New Leon, which car broker?

[skahigh]

Hello folks,

Mrs S and I are expecting our first baby at the end of the year and being a PHer I've decided this is a good opportunity to get new cars for both of us. Current fleet is an '08 Fiesta for her and a 350Z for me, clearly the Zed is not an ideal family car and I'd like my other half to have something a little bigger and a bit newer.

Today we took a brief stroll around the usual suspects (Seat, VW, BMW, Ford, Renault) and decided the Leon is the car we like the best to suit our needs. I like the kit of the FR and just a couple of options (Technology pack, Leather pack) make it a very well equipped car. Enginewise it's between the 2.0 TDI 184 and the 1.4 TSI, I'm coming to the conclusion that the petrol is probably the better option though I think I will get some resistance on this.

To the point then...

I've been having a look at a few of the online brokers (DriveTheDeal, Broadspeed, CarFile) and it looks like around 3k off list is achievable. Comparing Seat's 4.9% PCP to the various lease options available there isn't a lot in it but I reckon the lower monthlies of the PCP probably make it preferable.

So, does anyone have any experiences of these brokers they can share? Are there others that are recommended I should be looking at? How likely are the dealers to beat the quotes from the brokers?

If anyone has any experiences to offer of the new Leon I'd also be interested to hear them, good or bad.

Also, I'm considering an E90 M3 Saloon as my own replacement family car.

[vikingaero]

Quite a few dealers will match the price from the brokers if you walk in with a printout from that day. Quite a few of these dealers will supply cars for the brokers (My brother went into a VX dealer and got a price from the salesman, price was nowhere near broker prices so he ordered online. The supplying dealer was the same dealer he'd been to and the same salesman did the handover).

I've used both DTD and Carfile for years (10-12 cars). DTD is delivery to your door (or realistically a nearby street/carpark/layby where the transporter can fit). Carfile is normally collection (mostly from Midlands dealers).

[va1o]

Tried the 1.4 TSI in the new Leon, its an excellent engine and suits the car very nicely. Quick and responsive with good economy. Not sure its really comparable to the 2.0 TDI 184 though! Technology Pack for sure makes the car a very nice place to be. Optional 18" alloys and the convenience pack finish it of nicely too.

[skahigh]

va1o said:

Not sure its really comparable to the 2.0 TDI 184 though!

Only really in the sense that I like as much power as possible but, prefer petrol engines in general. MPGwise they are fairly close, worked it out at around 800 quid difference for 45,000 miles, makes the petrol seem a better choice.

[David87]

The Leon is nice, but after looking at pretty much everything suitable for baby-carrying duties, I went with a new Qashqai. Arrives next week! Not as sporty as the Leon FR, but the Tekna model is even better equipped and it's a bit more practical. The new Mazda 3 is worth a look too if you haven't already discounted it - I was quite impressed. Congrats on the baby, BTW.

[va1o]

skahigh said:

Only really in the sense that I like as much power as possible but, prefer petrol engines in general. MPGwise they are fairly close, worked it out at around 800 quid difference for 45,000 miles, makes the petrol seem a better choice.

For power you'd be better of with the 1.8 TSI as that's 180PS, and when combined with the DSG 'box achieves a 7-sec 0-60 run. Will use a bit more fuel though

[AJB88]

skahigh said:

Hello folks,

Mrs S and I are expecting our first baby at the end of the year and being a PHer I've decided this is a good opportunity to get new cars for both of us. Current fleet is an '08 Fiesta for her and a 350Z for me, clearly the Zed is not an ideal family car and I'd like my other half to have something a little bigger and a bit newer.

Today we took a brief stroll around the usual suspects (Seat, VW, BMW, Ford, Renault) and decided the Leon is the car we like the best to suit our needs. I like the kit of the FR and just a couple of options (Technology pack, Leather pack) make it a very well equipped car. Enginewise it's between the 2.0 TDI 184 and the 1.4 TSI, I'm coming to the conclusion that the petrol is probably the better option though I think I will get some resistance on this.

To the point then...

