Seat cupra 1.9tdi buying advice

[JogiahMk4]

Hi there everyone , I'm looking into buying a seat cupra 1.9 tdi as a new daily. I currently own a golf 4 gti ,which is fairly thirsty and has costed me alot in repairs.

Before proceeding any further ,I would like to find out what it's like to daily a cupra from current/ past owners.

The main things I'd like to know is :
1) what is the fuel economy like ? I drive a 100km round trip , hence I think that a diesel would be perfect for me.

2) what are the rough part costs for wear items such as brakes , belts , fuel filters and other eventual failures such as clutch kits or turbo.

3) how reliable is the vehicle in your opinion ?

4) what are things I should look out for when viewing one of these for sale ?

Thank you for your responses

[marzbars]

It's getting harder to find trim and panels for SEAT in the country.
Fuel economy should be around 6.5L/100km
Injectors are around R7500 each
I believe they have the dulmass flywheels which are a bit more expensive.
Not sure what new turbo goes for, but the 1.9s love eating turbo's

No DPF to worry about, should have EGR which should be removed with software when you decat.

[JogiahMk4]

It's getting harder to find trim and panels for SEAT in the country.
Fuel economy should be around 6.5L/100km
Injectors are around R7500 each
I believe they have the dulmass flywheels which are a bit more expensive.
Not sure what new turbo goes for, but the 1.9s love eating turbo's

No DPF to worry about, should have EGR which should be removed with software when you decat.

I've found one in good condition, interior and exterior wise , injectors were serviced. I would hope the turbo isn't very expensive to recondition, I'm sure it does have a dual mass because the polo sportline does as well, I'll have to look into smf conversion.


Generally speaking how reliable are these cars ? I most likely will keep it fairly stock, I just want something reliable and efficient with some poke. The golf 4 averages around 9l/100 km ( I have a heavy foot and the car definitely needs a 6th gear ) .

[amstel18]

Had one many years ago.

Remember they fairly aged at the moment, but still awesome cars. I really miss mine.

They just as reliable as the Polo Tdi's. Cupra is referred to as a PD160. Polo is PD 100 for the Highline and PD130 for the sportline. Cupra has different turbo and Injectors compared to the polo, and also a front mount intercooler.

The Seat intercooler is prone to leaking on the welds. Seeing that Cupra's are minimum 14-15 years old, these should have been fixed by now by the current owners. The lip on the boost pipes also tend to wear out and cause boost leaks. This is a turbo killer. Turbos can be rebuilt for under 10k.

Front Brake pads were a mission to find, but should also be easier to find lately. They have AP Racing 4 pot calipers, and use the same 312mm disks as the Audi TT of that Era.

Most mechanical parts are shared with other cars in the VAG stable, so mechanically it should be easy to find parts.

SMF conversion is going to create rattles, so I preferred the DMF. You can check the clutch health by doing a run in 4/5th gear uphill going into boost. Should start boosting strong by 1800rpm.

Long distances I could easily manage 5.5l/100.

For some reason the PD160 motor also had a VW507 spec oil requirement. The oil used at servicing time will greatly extend the mechanical well being of the car.

Also the way you drive. Mechanical sympathy goes a long way with these cars.
I had a buddy that used to rape his, and his car was more at the mechanic than at home.

[Ashveer03]

Very difficult to find body panels for seats. Front bumpers, fog lights, tail lights are impossible to find. I stripped up 2 cupras because of this, was going to cost me more to repair than what the car is actually worth.

Cupra Injectors are kak, so if they fail a set of ASZ injectors costs +-6.5k used - bolts, seals etc another 3k or so.

Most turbos should have already been refurbed already, std cupra turbo's aren't very strong. They do perform well after a billet rebuild +-8.5k at fastec, obviously depending on other parts such as the vanes, actuator etc.

I also do prefer a single mass clutch, I could live with the slight chatter at low speeds. The chatter gets bad if the gearbox has wear on one of the shafts, ends up causing creeping etc.

Engine block itself has slight differences to an asz off a polo. I have swapped a good few cupras with asz engines already.. minor mods with coolant pipes only.

Stock seat sport cooler is kak in my opinion. Aftermarket fmic and piping will cost u around 7.5k for a decent job.

Gearbox shift towers tend to go aswell from hammering gears, very common issue recently.

All mechanical parts are pretty much plug and play with 9n polos.

4pot brakes is definitely a plus on cupras. Discs and pads can be abit pricey for good brands.

If u find one without any service/repair history or in questionable condition, it's gonna cost u quite abit to get it reliable again.

Sent from my CPH2371 using Tapatalk

[JogiahMk4]

Had one many years ago.

Remember they fairly aged at the moment, but still awesome cars. I really miss mine.

They just as reliable as the Polo Tdi's. Cupra is referred to as a PD160. Polo is PD 100 for the Highline and PD130 for the sportline. Cupra has different turbo and Injectors compared to the polo, and also a front mount intercooler.

The Seat intercooler is prone to leaking on the welds. Seeing that Cupra's are minimum 14-15 years old, these should have been fixed by now by the current owners. The lip on the boost pipes also tend to wear out and cause boost leaks. This is a turbo killer. Turbos can be rebuilt for under 10k.

Front Brake pads were a mission to find, but should also be easier to find lately. They have AP Racing 4 pot calipers, and use the same 312mm disks as the Audi TT of that Era.

Most mechanical parts are shared with other cars in the VAG stable, so mechanically it should be easy to find parts.

