Seat Toledo, why so unpopular?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Tue 24 May 2005 12:16
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - Thommo
The much vaunted Thommo in funds situation has yet to emerge so I've gone for another cheap car. I still have 3 motorbikes though...

The car I went for was an old guy I knows Seat Toledo.

We agreed he would get trade in values for it and I would be offered it at a matching price for cash plus a bit.

It is an R reg SXE. 2 litre, slush box, genuine 30,000 miles, full Seat main dealer history, always garaged, the phrase 'eat your dinner off it' could have been coined for this car.

Most dealers refused to even countenance it as a trade in. The best trade in offer he got was £1,000 and that seemed to be on a jacked up price for the new car. Basically no one wanted to know. We agreed on £1,100 cash.

As HJ said on a previous thread its a MKII Jetta with an extended boot floor.

OK its not the prettiest of vehicles but it is in all senses a modern vehicle air bags and all and I can not fault the build quality and think it will be fairly cheap to run too as its basic enough to be serviced by non-specialists.

OK second hand vehicles of all types are cheap at present but why are these cars so unloved?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 12:35
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - GrahamF1
A long shot, but perhaps the Toledo still reminds people of the Triumph of the same name?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 12:53
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - NowWheels
To my eyes, that generation of Toledo looks rather weird. Wouldn't put me off, but I can't see it appealing to the image-conscious
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 13:02
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - chakaping
The Jetta was never very popular either. And look how hard VW felt they had to push the Bora, with all those TV ads. Maybe us Brits just don't like small saloons.

Or maybe the memory of all those knackered Spanish holiday minicabs puts people off the Toledo?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 13:33
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - Happy Blue!
I rather like the Mk1 Toledo with the big bottom! A spacious alternative to the Mk2 Golf.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 13:37
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - Adam {P}
I'm hip and cool (so my Mum tells me) and I don't like the Toledo.

How cooler could you get than Focus saloon for God's sake!
--
Adam
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 13:45
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - Happy Blue!
Don't start!
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 13:52
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - Adam {P}
Yes sir! ;-)
--
Adam
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 13:56
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - Glaikit Wee Scunner {P}
Guy I know offered me a rough looking Toledo , manual but similar age for £400. 'Expensive insurance' was a draw back when considering it as a first car for my step-son.
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 14:27
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - Cardew
The Backroom has loads of threads arguing the merits/demerits of the different marques in the VAG group.

Whatever the validity of those arguments it is undeniable that Seat and Skoda are less desirable than VW and second hand prices reflect that desirability. I know several people, admittedly un-informed, who would not drive a Skoda if you gave them one; Seat have a better image - but not much. It will take years to change that perception.

With booted variants of hatchbacks not popular in UK in any case, the Toledo suffers on two fronts.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 14:39
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - TimW
How cooler could you get than Focus saloon for God's sake!


Morris Marina?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 15:32
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - Baskerville
Now come on, Hillman Avenger, surely.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 16:24
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - NowWheels
How cooler could you get than Focus saloon for God's sake!


I'll resist the temptation, but RF may not be so restrained :)
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 21:44
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - Adam {P}
>>I'll resist the temptation, but RF may not be so restrained :)<<

Whatever do you mean NW?
--
Adam
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 14:31
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - andyconda
Nowt much wrong with the old Toledo, price just reflects age/type of car. I doubt that a dealer would offer a lot more for a similar age VW Vento which is a more modern design and wears a VW badge!

Incidentally, some nutbags managed to drive a £100 Toledo all the way to Italy last year in the Staples2Naples rally...

www.seatcupra.net/Staples2Naples_report1.htm

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 16:34
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - v0n
Somewhere between Ford Orion and Vauxhall Cavalier our penchant for small cars with big boots has vanished. As simple as that - Brits don't like undersized saloons anymore, instead they favour oversized hatchbacks (Mondeo, Carina E style). You don't see many Focus Saloons, Fabia Saloons, Seat Cordobas etc on UK roads. Some manufacturers don't even approach our shores with small saloons anymore (Fiat Albea, Renault Thalia). I might be wrong here, but, perhaps that lack of interest for saloons is also one of the reasons why local Rover 45 was such a slow seller at home...
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 24 May 2005 18:22
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - dylan
Just a correction regarding the 'it's unpopular because it's a saloon' theory. The R reg vintage Toledo is a hatchback. It does look a bit like a saloon, though.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 25 May 2005 02:21
Seat Toledo, why so unpopular? - MichaelR
Rover 45 was also available as a hatchback, infact its most common in hatchback guise.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.

Honest Used Car Prices

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....