2007 SEAT Leon 1.9L Diesel · LD07 ALU

Brake wear and a persistent oil leak form the recurring thread running through this Leon's test history, with the most recent pass on 30 October 2023 carrying five advisories including worn front discs, unevenly worn offside front pads, overheated nearside rear brakes, and the same oil leak noted at every test since 2021. That 2023 pass came only after a failure two weeks earlier for an unsecurable boot lid, an SRS warning lamp fault, and a front tyre fitted contrary to its sidewall direction, a reminder that items were being rectified reactively at test time rather than ahead of it. Earlier history shows a similar pattern: a 2019 failure for dangerously thin offside rear pads under 1.5mm with a binding rear caliper, and a 2020 failure for a split offside CV boot, followed in 2022 by the nearside CV boot deteriorating severely. The record is not one of chronic structural corrosion or repeated dangerous defects, but neither is it clean; brakes, CV boots, tyres, and minor electrical faults recur across multiple years, and the SRS warning lamp fault in particular warrants confirmation that it was properly repaired rather than simply cleared. At 114,735 miles over roughly 19 years, the car has averaged about 6,000 miles annually, a typical rather than exceptional accumulation for its age. Testing has been consistent with no significant gaps, so the mileage appears credible and continuous. Moderate annual use of this kind is consistent with the wear items seen in the record: brake discs and pads wearing through normal service, CV boots perishing with age as much as mileage, and tyres cracking and perishing on the inner edges, which was flagged repeatedly on the rear tyres between 2019 and 2021. The recurring perished-tyre advisories alongside the worn inner edges also hint at possible rear suspension geometry or alignment issues worth investigating, since inner-edge wear on both rear tyres across successive years is not usually coincidental. On inspection, priority should go to the braking system given its prominence in the record. The 2023 advisories of uneven front pad wear and overheated nearside rear brakes suggest a sticking or binding caliper may still be present; on a test drive, feel for the car pulling to one side under braking, a hot or burning smell after a short run, or one wheel running noticeably hotter than the others, and listen for grinding or squeal. Check that the front discs flagged as worn since 2020 have actually been replaced rather than left to wear further, and confirm the uneven pad wear was resolved with new pads and, ideally, refurbished calipers rather than pads alone. Beyond the brakes, verify the oil leak's source and severity, since it has been noted at four consecutive tests without resolution; look underneath for drips and check the engine bay for residue around the rocker cover and sump. Both CV boots have failed or deteriorated in the past, so listen for clicking or knocking from the front wheels on full lock at low speed, indicating joint wear from earlier dirt ingress. The offside rear shock absorber has shown oil misting since 2021, so bounce each rear corner and listen for knocking over bumps, and check the offside front anti-roll bar droplink flagged in 2022 for play. Finally, confirm the SRS warning lamp stays extinguished after start-up, that the TPMS light fault has been addressed, that the boot lid latches securely, and that the windscreen crack noted across several years has not spread into the driver's line of sight.