test drove a tdi cupra today....

[david burton]

well, as my newbie post states - I was thinking of test driving a cupra tdi.

Got there and the car was ok, bit disappointed as the two front tyres are 2-3mm and the back ones have Nexan tyres or something - not a very good sign that it's being looked after!

Inside was ok, leather seats were nice enough, a few small broken bits that will need replacing and a dubious wet patch / stain by the sun visor

anyone know why a water mark would be up there? it has no sunroof.

took the thing for a drive, and the turbo broke.

so it was a "no". I thought "this is slow" even when it was working but it must have been about to break / cut out. the passat 130 would be quicker so something was definitely up.

anyone compared these to the 130 machines? a lot quicker?

anyhow, that's my 2p's worth

 

[UncleFester]

I think you drove a dog to be honest.

Windscreen seal has probably gone hence leak up there. Turbo will be at least 500 to replace and that's assuming that's all that's wrong!

To be honest it's no wonder it felt slow, the poor thing was probably just about dead.

You'd be better off finding someone off here who lives locally and seeing if they'd take you out for a spin. Either that or go test drive one from a dealer, even if its on the forecourt for 13k ... you'd get an idea what a well maintained one was like to drive.

 

[david burton]

that's what I said to the guy at the dealer - would take another one out for a drive to compare.

there's a surprising amount on ebay too. 10k seems the going rate for 50-60k and fully loaded on an '04 - am I right?

I almost didn't go for a drive, because I didn't have that gut feeling. I want a minter to be honest.

interior isn't as nice as the passat and it's didn't seem as well put together, but it's not that far away

 

[UncleFester]

I just checked the glass guide for mine and it's just over 11k tradein - 04 Cupra Tdi with a shade under 37k on the clock.

I think the dealers are flooding ebay with them too, trying to clear space for the Mk2 Leons.

I am surprised a dealer allowed something in that condition to go on a test - did you go to a SEAT main dealer?

 

[david burton]

no, it was a non-main dealer. I agree - I think they want to move it on as it's one of the cheapest cars on the forecourt.

there are a few 04's on autotrader for between 9500 - 11000 with various mileages on them. ebay shows them up at about 10,500 - 11000 with 40-60k on the clock.

they may have come down in price recently as parkers shows a 12k dealer price with 20k on the clock. I don't trust guides though - what's actually on the market is a much better way of doing things.

you pleased with yours?

edit: just been back on, there's a nice example with 61k on an '04 for 10,495 from a SEAT dealer. 40k on the clock ones are about 11,500. these all may be dogs though. I bet some have been treated hard.

 

[paul26982]

first time i ever hear of a cupra tdi being a dog a shame too, first one i ever heard of

 

[david burton]

perhaps just a simple sensor has gone - causing the turbo to hit the "safe" mode?

and the windscreen has already been replaced so there's no more leak? the interior bits could be sorted for less than 50 quid, so with all those bits sorted it may be a minter - the exterior was ok.

may be.....

with proper tyres.....

seemed to be mechanically sound otherwise. who knows. I am thinking to look again in 6 months once I have got my money out of the passat cambelt and tyre change - I'm a tight northerner!

 

[david burton]

p.s. is the FR visually identical (bar the alloy wheels)?

 

[UncleFester]

Very happy with mine yes - done a few bits and pieces but even as standard it's a nice car to drive.

 

[paul26982]

lovely car ticks all the boxes,

only available in 5 dr so doesnt look silly

cheaper audi great value for money

great 150bhp diesel engine especialy once mapped

interior not the best but seen worse

not another car on the road like it, i.e like golf gti's look like the 1.6 golfs

cheaper tax

cheap to run

 

[NeilC]

p.s. is the FR visually identical (bar the alloy wheels)?

Different coloured wing mirrors? (grey)
Might have an FR badge under the side indicator?
Says FR on the back?

 

[paul26982]

think this is guna be the million'th post were the difference are lol

as above mirrors fr has silver painted were as cupra havnt

interior - insted of small square patter in the cupra the fr big less squares in a lighter grey

cd player - cupra 6 disc changer were as the fr has single aura unit

badges - cupra rear boot badge were as the fr has fr badges under side repeaters

wheels - fr has different style wheel to the cupra, look bigger in my opinion but less nice

can you tell i was bored lol, pleased my cupra has tear drop mirrors and white dials tho

 

[jonjay]

that's what I said to the guy at the dealer - would take another one out for a drive to compare.

there's a surprising amount on ebay too. 10k seems the going rate for 50-60k and fully loaded on an '04 - am I right?

