Shed Of The Week: Volkswagen Golf GTI
How a sub-grand price makes even the unloved GTI look rather lovely
Shed may face an uphil struggle with this one
What? Has Shed gone mad? Everyone knows Mk3 Golfs are slow, blobby and generally rubbish. But forget it's a GTI for a minute (easy enough in this case) and look at it objectively as just a Golf. At a very basic level, under £1K for a very clean and serviceable German hatch with a full MoT, low miles, new clutch and brakes and refurbed BBS wheels (worth a few bob on their own) seems like good value.
Now let's look a little further into it. Good Mk1s have already gone nuclear and MK2 prices are on the up, so if you believe in the inevitability of evolution and are looking to minimise your depreciation, there's a strong argument to be made for a nice Mk3 Golf GTI. Admittedly, you might prefer a three-door with 150hp rather than our five-door 115hp one, but do remember we are in Shedland here. And remember also the limitless aftermarket potential for improvement.
115hp means plenty of time to admire cleanliness
Shed's bloodshot eyes have never been quite the same since he found himself watching A-bomb tests on a Pacific island, but he's getting a feeling from the pics that the panels don't quite match. It's like one of those 'what do you see here?' things on the World Wide Web.
One colour he isn't seeing is brown, which in the context of Mk 3 sills, hatches, filler caps and all four wheelarches is a good thing. You'll want to check the subframes and floors for rot too. Luckily these areas are all easy to examine.
Refurbed BBSs are a tempting finishing touch
Mk3s are easy to drive and easy to work on and most parts can be cheaply sourced with a bit of effort. The eight-valve motors may not have the horsepower of the 16-valvers but they are good real-world units that will get you about the place in a fuss-free manner. The 3's Digifant engine management system has a bit of a bad rep, but it does give you diagnostability. A Golf of this vintage will often respond to the 'Italian tune-up', ie. thramping the bejesus out of it to burn unwanted deposits off the pistons, valves and plugs.
Poor idling and engine spluttering is very common but could be something as simple as a faulty engine coolant temperature sensor. Also check hoses, earths, injectors, throttle bodies, the idle stabiliser valve and the fuel filter. Electric windows break, but leaning your elbow on the door frame is a poor show anyway.
Ah, our old friend the sensor. Never mind VW getting slaughtered for their fiddling, whoever invented the sensor should be nailed face-on to a wall and introduced to the pointy end of a lambda probe.
Finished in Satin Silver with black interior.
Spec Includes.
Air conditioning, 16" BBS Split rims (freshly furbished with powder coated centers and polished rims and fitted with 4 Hankook tyres), Front and rear electric windows, ABS, Power steering, Sony CD player with USB interface, Front fog lights, Folding rear seats, Electric door mirrors, On-board computer to list just a few features of this classic GTi.
A well looked after example with many new parts, including recently replaced clutch and brakes all round. Complete with plenty of Service History and many invoices for parts replaced by the previous enthusiast owner.
Increasingly hard to find in this condition with very few examples left.
Price includes 12 months MOT and Hpi certificate.
All major credit cards accepted + part exchange welcome. We are Open 7 days a week in a purpose built indoor showroom so you can come and view our cars no matter what the weather is doing. Viewings by appointment.
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Sold it and moved on and a recently another mate bought one and guess what? the reverse gear whines loudly!
Yes it was slow, the doors went rusty, the driver's seat went threadbare and the aircon failed, but it easily hit 40mpg+ and only once went wrong. The throttle body needed a clean, a 30 minute job.
There are better cars out there, and in no way should it have had a GTI badge, but I liked it
Lambda probe went. Drivers electric window went (which was a problem trying to get into car parks and, more importantly, the toll on the Forth Road Bridge which I did every day!). It got keyed spectacularly across the bonnet overnight. Still have a soft spot for it though. It looked good (dark green 3 door), drove OK, had a decent stereo, was cheap to insure and run.
Would't have one now though.
I use it every day (replacing a MK2 GTi 8V) and it hasn't let me down yet. It's much more refined on the motorway and feels more solid. It's also quicker and although a different steer still a great one.
Top shedding.
I use it every day (replacing a MK2 GTi 8V) and it hasn't let me down yet. It's much more refined on the motorway and feels more solid. It's also quicker and although a different steer still a great one.
Top shedding.
all the negative comments above miss the point - yes it was a step back handling-wise vs a mk2 but as a shed it's a great choice, well built and solid. 115bhp isn't much but for the money that car looks great - yes a 16v or vr6 is quicker but i doubt you'd find one for this money.
The 16v is sooo much better though, the wheezy 8v engine just runs out of puff at about 4k rpm, whereas the 16v keeps pulling all the way to the limiter, and the revised "plus axle" (5 stud wheels) suspension geometry with more front castor and a better scrub radius makes them feel much more planted. Actually looks like this late 8v may have the better suspension setup.
Don't get the comment about the Digifant 3 EMS, in reality there's only a couple of sensors that will stop the engine running (coolant temp and crank sensor), if they work and the wiring is ok the engines run great.
Good luck finding one that isn't rotten though.
Granted, this 'GTI' does not really do much for me, but it'll probably chug around reliably every day, certainly not needing a head gasket every moon cycle.
tty nasty boring Saab!!!The mk3 was the best looking one. Mk2 Golf never looked all that imo. Mk1 looks were ok, loved the convertible. Hated the mk4, styling was s
t, it was though they didn't evolve much from the mk3; they even had to put out adverts saying it was an all new car and about 4000 new parts or something compared to the mk3 as the general public kept thinking it was the same.The mk5 however is the best styled imo and excellent chassis; top all rounder.
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