filter or door seals booth easy fix and both have guides on here for the fix

85K I fuk IMO I'm on 130K and still going strong not had many issues in my time with it

In terms if living with it
•coilpacks like to blow
•there a bu*ger for boost leaks

There the two main things tbh and both easily sorted there's a buyers guide in the mk1 FAQ section that's a good help I used it

Oh and you do want tge cam belt and water pump done it's normally about 60K so might of been done

If you have good Tyres then there fine in the snow and wet you'll see about 25-30 mpg on normal driving and can hit lows of 18 ish when really gunning it but overall there good for the power etc I see about 300 miles to a tank with a full stage two cupra and a heavy left foot lol

All in all really good car if you treat it right and the engines are bullet proof (except dans ) you WON'T regret it I promise you

 

[danny20vt]

85,000 miles, high? nah, not for VAG group cars, I have a Leon 1.8t sport (early Cupra) and mines sitting on 158,000 miles, I've had it since it was on 136k and not had an ounce of trouble, still goes like stink O.K. wear and tear items like tyres, brake discs and pads have been replaced but apart from a thermostat, indicator relay and a split hose, all of which cost me a whole £31, no trouble.
Usually when buying cars I like to change to a different manufacturer but this car has made me want to stay VAG basically because of the reliability, which is going to be sooner rather than later sadly.

60k for a cam belt? thats just made my day, I thought it was 40k that gives me an extra 25k to play

 

[Trublu07]

I have known them to go sooner tho Danny.

 

[Mastodon2]

I'm going to see the car again this morning, the dealer said it had been well looked after and had a pile of paper work to go with it, which I will be going over with a fine tooth comb. I'll be all over that car like a rash making sure it's a good 'un, up in every wheel arch, around every boot and door seal, under the bonnet, under the car itself. If the paperwork is in order and the car drives well, I'll be putting a deposit down on it.

Thanks for the help so far guys

 

[Rauer]

You won't be able to check the door seals without taking the door card off as it's the achillary carrier seal that leaks but it takes about 45mins per door and the seal and clips( clips to hold the door card on) incase you break any cost less than 30 quid from a dealer so I wouldn't worry so much about those

 

[Mastodon2]

Bought it

Had a good look over the paperwork they had traced on the car so far, it had failed a few MOTs for things like misaligned headlights, and then passed them all within the same day or a few days later. Last MOT, september 2010, it failed on unbalanced brakes and an exhaust leak, passed with no advisories less than a week later. It does look like a car that has been looked after, money has been spent where needed by the looks of things.

Managed to get a good deal on my Fiesta as a trade in settled, then took it for a test drive.

First impressions; excellent driving position, slighty notchy feeling as it bangs into gear but the action is very positive and lets you know exactly whats going on, unlike some rather vague gearboxes in other cars I've driven. Clutch was significantly heavier than my Fiesta but not unusually heavy given the kind of car this is. It would be tiring in traffic but this is definitely not a car designed for sitting in rush hour traffic jams. The biting point was immediate and obvious, which made the car easy to control at low speeds, even if a bit more leg strength is required than I am used to using.

Driving away from the dealership, the car was quite happy to pootle off boost and seemed to be a very comfortable cruiser. In 6th gear at 40, slightly open throttle it just trundled along calmly and quietly. Came to a nice open section of (obviously private) road and put the throttle in hard in 3rd and the the rush of boost was incredible. The savagery of the acceleration was unbelievable - but completely without the wheel spinning antics of something like an Asta VXR. In second gear, holding WOT the traction control light did start to blink but thats hardly surprising. In 4th there was a slight bit of turbo lag before the boost came on, but even then it was still ferocious.

I did not do any hard cornering, but the suspension is lovely and stiff, as I like it, while still maintaining a smooth ride at lower speeds so as not to rattle your teeth when you are relaxing. In short, I was smitten after the test drive. The top cap of the passenger side window control is missing but I'm not going to lose any sleep over that, the window still works and if I wanted the part I'd imagine it's cheap as chips.

I'm not collecting the car until the log book arrives at the dealership (car bought at auction, awaiting documents from previous owner but they will be chasing it up so they can get the car to me sooner rather than later. From the condition of the car I'd say it's been well looked after so I'd imagine it's been properly serviced. If the cambelts and water pump were not changed at 60,000 the dealer has agreed to do them at their cost before handing the car over.

Looks like I'm a Seat owner now!

 

[Rauer]

Welcome to the nuthouse

 

[oldskool]

I see about 300 miles to a tank with a full stage two cupra and a heavy left foot lol

Errrr, you had a left foot accelerator conversion done Sam?

Welcome to SEAT ownership by the way OP

 

[Pyro]

Oops

I ment I like changing gear quickly

 

[danny20vt]

I have known them to go sooner tho Danny.

Well, technically what I meant was, I don't really have to do the cambelt or sell the car at a knock down price as its going in around 3 months

Errrr, you had a left foot accelerator conversion done Sam?

Ooooooo, I want one of them, do they add BHP?

 

[Rauer]

Ooooooo, I want one of them, do they add BHP?

yeah about 60bhp and about 95 lb of torque! Least it feels it anyway , you ever tried to accelerate with your left foot lol

 

[Mastodon2]

Hey again guys.

Picked up my car tonight, getting on well so far, at least until I got home after a bit of a drive. I did not push the car or drive it hard on boost, just give it one or two squirts and then cruised home in it.

Close to getting home a light came on on the dash, an orange triange with an ! inside, with a circular arrow around it. What does this mean? Is something f*cked?

When I got out of the car, there was an acrid, "hot" smell, like something burning under the bonnet. After going in the house and coming out 5 minutes later, the smell was gone. Any advice on it? I hope it's not going to go bang! The car has just had it's cambelt and water pump changed as part of the deal struck on the sale. Could something have gone tits up during the work?

I filled it up with £50 worth of Shell V-power. Could it be the fuel causing it grief? If anything, I would expect problems running it on the cheap stuff, not the good stuff!

Otherwise it's bloody great. Comfortable, fast when you need and it looks and sounds ace! I hope these things are minor niggles and teething difficulties, because if it holds up I could see myself loving it.

Dave

 

[t0m]

Defo not the fuel, v-power is the best stuff you can put in it. Mine runs nothing else..

Warning light sounds like the ESP light, best to get the car scanned using vag-com if you can to diagnose the code. Could be a host of things.

Burning smell, how bad was it?! Is there smoke under there?

Hope it's ok.

 

[Pyro]

It's your tcs (traction control system) lught get it scanned on vagcom and see what code comes up if there's a light there's a code

 

[Pyro]

Dam u Tom

 

[Pyro]

Properly ABS wheel speed sensor but still have it scanned

 

[Mastodon2]

Hmm thats good as long as it's nothing (hopefully) that is going to blow up and cause the car to die! I did see the light flash once or twice while driving quickly-ish over some rather broken roads, but I did not rag the car. When I was showing the car to the father in law and I started it up, the light did not come on when I switched the car on. Intermittant problem perhaps?

As for the burning smell, it was unpleasant but there was no smoke, and it dissapated in under 5 minutes. Saying as it's pitch black outside I did not lift the bonnet, because it's unlikely I could have seen anything anyway. I might have a bit poke around under there tomorrow night, make sure that nothing is leaning against any of the hot bits and melting. The turbo feels vigorous to say the least, so I'm praying to god it's not that!

Looks like I might have to look into buying this vag-com software and a cable then. Bugger.