One careful owner, 1000 drivers.

It's refreshing to see someone be so in touch with how their car should feel and keeping up the maintenance, after all these are hard working machines and can only do their job with your help replacing components and servicing

I think in the USA if my memory serves me right, an oil rig worker managed to clock in 1 million miles on his Toyota Tundra just driving from rig to rig to maintain them. Toyota sent their engineers and bought that car from the guy so they can examine the engine. And Toyota gave the guy a new one for free.

I can't believe this previous gen of Leon is 10 years old! Those cars still look great and modern and the interior is far superior to the new cars from VAG (as also many other brands nowadays)

My old 08 Mondeo is still alive. I took it from 19k to 180k. Sold it 7 years ago and saw it a few months back. It went to Tromso in Norway (6000 miles in 2 weeks) and down to Gibraltar, everywhere in between. Same clutch and only bits n bobs going wrong. That car was a legend and I once did 840 miles in Norway before the fuel light came on. It would do 45mpg on the autobahn over 100mph and would eat miles. I'm glad it's still alive but in a new home. I sometimes wish I kept it.

Richard, you are an absolute legend. Your attention to detail is second to none. I cannot believe that you have added up every fuel receipt over 205,000 miles. However, this attention to detail has paid off as not many cars driven under these sort of conditions would last nearly as long - I think that Seat should give you an award! All the best for the next 205,000 miles.

Wow! This vid deserves a million views. I watched every minute. I too am an ADI but I don’t know how to work on cars…. Hence I pay full price for servicing and repairs and I “trade in” for replacement cars FAR too often. I must have spent thousands more than you. I’m also an avid researcher of cars on KZfaq which has led me to believe that VAG cars are to be avoided (unreliability). But after watching your vid, I’m actually surprised and impressed with how your 1.4 TSI has held up. This vid blows my mind with how accurate you have been with record keeping etc. One last thing…… I can totally relate to your desire for that special car (the GR Yaris). I succumbed to that urge a few years ago and bought a Fiesta ST for driving instruction. Crazy idea and completely inappropriate. But my god, it was fun. I’m not officially recommending that you do it ( the ride was quite unforgiving) but if you DO buy the Yaris I’m sure you’ll have a ball 😊

I think another reason you can add to that list of good points about this car is the looks! This era of Leon still looks modern, fresh and sleek to me - whenever I see one or watch your videos I find it hard to believe that the design is almost 11 years old... and I was 8 years old when you picked up this car in 2014 (time really does move too fast!) and that point about the sentimental value - very true! This car if you think about it has been the one that helped you grow the Conquer Driving KZfaq channel - a channel that now almost has 750,000 subscribers! It can be hard to let go of certain things - especially when you get used to them! If you wanted to sell it you could probably flog it to Car Throttle, they might like another high milage hero ;)

best car when it comes to repairs, everyone gives credits to the seat leon - my number 1 choice to buy if i can afford

How in the name of god did you manage to make me watch a whole ass 1 hour video without skipping a minute, you’re amazing and so is that seat. I wouldn’t go for a Mazda as I’m not sure it would stay rust free on the underside for a long time

That car has lived an exceptional life and it's amazing to see it still in such great condition.

There aren't many 1 hour videos I watch all the way through, but Richard this is an incredibly insightful, powerful, informative and important video that young drivers should watch. I am also impressed though at how much of the maintenance and part changes you did yourself! Whilst I realise for many of us, the labour costs are likely to be an additional factor to repairs and maintenance, there is so much common sense in this video backed up with proper hard evidence. I've always liked this Seat Leon even though I've never owned or driven one! Looks to be a great motor and I don't blame you for hanging on to it. Changing seats, headlining, steering wheels, handbrakes and carpets.. wow that is true dedication but also an example of how you can preserve a car (and the planet), as well as your wallet! Excellent video Richard, thank you for this and like other viewers I hope this takes off and gets plenty of views.

