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Cars - Mk 4 Golf GTI
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lucky number 7
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Nope I have a 2002 1.4 golf and have never had any trouble with it bar one bloody engine light ..great little car and pretty nippy
The MK4 is that the 2.0 tdi ? If so one of my mates has one and its a pretty tidy piece of kit, but I can ask a few questions about it if you want
The MK4 is that the 2.0 tdi ? If so one of my mates has one and its a pretty tidy piece of kit, but I can ask a few questions about it if you want
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No sorry. Why, are you thinking of getting one? If you are, you know you want to go for an R32, just don't think about the cost
Check out Parkers for info on cars, extremely handy, and highlights any probelms you should look out for when buying etc.
@ lucky number 7. I'm guessing he's asking about the 1.8 petrol GTi, not the 1.9 diesel.
That's the one, I've seen one nearby in my price bracket, only it's pretty high mileage (160,000). I'm just concerned that it'll fall to bits at that age and mileage. The web seems pretty useless for buyers guides.
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160,000 on a 1.8 petrol! I'd suggest keeping well clear. I wouldn't touch a diesel with that miliage, and wouldn't touch a petrol with over 100,000 on the clock. It'll almost certainly cost you shed loads to maintain, with everything from head gaskets, to cam belts likely to be on their last legs, not to mention the engine internals. If anything goes inside the engine, (piston rings etc.), you'll be looking at a write off basically, as insurance companies wouldn't justify the cost of repairing.
How much if I may ask? If it's dirt cheap then it could be worth it if the car looks in decent nick, and you're happy to run it into the ground, and don't mind running the risk of it breaking down at any moment.
Edit. Just to clarify a little. I know some petrols will quite happily soldier on to 200,000+ miles. BMW's and Volksvagen's for example are well built so they will do more miliage than your bog standard clio, but it's often the larger engined petrols that do the silly miles, as the engine is built to withstand the entra heat and wear, using stronger and thicker metals (as weight isn't quite as important when you've got the big hike in power to compensate). A 1.8 petrol though is coming to the end of it's life at 160,000 I'd say.
Is it the turbo version? Because turbo's usually fail much before the engine. Some can go before 100,000, so if it's never been changed, again 160,000 would probably mean it's on the brink. They can be costly to replace, £400 upwards really.
How much if I may ask? If it's dirt cheap then it could be worth it if the car looks in decent nick, and you're happy to run it into the ground, and don't mind running the risk of it breaking down at any moment.
Edit. Just to clarify a little. I know some petrols will quite happily soldier on to 200,000+ miles. BMW's and Volksvagen's for example are well built so they will do more miliage than your bog standard clio, but it's often the larger engined petrols that do the silly miles, as the engine is built to withstand the entra heat and wear, using stronger and thicker metals (as weight isn't quite as important when you've got the big hike in power to compensate). A 1.8 petrol though is coming to the end of it's life at 160,000 I'd say.
Is it the turbo version? Because turbo's usually fail much before the engine. Some can go before 100,000, so if it's never been changed, again 160,000 would probably mean it's on the brink. They can be costly to replace, £400 upwards really.
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It's up to you in the end really. If you do go to see it, ask to look in the log book to see what kinda service history it has. Hopefully some stuff has been changed reletively recently, meaning less things to go wrong in the neer future. Bushings, brake lines, brake discs etc. etc. all wear and will need replacing at some point, so keep an eye out for these in the service book. Listen for rattling and vibrating in the steering wheel if you test drive, to indicate that bushings are worn (not a massive job to replace, but time consuming, so quite expensive). Have a feel of one of the front brake discs, checking how much lip is on the outer edge, there shouldn't be much (~1mm), if it feels excessive, then could mean that the break discs will need changing soon (again a few hundred quid).
Are those the factory wheels? They could be, but if they're not, then it could mean that a boy racer owned it previously, meaning aggressive driving = more wear. Big wheels will also mean expensive tyres remember.
