Help on buying a Leon?

[Razor]

Well been driving a 1.4 mk3 ibiza for the last 9 months
Im on the look for a mk1 leon now

I will be 19 with 1 years NCB

So the 1.9 Diesel will be the biggest powerwise ( no cupra's )
Im looking for something, I can actually mod engine wise but not get raped for insurance !!


I was just wondering if there is any common faults to look out for ?
Or is there a thread such as " You know you have a mk1 leon when...."


Many Thanks !!

 

[olliep]

alright dude. nothing terrible to be aware of. they can leak. search for 'leon leak' or something and you'll get an idea. other than that nothing out of the ordinary. insurance wise look at diesel cupra or FR. good platforms for modding and cheap to insure and run. plus theyre foooooo king fast!!

 

[1L19]

Just the 'leak' for me (still haven't got round to fixing it haha) other than that no other problems

 

[Razor]

glad to hear
So you guys havent had the fun of broken cd players
Dodgy temperature sensors and window regulators ? LoL

Goood to hear

Going to have a look about the "leak"

 

[olliep]

glad to hear
So you guys havent had the fun of broken cd players
Dodgy temperature sensors and window regulators ? LoL

Goood to hear

Going to have a look about the "leak"

 

[seantdi]

ya i got a 150 tdi fr+ a few months back. very nice car to drive and looks sexy as hell!! havent had any problems with leaks yet! try get one with a fsh if you can as you will know it has been looked after. best get a mechanic to go with you if your not sure what to look out for. there will be some differance between your 1.4 and any tdi in the range even the 90bhp.

 

[Razor]

I was relating to all the problems i had with the ibiza !!

@ seantdi

Yeh mate
cant wait to get something decent engine wise
Make it actually do something lol

 

[seantdi]

dont know what mods you can do other than a remap without costing the earth!!

 

[olliep]

I was relating to all the problems i had with the ibiza !!

@ seantdi

Yeh mate
cant wait to get something decent engine wise
Make it actually do something lol

ah, well to be honest, you could i supposed expect that kinda prob' however i'm yet to experience it. all vags have poor window regulators. they failed on my mk3 ibiza too. i have been aware of a few people with temp senders fail but not any significant number. The cd changers occasionaly appear to have failed however its actually a common collection of scum on one of the mechanical parts thats easy to reach and brush off with a toothbrush or something.

MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS:
if you test drive one, reverse round a 90 degree angle and apply the brakes both ways. they have a tendancy to do very strange things (not performance wise, but odd and very loud honking noises) which is a £100 re weighting of the rear calipers at the dealers.

its a difficult one because although i'm aware of many frequent issues, theyre all either insignificant or easy to DIY fix. click my link to my progress page and theres a list of issues that i've had.

have a look at 'honest john'. its a review website and the conclusions are based on feedback from the population. it mentions that the 6 speeds on the 1.8T's are prone to fail after 6/7 years but i guess that doesnt apply to you...

as far as engines are concirned, if you REALLY cant get the 150tdi the 130 will still put smiles on your face. i just think in my opinion the asthetics of the non fr/cupra would get tiresome as there 'starting to age' a bit now. the diesel FR and cupra isnt terrifying to insure and i, at the age of 19 was quoted about a grand for a cupra. the diesels are fantastic and my biggest seat related regret was not getting the diesel. the 1.8t will have it off the lights, for a short while and top end but all the rest of the time the TDI wins. a mate of mine drove to a meet in tandom with me the other week and i almost cried... where was that 30bhp??? nowhere to be seen!

to summarise however, if anyone asked me "whats the one thing that really strikes you as an issue with the leon??" i'd say the leaking. It comes up in the mk1 leon section so frequently and although it has a DIY-able fix, it will innevitable come back. not a MAHOOOSIVE issue though and i can happily live with it.