Well done. I Have got an Audi A3 1.9 TDI Automatic since 1998 with well over 700 000 kms, which I drive by HAND. So keep this SEAT. Greetings from Cologne in Germany. With 51 litres of Diesel I can drive 1337 kms from Spain to Belgium for example...

This video explains a lot as I wondered how your seats and steering wheel looked so nice with over 200,000 miles.

I am a viewer from the United States and in 2001 I purchased a brand new Saturn LW300 wagon. That model is an Opel/Vauxhall Vectra B modified for the US market. It has the 3.0 24v V6 and 4spd automatic. It has 386,000 miles on the original engine and transmission and the car starts instantly regardless of how long it's been sitting or the weather and runs and drives fine. The only issues it's ever had were shift solenoids that were replaced at 220,000 miles and multiple valve cover gaskets. It has never failed to start and it's only been towed twice. Once when the fuel pump failed and once when the alternator failed. Routine servicing by a knowledgeable mechanic over the years has resulted in exemplary reliability and durability. It is a semi-retired dog taxi and extra vehicle now but it still accumulates between 7 and 10000 Mi a year. A 2018 Buick Regal Tourx which is a rebadged Opel Insignia replaced it and it's already accumulated 135,000 MI it is showing similar levels of reliability and durability.

Absolutely testament to your decision to put your faith in Seat, your decision has absolutely paid it’s dues. This car has had to work many times over than equivalent commuter vehicles yet has only had issues associated with wear/tear and/or issues from the factory replaced under warranty. You seen to have had very bad luck with your VAG folding mirrors motors, my 10 year ford mirrors have yet to fail so keeping my fingers crossed! Many mechanics will swoon at the underside of your car at that age, many cars that haven’t even reached their warranty expiry look scabbier than the photo you showed, gobsmacked!

Really good report . Thoroughly enjoyed .Best video I have seen this year .

Excited for this video! Thank you! :)

Great video Richard!!

Love these kinds of videos keep it up Richard

Very informative video. Loved it!

As usual, really love your sharing.

I’ve been looking forward to this ☕️

What a brilliant video, full of lots of facts, details and stats through the 10 years and 205,000 miles. Loved it, thank you!

Amazing detail!!

wow, fantastic video. Thank you Richard

been waiting for this one

Loved this video!

Wow what a video! Learnt so much! Thank you sir 🫡

Awesome video! Nothing wrong with feeling a connection to the car. 😂 Really glad you have kept every detail in!

The amount of useful information condensed in this video is out of this world for fellow Leon owners. Thank you.

I sold my 2017 Leon FR 5F at 7 years/41,000 miles, thinking it was time to move it on before the problems started. It had been flawless up until that point. I now have a 2021 Leon FR KM and can only say that I miss my 5F and really regret selling it. So much for progress...

Thank you for making these videos! Very informative and well explained!!!

Thanks for the video, greatly appreciate your insights!!

Your channel just popped up. This is a great video. Well researched and put across!!! 👍💜

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the car!

What an interesting video. And well done in keeping it running perfectly

In depth. I like it!

excellent video, thanks for making it, I'm actually quite impressed with this ownership experience

I love long term reviews and seeing your fastidious maintenance/replacement schedule is superb. Crazy to think most people are replacing cars on a much more regular basis. Thanks for sharing!

What a fantastic video! I love the GR Yaris, great looking wee car! ❤❤❤

This guy makes good videos, no b.s straight facts, easy to understand

Not surprised to hear you mention the Mazda 3 as a potential replacement vehicle. Every other car I look at buying, I always think "I could get all those features and more from the Mazda 3 for many thousands of pounds less".

watching this beginning to end was a nice way to spend my sunday morning today. love the content bro

she's been well-looked after and it shows thanks for recounting your ownership experience

Super helpful video, know what to look out for now. I've got the same gen Leon FR, just crossed 90k miles.

Well done Richard! 👍 It was a good decision to keep it and well done for saving extra on maintaning it yourself! Over all a good deal. Video long but very informative and pleasure to watch every minute 👍

You should be proud of all good drivers you have produced. I often take a look to polish up my driving.

