new member needs advice

[alyraver]

hello i'm alex i live in crawley west sussex, i am looking to buy a mk1 leon cupra r. i currently drive a classic impreza non turbo.

i've always liked the leon cupras but never thought i could get insured on one until now!!! i got a quote for £450 fully comp!!

anyway i'm gona be selling the scooby really soon so i can get a leon. but i have a few questions first before i buy one. hope you guys can help:

do they suffer from headgasket probelms/over heating?

are the engines reliable?

what sort of problems are common on these cars?

what should i look out for when buying one?

many thanks

 

[cordobabrendy]

Water pump goes and is worth changing the timing belt while youre at it as it has to come off to replace the pump anyway, parts are cheap, the pump is only 20 odd quid. a non smokey turbo and no strange noises under fuul boost except for the usual woosh.
coil packs and maf sensors are occasionally problematic but again mafs are well under 100 quid and col packs are 20 odd or 30 quid each.

 

[alyraver]

thanks, so in general these cars are prety reliable?

 

[Mike Green]

Yes they are - in general most owners are happy with them. I have only had mine a few weeks so hard to say but when reading the forum there are a lot of satisfied people.

Some people do have random probs as posted on the forum but do a search and you will be able to keep track.

The engine is VW so particularly reliable!

When buying one you need the usual FSH obviously but in general they are such good cars unless you are unlucky or buy a v high mileage one you should be fine.

What you after in terms of colour etc? If you are looking at buying from a dealer let me know and I can give you my thoughts as just gone down that route myself. Just be warned like any performance car the upkeep is high, and seat garages for services and replacements (such as brake pads) do not come cheap. But having a scoobie you would be used to that already...

 

[RobM]

They are generally very reliable, if looked after well. And being a turbo car you need to make 110% sure you let it warm up and cool down properly too. That's vital.

But that aside, if you have any problems it will be one of a few things, all of which are easily and fairly cheaply put right. Coil packs (£20 each x 4) and MAF (£60+) are the favourites, but even those tend to die once in the time you own the car (unless your DPJ!) and that's it

 

[DPJ]

They are generally very reliable, if looked after well. And being a turbo car you need to make 110% sure you let it warm up and cool down properly too. That's vital.

But that aside, if you have any problems it will be one of a few things, all of which are easily and fairly cheaply put right. Coil packs (£20 each x 4) and MAF (£60+) are the favourites, but even those tend to die once in the time you own the car (unless your DPJ!) and that's it

They didn't really die, Rob - they were all horribly murdered.

Yes, extremely reliable engines. Fault finding is easy with the right gear, and you've got a huge resource hear of information and help. You shouldn't have much trouble finding a good one.

 

[alyraver]

i dont really mind what colour but i'm looking for a 2001 reg as they seem to be good value for money if i can find the right one wiv low mileage.

i can service them myself at home with me old man to save a few pennies. i wont be buyin from a dealer as they rip you off big time, i think i would pay the aa to do a proper check on it before i buy one.

whats yours go like? i cant belive how much power they have!!! my scooby is a non turbo so is very very slow even for a 2ltr! i had a 106 gti before that and that was very rapid, so the scooby seems so slow, and costs a fortune to insure even a non turbo - £97 month i pay, thats just crazy, i need to sell it and get a leon asap

 

[DPJ]

i dont really mind what colour but i'm looking for a 2001 reg as they seem to be good value for money if i can find the right one wiv low mileage.

i can service them myself at home with me old man to save a few pennies. i wont be buyin from a dealer as they rip you off big time, i think i would pay the aa to do a proper check on it before i buy one.

I'm afraid you won't get a 2001 R, they weren't made that early.

 

[alyraver]

oh ok, can i get a normal 2001 cupra? whats the difference between cupra r and a normal cupra? thanks

 

[Mike Green]

Dealers rip you off maybe but warranty is invaluable to me for the first year - i prefer to pay over to get reassurance the car has been properly checked over and you are not buying a car that has been ragged within an inch of its life.

 

[Mike Green]

oh ok, can i get a normal 2001 cupra? whats the difference between cupra r and a normal cupra? thanks

Cupra r is a more powerful beast, and looks much more agressive with the sports body kit, 18 inch alloys, there are loads of differences so you are best doing a search on the forum for this.

Either that or Rob M will answer soon with the main differences..... he is the man that knows.

 

[richybigman]

Cupra R has Brembo's, a different Kit Different seats and interior. The cupra is 180bhp standard and the early Cupra R (square wing mirrors) had 210bhp standard and the later cupra r's (teardrop mirrors) had 222 bhp (225 ps)

 

[DPJ]

There's some nice Cupras out there. They were facelifted mid 2002 with nicer front and rear bumpers. You'll find early cars with leather, electric seats etc.

Have a good in-depth search and read on here.

 

[RobM]

oh ok, can i get a normal 2001 cupra? whats the difference between cupra r and a normal cupra? thanks

Different engine, including bigger turbo, producing more power and more torque. Has the potential to produce up to 280bhp with the right mods and a stage 2 remap.

Lowered, stiffer, uprated suspension. Lower strut brace as standard too.

18" Ronal wheels, Brembo 4pot brakes and a different style exhaust.

Then there is the body styling, which is louder, more aggressive and more 'hot hatch'. The interior is different too, as the LCR seats are different, the interior is all black, the dials are white and red and everything is finished in red detailing and stitching.

Mainly though, it comes down to power and performance. The Cupra is a fantastic car and very capable. The Cupra R is on the next level and takes things a bit further still.

 

[Cupraloon]

To add to what others have said, I've had my Leon Cupra 20VT (180bhp) pre-facelift almost a year now, got it with 28thou gen miles with FSH, and I've not had a single thing go wrong mechanically, some other's on here seem to get a few problems, but touch wood, mines been awesome it's always started first time, even after not driving it for sometimes as long as a week.


When i do get out in it, i do tend to give it some, so it anything was to going to go wrong i think it would do Tbh, it's been a brilliant car and certainly more reliable than the 2 Honda vtec's i've had over the last 4 years.

I've had really minor problemettes, with the rear window stopping working, and oddly the central locking on the same door, popping up when locked, but apart from that nowt's gone wrong, I'm happy to say.

And if your looking for performance with 180bhp it is pretty quick, but the bonus is you can tweek them to over 200bhp, fairly easily if not cheaply !!

Obviously if you go for the Cupra R, you have a choice of 210 or 225bhp, which can be tweeked to around 270bhp, but with insurance going skywards accordinly.

Early prefacelift Cupra's can be had for as little as £4k, for an early X plate right up to beyond 15K for a 05 plate Cupra R.

Which ever you choose I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. just buy carefully, get it with FSH, and low miles if you can.