SMF conversion is going to create rattles, so I preferred the DMF. You can check the clutch health by doing a run in 4/5th gear uphill going into boost. Should start boosting strong by 1800rpm.

Long distances I could easily manage 5.5l/100.

For some reason the PD160 motor also had a VW507 spec oil requirement. The oil used at servicing time will greatly extend the mechanical well being of the car.

Also the way you drive. Mechanical sympathy goes a long way with these cars.
I had a buddy that used to rape his, and his car was more at the mechanic than at home.

Main reason for me even considering this car is for fuel economy as I do travel quite a distance everyday , basically I'm looking for something that is mildly entertaining to drive, fuel efficient and reliable .

I belive the current owner is "gentle" with the car as it's low millage ( for its age ) and is completely stock, will definitely drive it in 5th uphill to check the clutch as you mentioned , I did a smf conversion in my gti and it honestly feels and sounds like stock but from what I understand they're much more solidly built than the cupra ?

[JogiahMk4]

Very difficult to find body panels for seats. Front bumpers, fog lights, tail lights are impossible to find. I stripped up 2 cupras because of this, was going to cost me more to repair than what the car is actually worth.

Cupra Injectors are kak, so if they fail a set of ASZ injectors costs +-6.5k used - bolts, seals etc another 3k or so.

Most turbos should have already been refurbed already, std cupra turbo's aren't very strong. They do perform well after a billet rebuild +-8.5k at fastec, obviously depending on other parts such as the vanes, actuator etc.

I also do prefer a single mass clutch, I could live with the slight chatter at low speeds. The chatter gets bad if the gearbox has wear on one of the shafts, ends up causing creeping etc.

Engine block itself has slight differences to an asz off a polo. I have swapped a good few cupras with asz engines already.. minor mods with coolant pipes only.

Stock seat sport cooler is kak in my opinion. Aftermarket fmic and piping will cost u around 7.5k for a decent job.

Gearbox shift towers tend to go aswell from hammering gears, very common issue recently.

All mechanical parts are pretty much plug and play with 9n polos.

4pot brakes is definitely a plus on cupras. Discs and pads can be abit pricey for good brands.

If u find one without any service/repair history or in questionable condition, it's gonna cost u quite abit to get it reliable again.

Sent from my CPH2371 using Tapatalk

I'll definitely check with the owner if the turbo has been reconditioned , I'm in durban so it isn't really expensive to get them reconditioned but I would not be happy if it fails anytime soon as I've already had the turbo done on my golf just last year , along with a clutch kit , a throttle body and too many other little things to mention .


Hopefully the injector service that the owner has done is sufficient for the foreseeable future but it's good to hear that the asz injectors are reasonably priced and is a viable option. I'll have a look into replacing the cooler this year if I do take the car if it's that prone to failing.


Are there any other little things that frequently fail that I should look out for ?

[Ashveer03]

I see u have the MK4 110kw GTi, should be 5speed - it uses a smaller clutch than the 6spd TDI and generally 5spd gearboxes don't chatter on petrol or diesel engines. The clutch feel is much softer than the 6spd aswell.

Having some experience in both cars in question, stock for stock I would say the MK4 is a much more comfortable car than the cupra. Also in my experience of owning cupras and polos, I feel the cupra is abit plastic-y and for some reason feels abit cheaper than the polo. Just my opinion.

Listed above are common items. The rest of the parts wear according to how the vehicle has been used and maintained previously.

Another problem with polo and seat is the steering rack, steering angle sensor, and electric Powersteering pumps. They randomly fail and quite expensive.
Door locks also give some issues - same as polo.
Seat alarm sirens seem to fail easier than polos for some reason.


There is nobody in Durban as good as fastec - my 2c. I deal with fastec alot, courier costs are worth every cent.

Further more, new turbos for these vehicles can be bought at goldwagen or VW but they are old stock - doesn't last long. I would rather rebuild.

And the bigger turbo a TDI has, the more fuel efficient it is, obviously when driving properly.

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[JogiahMk4]

I see u have the MK4 110kw GTi, should be 5speed - it uses a smaller clutch than the 6spd TDI and generally 5spd gearboxes don't chatter on petrol or diesel engines. The clutch feel is much softer than the 6spd aswell.

Having some experience in both cars in question, stock for stock I would say the MK4 is a much more comfortable car than the cupra. Also in my experience of owning cupras and polos, I feel the cupra is abit plastic-y and for some reason feels abit cheaper than the polo. Just my opinion.

Listed above are common items. The rest of the parts wear according to how the vehicle has been used and maintained previously.

Another problem with polo and seat is the steering rack, steering angle sensor, and electric Powersteering pumps. They randomly fail and quite expensive.
Door locks also give some issues - same as polo.
Seat alarm sirens seem to fail easier than polos for some reason.


There is nobody in Durban as good as fastec - my 2c. I deal with fastec alot, courier costs are worth every cent.

Further more, new turbos for these vehicles can be bought at goldwagen or VW but they are old stock - doesn't last long. I would rather rebuild.

And the bigger turbo a TDI has, the more fuel efficient it is, obviously when driving properly.

Sent from my CPH2371 using Tapatalk

So yesterday I went to have a look at the car, it does feel more plasticky inside than the golf and the polo but overall a decent interior , seats are comfortable and overall. However, car didn't have any big boost leaks , boosted well to 1.5 bar , clutch felt fine as well. However I did notice some white smoke , loosened the oil cap and it shot off and I could feel alot of compression coming out. Definitely did not seem normal even for a diesel so I'm going to hold off on the purchase for now, hopefully another good cupra hits the market soon.