 

[seantdi]

ya my pervious car was a 130 bora and they both give a lot of people frights when the find out they are diesel. they will give a lot of mid range petrol yokes a run for there money if not leave them in there wake! they would be mad with a remap and clutch upgrade!! plus you will still turn around about 35-45mpg

 

[olliep]

very true and the %age increase from remaping a diesel is massive compared to that of a petty

 

[1.9...stefan]

Ollie.... dont suppose you know any more on the noise that comes from the rear brakes when reversing... from the last time i had my calipers off they've been making a right racket and when i turn and reverse it sounds exactly as if a coil spring has poped out of place

cheers

 

[olliep]

Ollie.... dont suppose you know any more on the noise that comes from the rear brakes when reversing... from the last time i had my calipers off they've been making a right racket and when i turn and reverse it sounds exactly as if a coil spring has poped out of place

cheers

pm me your e-mail address and i'll send you a video of mine doing it... i'm not entirely sure what was the exact problem but seat know about it and developed a 'fix' pack that the dealers get on. involves re weigting the calipers or applying weights or something

 

[Razor]

ah, well to be honest, you could i supposed expect that kinda prob' however i'm yet to experience it. all vags have poor window regulators. they failed on my mk3 ibiza too. i have been aware of a few people with temp senders fail but not any significant number. The cd changers occasionaly appear to have failed however its actually a common collection of scum on one of the mechanical parts thats easy to reach and brush off with a toothbrush or something.

MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS:
if you test drive one, reverse round a 90 degree angle and apply the brakes both ways. they have a tendancy to do very strange things (not performance wise, but odd and very loud honking noises) which is a £100 re weighting of the rear calipers at the dealers.

its a difficult one because although i'm aware of many frequent issues, theyre all either insignificant or easy to DIY fix. click my link to my progress page and theres a list of issues that i've had.

have a look at 'honest john'. its a review website and the conclusions are based on feedback from the population. it mentions that the 6 speeds on the 1.8T's are prone to fail after 6/7 years but i guess that doesnt apply to you...

as far as engines are concirned, if you REALLY cant get the 150tdi the 130 will still put smiles on your face. i just think in my opinion the asthetics of the non fr/cupra would get tiresome as there 'starting to age' a bit now. the diesel FR and cupra isnt terrifying to insure and i, at the age of 19 was quoted about a grand for a cupra. the diesels are fantastic and my biggest seat related regret was not getting the diesel. the 1.8t will have it off the lights, for a short while and top end but all the rest of the time the TDI wins. a mate of mine drove to a meet in tandom with me the other week and i almost cried... where was that 30bhp??? nowhere to be seen!

to summarise however, if anyone asked me "whats the one thing that really strikes you as an issue with the leon??" i'd say the leaking. It comes up in the mk1 leon section so frequently and although it has a DIY-able fix, it will innevitable come back. not a MAHOOOSIVE issue though and i can happily live with it.

Cheers bud for the info
I will be having a look on that website now !!

 

[Razor]

Ok
Just spotted this on Autotrader
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...icleYearOfManufacture=2000&vehicleRegLetter=X

It would be something similar to what I would be after
Not sure on the Red but, maybe a gun metal colour if able

Can you do anything engine wise?
And whats the most brake it could make realistically (within a decent budget)


Thanks

 

[CHRI55]

i had a 110 se tdi a cuple of years ago. brilliant lil car but needed more umph. ather than that the only thing went wrong was electrical (cos i pulled a fuse) and a wheel baring (cos i put big wheels on it)

yes suffered from the leek in the floor. but is easily sorted via sealing up the doors.

you cant go wrong!!!!

 

[olliep]

i forgot to say, avoid red and blue. The paint quality is reputed to be pretty shabby ( and i can vouch for that)

 

[olliep]

that auto trader car has a good engine and if the reciepts are there for the cambelt, thats just saved you 30,000 pennies! its probably owned by someone on here.

 

[MrBen2k7]

if your getting a highish mileage... just make sure its got a good service history... dont touch it unless its got 12 months tax, and look for things like CAM belt, water pump and make sure you get a decent test drive....

I got a 1.9TDi SE 110 a month ago.... love it much better than my pile of poo 1.3 Fiesta

Hit's very nice speeds, did cheltenham to bristol in record time.... and used up about 10p of fuel

Lots of things that can be done to it, induction etc... not as much obv as an LCR... but thats to be expected....

 

[Razor]

Only problem with the 1.9TDi SE is the insurance !!
The 1.6 is the best bet at the moment i think and the standard 105 bhp will be better than the pish like 60 i am playing with now lol

Looks like i will be buying from mainland aswell, all prices over here in N.I are 3k or above