So today my trusty car failed its MOT, 400 quid to get back up and running apparently so not a disaster. Trouble is that its also got some horrific electrical issues, battery keeps draining, windows randomly go down etc etc.

Now the car itself (a 51 plate seat Ibiza cupra) is still great mechanically, has done about 85k but still drives fine. My dilemma is do I spend 400 quid for the MOT, plus whatever its going to cost to diagnose and fix the electrical fault (and I imagine that’ll be hundreds) or do I just scrap it and cut my losses.

Seems a shame to do the latter given that other than the electrics its got loads of life still left in it. Or is it worth anything as parts? The 1.8 v20 turbo engine still works grand for example.

So STW experts, what do you reckon?

+
+

disclaimer – not serious obviously

That is a belting engine..I’d let someone look at the electrical fault first then decide. Might be a cheap repair then 400 on mot you’ve got a good car…you could spend 3k and buy a lemon

Look at what you’d get for one in similar nic.

Fwiw scrap price (actual scrapping as a lump type afair) would be about £120-180 depending on local srcap yards(prices aint great just now!)

May be worth more finding a local car breaker and seeing what they’d buy it for.

From autotrader looks to be worth £1500 ish.

These guys will quote you on the phone,and are fair,I thought.
http://www.motorhog.co.uk/

These guys will quote you on the phone,and are fair,I thought.
http://www.motorhog.co.uk/
If you don’t mention the electrical problems,and they’re not obvious when you take the car then I wouldn’t worry.

What’s the engine code ? Is it AGU or simular ?

If so, dont just scrap it. Loads of the lads with older VWs like MK 1 & 2 Golfs would consider it for an engine transplant.

Get an idea of how much its worth and price accordingly remembering that the buyer will make money selling the body panels etc so don’t let it go for a low amount.

EBay is a good start, along with the VW forums if you do decide to sell the Seat.

That’s a popular choice for engine swaps but the extraction/selling can be a pain. Best choice if you want to go down that route would be to try and find someone who wants a donor car I reckon. Have you ever noticed, around your area, a slightly ratty Mk1 or Mk2 Golf with really, really nice wheels? That’s your target market

If you decide to down the dumping it route, here’s what I did…

1) Get a “We buy any car” quote, that’s your worst case scenario. Then add on the value of any tax outstanding.
2) Fire onto ebay with good pictures and a very honest description (people like detailed descriptions of faults, believe it or not, it encourages trust) and a start price of whatever you got from 1. Throw on a reserve if you want
3) Wait.

I was going to scrap my focus, ended up getting something like 5 times the scrap value for it from Ebay, even after fees- and only about £400 less than I’d hoped to get for it as a runner, which was weird.

Other approaches are available but this did right for me.

What did it fail on? It’s a great engine and provided regularly serviced should be good for at least 120k miles, shop around for the repair work garages will be very competitive this time of year. As for the electrical issues its probably something quite common, get yourself on seat forums, windows could be convenience ECU, battery drain could be radio, vag cars can be prone to water leaks causing electrical issues but don’t be scared to ask on forums as lots of issues will have been seen/fixed by forum users.

I’m approaching a similar decision.

My Seat Leon Cupra is over 10 years old now and at that age I guess lots of things start to wear out.

The engine (same 20 valve turbo as the OP) is superb however and it’s only done 62K miles 😆

Decisions, decisions…

good advice all, thanks. I’ve signed up to seat cupra.net forum, lets see what the experts come up with!

Radio fault is a well known common battery drain on these. Flat battery can cause all sorts of bizzarre stuff when it comes to electrics. If you like the car fix what you can fix and pay for the bits you cant and drive it till it dies in a big way……

I know it’s not realistic for most people, but if you were to bin it, sit on it, strip everything off it, and get on the Seat owners club forums. Over the next 6 months or so I reckon you’re looking at £1000 absolute minimum from the stuff you could sell, and then the scrappy will still pay you to take the shell away.

I’ll have the engine for my 99 beeza tdi! Nah, I’m kidding. It’s also had it’s electrical probs like the rear washer packing in, the radio cuts out every 5 seconds at times amongst other wee niggles but it still drives well. After the abs having a problem last year the mechanic must’ve moved some wiring as the radio started working again and a few other issues aren’t as bad as they were!

If your engine has been well cared for i’d guess it having many more years in it. If it was built by the same folk that built my 1.9tdi.. then it might also reach 233,000!

(just rolled over this figure as I got in to town earlier)

I would get the electrics looked at before the MOT issues.
If it’s a quick fix like damp in the fuse box then £400 to get it running again is wirth it. If you are looking at a grand for the electrics don’t bother having the other work done and scrap it.
If you do scrap it

I know it’s not realistic for most people, but if you were to bin it, sit on it, strip everything off it, and get on the Seat owners club forums. Over the next 6 months or so I reckon you’re looking at £1000 absolute minimum from the stuff you could sell, and then the scrappy will still pay you to take the shell away.

is very good advice. It’s worth loads more in parts than as a whole.