£7k Seat Leon 1.4 TSI SE
Discussion
Made a post recently as I was looking for a replacement for my ageing skoda fabia. I received some very helpful advice from everyone but one recommendation for the seat leon caught my eye after doing further research. Was looking particularly at this example. Is it a decent buy? is there anything to note here. FSH checks out, however the cambelt and water pump have not been done yet. All tyres are also approaching 3mm of tread. Any input of what I should be looking for here is greatly appreciated. Thanks
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602260...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602260...
Looks about right pricewise. I sold my 3-door FR 2015 (50k miles) a couple of years ago for £8k.
They have quite a nice spec, CC, good economy and a nice everyday drive. The instrumentation and infotainment are an ergonomic delight in my opinion!
-Cambelt. VW group clarified this in 2023 that there is no timed interval for this engine, cambelt replacement is at 140K miles.
-If they are going to rust the first sign will be the forward edge of the rear wheel arch. Passenger side usually shows it before the driver's.
-Tyres would probably be best replaced with a set of something decent which will be £100-125/corner. If you ask the dealer to do it they'll only fit the cheapest ditchfinders, even if you can only haggle a hundered quid off use it to put something safe on IMO.
Mine was a comfortable and reliable car, I bought it new and kept it for over 9 years, was on the original exhaust, battery etc . The only work it had done was the front track rod ends.
Trivia: The £1.5m Zenvo Hypercar used the wing mirrors from the Mk3 SEAT Leon.
They have quite a nice spec, CC, good economy and a nice everyday drive. The instrumentation and infotainment are an ergonomic delight in my opinion!
-Cambelt. VW group clarified this in 2023 that there is no timed interval for this engine, cambelt replacement is at 140K miles.
-If they are going to rust the first sign will be the forward edge of the rear wheel arch. Passenger side usually shows it before the driver's.
-Tyres would probably be best replaced with a set of something decent which will be £100-125/corner. If you ask the dealer to do it they'll only fit the cheapest ditchfinders, even if you can only haggle a hundered quid off use it to put something safe on IMO.
Mine was a comfortable and reliable car, I bought it new and kept it for over 9 years, was on the original exhaust, battery etc . The only work it had done was the front track rod ends.
Trivia: The £1.5m Zenvo Hypercar used the wing mirrors from the Mk3 SEAT Leon.
Definitely a very intuitive car to use. The dealer did mention the same about the cambelt and showed me a printed off press release from Volkswagen. I feel like there is conflicting information about when the cam belt should be done. Some say every 5 years or 60k miles, other says every 10 years or just 140k miles etc.
I did notice some rust exactly in the same area you mentioned. Would this be treatable?
I did notice some rust exactly in the same area you mentioned. Would this be treatable?
I did as much research as possible on the cambelt interval. Ultimately I was happy that the official interval was 140k miles, there’s a lot of internet opinion, but the only VW communications I saw supported that.
Re corrosion. A 10year old car is going to have some corrosion underneath. There’s nothing I can see in the pics which shows obvious external corrosion showing on the arch paintwork.
It’s never easy buying a car with a bit of age! Is it corrosion or just mud and grime? I’m not qualified to give an opinion from a pic, but I don’t see anything immediately alarming.
They are essentially a VW Golf but with better ergonomics, a bit more character and a lower price. Mine was probably the “best” car I’ve owned in most respects, cheap to own and run, high 40s mpg and I still like the shape when I see them about.
Re corrosion. A 10year old car is going to have some corrosion underneath. There’s nothing I can see in the pics which shows obvious external corrosion showing on the arch paintwork.
It’s never easy buying a car with a bit of age! Is it corrosion or just mud and grime? I’m not qualified to give an opinion from a pic, but I don’t see anything immediately alarming.
They are essentially a VW Golf but with better ergonomics, a bit more character and a lower price. Mine was probably the “best” car I’ve owned in most respects, cheap to own and run, high 40s mpg and I still like the shape when I see them about.
Bought a 2018 Leon 1.4TSi FR in 2019 & sold it, after almost 7 years, last week. Only problem was a leaking water pump (known problem) changed under warranty. New battery 18 months ago. Bought for £14,500 & offered £9,000 trade-in against 2023/4 Skoda Koraqs by 3 Skoda dealers. Sold to Webuyanycar for £10,575. So deprecated less than £4k in 7 years. No visible rust except light surface rust on some areas underneath.
A car I really enjoyed driving except for the poor ride quality, hence the change to a 2024 Karoq SEL. Also wanted a boot larger than the Leon's 380L.
A car I really enjoyed driving except for the poor ride quality, hence the change to a 2024 Karoq SEL. Also wanted a boot larger than the Leon's 380L.
Edited by Glosphil on Sunday 29th March 21:42
Check the front wings for rust. The image below was from my wife's 2015 Leon. The car had full Seat service history but they refused to repair the wings under warranty citing Fold Rust. Both front wings were the same.
Apart from that, the car has been great. We bought it in 2017 and still have it.
Apart from that, the car has been great. We bought it in 2017 and still have it.