Really interesting loved this

This was a video I was hoping to see. Very informative and just goes to show that cars will last a long time if treated right. I can also see your point in wanting to avoid used cars, it’ll be nice to avoid inheriting the results of someone else’s maintenance habits. The attention to detail, in terms of record keeping is also very impressive. I’ve tried to maintain a spreadsheet with a note of all repairs I’ve had done, but I’ve not maintained that as well as I’d have liked

I watched this video in a breath and thats why I love KZfaq, some random guy talking about most generic Seat and his 10 year expirience, but I love it every second, thats whats KZfaq is about, sharing expirience about something in your life. IMO you should keep your car ( and get GR Yarris 🤣) because you talk with such passion about it, it''s not so much expencive to maintain, it have all the things for driving class and most off all "If it ain't broke, don"t fix it", in another words if it does a job, why change? Keep the good work, subscribed!

My 2001 mk 4 golf gti 1.8t has done similar miles. At 22 years old and 210k miles its only ever had 1 ht lead and 2 batteries. Cruise control and folding mirrors failed but not fixed either. Thats it, nothing else except routine servicing. Webuyanycar valued it at £150! And thats why I keep it.

Very nice and thorough explanation of most cars most used period with not a small amount of miles!

Excellent video really enjoyed this one and great insight my son as the same car and good to know what he will have coming up. He loves his Leon 👍👍. Thank you for that

Excellent informative video that helps us VAG Group car owners knlw what to look out for… Great Content Bravo 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

My current car is a 64 reg Ibiza Cupra with the 1.4 TSI engine (assuming its the same, maybe slight power differences due to model etc), with the DSG Gearbox. Absolutely love it. Seats to me are 10x better looking than VWs and Skodas. I'd move down from Scotland to learn manual in yours!

thanks a lot for sharing this video. Super interesting. You just reminded me I learned to drive with my father's diesel car. And it was so difficult.

This is the most informative video I have ever watched in years. The information given here is amazing and I am stunned by how much detail and depth he has kept his maintenance records in check. The fact that the cylinder head was changed at such low mileage makes me doubt the reliability of Volkswagen products. However this video proves that proper maintenance will always result in longer stress free ownership of the car.

Great to see how much care you take of your car Richard, even though it is a learner car and a car that you use mostly for videos. I've recently passed my test and got a 2013 Ford Fiesta 1.2 petrol with 43,000 miles on the clock. I'm hoping with the right treatment it will last for many years to come 😃

Great video, thanks Richard! It'd be so strange to see another car on the learner channel, but I give it 6 months before we see a GR Yaris 😂

Great video mate

I love this kind of video, have you ever thought of doing another channel on your car and it’s maintenance? I’d certainly enjoy seeing it :)

Nice video I have a 2013 seat Leon for last 7 years think I will keep it as long as possible

Glad you were able to replace the infotainment system. This is what really dates older cars these days.

Came across this channel by accident, it's the Conqueror Driving guy, helped me an awful lot getting me through my test. Thank you mate ❤ P.s. I've since sent your channel to a few learners, your works are priceless.

Brilliant video! I have a 19 reg estate with the 1.5tsi evo and I absolutely love it. First car I've had where im completely happy, it drives great, looks nice enough without drawing attention to itself. Has just enough bells and whistles but none of this stupid keyless entry and lane departure stuff that other cars pointlessly have. This video is a great insight in what I can expect to replace and how much roughly stuff will cost me. Thanks! Love the channel!

thank you for this, really informative. making a decision on buying a car soon and this was so helpful

Genuinely excellent content from this channel, only just starting to get into cars fully due to the fact I'm currently in lessons and I'm looking to buy my first. Really nice insight into how much upkeeping a car can actually be, I know this might be a bit exaggerated and more costly due to the fact this is your primary teaching car but I'd argue for a car with the mileage this has a lot of these faults are probably to be expected regardless. Keep up the great work!

would be fun to see you teach in a gr yaris! i was thinking through the whole video that you should get one and then you said it!