I almost didn't go for a drive, because I didn't have that gut feeling. I want a minter to be honest.

interior isn't as nice as the passat and it's didn't seem as well put together, but it's not that far away

Its worth paying the extra to get one with lower mileage tbh.

 

[daveyonthemove]

If you take a decent one out, you will be impressed. I personally would be put off bay any of the "minor" faults you described as they generally point towards the car not being looked after cosmeticaly or mechanically. For EG my bro bought a MR2 Jap import a few years back. He liked the look of it and drove it in a town area and thought it was great. I started looking in more detail and when the light was out on the headlight i had my doubts and tried to talk him out of it (who wouldn't replace a bulb to sell a car? i would) but he said "i can fix that and the other minor faults easy for next to nothing" so he got it.
The car was a nail and on the motorway home he couldn't overtake my Pug 307 HDI and on inspection at home found loads of problems mounting to a few hundred quid. If the small jobs don't get done, the big ones are bound to be there (just like that turbo).

 

[david burton]

cheers for the replies chaps.

not sure about the mileage opinion - a 20k a year car can often be mucb better looked after than a 10k a year car, I have living proof in my passat (25k a year and going strong). Another benefit of getting a 60k car is the cambelt service has been done.

however, going on gut instinct I wouldn't buy the car even if it is something like a loose turbo pipe somewhere. I would like a minter.

If I can wait 6 months or so then I should be able to look at the FRs with 60k on the clock for approx 11k.

The alternative would be an anniversary golf tdi 150. as above I don't like the standard tdi golf 150 as it looks the same as every other golf. I believe the golf handles worse than the SEAT though, but on the plus side the interior is nicer. swings and roundabouts.

would quite like the SEAT dials changed, I guess that'd be a day's work.

 

[jonjay]

cheers for the replies chaps.

not sure about the mileage opinion - a 20k a year car can often be mucb better looked after than a 10k a year car, I have living proof in my passat (25k a year and going strong). Another benefit of getting a 60k car is the cambelt service has been done.

however, going on gut instinct I wouldn't buy the car even if it is something like a loose turbo pipe somewhere. I would like a minter.

If I can wait 6 months or so then I should be able to look at the FRs with 60k on the clock for approx 11k.

The alternative would be an anniversary golf tdi 150. as above I don't like the standard tdi golf 150 as it looks the same as every other golf. I believe the golf handles worse than the SEAT though, but on the plus side the interior is nicer. swings and roundabouts.

would quite like the SEAT dials changed, I guess that'd be a day's work.

Yes but the thing is mate, for a bit extra money you get a car with half if not one third of the mileage.

 

[david burton]

that's true. I guess it depends on budget as well. got to sum up if a grand is worth 20k miles or not.

 

[jonjay]

that's true. I guess it depends on budget as well. got to sum up if a grand is worth 20k miles or not.

I totally understand what you mean dont get me wrong. When i got mine i was thinking about getting a car with 22k miles for £12k or one with 9.5k miles for £13k. I went for the 9.5k and dead happy that i did.

 

[daveyonthemove]

The newer the car the less chance it's been thrashed to the point where a turbo blows! Plus if its new enough you will have warranty left wich is worth the extra.

 

[david burton]

I totally understand what you mean dont get me wrong. When i got mine i was thinking about getting a car with 22k miles for £12k or one with 9.5k miles for £13k. I went for the 9.5k and dead happy that i did.

cheers for your advice, the more I think about it the more I understand that it's different with different cars. a sleep on it also helped

take the following examples:

1) VW Passat company car, 85k on the clock in less than 4 years.
2) SEAT Cupra TDI, 60k on the clock in less than 3 years.

Both have done similar miles per year, but because the Passat is a bit of an older mans car (yes I'm 28 but it was good value) it won't have been nailed on the motorway even if it is a lease car.

Thinking on the SEAT, no-one would get one of these as a company car (low tax) and treat it gently. There's a reason you get one of these and it's because it's fast and cheap to run and if you break it the company pays for it.

So, just stating the obvious! I'd get another high mileage car in an instant but only if it's the sort of car that would be treated well.

So, a low mileage perhaps private SEAT it will be - however I still want to avoid the big cambelt costs!

something like this could be a winner? but again it's high miles in 1 1/2 years.....

still dreaming - I can't afford this for a while yet - I don't want to get a loan out