Hi (long post ahead)
TL;DR - I did have a Seat Leon 1.9 TDI then got a Focus C-Max which then stopped working so I put it off the road to repair and bought a 2nd car which was another Leon (but now petrol) which has meant I'll be using forum again!
I was a very happy 2002 Seat Leon 1.9 TDI owner for 6 years from 2010 but sadly the dual mass flywheel that had been failing for the last year began to get worse and worse meant I had to move it on. After a tough journey battling the clutch to get it through the gears, I took it on a final drive to a dealership where I picked up its replacement a 2007 Focus C-MAX TDCi.
Fast forward nearly 3 years later to Feb 2018 and that car blows its turbo after the DPF was clogged with ash and I find myself in a predicament - this car is still on finance (albeit a small monthly payment) I cant shift that on but the repairs at a garage would ahve been in excess of £1000 which I didn't have.
Enter my "temporary" car and what brings me back to this forum -
I picked up a 2004 Seat Leon 1.6 SX for £420 with 149k on the clock but with a long MOT and cambelt done 2 years ago. Been using this for last 8 months while Ive been trying to fix up my C-MAX and come last month, I got the C-MAX back on the road after I installed a new DPF and Turbo after doing a lot of extensive work cleaning and replacing pipework, Hurray!
Then the other week I got bit in the bottom big time by the fact that I used a cheap eBay turbo (despite it coming from a recommended seller on a forum I visited for my Ford needs) and it started to be very noisey and suspected failing of bearings. And then I noticed that there are leaks all from bottom of engine bay and there are error codes stating the DPF regenerations have been failing.
MOT was due for this car on 30th November and I sadly put the car off the road again as it obviously still is not ready, so back to the Leon.
The MOT was due on the Leon also, so I checked car and fitted a new horn that had stopped working and a registration bulb and it flew through it with no other problems than advisories on tyres (which I then asked them to replace anyway seeing as no other work needed doing).
Now I've accepted that I may have to cut my losses with the C-MAX I've realised now that I do actually really like this car as the new tyres have drastically improved the way it drives, so I don't think I will be seeing it as a "temporary" car anymore. Touch wood, it will carry on being very faithful and getting me from A > B. I've already started to give it a bit more TLC, I changed fuel filter (never been changed and the petrol coming out was virtually black!) and will be looking to do a full service. I've even cleaned throttle body and aligned it and the driving experience of it is getting better all the time, so is starting to not feel like a banger that, to be honest, it did feel like when I first got it!
Its not a flashy Cupra or anything or any kind of powerhouse on the road, but its a great little car for what it is I'm glad to be back in the SEAT world so can look to get advice / read about fixes from all the helpful people on this site! Glad to be back!
TL;DR - I did have a Seat Leon 1.9 TDI then got a Focus C-Max which then stopped working so I put it off the road to repair and bought a 2nd car which was another Leon (but now petrol) which has meant I'll be using forum again!
I was a very happy 2002 Seat Leon 1.9 TDI owner for 6 years from 2010 but sadly the dual mass flywheel that had been failing for the last year began to get worse and worse meant I had to move it on. After a tough journey battling the clutch to get it through the gears, I took it on a final drive to a dealership where I picked up its replacement a 2007 Focus C-MAX TDCi.
Fast forward nearly 3 years later to Feb 2018 and that car blows its turbo after the DPF was clogged with ash and I find myself in a predicament - this car is still on finance (albeit a small monthly payment) I cant shift that on but the repairs at a garage would ahve been in excess of £1000 which I didn't have.
Enter my "temporary" car and what brings me back to this forum -
I picked up a 2004 Seat Leon 1.6 SX for £420 with 149k on the clock but with a long MOT and cambelt done 2 years ago. Been using this for last 8 months while Ive been trying to fix up my C-MAX and come last month, I got the C-MAX back on the road after I installed a new DPF and Turbo after doing a lot of extensive work cleaning and replacing pipework, Hurray!
Then the other week I got bit in the bottom big time by the fact that I used a cheap eBay turbo (despite it coming from a recommended seller on a forum I visited for my Ford needs) and it started to be very noisey and suspected failing of bearings. And then I noticed that there are leaks all from bottom of engine bay and there are error codes stating the DPF regenerations have been failing.
MOT was due for this car on 30th November and I sadly put the car off the road again as it obviously still is not ready, so back to the Leon.
The MOT was due on the Leon also, so I checked car and fitted a new horn that had stopped working and a registration bulb and it flew through it with no other problems than advisories on tyres (which I then asked them to replace anyway seeing as no other work needed doing).
Now I've accepted that I may have to cut my losses with the C-MAX I've realised now that I do actually really like this car as the new tyres have drastically improved the way it drives, so I don't think I will be seeing it as a "temporary" car anymore. Touch wood, it will carry on being very faithful and getting me from A > B. I've already started to give it a bit more TLC, I changed fuel filter (never been changed and the petrol coming out was virtually black!) and will be looking to do a full service. I've even cleaned throttle body and aligned it and the driving experience of it is getting better all the time, so is starting to not feel like a banger that, to be honest, it did feel like when I first got it!
Its not a flashy Cupra or anything or any kind of powerhouse on the road, but its a great little car for what it is I'm glad to be back in the SEAT world so can look to get advice / read about fixes from all the helpful people on this site! Glad to be back!