Great Video, wow, what a well looked after car. Ashley Neal had the GR yaris on his list.

A very good review. I have a 2017 FR 150 ACT. Purchased nearly new, only 4000 miles on the clock and under a year old. I have never had an issue with the car in over 6 years of ownership. Not even a bulb. It's been serviced every year without fail, and has been superb. One of the best hatchbacks of its time. Mine has only 33,000 miles from new. £35 pounds road tax per year, and can achieve over 60 mpg. Cheap to insure,and has a top speed of 134 mph. An excellent car by all means. I will be holding on to it for a while yet.

Very interesting video.

That was a smashing video and very interesting

Never watched video like this after years of surfing.Bravo from Serbia!

Wow this video shocked me purely because you never failed to keep it in immaculate condition with every new video, it may look dirty but I wouldn't've guessed it to be a mile over 50,000 without looking at the odometer.

Great video, thanks

That was awesome video.

Amazing, I watched the whole video. They tell us to scrap our cars and ship heavy EVs to save the environment... I think you've got the right idea ❤

Wow, making me feel blessed. I've had my 2015 1.6 TDi A3 for almost 6 years and have had barely anything go wrong at 125,000

Great video! Thanks

awesome video, so much detail too. My first car i still own is a fiesta mk7, 1.25 duratec, 2010. Its got 130k on it and still drives well, also came with fsh and bought it at 120k for £1750

I was gonna comment about this being the same model of car I used to learn how to drive (except the one I used was red and was left-hand drive), but then I realized it's the exact same car from a video I watched 2 years ago the day before I had driving classes to understand how to use a manual transmission. What a coincidence!

Very good maintained car! I have the same FR model, 1st owner 2018, facelifted model (1.4 TSI 150bhp), after ~40k km installed REVO official partner stage 1 tune, ~191 bhp, 300 Nm). The only warranty repair was the boot "shade" roll locker, which was faulty. ~100k km. Wear and tear: rear brakes and discs, tires, still original battery! (Start-stop disabled) and of course filters and oil changes.

HI Richard...phenomenal piece of work. The detail in the presentation is just amazing. Nice effort! Very few people could replicate that level of wear and tear, or record keeping. You did a great job keeping the Leon in tip top shape, but were fortunate in that you are capable mechanic. Most folks would have faced bigger bills as a result of needing more professional assistance. SEAT clearly do a great job with bodywork and paint, plus the car functions and drives well. But just like my experience of other VAG products they're not as thoroughly tested prior to being put on sale as they should be, and the customer ends up doing some of the dev and test for them. That's what I found with a recent MK8 Golf, a nice car to drive, but literally awful from a software reliability perspective. Also after 2 years paint was flaking off the rear wheel arch. Shocking quality. You had a far better experience. Well anyway - great video - learned loads. Brilliant. Cheers! Rich 👍

It would be so cool if you got a gr yaris! Thank you for this video, it was enjoyable to watch the whole way through.

I bought the estate version in March 2014 and I regret selling it on ,but I was short of funds at the time , I agree with all your sentiments expressed in the video, great car.

Amazing video! I have an 2016 Ibiza 1.4 fr ecotsi (built-in 2 cylinder mode) and love it!! Surprised you never had any problems with the engine mounts? This video gave me great confidence in my wee Ibiza 😀

I think you should just keep your Seat, and upgrade it a bit at a time, like how you added Android Auto. But you also can add better headlights. Or just useful features like that, which you want. I recently bought a new car, it's a 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage ES. I've had it since September 27th, 2023, I put about 70 miles on it a day, it has 11,850 miles now. Very nice car. Even though it's one of, if not the cheapest new car here in the US, and the slowest new car, I really like the car. I am keeping it up like you are with your Seat. Goal is to one day reach 1,000,000 miles in it, even if it takes 30 years. Most of the driving I do is on the freeway. So far, the only things that needed replaced are.. Well.. Nothing. I want better tires, but will wait till the OEM ones are needing replaced. And just oil changes every 3,750 miles. Will be doing a transmission service soon, just as a break in change. New pan filter, cartage filter, and oil.