I've been having a look at a few of the online brokers (DriveTheDeal, Broadspeed, CarFile) and it looks like around 3k off list is achievable. Comparing Seat's 4.9% PCP to the various lease options available there isn't a lot in it but I reckon the lower monthlies of the PCP probably make it preferable.

So, does anyone have any experiences of these brokers they can share? Are there others that are recommended I should be looking at? How likely are the dealers to beat the quotes from the brokers?

If anyone has any experiences to offer of the new Leon I'd also be interested to hear them, good or bad.

Also, I'm considering an E90 M3 Saloon as my own replacement family car.

Join Leon Owners Club (On facebook or LeonOC.com)

Jenning's SEAT of Middlesbrough offer discounts for LeonOC members

Any they deliver country wide

[JackReacher]

Also find out when the end of the quarter is, might be end of June? The dealers might be even more keen to offer discounts. I think I will be ordering my Leon then for September delivery.

I've driven both the 140 Petrol (which is being replaced by 150bhp version with cylinder on demand) and the 150 and 184bhp diesel. I think I'm going for the 184bhp diesel due to 20k miles per year and I want DSG, which isn't offered on the 1.4 for some reason. The 1.4 is the nicer engine, more refined and sounds better, but it can't match the grunt of the 184 diesel. Also the 184 diesel has independent rear suspension, not that I noticed much of a difference on the test drives.

[Petrol Only]

Carfile are excellent and would have delivered my skoda for free if needed. But the dealer was only 20 miles away in Mansfield. So I picked it up.

[skahigh]

va1o said:

skahigh said:

Only really in the sense that I like as much power as possible but, prefer petrol engines in general. MPGwise they are fairly close, worked it out at around 800 quid difference for 45,000 miles, makes the petrol seem a better choice.

For power you'd be better of with the 1.8 TSI as that's 180PS, and when combined with the DSG 'box achieves a 7-sec 0-60 run. Will use a bit more fuel though

This is going to be my wife's car though and the 1.4 will be plenty powerful enough for her, I'm just keen not to get something too slow for the occasions when I will be driving.

The better fuel economy of the 1.4 is preferable to the 1.8 since Mrs S does about 15,000 a year.

Thanks for all the replies so far, it sounds like the brokers are fine to use if you can't talk the local dealer in to giving a better deal.

We've not had a test drive yet but will set that up in the next few weeks and probably try and do the deal around the end of June.

[va1o]

1.4 TSI is easily the best engine choice by a country mile, I'm just slightly confused how you ended up comparing that to the 184PS TDI

Good luck anyway its a nice car and you can't really go wrong with it. Prices here seemed to be the cheapest of all the brokers last time I looked - http://www.nationwide-cars.co.uk/cars/seat_leon_r3...

[Wild Rumpus]

I used Broadspeed to buy my Skoda Yeti, all went smoothly.

[CarlT]

JackReacher said:

Also find out when the end of the quarter is, might be end of June? The dealers might be even more keen to offer discounts. I think I will be ordering my Leon then for September delivery.

I've driven both the 140 Petrol (which is being replaced by 150bhp version with cylinder on demand) and the 150 and 184bhp diesel. I think I'm going for the 184bhp diesel due to 20k miles per year and I want DSG, which isn't offered on the 1.4 for some reason. The 1.4 is the nicer engine, more refined and sounds better, but it can't match the grunt of the 184 diesel. Also the 184 diesel has independent rear suspension, not that I noticed much of a difference on the test drives.

Targets are reached with registrations not orders. So, ordering end of June for September would not get you a better deal. The idea of better deals at month / quarter end is only likely to be true if the dealer has a car in stock for immediate delivery that you want. If not it is an urban myth!

[JackReacher]

CarlT said:

Targets are reached with registrations not orders. So, ordering end of June for September would not get you a better deal. The idea of better deals at month / quarter end is only likely to be true if the dealer has a car in stock for immediate delivery that you want. If not it is an urban myth!

Thanks, thinking about it that must be why they pre-reg cars so makes sense. Presumably they still have monthly sales targets though?

