Seat Leon Tdi FR

[TY-HDI]

Anyone had/driven/own one of these? Know what to look out for?

I went to see a 05 plate Leon mk1 FR TDI 150 today.

I was pretty underwhelmed with the power, I have a 120(ish) bhp 206 Hdi as a run around atm and I was expecting it to be a lot faster, but didn't seem it at all.

Also, paint doesn't seem in great condition, few bubbles and small rust patch in front arch. is this usual for a 8year old seat? I've never had a seat before.

It's had a cambelt, service, Tyres, Brakes and MOT in the last few weeks so that's all good.

[C.A.R.]

Meant to be quite sound cars, I feel they are overpriced however, especially if you want one with the sporty bumpers. Seems that everyone has cottoned-on to the fact they're cheaper Golfs! Better looking too.

Rear door seals, boot seals and the LCD heater controls are common faults iirc.

I was going to buy one last year but couldn't find anything decent in my budget (3500 at the time) foolishly I bought a Focus instead haha. I never had a test-drive in a TDi one but had a 20V petrol 1.8T. Felt surprisingly well-built, but that could have been due to my conception of cars being slightly skewed by owning many rattling French motors...

[TY-HDI]

Its priced at 3300 but I can take it for 3000.

It does seem very solid and well built compared to the 206/306 I've driven for the last 3 years. The problems you mentioned seem non existent, It just worries me that the vanes on turbo might be stuck or might have a boost leak as it just doesn't seem as quick as i had hoped.

[Toms306]

I assume 05 plate is still the one equavalent to mk4 Golf? If not, ignore me lol, cant remember when they changed to the newer shape.

Did it smoke like f*ck when you booted it? If so, boost leak...

Also, how much does a 206 weigh? Probably a hell of a lot less than the ~1300kg that the Leon weighs, you can't expect it to be much quicker... It will also be a lot laggier, even VNTs aren't lagless, especially the large one bolted to the PD150. If the vanes stick it should be very noticeable tbh, either no bottom end but decent top end, or vice versa. If it's 'slow' across the range its probably not a vane issue, plus they often bring up EMLs for that.

The rust is normal for anything VAG of that age....especially the wings becuase theres some sound deadening stuff above the front arch liner, which gets wet, traps water and rusts the arches from the inside out.

I think they're overpriced for what they are personally, again same with anything VAG but the Cupra/FR models really do seem to hold thier value for some reason, but you do get a much better quality and feel inside for that extra IMO, its not just paying for a badge as people often say.

Things to watch for enginewise are DMF, cams and lifters (Id always go for time and distance servicing as the cam issue seems to be on longlife) and injector faults. Afaik there isn't a DPF to worry about on those either (theres not on the Golf so Im just assuming there).

[ozonehostile]

i think they are just slow cars, not much more power than a stage 2 306 but twice the weight

[Niall]

Typical VAG really. Feels very solid, no feedback at all from the car when giving it some and not particularly fast. They seem to be typically designed for someone who just wants a car to get from A to B and not really enjoy in the process

[thomson]

save ur money ill sell u my 2010 in a years time lol I got bored of my leon pretty quickly they aren't that fun to drive and mine was slammed 80mm on coilovers all round! but it all depends on what ur looking for in the car

[RJDubya]

Test drove 1 on Sunday and I thought it was quite a good drive, pretty sporty suspension as you'd expect and loads of torque... The thing that put me off was that from cold the turbo spooling up was really loud, to begin with I genuinely thought it was a siren, went like stink compared to my dt so I'm gonna turn the fuel up some more at the weekend!

[Piggy]

they can be mapped pretty easy...
I drove a mapped 08FR when it werent very old....it did surprise me....

would do 70mpg cruising and give you a face lift when you accelerated.

but tbh, I wouldnt go near one with rust?!...my 17yr old pug hasnt got any...why should a 7yr old better made car?!

[devils_fuel]

and i was looking at one of these for a replacement for MYA...

...walk away walk away fella

[TY-HDI]

Well I ended up going back and having another look/drive. This time I went for a longer drive and watched the speedo more and have to say it's a lot faster than It feels.

It's miles apart from the 206, and has such a better power band in every gear. It pulls hard all the way to 4k in every gear, and cruising in 6th is so comfortable and smooth. I drove a stage 2 Hdi for over 2 years would say they are close in acceleration but would choose this all day long as it does it without even having to try.

