# Seat Cars



## celia50 (Nov 4, 2010)

Has anyone bought a Seat, if so any pros and cons please,thanks


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

celia50 said:


> Has anyone bought a Seat, if so any pros and cons please,thanks


aren't they now Volkswagen by any other name?

We've owned a couple and are VERY happy with the build quality etc.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

celia50 said:


> Has anyone bought a Seat, if so any pros and cons please,thanks


We had a SEAT Ibiza which we retired this year and have bought a Kio Rio to replace it. The Ibiza wasn't a patch on the Opel Corsa we had before that. I didn't like it particularly, OH thought it was OK. The passenger window motor broke twice and we got a new second hand part from a scrapyard, but it was still expensive to replace. In fact it broke again and we didn't replace it as it was coming to the end of its life. Others had the same problem


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

I think like most cars it depends on which make of Seat and which year, the new Ibiza get good reviews but one from a few years ago gets poor reviews. 
If you want to buy new then I can't see much bad about them, second hand is another story.

Personally I would buy Japanese but again it would still depend on make, model and budget.


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

snikpoh said:


> aren't they now Volkswagen by any other name?


They're owned by the same group that also own Audi, VW and Skoda.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Yes Seat is basically VW. Some times Seat cars don't get the latest engines etc but eventually the same items end up in all the VW group of cars. 

I think VW now has 15 brands. You'll see differences in equipment and prices. The cheaper brands won't have the same luxury materials that the more expensive brands will.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I don't think it makes any difference who owns who. They don't use the same parts, machinary, manufacturing methods or anything from one brand to the next. They simply change the name on the stationary!
If they changed the name of the _car_ and said that SEAT is now VW, then that would be different.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Eh? You're not saying Seat is doing all it's own R&D etc?

If they did it would be strange that the engines and transmissions have the same specs and results. The same MPG and emssions.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

NickZ said:


> Eh? You're not saying Seat is doing all it's own R&D etc?
> 
> If they did it would be strange that the engines and transmissions have the same specs and results. The same MPG and emssions.


No, you're right, I'm not saying that! 
I'm saying that there are clear differences between different makes and the quality of the materials and engineering used, and if we're talking about Seat vs VW SEAT's towards the bottom and VW towards the top.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

I'm pretty sure that the basic parts (floor pan, engines etc are in fact the same. I remember hearing that the Golf floor pan is found in something like 22 models across the VW range and that was some time ago. Body style, trim parts and internal furnishing obviously differ and there is probably a time-lag with innovations.

(stationary PW? I love it when English teachers do that...)


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

jimenato said:


> I'm pretty sure that the basic parts (floor pan, engines etc are in fact the same. I remember hearing that the Golf floor pan is found in something like 22 models across the VW range and that was some time ago. Body style, trim parts and internal furnishing obviously differ and there is probably a time-lag with innovations.
> 
> (stationary PW? I love it when English teachers do that...)


You always notice my errors! And why not indeed.
I'm sure some of the stuff is the same in all cars, but they do differ as I myself have found out.


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I'm saying that there are clear differences between different makes and the quality of the materials and engineering used...


Strange, considering the same 1.4 petrol engine is used in the Seat Ibiza, VW Polo, Skoda Fabia and Audi A1.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I'm saying that there are clear differences between different makes and the quality of the materials and engineering used, and if we're talking about Seat vs VW SEAT's towards the bottom and VW towards the top.


I agree on the materials . Also the latest engines etc go first into VW and Audi. But the whole point of platform cars is to share all the engineering.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

zenkarma said:


> Strange, considering the same 1.4 petrol engine is used in the Seat Ibiza, VW Polo, Skoda Fabia and Audi A1.


Well it doesn't work the same I can tell you that having driven both!:laugh:


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

NickZ said:


> I agree on the materials . Also the latest engines etc go first into VW and Audi. But the whole point of platform cars is to share all the engineering.


OK!


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## 111KAB (Aug 3, 2012)

Seat Ibiza diesel bought new 5 + years ago - 80,000 km on the clock and no trouble whatsoever. Diesel engine a little noisy but an excellent work horse and getting c. 50 mpg. I personally think build quality is better than the new model. Just fitted 2nd new set of front tyres so a bit heavy on these and have replaced rear ones although plenty of tread left (from new) sidewalls were looking a little perished. Lower dashboard slightly perished/warped in the sun so aircon button sticks. Understand diesel injector(s) can play up if only used for short journeys. Recommend.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Mine is a Seat Ibiza, from 2000, still going pretty well, no problems at all in those 13 years, still doing long distance trips with it. I should start looking for another one now but I will never find a car like this one, I hope it lasts a few more years before I buy a new one!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Many group manufacturers have a system whereby engines are given a grade even if they appear to be identical. For example: going back to the old BMC days when a block is bored out with new bits the cylinders are slightly larger than when tthe bit is wearing down and on the other hand when pistons are turned, those cut with new bits are slightly smaller than those cut with old bits. Smaller bore and larger piston means the engine is tighter (grade A), larger bores with smaller pistons means the engine is looser (grade C), those with average bores and pistons are grade B. Grade A engines would go in the more sporty models Riley, Wolseley, MG etc.; the average engines (grade B) would go in Morris and Austin variants, and the slacker engines (grade C) would go in vans.

I have no doubt that the same sort of thing applies now.


