Can anyone suggest a good 2nd hand car for my situation?

bflare

littlerock wrote: »

there does come a time when a car develops so many small things wrong with it, and the occasional large one, that it becomes stressful to use and you think about replacing it with something more reliable. This happened with mine. I got a small second hand, low mileage Skoda Fabia automatic as a run around and have been very pleased with it.

This is the problem I am facing. I have had the car over 4 years & just spent 1k on it that is without disks & pads that I replaced myself. It's not starting too good on a morning, it uses too much oil & now the coolant problem. I do not want it to suddenly die on me & I am left without a car to take my son to school & myself to work.

Stoke

bflare wrote: »

It is leaking water & it appears that the head gasket is on it's way out. Both suspension coils need replacing & the ABS unit has gone. To get all this fixed would be uneconomical wouldn't you agree? It is a 2007 Seat Leon FR. I am not looking for a new car I would be looking for something 2nd hand with a budget of 6.5k from a loan.


I welcome any possible options as I do tend to get carried away without thinking things through properly.

Can a head gasket really be on its way out? Either it's gone, or it hasn't right? Is it leaking coolant into the cylinders or what?

Regarding the leaking water, obviously you need to find out where from. I assume it's not from the heater matrix which is the only time where the job becomes utterly horrendous? If it's leaking it on your drive or whatever, then that's normal, just get it fixed. It'll depend on where it's leaking from but you might find it's not a big job really.

I assume by coils you mean the front coils ? Suspension coils are easy on VAG cars and especially those old Seat's. You could grab a matched pair off a low mileage car for about £30 I reckon. Here's a trick though, find a low mileage jobby, and buy both struts off the front, then it's just a case of bolt in, jobs a good'un. You could literally do it yourself on your drive in an hour. When you say the ABS unit...? Do you mean the ABS module or the ABS pump or ABS Sensors?

There's a pump and module for £350 delivered on eBay right now. You could buy that, sell the pump for £100 and then you've got your ABS sorted.

From your description, I reckon there's about a grands worth of repairs there. You could cut some costs depending on how you want to play it though. However a Leon FR is a great all round car and spending £6.5k to avoid a 1 grand bill seems daft to me. It's not like it's a crappy old Fiat Panda from 1991.

bflare

Stoke wrote: »

Can a head gasket really be on its way out? Either it's gone, or it hasn't right? Is it leaking coolant into the cylinders or what?

Regarding the leaking water, obviously you need to find out where from. I assume it's not from the heater matrix which is the only time where the job becomes utterly horrendous? If it's leaking it on your drive or whatever, then that's normal, just get it fixed. It'll depend on where it's leaking from but you might find it's not a big job really.

I assume by coils you mean the front coils ? Suspension coils are easy on VAG cars and especially those old Seat's. You could grab a matched pair off a low mileage car for about £30 I reckon. Here's a trick though, find a low mileage jobby, and buy both struts off the front, then it's just a case of bolt in, jobs a good'un. You could literally do it yourself on your drive in an hour. When you say the ABS unit...? Do you mean the ABS module or the ABS pump or ABS Sensors?

There's a pump and module for £350 delivered on eBay right now. You could buy that, sell the pump for £100 and then you've got your ABS sorted.

From your description, I reckon there's about a grands worth of repairs there. You could cut some costs depending on how you want to play it though. However a Leon FR is a great all round car and spending £6.5k to avoid a 1 grand bill seems daft to me. It's not like it's a crappy old Fiat Panda from 1991.

I am assuming & probably wrongly that the loss of water is due to the head gasket. I always think of the worse. I cannot actually see any leak but I am having to top the water up once per week after 1k miles.


Yeah the front coils & to be honest it's not due for an MOT until April next year & I could probably do the coils myself as I move to a place next month that's got a drive & garage. I did the discs, pads & front ball joint myself. I am a engineer by trade so I am pretty handy when it comes to anything mechanical.


It is the ABS pump that's gone. It's only affecting the traction control & it has actually passed one MOT with this not operating.


It is a nice car & has never let me down. Its economical & very quick. The front wing needs replacing due to manufacturing error & it lets water collect underneath but again I could probably do this at some point as they are only bolt on.