[XAF]

We've just got a 1.4 FR 5 dr for the exactly same reason as you. Baby time! We went for the upgraded wheels, convienience pack, winter pack, LED interior light pack (probably the only thing that I wouldn't worry about speccing in the future) and the offer they doing for DAB, LED lights etc. Wish I had gone for leather though.

Absolutely cracking car, plenty of room, great to drive perfect for the family - but I'd have one even if there wasn't a baby!

I got a quote from Drive the Deal, and then went around four different dealers. Ended up going to Westgate Seat in Grimsby of all places. Hour and a half drive to get there, but only place that would pretty much match drive the deal, plus the did PX for the other halfs crappy old micra!

The 1.4 engine really is good. Punchy, torquey and more than enough power for what we need - combined with 44mpg since we collected 2500 miles ago, and best on one tank was over 50mpg!!

[CarlT]

JackReacher said:

CarlT said:

Targets are reached with registrations not orders. So, ordering end of June for September would not get you a better deal. The idea of better deals at month / quarter end is only likely to be true if the dealer has a car in stock for immediate delivery that you want. If not it is an urban myth!

Thanks, thinking about it that must be why they pre-reg cars so makes sense. Presumably they still have monthly sales targets though?

They do or maybe quarterly targets.

[skahigh]

XAF said:

We've just got a 1.4 FR 5 dr for the exactly same reason as you. Baby time! We went for the upgraded wheels, convienience pack, winter pack, LED interior light pack (probably the only thing that I wouldn't worry about speccing in the future) and the offer they doing for DAB, LED lights etc. Wish I had gone for leather though.

Absolutely cracking car, plenty of room, great to drive perfect for the family - but I'd have one even if there wasn't a baby!

I got a quote from Drive the Deal, and then went around four different dealers. Ended up going to Westgate Seat in Grimsby of all places. Hour and a half drive to get there, but only place that would pretty much match drive the deal, plus the did PX for the other halfs crappy old micra!

The 1.4 engine really is good. Punchy, torquey and more than enough power for what we need - combined with 44mpg since we collected 2500 miles ago, and best on one tank was over 50mpg!!

Pretty much exactly the spec I was thinking of, metallic paint, free Technology pack, Leather pack (includes Winter pack), 18" performance wheels, spare wheel and convenience pack.

Leather I'm now sort of rethinking, we decided it was necessary because of making it easier to clean up baby excretions but is this really true? It's a fairly expensive option if I've got this wrong.

Quoted around £19,500 by drive the deal taking the 4.9% 3 year PCP, should give payments of £200pm with a £5k deposit.

[gizlaroc]

I was lent a 2.0tdi A3 one weekend and then the 1.4tfsi the following weekend.

The 1.4tfsi was so, so much nicer all round. No way I would own the tdi with a manual 'box, it was horrid, but the 1.4tfsi I got very close to buying. I was only lent it as a mate who works at Audi wanted me to stock knocking Audis ride quality when we were discussing cars, and nearly bought one.


Oh, and doing my usual 90 mile round trip the 2.0tdi returned 48mpg, the 1.4tfsi returned..........48mpg.

Also, the 1.4 was £2k cheaper, but the residuals were the same after 3 years, so the car was £58 a month cheaper.
Doing 15k miles a year fuel is £150 a month in the petrol and £165 in the diesel, so overall the petrol would be roughly £75 a month cheaper, or 20% less.

Diesels are on their way out imho.

Give it 10 years and I reckon they will be less than 25% of new car sales.

[TimmyWimmyWoo]

I've borrowed a colleague's 5dr Leon FR with the 1.4 TFSI for the weekend - it's incredibly good. Very nimble and resistant to understeer, and is well specced. She's borrowed my A3 Saloon S-Line with the same engine - I miss the B&O sound system but that's about it! The Leon feels faster too, somehow – could be because it's a manual and my A3 is a DSG.

It might be worth getting some quotes from Carwow too.

[skahigh]

TimmyWimmyWoo said:

It might be worth getting some quotes from Carwow too.

I'll take a look at that thanks!