2004 Seat Leon 1.9 TDi Cupra

Retrogamer

One of these has came up locally for sale. I do a fair bit of motorway miles so they look a good compromise between something which can put a smile on your face when you put the foot down, but at the same time give good driveability and fuel for commuting.

Does anyone have any experience of these in particular or else the PD 150Bhp 1.9TDi engine they use? It's the same as the Golf and Bora version i think.

I heard incorrect oil being used can ruin the camshaft and followers and even ones with full manufactures service history can end up this way (Small franchises using generic oil as they often service a large variety of cars)
Being a diesel it's not always obvious when you have a little rattle in the top end.

Plans would be HPI check, look it all over thoroughly and if i like it buy it. Keep it standard for 6 months so if anything happens the Sales of Goods act can help me out (Dealership) then after a thorough service.

Weird_Nev

A friend runs one. He reports heavy front tyre wear (though I suspect that's his driving style as much as anything), and at 110k miles the clutch is slipping and the turbo is on it's way out.
Buy right and I think they represent good value for money and as you say, a nice tradeoff between performance and economy. However, they are prone to many "modern" diesel foibles, so I'd want really good service history, and for the car to drive very cleanly before I parted with money.

Throbbe

I'm not sure of the Leon suffers with the problem, but Toledos are notorious for collecting water in the doors which then leaks into the interior.

Have a good feel of the carpets to see if they are damp. It's not a hugely expensive fix (or you can DIY it in a few hours), so if you're happy that you can get it sorted then maybe use that as a bargaining point.

It will chew through front tyres fairly regularly, but from my experience* you can get excellent mpg if you pootle on trunk roads and motorways, but it is still fun on back roads.

* based on a TDI130 Toledo, so not exactly comparible, but I've driven Golfs and Boras with the 150.

attila_

Weird_Nev wrote: »

A friend runs one. He reports heavy front tyre wear (though I suspect that's his driving style as much as anything), and at 110k miles the clutch is slipping and the turbo is on it's way out.

Sounds unloved. I have a cupra tdi and no problems so far on 130k.

mattyprice4004

attila_ wrote: »

Sounds unloved. I have a cupra tdi and no problems so far on 130k.

Not really - a clutch doing 110k is good, and a turbo can fail well under 100k too.

TradePro

attila_ wrote: »

Sounds unloved. I have a cupra tdi and no problems so far on 130k.

Have you owned it from new?

It could have had 3 clutches and 2 turbos already...

Retrogamer

Thanks for the replays all. I'm liking the Leon because of the boot space, and it seems a good all rounder for daily driver which isn't too boring.

If i don't get this the second choice will be slightly newer (2006) Ibiza with the PD130 TDi engine. The lack of 5 doors though and the fact they look horrible is a little off putting but it's not that important.

Weird_Nev wrote: »

A friend runs one. He reports heavy front tyre wear (though I suspect that's his driving style as much as anything), and at 110k miles the clutch is slipping and the turbo is on it's way out.
Buy right and I think they represent good value for money and as you say, a nice tradeoff between performance and economy. However, they are prone to many "modern" diesel foibles, so I'd want really good service history, and for the car to drive very cleanly before I parted with money.

Does he have a heavy right foot? The clutch and Turbo failures i've read about as well but they seem to be more common on ones which have been remapped. I'd rather deal with those problems than worn camshafts and followers though.

Throbbe wrote: »

sorted then maybe use that as a bargaining point.

It will chew through front tyres fairly regularly, but from my experience* you can get excellent mpg if you pootle on trunk roads and motorways, but it is still fun on back roads.

* based on a TDI130 Toledo, so not exactly comparible, but I've driven Golfs and Boras with the 150.

Were the Bora's and Golf's with the 150 engine any good then? I was wondering how laggy they are with the bigger turbo and if they felt much different to the 130.

attila_ wrote: »

Sounds unloved. I have a cupra tdi and no problems so far on 130k.

150Bhp model as well? Are they all 6 speed boxes?

attila_

TradePro wrote: »

Have you owned it from new?

It could have had 3 clutches and 2 turbos already...

Ha, it could...had it from 60k so doubt it.

Turbo failures generally happen for the following reasons:

1. High revs/torque just before switching off the engine. This stops the oil (which acts as a coolant) from dissipating the excess heat.

2. Not sticking to oil service intervals.

3. Fannying around at low revs and coking up the VNT.

Premature clutch failures is pretty obvious why it happens.

Treat the vag pd diesels well (or be certain they have been) and they are reliable.

Johnmcl7

Retrogamer wrote: »

Were the Bora's and Golf's with the 150 engine any good then? I was wondering how laggy they are with the bigger turbo and if they felt much different to the 130.

I had the Toledo with the 1.9 TDI 150 engine (Toledo TDI Sport 150) and tried out others with the 110 and 130bhp versions of the 1.9 TDI engine. I did find the 150bhp engine quite a bit laggier than the other versions, it feels lethargic when you put your foo down until a moment later when the turbo kicks in and you get a decent surge of power. I really liked the engine though and was sorry when I had to get rid of the car when I needed an estate, the replacement has the newer 2.0 TDI PD170 engine which feels quite dull compared to the older one as well as having a DPF.

John

Throbbe

Retrogamer wrote: »

Were the Bora's and Golf's with the 150 engine any good then? I was wondering how laggy they are with the bigger turbo and if they felt much different to the 130.

John has pretty much covered it. For my use I found the lag annoying and that the 130 was a nicer drive as it was pretty much an instant response, or at worst a quick blip on the clutch would get things moving. The 150's do really give you a shove in the back that the 130 doesn't deliver though.

Best advice is always to try both and take your choice.

Retrogamer

Thought i'd update this. I was struggling to find a clean un abused Cupra for a reasonable price around my area, so i opted for a 2006 Ibiza FR TDi instead.

Coming from a 1999 Corsa B TD, this is words apart with the quality, power and comfort. Love it so far. Quite nippy as well and good mpg on the motorway on my way to work.
95k but 1 owner and FSH and most recent was timing belt, tentioner and water pump just over a month ago by the dealer that sold me it. No stone chips or any nonsense, just 1 small mark on drivers door about 1/4 size of pinky nail.

Will keep it standard for around 6 months to a year then possibly fit the Cupra TDI front mount intercooler with hard pipes, full miltek exhaust and a mild remap to aim for a reliable 170bhp