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## pnwheels (Mar 3, 2013)

I think you will find manufacturing tolerances are a lot tighter now.....


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

I bought a seat Ibiza FR eight years ago new. It has done 250,000kms and has been reliable and the only money that has been spent on it is for routine things like servicing, brakes etc. It has been fantastic and I would recommend them.


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## Georgia3thom (Nov 5, 2013)

We hired a Seat Ibiza recently, very nice, responsive, easy to turn etc and quite good on petrol. Good boot space without being a big car. Spent 4 days in it, long journeys, remained comfortable. 
I used to have one in 1995 when they came out, it was nice then, and reliable. I was keen because it was Volkswagen owned, I do remember that it was much better build quality than the old original lightweight SEAT of the day. 

Georgia

good luck


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## celia50 (Nov 4, 2010)

Thanks all for your comments,we are considering an ex-demo or good used car.


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## mickbcn (Feb 4, 2013)

*Seat*



celia50 said:


> Has anyone bought a Seat, if so any pros and cons please,thanks


In the 60's and 70's the spaniards say that the acronim SEAT mean Siempre Estarás Arreglando Tonterias, but now this card have the similar quality of one volkswagen.


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## mickbcn (Feb 4, 2013)

*Seat*



celia50 said:


> Has anyone bought a Seat, if so any pros and cons please,thanks


In the 60's and 70's the spaniards say that the acronim SEAT mean Siempre Estarás Arreglando Tonterias, but now this car have the similar quality of one volkswagen.
SEAT = Sociedad Española de Automoviles de Turismo.


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## almendros (Aug 14, 2008)

I bought a new SEAT Leon last week. To all intents and purposes it is exactly the same mechanically as the VW Golf or Audi A3 and uses the new MQB platform

It has the latest 1.4 TSI turbo petrol engine that is available in the other VAG range and the engines are built by Skoda.

The interior finish is far better than previous models and performance is amazing for such a small engine. 140bhp and 56mpg.

My previous car was a Mk 1 Leon which ran faultlessly for 14 years. That actually had exactly the same interior as the Audi A3 of the same vintage.

Incidentally the new Audi Q3 (the 4x4 version of the A3) was designed by SEAT and is built by SEAT in Barcelona.


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## celia50 (Nov 4, 2010)

almendros said:


> I bought a new SEAT Leon last week. To all intents and purposes it is exactly the same mechanically as the VW Golf or Audi A3 and uses the new MQB platform It has the latest 1.4 TSI turbo petrol engine that is available in the other VAG range and the engines are built by Skoda. The interior finish is far better than previous models and performance is amazing for such a small engine. 140bhp and 56mpg. My previous car was a Mk 1 Leon which ran faultlessly for 14 years. That actually had exactly the same interior as the Audi A3 of the same vintage. Incidentally the new Audi Q3 (the 4x4 version of the A3) was designed by SEAT and is built by SEAT in Barcelona.


Did you get a good price ? Does the Seat Dealer have any sale offers i.e.ex-demo or before Christmas sales ? Any idea of automatic range,I am not sure if there is for 1.6 lt


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

If there is any doubt about the links between the various VW companies this week VW announced a recall of Audi,Seat and Skoda cars using the DSG gear box. All have the same issue because it's the same part.


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## almendros (Aug 14, 2008)

celia50 said:


> Did you get a good price ? Does the Seat Dealer have any sale offers i.e.ex-demo or before Christmas sales ? Any idea of automatic range,I am not sure if there is for 1.6 lt


As my old car was more than 10 years old it qualified for the Plan PIVE which is a government scheme to get old cars off the road. They give you €1000 and the dealer gave another €1200 plus additional discounts coming in total to €6500 off the price.

I call that a VERY good deal!

They do have demo cars but you will need to shop around to get the model you want. Dealers don't normally offer their own deals on new cars, they get quite a small margin compared to UK so all the deals come from SEAT. 

You can get the DSG auto box on the 1.2 Petrol, the 1.8 petrol, the 1.6 diesel and the 2.0 diesel. Apart from the very lowest powered models they all have start/stop technology.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

almendros said:


> As my old car was more than 10 years old it qualified for the Plan PIVE which is a government scheme to get old cars off the road. They give you €1000 and the dealer gave another €1200 plus additional discounts coming in total to €6500 off the price.
> 
> I call that a VERY good deal!
> 
> ...


We got that too when we traded in the SEAT for a Kia


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

almendros said:


> Incidentally the new Audi Q3 (the 4x4 version of the A3) was designed by SEAT and is built by SEAT in Barcelona.


There's quite a lot of Audi models built there. The new A1 is as well.


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## almendros (Aug 14, 2008)

gus-lopez said:


> There's quite a lot of Audi models built there. The new A1 is as well.


So is an Audi a SEAT or is a SEAT an Audi?

It's getting increasingly difficult to tell the difference.

Another bit of VAG trivia - the new Leon and Ibiza have some obvious styling lines similar to some of the recent Lamborghinis - which are also VAG cars.

The designer of the Ibiza and the new Leon was previously the chief designer for Lambo before moving to SEAT - he is now the chief designer for the whole VAG group.

And don't forget that the fastest car in the world, the Bugatti Veyron, is also a VAG car plus of course the whole Bentley range.

They also own Porsche and Ducati.


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