You are making it sound a bit more reasonable to have the work done now that you have put it like that. I can use my credit card if need be as I have 0% interest until 2021 so I can get this paid off without incurring any interest.

Stoke

bflare wrote: »

I am assuming & probably wrongly that the loss of water is due to the head gasket. I always think of the worse. I cannot actually see any leak but I am having to top the water up once per week after 1k miles.


Yeah the front coils & to be honest it's not due for an MOT until April next year & I could probably do the coils myself as I move to a place next month that's got a drive & garage. I did the discs, pads & front ball joint myself. I am a engineer by trade so I am pretty handy when it comes to anything mechanical.


It is the ABS pump that's gone. It's only affecting the traction control & it has actually passed one MOT with this not operating.


It is a nice car & has never let me down. Its economical & very quick. The front wing needs replacing due to manufacturing error & it lets water collect underneath but again I could probably do this at some point as they are only bolt on.


You are making it sound a bit more reasonable to have the work done now that you have put it like that. I can use my credit card if need be as I have 0% interest until 2021 so I can get this paid off without incurring any interest.

If you're getting steam out the exhaust, that's usually a good sign of water ingress head gasket failure. No reason you can't continue to drive it like that until you get it fixed though. Just a bit embarrassing when there's huge plooms of steam behind you. If you're a Barry bodger (which I'm not, and I hate this garbage) you could always chuck in a bottle of Radweld. I don't really like that stuff as it tends to cause problems further down the line, but further down the line might be the end of the cars life?

If you don't fancy replacing the struts, say the shocks are good and it's just the springs, then a cheap spring compressor is all you really need and normal tools. You'll need to dismantle the strut though and you want to be careful not to ruin the seals. Easy enough job. Just adds a bit onto the time whereas replacing the whole strut is super easy.

If you're an engineer then take up the challenge. I find this stuff quite enjoyable. Almost therapeutic.... in a sadistic way.

I've never done an ABS Pump before, but Google is wonderful for this kind of stuff and sure enough there's pumps on eBay for as little as £89 delivered and I suspect this video (albeit on an Ibiza) might give you enough detail on where to look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDX6PywmRsM

Seat's are good motors. I've owned a number of VW's and had nothing but superb reliability, while a good mate of mine has owned a number of Seats also experiencing superb reliability but what we've both concluded is unless you're bothered about plastic trim and cosmetics, they're basically the same damned car. Seat fabrics were slightly better in the VW, but honestly, smallfry really.

Regarding the wing, I'd just leave it until it's rusted away tbh. I tend to replace things once they need replacing rather than for looks.

I could understand you wanting to spend good money on a new car if this wasn't a 2007 Seat Leon, but it is..... so I don't Up to you what you decide in the end though

bflare

Stoke wrote: »

If you're getting steam out the exhaust, that's usually a good sign of water ingress head gasket failure. No reason you can't continue to drive it like that until you get it fixed though. Just a bit embarrassing when there's huge plooms of steam behind you. If you're a Barry bodger (which I'm not, and I hate this garbage) you could always chuck in a bottle of Radweld. I don't really like that stuff as it tends to cause problems further down the line, but further down the line might be the end of the cars life?

If you don't fancy replacing the struts, say the shocks are good and it's just the springs, then a cheap spring compressor is all you really need and normal tools. You'll need to dismantle the strut though and you want to be careful not to ruin the seals. Easy enough job. Just adds a bit onto the time whereas replacing the whole strut is super easy.

If you're an engineer then take up the challenge. I find this stuff quite enjoyable. Almost therapeutic.... in a sadistic way.

I've never done an ABS Pump before, but Google is wonderful for this kind of stuff and sure enough there's pumps on eBay for as little as £89 delivered and I suspect this video (albeit on an Ibiza) might give you enough detail on where to look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDX6PywmRsM

Seat's are good motors. I've owned a number of VW's and had nothing but superb reliability, while a good mate of mine has owned a number of Seats also experiencing superb reliability but what we've both concluded is unless you're bothered about plastic trim and cosmetics, they're basically the same damned car. Seat fabrics were slightly better in the VW, but honestly, smallfry really.