I got myself a second hand Seat Ibiza 2 years ago - absolutely in love with it. I suppose the LEON is even better to drive, but the whole aesthetic of their cars is so good, feels really classy both on the inside and outside.

My parents have a 2014 DSG passat estate with 200k miles. Has been looked after all its life, and never provided any faults aside from a few engine lights here and there for minor things. great car and looks good being an executive model too, still no rust and bodywork is perfect.

Fantastic achievement that, especially when you consider all the idling hours on top of the milage. Youve well by her over the years!

Thanks Richard. After not taking good care of my 2001 accord for years (and it continuing to run well in spite of me), I'm going to try to turn a new leaf with my next car. I think this video is really going to help me with that, to have the right attitude and plan going forward.

I have a 2015 Seat Leon 1.6 diesel. It has 135000miles on it at present. I've owned the car since new and am surprised by the faults you've had with your car. To date I've replaced the front struts (misting) glow plugs, timing belt kit and all brake pads and discs once and one calliper. Still original alternator, battery and clutch. Has the same boot opener problem as you had. Full service history. I'm not easy on the car by any means, used it to pull a caravan all over the country, pulls trailer regularly and just basically a daily work horse. Interior is in great condition. Sadly the bodywork is showing some signs of age but just surface rust. This is why I've kept my Seat so long, worth more than me that anyone else. I totally understand why you've kept your Seat so long.

Awesome video and happy birthday to the Leon! I've been driving a family hand-me-down Opel Corsa D, turning 18 years old this year! Very low mileage (just 60k) and i really love it. It's been mine for 3 and a half years and so far hasn't had any major issues. Drives great, good fuel mileage (diesel) and i've driven it all across my country and a few times abroad. The only complaints that i have are that the seats are not great, after about 2 hours it gets a bit uncomfortable, and that it's pretty slow (just 75 PS). Also, I find it lacks a 6th gear on the motorway. Other than that, I'm very sentimental about it since it's my first car and I'm planning to keep it as long as it's running. Wouldn't trade it for the world!

If it was left-hand, I'd buy it for sure. I wish there were more owners like you

I love the fact that you still use the same car for that many years instead of changing it every couple of years like some driving instructors do. I have a Peugeot 206 2005, 1 litre petrol for 3 years now, after 6 months of owning it the timing belt snapped first and ruined the engine. Wasn't cheap to fix but looking back it was definitely worth it, had other stuff done to it basically looking after it well, I've often thought about getting a new car but the more I get the Peugeot serviced and get things replaced, I just feel I know the car inside and out and how it drives. It's not the most flashy and is more of a woman's car or "mom's car" but I suppose if a car hasn't really let me down considering the age it is I'd probably be better keeping it for as long as I can. Has 260,000 kilometres on it don't know what that is in miles haha. Keep up the great work as always Richard!

Can you do a video talking about all your past vehicles? I remember you mentioning a Vauxhall VX220 you used to have and I'd love to hear what other things you've had and how your experience was with them!

It would be silly I think to replace it at this stage when you keep up with wear and tear so well and service regularly this is how I like to keep a car aswell and it’s so refreshing to see someone else do it aswell but Leon is still a modern car in looks and technology I don’t personally like the Mazda u mentioned and it’s not worth the risk of losing the Leon’s OUTSTANDING reliability it’s a stunning car and i absolutely LOVE THEM I’m so proud of what you’ve done with that car it’s amazing 🤩

I drove the Seat Leon 1.6 in Switzerland for a long weekend in late 2014. It was the newest car I probably ever driven with 20000km. I still remember driving it up and down some mountains. 😅

I’m amazed how little that’s failed. Wear and tear items aside as expected. Good car! Still looks sharp and modern to me too. I’d for sure hang on for as long as possible. The savings are huge and it’s both good to drive & reliable.