Should i buy this car?????

[Onni92]

After my previous love affair with my first and second cars (Mk4 Ibiza and mk1 1.6s Leon) i have since been driving a Saxo VTR (don't hate) However i am in the market for something with a bit more power now that i have built up my no claims and i have my eyes set on a Cupra R.

I have around £3k to play with but could possible get together another grand if i wait a few months and save however i have seen a Cupra R for sale at a very good price due to the fact that it is a previous cat C write off and it is described as 'needing some slight TLC. (whatever that means)

I am not too bothered about the small dents and slightly off body work as my dad is good friends with someone who does that sort of thing for a living. Im also not overly fussed about it being a cat C because if i'm honest, I would probably keep this car until it dies or i get a good job/company car.

What bothers me in the 'slight smoke when boosting' as this could be any number of things. best cast i could buy a used turbo and it fixes the problem or worst case it would need an engine rebuild which is what i'm worried about.

What do you guys think? My initial thoughts were i could maybe use the problems to talk the dealer down to a grand and spend another grand fixing the car up which would leave me the grand i will need to insure the thing! Does this sound reasonable or is it too good to be true and the reason it is so cheap is because he knows full well it needs an engine rebuild?

Sorry for the essay, any help/advice would be greatly appreciated

http://www.caldervalemotors.co.uk/used-cars/seat-leon-1-8-20v-cupra-r-5dr-wakefield-201504212804507

 

[mattyholmz89]

That would probably be worth buying to break for parts if you had the time and wanted to make a bit of money from it... brakes £400 plus bumpers whatever someone will pay steering wheel upto £100 alloys upto £300 I would be all over buying it just to strip it mate its super cheap and if you don't someone will have this soon!

 

[Richie29]

It could be a good but that smoke could just be condensation or worse head gasket!! For £3k you could get a nice Leon with a few subtle mods then you can add the touches you want unless you want a standard one

 

[jackoni]

That would probably be worth buying to break for parts if you had the time and wanted to make a bit of money from it... brakes £400 plus bumpers whatever someone will pay steering wheel upto £100 alloys upto £300 I would be all over buying it just to strip it mate its super cheap and if you don't someone will have this soon!

If I lived in England I would be on my way to get this now!!!

 

[747_727]

Wow that's cheap. Worth a punt for that price. If it's no good you could brake it for more than the asking price as already been said.

 

[Stuart83]

Definitely worth a go! Do it and get it checked out by someone in the know.

 

[Onni92]

how much do you think this will cost to get running perfectly worst cast and best scenario?

 

[Stuart83]

It really does depend on whats wrong with it ... Do you know anyone who has a code reader you could plug into it? Could be something as simple as a boost leak and he just wants to move the car on.

Have you started / driven it?

Any idea what colour the smoke is?

 

[Onni92]

i do have a cheap code reader but the thing is its a 3 hour drive away! i was thinking of paying the £100 or whatever it is and get a mechanic to go and give it a pre purchase inspection and if he says it needs a couple of hundred pounds spending ill be all over it but if he says the head gasket is gone and it needs an engine rebuild i probably wont bother. That way i wouldn't have wasted a 3-4 hour trip there and then back again

 

[Stuart83]

Might be an idea - it could go either way; either next to nothing to replace, or EVERYTHING.

He could also give you a good idea about the general condition, ie brakes, clutch, consumables.

 

[Bouncerbeater]

Minor detail I know but it hasn't got a Recaro seats. Either way I'd snap it up if I didn't already have one.

 

[MATTCR]

phoned them before, sound like a right dodgy place

they said on the phone the smoke MIGHT be oil from a recent oil change, yeah ok sure, or maybe the engines fooked.

 

[Onni92]

Thats what i'm worried about. If the engine is completely nakered then i may as well save up a little bit extra and find one that is in half decent condition

 

[SlimsLCR]

I have an 04 black lcr, with low mileage, nice standard car, never messed with, in good condition inside and out! And id break your arm for 3k!lol

 

[Onni92]

so i should be looking to spend a bit less should i? I'm a bit confused as to what kind of price i would be expected to pay for an lcr which isnt going to die on me anytime soon with decent milage?

 

[MATTCR]

theres loads on ebay, i'd be looking to spend 2500-3000 for a good one, under 2k for an OK one and over 4k for a minter.

 

[Stuart83]

^ what he said.

 

[Onni92]

I have looked quite a bit on ebay, autotrader and gumtree and it seems there are a lot of Cupras but the only Cupra R's are like 3.5k minimum maybe i should just wait until june when my current insurance runs out and just keep an eye out for one that pops up until then!

what kind of milage should i be looking at for around 2.5-3k?

 

[SlimsLCR]

Well the prices your talking are about right for the English market, I'm in northern Ireland, smaller country, less people looking for them, so I cant ask for the price they would be over with you guys! If I lived in England I know I would get around 3500 the way it sits all day long and prob more! In your case I would just be careful of anything smoking!!! Its never a good sign!

 

[Stuart83]

Have you also tried pistonheads? Where about are you based?