From my experience of driving high milers (parents had a Rover 400 that had over 210,000 when it was scrapped), things do start going wrong when you're over the 160,000 mark, and that was a diesel. It's innevitable that there is going to be wear, but it's tough to know ifthings will go wrong. With that kinda miliage, it's down to pot luck really, you could buy it and never have a problem, or you could spend £100's if not £1,000's at the next MOT. Remember that parts for VW's are expensive, so costs can mount up very quickly.
I recently gambled with a BMW to some degree. It's a 52 plate 320d and had 93,000 on the clock when I bought it. Cost me £4,500. I've not had anything go wrong yet, but did have to change two back tyres at £80 each. The airbag warning light has come up on the dash meaning there's something wrong with the system somwhere, luckily I know someone with the correct diagnostic kit to test it. The brake pads are on their way out, the handbrake cable needs tightening / replacing, and either one of the back wheels haven't been balanced propperly, or a wheel bearing's also going (I'll have to investigate when I have time). This just shows that plenty of little things can start going, even on a car two years newer and 65,000 less miles. I'm planning to do most the repairs myself, but even these little things could cost a couple of hundred in a garage.
Are those the factory wheels? They could be, but if they're not, then it could mean that a boy racer owned it previously, meaning aggressive driving = more wear. Big wheels will also mean expensive tyres remember.
From my experience of driving high milers (parents had a Rover 400 that had over 210,000 when it was scrapped), things do start going wrong when you're over the 160,000 mark, and that was a diesel. It's innevitable that there is going to be wear, but it's tough to know ifthings will go wrong. With that kinda miliage, it's down to pot luck really, you could buy it and never have a problem, or you could spend £100's if not £1,000's at the next MOT. Remember that parts for VW's are expensive, so costs can mount up very quickly.
I recently gambled with a BMW to some degree. It's a 52 plate 320d and had 93,000 on the clock when I bought it. Cost me £4,500. I've not had anything go wrong yet, but did have to change two back tyres at £80 each. The airbag warning light has come up on the dash meaning there's something wrong with the system somwhere, luckily I know someone with the correct diagnostic kit to test it. The brake pads are on their way out, the handbrake cable needs tightening / replacing, and either one of the back wheels haven't been balanced propperly, or a wheel bearing's also going (I'll have to investigate when I have time). This just shows that plenty of little things can start going, even on a car two years newer and 65,000 less miles. I'm planning to do most the repairs myself, but even these little things could cost a couple of hundred in a garage.
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lucky number 7
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Its a pretty nice looking car to be fair the owner seems to have taken care of the aesthetics at least , prompting me to think that when someone puts that much effort into the car they wont drive like a dick..most boy racers here don't put much money into the cars for fear of crashing it.
Although I would agree with dullonien that with a car of that mileage things are going to go wrong sooner rather than later and unless you have someone with the diagnostics kit you are going to have to take it to a garage when those lights come up...as they do
But it is a Volkswagen well known for reliability. And very solid god forbid you should ever get in a crash.
Although I would agree with dullonien that with a car of that mileage things are going to go wrong sooner rather than later and unless you have someone with the diagnostics kit you are going to have to take it to a garage when those lights come up...as they do
But it is a Volkswagen well known for reliability. And very solid god forbid you should ever get in a crash.
No, they sold it 30 minutes before I phoned them on a Saturday morning... I called at 9:30!
Still keeping my eyes open for similar, saw a nice one the other day but it had a "thrashed by a boy racer" aura lingering around it so steered clear. Needs doing soon though, the Puma is on its last legs.
Still keeping my eyes open for similar, saw a nice one the other day but it had a "thrashed by a boy racer" aura lingering around it so steered clear. Needs doing soon though, the Puma is on its last legs.
lucky number 7
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My Dream car the Alpha Romeo Brera is going for about 5000 at the moment ...a few more years time on that and the price should drop and I might have enough saved...here's to hoping.
lucky number 7
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That's true ..it will look beautiful outside the house though
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