How has your Leon been holiding up since you bought it?

Tony2Quick4u

Guest
Hi all,

just a thread to see what has been cracking, falling off, rattling inside and outside your Leons since you purchased them?

what niggling problems? major problems? loves and hates about your car?

******************************

the setup for my handling on my Ibiza was perfect, and handled superbly! Is the Leon very heavy round corners etc. understeer oversteer?

straight line speed?

:cheers: :D :) ;)

Ps. As you can see i am getting old, wanting a decent car, what next, flat cap and pipe me thinks!:p
 
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andyb

Admin -SCN Canada:)
Aug 29, 2001
4,377
6
Vancouver
www.andyblackmoredesign.com
pretty good. Get an annoying, but not loud rattle from the dash, lots of stone chips on the front end and a crack windscreen and a dimmer switch replaced under warranty.

Done 52k now, so not too bad. No signes of wear on the tims other than the grab handles (known prob) which were also replaced under warranty)
 

Tony2Quick4u

Guest
thx for the info mate, much obliged.

also what are the diffrences, apart from looks of course from the 2002 Leons to the 2003 Leons?
 

big ALI H

Cavey
Jun 27, 2003
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Cas-Vegas, West Yorkshire
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Problems:
* Folding wing mirrors motor broke - replaced under warranty
* Tiny crack in back bumper next to tow point cover - done under warranty.
* A few rattles - nothing bad though.

I find it handles quite well, there is quite a bit of body roll but plenty of grip. Quite a bit of understeer, especially in the wet.

Surprised quite a few cars (and myself with some of them):
*BMW 330d, 330 (very very close) basically all but an M3, 530, 530d
*MG TF
*MR2
*Celica 190 T Sport
*Mini Cooper S
*Equal (neither of us pulling away) to a Mini Cooper S works which i know has also been chipped
*Astra 2.2 (not sure whether turbo)
*Mates 2.0 16v (red top) Calibra with about 175 BHP (whooped him)
*All Golfs (presumably except R32 - not found one to race)
*Not much off an Audi S3

Can't think of any more just now, hope this helps though Tony

:cheers:
 

Tony2Quick4u

Guest
Originally posted by big ALI H
Problems:
* Folding wing mirrors motor broke - replaced under warranty
* Tiny crack in back bumper next to tow point cover - done under warranty.
* A few rattles - nothing bad though.

I find it handles quite well, there is quite a bit of body roll but plenty of grip. Quite a bit of understeer, especially in the wet.

Surprised quite a few cars (and myself with some of them):
*BMW 330d, 330 (very very close) basically all but an M3, 530, 530d
*MG TF
*MR2
*Celica 190 T Sport
*Mini Cooper S
*Equal (neither of us pulling away) to a Mini Cooper S works which i know has also been chipped
*Astra 2.2 (not sure whether turbo)
*Mates 2.0 16v (red top) Calibra with about 175 BHP (whooped him)
*All Golfs (presumably except R32 - not found one to race)
*Not much off an Audi S3

Can't think of any more just now, hope this helps though Tony

:cheers:

Thats excellent mate and i take it your car is completely standard?

so when accelerating is the Leon the type of car which pushes you back into the seat? and you can feel it accelerating hard? i love that feeling.

also i am quite tall, 6ft 2", is there plenty of leg room for myself and space for the passenger behind me?

also is there plenty of arm room as well, like i mean i am not cramped up to the passenger next to me as i am quite wide in the shoulder area and need my room!:D

:cheers:
 

big ALI H

Cavey
Jun 27, 2003
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Yep, its totally standard apart from the Zippy air freshner! Must give it a few extra ponies!

I find that theres plenty of room in the front and rear. Theres also plenty of arm room on both sides.

The acceleration is a bit stange. You deffo get pushed back into the seat. Theres also times when i've not thought its that fast, then looked at the speedo and shocked myself. People who get in the car are quite surprised sometimes at how quick it is. Tell them to watch the speedo as i give it some and they are really impressed. The car is very very smooth to drive and sometimes gives the impression you're going slower than you actually are (eg motorway cruising). From a standing start, i does feel very quick though.

BTW it loves this colder weather too!!:D :D
 

big ALI H

Cavey
Jun 27, 2003
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2 other points i forgot - as mentioned before, i've got the leccy leather seats and theres that much adjustability (probably the same with normal seats too), its quite difficult to get a comfy position at first - you get there in the end though.

