Advice on Cupra R buying?

[mix]

Hi Guys,

My dad is looking at a Leon Cupra R tomorrow that I have put a deposit down on as he is far more mechanically minded than me! I know all of this is buried within the site but as he is going over early tomorrow I need to get some info asap.

The owner has been very open about the condition of the car and mentioned that he sometimes experiences an issue with the drivers door. He locks the doors with the fob and sometimes the drivers door doesn't unlock with the others so he has to open it with the key.

Any ideas? How much is it likely to cost to put right? Especially as it doesnt happen everytime.

Secondly, the car is missing the front splitter, which I understand are fairly cheap... how much are they and are they easy to fit?

Also are there any other things my dad should check, common faults, tips etc... its an 04 plate LCR.

Would you say £8200 is fair for a metalic black 2004 04 plate LCR on 23k with FSH privately? Had 2 brand new michelins on the front recently and is spotless!

Cheers guys

Mike

 

[james walker]

whats the mileage on it £8200 5 years old seems a little steep to me...
has it got fsh?
splitter is around £20 from dealers

check leaky door seals, coilpacks prone to fail.
check usual clutch wear, tyre wear for tracking/camber issues.
ask as many questions as possible, mods etc.
check all paintwork as black is a pain for scratches swirl marks etc
exhaust bracket prone to fail and squeaks.

other than that just the usual visual checks, take your time and have as long a test drive, using all gears as possible mate.

good luck

 

[cordobabrendy]

8200 for a car with issues sounds too much to me. id have been expecting 7 or so.

 

[mix]

Updated first post, FSH and 23k

Yeah i almost bought one at a dealer for a similar price with a warranty, but it had paint damage.

I reckon top end of 7k.

 

[james walker]

http://www.whatcar.com/valuations/r...22481&editionId=22502&yearId=27&mileage=23000

£7180 private sale.... id say overpriced with work needing done mate, room for bargaining there though

 

[mix]

really struggling to find a tidy example for less than 7.5k tbh

 

[james walker]

its upto you what you pay mate, if your happy with it go for it....

just use the list price for bargaining.

good luck

 

[mix]

thanks for the advice james and cordobabrendy

any other people with advice on things to look out for?

how much for a cambelt change? Should it be done on year or mileage?

 

[james walker]

cambelt is 60k or 4 years iirc, costs around £350.

look for split crankcase breathe hose aswell, these are prone to fail.

look for signs that the car has been cared for. i.e washer bottle full, water level, oil level, cleanliness overall.

check all lights, also id invest in a fault code reader to chec the ecu for faults mate, cheap enough and will confirm if the cars okay for you.

 

[matt-drummer]

Check that the electric cooling fans work properly, there is a sticky thread on this site. Expensive to replace with new ones, mine went within the first month, garage replaced them under warranty fortunately - good job I did my research on this site first! Thanks SCN!

Check that it has the radio code, bit of a pain if you don't, mine has sat nav and cost £50 to recover at the dealers - its the only place that could do it, again fortunately I didn't have to pay for it.

Check that it has the rear headrests and the engine cover, mine didn't but negotiated a discount with the garage. The headrest have to come out to fold the seats, people sometimes forget to put them in before selling. I found the headrests and engine cover on ebay, the lc headrests are the same as the lcr.

Make sure the brakes are in good condition, expensive to replace.

If you can't be sure that its had the cambelt, tensioner and water pump changed be sure to budget for the work to be done, at 4years old or more it needs changing as its just not worth the risk. Don't take anyones word for it, you must be able to verify beyond all doubt or have it changed.

 

[Anders0n]

whatcar.com/valuations/result?makeId=22381&modelId=22481&editionId=22502&yearId=27&mileage=23000

£7180 private sale.... id say overpriced with work needing done mate, room for bargaining there though

Prices seem to be way above the ones in that link, for example I've never seen one advertised on 54k for £6100, more like £7k...