Not a lot, just had to replace the brake discs & pads and exhaust. The car is only 5 years old so it was about due.
Honestly, this car is a true bargain. I paid 3000 pounds for a 2000 (W reg) small coupe with half leather, air-con, alloys & a 2.0 16v engine - you compare that to the 2000 (W reg) golf gti my friend bought without the leather, otherwise same spec for 7500 pounds.
The car is fabulous, it wakes up at 3000 rpm, and I can honestly say it holds it's own on the motorway. I have personally destroyed the following motors on the standing/rolling start in a 'race', in standard guise:
Audi TT (probably not a quattro)
Ford Puma
Golf GTI
Escort GTI.
Don't keep reading this - go and buy one...now!
Well, all change with the cordoba - foolishly said not a lot had gone wrong! It now has an intermittent starting problem that neither the AA or my local garage can work out. Still goes well when it does start though!
Well. I loved my Cordoba. Now it has been off the road for over 6 months with a problem even my dealer are unable (it seems) to diagnose. My repair bill currently stands at £800+ with no end in sight. It's gonna work out to be something simple I know, which makes this harder to bear. In my opinion, this is a one off, but when you look at the problems with this engine on the forums I would now say steer well clear.
Ongoing fault with the car has proven unfixable. Local Seat Dealer unable to fix, after 18 months of help from Seat UK Technical. Soon to be refunded my outlay on parts (£1000+) and the car scrapped or sold as donor for engine transplant.
Do not buy one of these, it has turned out to be a money pit with no residual value.