14th Oct 2002, 06:06

Lucky you!

Wait a couple of months and you will talk a whole different tune.

I also believed in the quality of Seat the first 6 months, but oh boy, what was I wrong.

30th Nov 2002, 05:57

I've actually had the car over a year and I never have a problem with it and the build quality and finish are excellent. These problems must be isolated to a small batch. But that is no excuse and suggests a poor quality control system where the odd turkey gets through. There is no excuse either for the shabby dealer treatment either, but remember these are dealers *not* Seat. Mind you Seat shouldnt stand for this - no manufacturer should.

4th Dec 2002, 10:26

It is not only the dealers, it is also Seat who doesn't care.

As I called Seat to complain, I was told that Seats are cheaper than VW, so the quality and the service are also to a lower standard.

Please read this again, these where the words of Seat Customer Service.

So it is not only the dealers, it is the whole company that sucks.

12th Dec 2002, 14:00

I have just completed 20,000 miles in my Seat Leon 1.4, in 11 months in the Signo petrol model and apart from a small problem with water leaking into the front passenger compartment, fixed very quickly, I have been delighted with the quality of the car and the service offered by the garage in Letterkenny, County Donegal. I am now considering buying a new Seat Leon 1.9 TDi.

21st Jan 2003, 04:29

Good for you, but remember 30% of the Leons out there are lemons, so chances are you will not be so lucky next time.

18th Mar 2003, 13:44

Hi I am thinking of buying a Leon TDi, but don't want a new one (one because I don't want to have to borrow that much money and two because of the depreciation with a new car). So that leads me to looking at second hand cars of which there are very few (in fact so far I haven't found any) for sale by private individuals. I resent buying a used car from a dealer, So I want to buy one from an auction, British car auctions. I reckon I can get a 'Y' reg one for about £6,000 from an auction (as opposed to £8,000 from a dealer) but I don't want to end up with one of these water leaking lemons that I hear about. Does anyone have any advice what to look for on the car to see if its likely to suffer from water leaks, I heard sills are different on the earlier models? Is this true?

Oh yeah and Seat Richardsons in Plymouth suck big time, I went in one Sunday fully prepared to buy a 1 year old TDi S from them, but they where more interested in the fact that they would be going home in half an hour! Dealers - who needs them with half decent auctions about.

26th Mar 2004, 06:25

I agree with the satisfied customers that become frustrated after 6-12 months. After 3 years this is what happened to my 20VT:

- left door automatic window opening mechanism got stuck and was repaired partly under warranty

- horizontal electric seat adjustment didn't work in low position, repaired under warranty.

- black leather top layer came off from the drivers seat; subsequently entire interior replaced with different leather after complaining 1,5 years at the dealer; the new leather doesn't have the sporty look, luxurious feel and accurate form though. It wasn't the original what they promised.

- dash is squeaky

- dash locker stuck

- poor radio quality; amplifier installed at additional costs, no noticeable improvement.

- mirror cap was loose when I picked up the car and the dealer said that the resulting gap was for air supply. Later on I found out that it was just loose and pressed it into place without effort and felt stupid.

I could continue this list with little things, but in total it comes down to one thing: the car is great for a short time and then the disappoint comes. SEAT and it's dealers don't seem to realize what moving into a higher segment means. I'd prefer a japanese sports car next time, or something less sporty, but more reliable. I tried to sell it, but would get not half the value of the new car. I guess I know why...

12th Jul 2005, 02:49

It has been nearly two years that I own a seat Leon 1.9 TDI. So far I covered about 75.000 km.s and there is no problem with the car. As I live in Cyprus, nowadays I often use the air conditioner. It is very economical and can make nearly 900 km.s with 55 liters of fuel with the air conditioner on.

3rd Nov 2005, 10:26

Lucky you, Cyprus is a dry place.

Finally VW bosses are admitting that there is a problem with Seat, they only focused on volume and did not care about quality, guess who is paying the price for this money grabbing exercise?

10th Jun 2006, 15:41

I bought a second hand Y reg seat Leon 1.6S and apart from a soft tyre which the dealer changed I had no problems in fact I have just traded it in for another car, yes you guessed another seat Leon, but a 1.9 SX TDI this time, my brother who bought a seat Toledo had problems with the same thing for months until he changed to another dealer who fixed the problem straight away, so I personally think its the dealerships who don't care as long as they have your money and its the same with dealers in other products as well.