Also as Andy mentioned, look out for stone chips if you go for a second hand one. Mine has 2 quite nasty ones.
 

cuprabod

Active Member
Mar 24, 2003
643
5
Cheshire
Only had my car since feb this year ,it is an august 2001 car and it had 18,000 on the clock when i got it.I think i've had the usual probs,coil packs,rattling rear seats ,a few stone chips and noisy wipers.The car is much better in a staight line than on twisty roads, where to be honest its a bit of a handfull,but i supose that just adds to the fun.You really notice the power when you have driven a normal car and then get back into the cupra. by the way,I am now ino my third year of warrenty,which leaves some things to dealers discretion,anyone know if they will still replace damaged grab handles:confused:
 
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wurzel

Full Member
Jun 2, 2003
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East Anglia
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My Leon is good, had it a while now only a couple of problems:-
1) Dump valve - replaced under warranty
2) Glove box handle - Still waiting for a new one (its only been 6 weeks!)

Handling is okay, gets a bit hairy on bunpy roads nearly ended up with an unplanned-modification!

For the money car is very quick and well spec'd definetly don't regret buying unlike my last two fords!
 

AndyS Cupra R

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Sep 5, 2003
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CupraR

Dunno if I am allowed to answer here as mine is an R.

The only real issue I have is that it is very heavy on fuel (like low 20's no matter how its drivern) but I understand that this will get better when it hits 10K ish only got 2700 on at the mo. And the bloody parcel shelf on the O/S/R rattles causing the most annoying knowkcing sound ever - cant see a cure for it though so I will just have to settle for turning the stereo up nice n loud.

Having my front and rear screens replaced under warranty as both appear to be streaky like grease is on them but if you look close enough you can see it is actually the laminate that is at fault so they will be changed soon enough.

Other than that everything is good - no stone chips, cracks, other rattles, DV problems etc.
Looks like it could be a good ol trusty steed after all.

Oh- there is one other thing, every now and againt eh N/S/F door speakers pop loudly, was wondering if there is a bad earth somewhere or loose wire. Cant be arsed with looking so will have to get it looked at when it has its first service.
 

Tony2Quick4u

Guest
thanks alot for your opnions and experiences guys, its very much appreciated.

:cheers:
 

Tony2Quick4u

Guest
Originally posted by Dudemeister
only one problem - coil replaced after 4300 miles 12 months ago
everything else as it was when i got it new...

good points (apart from the obvious) - can fit the entire pram in the boot :D

luckily i am pram free for the moment!:D :) :p
 

-=Rob=-

Beer or Car?
Dec 14, 2002
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Here's my 2p worth Tony,

Had an 03 Cupra for 6 months now, covered just over 22k in it. The only problems I have had are:-

1 - Coil pack, didn't cause car to stop, but engine light kept coming on due to a misfire at 1200 rpm.

2 - Creaky back seat (very common).

3 - Now I have a loose drivers seat, it moves slightly when braking hard, has anyone else had this and got it fixed? My dealer said they couldn't find anything wrong with it!!! :mad:

To sum up, I have been well happy with the car, good for motorway's, handles pretty well, just slightly bouncy on un-even corners at speed. Has a bit more body roll than I would like, but you get used to it as the grip is there.

The main thing is reliability, the Vag engine is far more reliable than the CVH in your S2 Turbo, I've had one before too and it went wrong constantly!

Good luck!
 

-=Rob=-

Beer or Car?
Dec 14, 2002
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South West
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It was the catch on the drivers side, took the seat down, on the catch there is a moving part that wasn't in the right position so the seat was out of the joint, moved everything back as it should be and slammed the seat back up again, it's not done it since! I have seen on here people putting gaffer tape on the joints, but I haven't had to do that yet. Excuse the poor explanation, I'm not very technical when it comes to catches and joints!
 

dloureiro

Guest
Had the car since March 03 and quickly approaching the 30'000km mark. Problems thus far:

1- Fabric tear in driver's seat. Replaced under warranty.
2- Braking in wet on motorway was worrying as the brakes did not function immediately. This was in spray conditions. This has only happened when new and after a while it dissapeared. Now car brakes rain or shine:)
3- Back seat rattling. Fixed with liberal amounts of WD40 and banging the seat well shut.

There you go. Not really anything to complain about yet (touch wood!). I went with her from Holland on a trip in northern Spain and my wife and I were well impressed. If cruising sensibly, get good consumption yet in the mountain roads has nice power on tap to make overtaking moneuvres (sp?) fast and safe whether up-hill or downhill. Awesome. Really had a smug feeling around the Pais Vasco on the motorways as you get overtaken downhill by a nutter and you end up overtaking him on the next uphill segment just by keeping a constant speed. Happened quite often. Loads of pulling power!

David
 
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