Also awesome Gti in Manchester have an offer for the PD engine Remaps now, only £150 or £200 with RR before and after so will be having that done in a few weeks. 190Bhp should be easily achieved.

It was up for £3.5k, I got him down to £3k and he left a 4 weeks old parrot Bluetooth kit fitted with a receipt for £130 and I'm very happy with it so far.


Oh yea and by rust, its a tiny patch in the drivers arch. Not really fussed by it.

[devils_fuel]

so its yours?, any pics?

[Jukie88]

Dude good shout :-) get it mapped and itl be an animal I've been out in the spanish forge Motorsport diesel cupra and holy shite it's quick nearly 300bhp if Iirc mods were pretty pricey but for smiles per mile !!!!! Well worth it i had a petrol cupra but regret it I should have got the diesel !!!!

[Toms306]

That's an expensive map lol, I got one for a mates 150 for £45.

Hope youre happy with it and enjoy it though. In all honesty I'm wishing I'd gone for a 150 Leon/golf instead of what I have now. Ah well.

[Just Sean]

Toms306 in 'wrong car' schocker

[Toms306]

People on here put me off another golf.

And the price lol....I wouldn't have got a golf for the same price as the vec, with a lot less spec/space as well...

[TY-HDI]

Yep it's mine. Will get some pictures later, first day off since I bought it.

That £45 is likely a generic map, I assume from blacksmoke? I'd sooner spend extra, take it to a VAG specialist and have RR proof and a 30day money back guarantee personally.

Might have the cat and backbox removed soon, then egr clean and removal and Remap. Then some BBS might have to be purchased.

[Toms306]

Yes blacksmoke. Must admit though, he's been on it for nearly a year now with no issues! If you can afford £200 then obviously that is the better option though.

Get an Allard EGR delete, removes the egr and throttle flap for a nice clean pipe. Hoffman decat aswell, doesn't see to matter much about the backbox.

Also I have some BBS for sale on ebay....................they're the standard Golf wheels though, you didnt specify which BBS.

[TY-HDI]

Yea i will look into the Allard pipe, quite pricey though. I might just open and remove the internals from the CAT, these new MOT rules confuse me as to what will pass soon.

Out of interest, does his map smoke much? Caused any other issues?

Haha, not golf BBS thanks. Maybe CH, or LM's. Other than that, I want some pressed plates, leather handbrake cover and maybe LCR splitter.

[Toms306]

Yea i will look into the Allard pipe, quite pricey though. I might just open and remove the internals from the CAT, these new MOT rules confuse me as to what will pass soon.

Out of interest, does his map smoke much? Caused any other issues?

Haha, not golf BBS thanks. Maybe CH, or LM's. Other than that, I want some pressed plates, leather handbrake cover and maybe LCR splitter.

Yeah the pipes were about £50 when I bought mine, does give you a tap off point for a boost gauge as well.

They will pass MOT without a cat - I even emailed VOSA to check before decatting mine lol. Plus if its a genuine cat you get about £40 in scarp for it!

They all smoke a bit, more than the HDi's, it was about the same power as my mapped 130 was, but much less smoky than mine lol...never was sure if it was due to the boost leaks on my upgraded SMIC system or the shagged cams/lifters.

He did need a new clutch shortly after (done DMF at same time) but at 150k miles you don't expect a clutch to take well to a remap lol. I managed to keep my clutch and just treat it well though. Can't think of any other issues he had, haven't seen him lately though since he moved away for Uni.

Don't the Leons have a leather handbrake lever? I may still have one knocking about in the loft if its same as the Golf one.

[TY-HDI]

No It's plastic, but the golf ones fit or the covers are fine. Dig it out and if its in good nick ill buy it.

Thought the Allard was more than that, i'll have a look. Might get cat chopped out and sell for scrap then and weld a pipe in.

[declantg]

amazing when tuned, JJ will back me up about this. Our mate toby's is quick as f*ck

[Toms306]

No It's plastic, but the golf ones fit or the covers are fine. Dig it out and if its in good nick ill buy it.

Thought the Allard was more than that, i'll have a look. Might get cat chopped out and sell for scrap then and weld a pipe in.

Ok, it should be good nick, was mint when I removed it.....however its now been in the garage loft for the last 6months or so lol. I'll get a pic when I can get to it.

Maybe they've gone up then...I bought mine over a year ago lol.

And yeah that'll be the cheapest option, I can't weld though so went for the Hoffmann.