1988 Seat Marbella from UK and Ireland - Comments

My Father in Law bought a Seat Marbella new in 1989 and gave it to my Wife three years ago. Great cheap little car, ideal as a town car and does nearly 50 m.p.g. Has been very reliable, although I was surprised that to replace the coolant thermostat last year the actual part was £25! Comes with the housing as an all in one unit.

Other than the usual stuff that wears out, tyres etc, it has been excellent and easy on the pocket, cheap tax and insurance as well.

I am just hoping year to year the rust bug doesn't do too much damage underneath - I'll find out next month.

It certainly seems to be a class above the fiat Panda from which it is derived.

I bought a seat marbella special (L reg) about 18 months ago for £100! I didn't expect it to last me more than a few months, but its is magical! I have had to replace the head gasket and the clutch cable snapped last month, although it did show warning signs before it happened which only now do I understand!!I have seriously had my monies worth!! I love it, but the street cred issue is becoming a problem! People just don't understand how reliable it has proved to be!!! Anyone want it??!!

My friend has a 1989 850cc model. I drove it round a car park the other day. Mad laugh!!! Probably the tackiest car ever made, but to hell with image. If he thinks about selling it I am definitely going to make an offer.

We inherited a K-reg 'special' (known as Tom) with only 200 miles on the clock, and it was an absolutely brilliant first car! It was used by my older brother, my sister and then myself, and was great fun. Only 903cc, but I managed to make the speedo reach 100 downhill with a full car!

Never had any real problems until one day, going uphill the engine just died. Reason? The electronic ignition (why it had this instead of standard-who knows?) had failed, and SEAT told us they had no testing equipment in the country as only 500 specials were made with electronic ignition. Unfortunately, Tom then slowly decayed in the garden, before being sacrificed to the council's old car amnesty : (

This car was a great go-cart, ideal for first-timers. It was a strange combination; vinyl flooring, steering wheel and gear-stick that eroded in your hands if hot or cold (not to mention first gear being somewhere near the passenger door...) a small engine equipped with a K&N air filter and the ignition system mentioned above! But great fun, and if I could find another cheaply, i'd get it!

I have a 1989 set marbella with an 843cc engine. I changed the oil and forgot to put the rocker box cap back on and lost it. Has anyone got a spare?. Does anyone know why even with new brake shoes why the hand brake is so poor. I am still trying to find some technical details for the engine i.e. the dwell angle and timing.

bob.davis@another.com.

In 1982 I bought my Seat Marbella 'Jeans' complete with denim seats and denim design vinyl door panels and flooring. I taught my then 17year old daughter to drive in it and through her job she completed many trips from Manchester to Peterhead a round trip of 850 miles all without problem. After she decided to part with the car I started using it as a mobile toolbox for my job as an alarm engineer. With the rear seat out it was always loaded floor to ceiling plus two sets of ladders on the roof. |Apart from the odd exhaust, battery and tyres it has never needed much at all until this year when my Sat Nav took me over a mountain as the shortest route.

Today it failed it's MOT on suspension, exhaust, brakes and reluctantly I have decided to send probably the most reliable car I have had in the last 40 years to that great scrapyard in the sky.

Without blemish to the body, never accident damaged and with just 55,000 miles on the clock it's a sad day for me and the car, but facing a £500 repair bill if I can get the parts I can only say a fond farewell to a great servant.

Anyone need spares or would take her on post here quickly!

Would anyone be able to sell me a front seat for my good old 1992 Seat Marbella? I need the one on the left hand side. I tried commercial dismantlers, but they all seem to have only Fiat Pandas and I am not sure whether the seats are the same.

Thank you very much! Jan S. kajasass@yahoo.co.uk.

"Mabel" was my first car back in 2003 and I bought her for £200 off a woman I worked with.

So much character, and I loved her so much, and as for street cred, the cheap tax insurance etc made up for that, and not caring what anyone else thought.

She was a good car, and I once drove to Birmingham in her from Lincoln, getting to 95 on the motorway.

She had one popped lock from where someone had broken in to her to steal my tape player and anything else that I had left, even an umbrella, but I never bothered fixing it as the door still opened and could be locked.

When I MOTd herm it cost 200 to get through it, but not exactly sure what was wrong with her. She died 4 months later when her head gasket went, with 4 1 month old tyres on her.

Do not regret buying her, and if I was offered another cheap I would take it! Every time I see one of these little cars I smile.

Hi I have acquired a Seat Marbella Jeans 850cc 1991 model and can't seem to find where I can get point condencer and oil filter from in the UK.

Hi.

I learned to drive in a Seat Marbella three years ago.

I still have very fond memories of that dinky little car-especially the removable back seats. In order to start my new business, I upgraded a year ago- to a Seat Terra H reg diesel. This rusty old dear is even more fun to drive, and just as economical. Long may it last.

To whoever is interested.

I found a Seat Marbella Sport in a vehicle breakers in the county of Nottinghamshire last year,"It was within a few second's of being lifted onto the heap".

£60 of new parts got it 12 months MOT + a day's work and £30 for the MOT test certificate.

I have read all the reviews on this web site and I have to agree with all of them. I recently took the cylinder head off as the (red rocket) was overheating, had the head skimmed, got the valves and seats cut Etc and re-assembled all of it, "It started first time with no throttle cable attached".

As for speed's, someone was talking about a figure of 95 MPH. It seems a lot to me, but as I own a Marbella I don't doubt it as the one I'm driving pulls 75MPH in 4th gear.

One of the reviewer's was saying that at 90mph it's inclined to become a little unstable and there is a lot of noise and vibration from the front end,"I wonder why".

I don't doubt that a Marbella 903cc could be made to do 100MPH. Watch this space for more info on the 100 MPH Seat Marbella. All the best to you all from an ageing engineer and Seat Marbella owner.

PS Beware of side wind's while attempting speed's over 50 MPH, for 100 MPH, quality balanced tyre's and wheel's, New Mcpherson struts, disc's and brake's and new wheel bearing Etc also a large crucifix round your neck as a talisman against "gravel rash".

gfoxwell@hotmail.co.uk

Also a full face crash helmet, Race approved.

It's great that you all people comment on the Marbella so good, but I don't believe how you could go 100 or a bit less mph in it; I made 75 and wouldn't like more cause it becomes very noisy and with no rev counter, I'm afraid it might overheat.

Mine is '87, but it was driven only about 50000 kilometers.

I have a Marbella CLX 903cc with Seat Terra gearbox. It does 100mph without problem. It's a hell of a car. I love it, it's indestructible in normal use, more reliable than any other car...