Seat Leon/Cordoba?

Sleepy

I'm looking to pick up a new car at the moment and looking to get some feedback on the idea of picking up an 01/02 Seat Leon/Cordoba? Seems to be quite a few around with sub-70k miles. I'm assuming many/most of these were used as second cars until now but I'm not of the train of thought that having 2 kids means I need an mpv/suv.

Anything to be aware of on these cars? Any current/former owners with opinions?

Sleepy

No-one running either? Is that a bad sign!?

Sean Quagmire

Would you not look at a leon 05 onwards?

Sterling Archer

If your looking at one, go TDI, stay away from all the petrol models... There the same as a golf/polo... beautiful looking car but go for the diesel, my petrol has been alot of hassel..

bazz26

2 kids will be a bit of a sqeeze in a Cordoba, it's basically an Ibiza with a boot and alot smaller than the Leon.

If you need space then the obvious choice is the boards favourite, Skoda Octavia.

Sleepy

Problem is the Oktavia is half the country's favourite and there's very little available in the sub 3k price bracket that's not been taxied to pieces...

Would definitely look at a later Leon if I had the money.

Shane_ef, why do you recommend the diesel? Don't diesel's tend to cause more problems in older cars than petrols?

Sterling Archer

Well in my opinion you just can't kill a vw diesel engine, the 1.4 petrol is trying to pull too much, and the 1.6 is just about right but i think the 1.9 tdi is a stronger engine, and a leon isn't that old either..

Just my 2c

bazz26

The 1.4 litre 16v VAG engine of that vintage is rubbish, dog slow and it has a terrible reliability record, should be avoided.

salad dodger

Sleepy wrote: »

Anything to be aware of on these cars? Any current/former owners with opinions?

I ran an '01 1.6 Leon from '05 to '09 averaging about 12k miles a year. What follows is a list of the goods and not-do-goods experienced in that time:


Good:)
Lovely car to drive, nice and comfortable during the long journeys I often did in her. The 1.6 had plenty poke and regularly averaged well over 40mpg. Plenty space for lugging around people and shopping in the back(once managed to fit a 6ft box holding a massive xmas tree in with getting the boot closed!).

Not-so-good:(
Rear doors leaked every time it rained. The way the removable piece was designed for the radio meant that the plastic connections on the radio itself snapped and the radio had to be replaced. There were problems with the fuel pump which at its worst caused the car to die on me on the road. Once the pump was replaced she ran without a bother. The folding aspect for the electric mirrors stopped working. The central locking began not working properly requiring me to open the drivers door, turn the key in the ignition to be able to unlock the other doors an boot from the switch on the door.

So if you are looking at a Leon check every single button and switch to make sure the electrics are ok. I wouldn't say the car i had is indicitve of the marque as a whole but that said I was glad to get rid of it!!

I hope this has been of some help. Happy car shopping.

JJJJNR

I had a 01 1.6 16v from new till 05 wonder was it mine.. Dolphin Grey, set of 16 inch Audi TT alloys..? anyway sleepy the 1.6 16v is a cracker of an engine, some say it was pushing 125bhp and not the advertised 105, stay away from the 8v.

I had a leaky floor in mine once or twice but its a known issue and there are walkthroughs on the net on how to fix it...fairly simple.

I averaged roughly 35mpg in mine and drove fairly aggressively, my wife got much better at about 38/40! Plenty of space in the boot for buggies/golf clubs etc its such a stunning car in the right colour.. possibly one of the nicest shapes of that decade.

Servicing was fairly cheap and basic, timing belts can be expensive as there are two belts to change. ? I just remembered that from the time I changed mine.

robjones1981

i have a petrol leon from the years you mentioned - it has about 130k on the clock now and have had very very few problems with it -

few mates have have them also and the same experiences - no problems at all really once looked after - ie serviced when meant to be

i get about 42mpg from it, half city stop start driving, rest a split of bad old roads and motorway driving

would highly recommend to be honest

scudster

Deffo go for a TDI Leon/Toledo(saloon version). I had one for about 3 or 4 years. Great car and look nice. The door seals are common fault but a tube of all weather sealant and a few hours will cure that. The key fobs can loose their range after a while too. The radio on mine went bezerk but i bought a replacement one on fleabay for £20stg. Just keep it serviced regularly @ 10k miles. Even got the timing belt replaced in less than an hour and for about 80 euro. Its hand having a neighbour that works in a VW garage .
Also you can get between 53 and 58 mpg if you drive it with manners!
After I sold it to a mate he had it for 6 months and wrote it off by rolling it.