Regarding the wing, I'd just leave it until it's rusted away tbh. I tend to replace things once they need replacing rather than for looks.

I could understand you wanting to spend good money on a new car if this wasn't a 2007 Seat Leon, but it is..... so I don't Up to you what you decide in the end though

Just got home & there is no smoke or steam from the exhaust only when the engine is cold & I would say it's white smoke rather than steam. I have checked for leaks & cannot see anything, It has used around 750ml of water in 8 days & about 1000 miles.



How long would it last if it is the head gasket. Just been looking at the reviews for a product called K seal which appears to be a better option than Radweld. Have you heard of it?



I think I could give the springs a go & I am like you I do enjoy it & get a lot of satisfaction out of doing these things myself plus I know if I have done them they have been done right.



Yeah the pumps are not that expensive actually for a recon one from Ebay & I can do that next year anyway.


It has been a good solid car & like you say it is basically a VW with a Seat badge. It the longest car that I have had & I do get scared changing just in case I buy a lemon! Thanks for your advice its appreciated & gets me thinking a bit more rationally which I need :rotfl:

System

bflare wrote: »

It is leaking water & it appears that the head gasket is on it's way out. Both suspension coils need replacing & the ABS unit has gone. To get all this fixed would be uneconomical wouldn't you agree?

Not as uneconomical as spending £7k on a car. Headgasket is a few hundred quid, front coil springs another £100-£150 for the pair, ABS unit you can get a second hand one for not a lot and an hours labour to fit. You'd literally be spending £6500-£7000 to avoid £700 of repairs.

Going on what you've said about the coolant it could even just be the seal on the cap of the header tank.

Stoke

bflare wrote: »

Just got home & there is no smoke or steam from the exhaust only when the engine is cold & I would say it's white smoke rather than steam. I have checked for leaks & cannot see anything, It has used around 750ml of water in 8 days & about 1000 miles.



How long would it last if it is the head gasket. Just been looking at the reviews for a product called K seal which appears to be a better option than Radweld. Have you heard of it?



I think I could give the springs a go & I am like you I do enjoy it & get a lot of satisfaction out of doing these things myself plus I know if I have done them they have been done right.



Yeah the pumps are not that expensive actually for a recon one from Ebay & I can do that next year anyway.


It has been a good solid car & like you say it is basically a VW with a Seat badge. It the longest car that I have had & I do get scared changing just in case I buy a lemon! Thanks for your advice its appreciated & gets me thinking a bit more rationally which I need :rotfl:

Radweld, K-Seal, Steel Seal, they're all basically brand names for sodium silicate. I doubt there's a huge difference with any of the products. Ultimately, my view is, feel free to use if you don't care about the car, but if you do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46dxAqgvYF8

Edit: He doesn't mean engine stop leak. He means radiator stop leak.

bflare

Tarambor wrote: »

Not as uneconomical as spending £7k on a car. Headgasket is a few hundred quid, front coil springs another £100-£150 for the pair, ABS unit you can get a second hand one for not a lot and an hours labour to fit. You'd literally be spending £6500-£7000 to avoid £700 of repairs.

Going on what you've said about the coolant it could even just be the seal on the cap of the header tank.

Putting it that way I see your point & I did actually wonder whether it could be the header cap.

James1968

The DMF and timing belt are service items, so feel free to discount them.

I drive a 2008 Berlingo and have just forked out £487 on having the timing belt and water pump done. My car would cost £3500 to replace, so it is worth spending out on.

Body-wise, it is in good condition so it will be getting a new DMF next year as per the servicing schedule.

bflare

James1968 wrote: »

The DMF and timing belt are service items, so feel free to discount them.

I drive a 2008 Berlingo and have just forked out £487 on having the timing belt and water pump done. My car would cost £3500 to replace, so it is worth spending out on.

Body-wise, it is in good condition so it will be getting a new DMF next year as per the servicing schedule.

Yeah I can appreciate those items need changing anyway & I suppose now I have had them done then there's more reason to keep it. I am just petrified that it's going to let me down when I really need it then cost a bomb to fix while I am moving house in 3 week.