Buying used for the first time in over 20 years

[gingerwarrior79]

Am going to be looking at the following Leon 1.4 TSI FR Technology ST (67 reg) today. It’s been for sale for 5 months, with only a small reduction in October. I’ve not bought a used car for over 20 years!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508135...

The MOT doesn’t scare me, but the fact it’s not sold makes me think there’s something awry. I’ll ask for the service history, but any guidance on what else I should be keeping an eye out for would be great.

[ZX10R NIN]

There are lots for sale, so how does it compare in price to others?

The amount of time it's been for sale isn't an issue, check the car out fully when you view it, I assume you've already done a Vcheck?

[Trevor555]

I really like those Leon estates.

The slightly older models are only £35 road tax I think, that might be why this one's sat around for a while.

So a March 2017 car is £35 RFL

The same car registered Sep 2017 is £195 RFL

Edited by Trevor555 on Sunday 18th January 11:40

[Oberheim]

The VAG 1.4 150hp TSi engines from that period are excellent units. Smooth, punchy and economical due to the ACT technology that makes them run in 2 cylinder mode when on a light load. I had a 66 plate Ibiza FR estate with the same engine and it was faultless for the 7 years in my ownership. Mine was £30 annual road tax.

[gingerwarrior79]

ZX10R NIN said:

There are lots for sale, so how does it compare in price to others?

The amount of time it's been for sale isn't an issue, check the car out fully when you view it, I assume you've already done a Vcheck?

It’s pretty much under on par I think.

I hadn’t done a Vcheck, but I have now.

This has come up -

Commencement of finance agreement25th Nov 2025
Duration of finance agreement12 months
Agreement typeUNIT STOCKING
DescriptionSEAT LEON FR TECHNOLOGY T

I understand this is perfectly normal for dealerships.

The current forecourt value is over £1,000 more than what it’s currently selling for.

[butchstewie]

I don't want to sound negative but just be prepared to be disappointed.

I know this will sound a bit "back in my day" but a lot of used cars these days seem to be utter sheds thrown on the forecourt with no prep rather than anything you'd look at and think of as the "ready to drive away" minter the advert often makes them sound like.

Best of luck

[gingerwarrior79]

butchstewie said:

I don't want to sound negative but just be prepared to be disappointed.

I know this will sound a bit "back in my day" but a lot of used cars these days seem to be utter sheds thrown on the forecourt with no prep rather than anything you'd look at and think of as the "ready to drive away" minter the advert often makes them sound like.

Best of luck

Thank you. I am definitely going in open minded but also know that in two weeks my lease car goes back and I don’t have a replacement

[ARH]

gingerwarrior79 said:

butchstewie said:

I don't want to sound negative but just be prepared to be disappointed.

I know this will sound a bit "back in my day" but a lot of used cars these days seem to be utter sheds thrown on the forecourt with no prep rather than anything you'd look at and think of as the "ready to drive away" minter the advert often makes them sound like.

Best of luck

Thank you. I am definitely going in open minded but also know that in two weeks my lease car goes back and I don t have a replacement

Probably cheaper to hire a car for a week or 2 than buy a bit of shed in a hurry, not saying it will be a shed. But it is an old car and most cars of that age are sold because there is something wrong or likely to fail soon. I am just trying to say look around and buy on condition above all else, don't rush into a decision, if there are things making you think twice look for another one.

[gingerwarrior79]

ARH said:

gingerwarrior79 said:

butchstewie said:

I don't want to sound negative but just be prepared to be disappointed.

I know this will sound a bit "back in my day" but a lot of used cars these days seem to be utter sheds thrown on the forecourt with no prep rather than anything you'd look at and think of as the "ready to drive away" minter the advert often makes them sound like.

Best of luck

Thank you. I am definitely going in open minded but also know that in two weeks my lease car goes back and I don t have a replacement

Probably cheaper to hire a car for a week or 2 than buy a bit of shed in a hurry, not saying it will be a shed. But it is an old car and most cars of that age are sold because there is something wrong or likely to fail soon. I am just trying to say look around and buy on condition above all else, don't rush into a decision, if there are things making you think twice look for another one.

The car seemed to be in good condition. A couple of bumps that had been fixed on the bumper (granted not very well). Services done at independents. Cambelt changed at 70k service (but no receipt). Last service done at 93k in September.

[ZX10R NIN]

gingerwarrior79 said:

The car seemed to be in good condition. A couple of bumps that had been fixed on the bumper (granted not very well). Services done at independents. Cambelt changed at 70k service (but no receipt). Last service done at 93k in September.

If there's no receipt of the cambelt being done, I'd have to take it that the cambelt hadn't been done.

If you were px'ing your current car & didn't have receipts for the belt being done they'd be lowering their offer so bare that in mind.

[gingerwarrior79]

ZX10R NIN said:

If there's no receipt of the cambelt being done, I'd have to take it that the cambelt hadn't been done.

If you were px'ing your current car & didn't have receipts for the belt being done they'd be lowering their offer so bare that in mind.