Jazoli said:
There's not a chance I'd be spending 7k on ANY car that looked liked that underneath, that looks like it's lived in the sea.
That was my initial thought!!Rust will be a major factor to consider for this age of car (some model of Yaris and Jazz suffer too), but I would definitely favour a Jap motor e.g. Auris, over any VAG products.
Bigdonny said:
Made a post recently as I was looking for a replacement for my ageing skoda fabia. I received some very helpful advice from everyone but one recommendation for the seat leon caught my eye after doing further research. Was looking particularly at this example. Is it a decent buy? is there anything to note here. FSH checks out, however the cambelt and water pump have not been done yet. All tyres are also approaching 3mm of tread. Any input of what I should be looking for here is greatly appreciated. Thanks
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602260...
The advert has now expired, likely car sold.https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602260...
OP did you end buying it?
M11rph said:
I did as much research as possible on the cambelt interval. Ultimately I was happy that the official interval was 140k miles, there s a lot of internet opinion, but the only VW communications I saw supported that.
Re corrosion. A 10year old car is going to have some corrosion underneath. There s nothing I can see in the pics which shows obvious external corrosion showing on the arch paintwork.
It s never easy buying a car with a bit of age! Is it corrosion or just mud and grime? I m not qualified to give an opinion from a pic, but I don t see anything immediately alarming.
They are essentially a VW Golf but with better ergonomics, a bit more character and a lower price. Mine was probably the best car I ve owned in most respects, cheap to own and run, high 40s mpg and I still like the shape when I see them about.
- Was there a year recommendation alongside the 140k mileage you saw. I'm conscious that as it has a low mileage of 60k it could be something to consider based on the age.Re corrosion. A 10year old car is going to have some corrosion underneath. There s nothing I can see in the pics which shows obvious external corrosion showing on the arch paintwork.
It s never easy buying a car with a bit of age! Is it corrosion or just mud and grime? I m not qualified to give an opinion from a pic, but I don t see anything immediately alarming.
They are essentially a VW Golf but with better ergonomics, a bit more character and a lower price. Mine was probably the best car I ve owned in most respects, cheap to own and run, high 40s mpg and I still like the shape when I see them about.
- So i did get this checked out at reputable lanoguard authorised undersealer. He got it up on the lift for me and checked it around for the corrosion. He essentially agreed that although there is some buildup it is a mixture of mostly surface rust, grime etc. The car was kept in Scotland for the majority of its life so it is to be expected really. No external corrosion on the arches, its mainly limited to the underside. A good professional pressure wash with foam and subsequent lanoguard application should do the job.
- The value proposition was hard to ignore really. It was well priced, decently specced as it is the SE Tech pack. Interior was extremely well maintained, as well as a perfect MOT history to date. Very comfortable to drive and I've seen other positive reviews from people alongside yourself on this forum.
Glosphil said:
Bought a 2018 Leon 1.4TSi FR in 2019 & sold it, after almost 7 years, last week. Only problem was a leaking water pump (known problem) changed under warranty. New battery 18 months ago. Bought for £14,500 & offered £9,000 trade-in against 2023/4 Skoda Koraqs by 3 Skoda dealers. Sold to Webuyanycar for £10,575. So deprecated less than £4k in 7 years. No visible rust except light surface rust on some areas underneath.
A car I really enjoyed driving except for the poor ride quality, hence the change to a 2024 Karoq SEL. Also wanted a boot larger than the Leon's 380L.
I think it does hold value quite well, was another thing I was looking for so glad to hear you had that experience. It is a bit less comfortable than a golf for example but I didn't mind too much since the handling is superb. I do a lot of driving on country roads and it is great fun to drive on twistier roads.A car I really enjoyed driving except for the poor ride quality, hence the change to a 2024 Karoq SEL. Also wanted a boot larger than the Leon's 380L.
Edited by Glosphil on Sunday 29th March 21:42
Terzo123 said:
Check the front wings for rust. The image below was from my wife's 2015 Leon. The car had full Seat service history but they refused to repair the wings under warranty citing Fold Rust. Both front wings were the same.
Apart from that, the car has been great. We bought it in 2017 and still have it.
Fortunately there was no rust there. I have seen that the anti-corrosion warranty for Seat on these cars is usually rejected for all sorts of reasons.Apart from that, the car has been great. We bought it in 2017 and still have it.
chip* said:
Jazoli said:
There's not a chance I'd be spending 7k on ANY car that looked liked that underneath, that looks like it's lived in the sea.
That was my initial thought!!Rust will be a major factor to consider for this age of car (some model of Yaris and Jazz suffer too), but I would definitely favour a Jap motor e.g. Auris, over any VAG products.
If the OP bought it from a trader, I'd suggest taking it for a fresh MOT and trying to reject it.
I bought a really low mileage Mondeo once, drove it for a year, sold it on, two years later it failed the MOT in a big rusty way.
Mr Pointy said:
OutInTheShed said:
Looks like the sills have been done with an old roller?
Do you mean the underseal? It reminds me of cars in my youth, where welding was a yearly payout and breakers' yards were full of rotted out 10 year old cars.
I think it needs a bit more than a wipe with sheep oil.
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