I won’t be part exchanging mine as it’s a lease which goes back at the beginning of February.

If they can’t provide the receipt, I will ask them to drop the price so I can get it done for peace of mind.

[stressd]

They must have something to know the cambelt has been done- maybe recorded on the engine itself or when stamping the service book. If it’s been serviced regularly and drives well with no funny noises, then worth considering.

[gingerwarrior79]

stressd said:

They must have something to know the cambelt has been done- maybe recorded on the engine itself or when stamping the service book. If it s been serviced regularly and drives well with no funny noises, then worth considering.

The service book had ticks against what was done at each service, along with the stamp of the garage that did it.

Would you look to contact that garage for proof of the work done? Or would you ask the dealer to provide more proof.

I didn’t hear any untoward noises whilst driving which was good.

[Terzo123]

Good cars, the wife has had hers for approaching 9 years.

Check the front wings for rust. We've had to replace ours as Seat wouldn't honour the anti corrosion warranty claiming it was "fold rust". They have a small piece of foam between the wing an inner arch which seems to gather water and cause the corrosion.

The cambelt recommendations also changed to bring the car into line with the rest of Europe. From memory I believe its now classed as either a lifetime belt, or 10 years and 120k.

[stevemcs]

gingerwarrior79 said:

I won t be part exchanging mine as it s a lease which goes back at the beginning of February.

If they can t provide the receipt, I will ask them to drop the price so I can get it done for peace of mind.

These no longer have a timing belt schedule, and anyone doing the really should have the correct equipment to do it - on this it’s not as simple as a locking kit, they need diagnostics and a tool to go on the end of the cams and that’s around £4000 last time I checked.

[SFTWend]

I don't know much about this make/model, but I do know that this type of family car should sell within say 60 days if priced correctly and doesn't have any issues. It certainly appears priced correctly, so I'd be worried about the latter. Petrol family cars under 10 years old are in high demand at the moment.

[andy43]

Trevor555 said:

I really like those Leon estates.

The slightly older models are only £35 road tax I think, that might be why this one's sat around for a while.

So a March 2017 car is £35 RFL

The same car registered Sep 2017 is £195 RFL

Edited by Trevor555 on Sunday 18th January 11:40

That’s something I always try and check. Over a five year ownership that difference really does add up.

[ARH]

stevemcs said:

gingerwarrior79 said:

I won t be part exchanging mine as it s a lease which goes back at the beginning of February.

If they can t provide the receipt, I will ask them to drop the price so I can get it done for peace of mind.

These no longer have a timing belt schedule, and anyone doing the really should have the correct equipment to do it - on this it s not as simple as a locking kit, they need diagnostics and a tool to go on the end of the cams and that s around £4000 last time I checked.

My experience of buying older cars with no record of timing belt change is to get the dealer to do the job rather than a discount. They will get a trade price and often charge a bit for doing it but nowhere near as much as you would pay to get it done. These days getting discounts on cars of that age is difficult if not impossible, the dealer will just say that's the price if you don't buy it the next customer will.

[OutInTheShed]

I would get the dealer to do the timing belt and any other jobs.
Then agree an all-in price for the car as delivered.

You don't want to pay a lot of money for a car, then have something go wrong, and give the dealer a cop-out of someone else having done major work on the car.
As others have said, dealers will get it done at trade rates.

I do know someone who ended up rejecting a car due to faults which were very likely introduced when a cam belt was changed at purchase.

You might say, getting the belt done by someone better would have avoided that, fair comment!

IMHO, this car is not great value, in a few years it will be a high mileage shed and could be worth a lot less.
For sure, we pay a premium for an estate that's not completely wrecked, but it's a 90k mile car with a small engine.
It could be a high cost per year to be driving a shed in 2 years' time.
Conversely, someone who doesn't do much mileage might get several years out of it and find it good value.

Buying a tidy estate is not easy these days.

[gingerwarrior79]

OutInTheShed said:

I would get the dealer to do the timing belt and any other jobs.
Then agree an all-in price for the car as delivered.

You don't want to pay a lot of money for a car, then have something go wrong, and give the dealer a cop-out of someone else having done major work on the car.
As others have said, dealers will get it done at trade rates.

I do know someone who ended up rejecting a car due to faults which were very likely introduced when a cam belt was changed at purchase.

You might say, getting the belt done by someone better would have avoided that, fair comment!

IMHO, this car is not great value, in a few years it will be a high mileage shed and could be worth a lot less.
For sure, we pay a premium for an estate that's not completely wrecked, but it's a 90k mile car with a small engine.
It could be a high cost per year to be driving a shed in 2 years' time.
Conversely, someone who doesn't do much mileage might get several years out of it and find it good value.

Buying a tidy estate is not easy these days.

It’s definitely not easy for sure. I’m finding a lot of cars for sale by “dealers” who haven’t been around for a while.

Appreciate your comments (and other people’s too) and I do think I’ll be walking away from this one.

My next option was to be a Passat with 115k on the clock

Probably should down size my cricket/golf bags and restrict family what they take on holiday