Is a MK2 Golf gti a classic?
Discussion
Wish I never sold mine 
I ran one as a daily for just over a year and a half, certianly was a great looking, sharp handling and reasonably quick car but in all fairness it was rotten just everywhere which sort of just spoiled the fun of ownership and whether I'd make it to work each day would grow wearysome.
Best tip is get the best you can bodywise, engines and mechanicals are usually quite tough, and don't buy the first one you see like I did haha!
I'd have another (good one) in a heart beat! And to the OP - deffo a classic status car now!
I ran one as a daily for just over a year and a half, certianly was a great looking, sharp handling and reasonably quick car but in all fairness it was rotten just everywhere which sort of just spoiled the fun of ownership and whether I'd make it to work each day would grow wearysome.Best tip is get the best you can bodywise, engines and mechanicals are usually quite tough, and don't buy the first one you see like I did haha!
I'd have another (good one) in a heart beat! And to the OP - deffo a classic status car now!
Madkat said:
So if i wanted something that i could feel confident for the age jumping in every time and taking out. what £2.5k+ or more or less?
It really depends where you look and who you know, a friend of mine recently gave £900 for a absolute gem. A almost completely original 1986 GTI 16v 3 door in monza blue with a service history from day one. Given a dam good clean I expect he could flip it for £2.5k+ with relative ease. The most I've spent on a mk2 is about £1500 but I've seen a fair number of golfs from £100-4000 and even after years I still can't fathom the pricing. Find a more mature owner who appreciates what they have or a keen enthusiast who knows their stuff and you to might find a gem. Sadly there are a lot of dogs out there but the breakers are filtering them out at a reasonable rate.....
aka_kerrly said:
Madkat said:
So if i wanted something that i could feel confident for the age jumping in every time and taking out. what £2.5k+ or more or less?
It really depends where you look and who you know, a friend of mine recently gave £900 for a absolute gem. A almost completely original 1986 GTI 16v 3 door in monza blue with a service history from day one. Given a dam good clean I expect he could flip it for £2.5k+ with relative ease. The most I've spent on a mk2 is about £1500 but I've seen a fair number of golfs from £100-4000 and even after years I still can't fathom the pricing. Find a more mature owner who appreciates what they have or a keen enthusiast who knows their stuff and you to might find a gem. Sadly there are a lot of dogs out there but the breakers are filtering them out at a reasonable rate.....
I am sorely tempted by a Corrado (love the VR6 after driving a MK3 golf) was unimpressed with the rest of the car and the seeming flat spot to 4000rpm (that may of just been the car or been used to turbo's for the last few years. But ultimately the Golf has the practicality i want. Putting bikes in it etc etc and other household jobs. and the VR6 insurance isn't feasible for me unfortunately.
Oh i use pedals for 95% of my commuting so i'm not to fussed about it not starting on a cold morning for example.
Madkat said:
That's good to know, Shhh are they under the radar presently to most buyers as they seem to be quite varied in price. I couldn't really bring myself to spend much more than £3k on one. Unlike the A-series mini which now go for silly money (well not really silly as such). I shall start trying to obtain some quotes from insurers people have mentioned.
I am sorely tempted by a Corrado (love the VR6 after driving a MK3 golf) was unimpressed with the rest of the car and the seeming flat spot to 4000rpm (that may of just been the car or been used to turbo's for the last few years. But ultimately the Golf has the practicality i want. Putting bikes in it etc etc and other household jobs. and the VR6 insurance isn't feasible for me unfortunately.
Oh i use pedals for 95% of my commuting so i'm not to fussed about it not starting on a cold morning for example.
I couldn't spend over £1500 on a mk2 that isn't a G60/Rallye/syncro these days as I was lucky enough to have had a dozen at less than £1k. I am sorely tempted by a Corrado (love the VR6 after driving a MK3 golf) was unimpressed with the rest of the car and the seeming flat spot to 4000rpm (that may of just been the car or been used to turbo's for the last few years. But ultimately the Golf has the practicality i want. Putting bikes in it etc etc and other household jobs. and the VR6 insurance isn't feasible for me unfortunately.
Oh i use pedals for 95% of my commuting so i'm not to fussed about it not starting on a cold morning for example.
Regarding the Corrado I have a few of those to, I recently paid £750 for a VR6 to use as a daily. I'm not too sure about the flat spot you experienced, if anything mine starts feeling even stronger at 4000rpm , much like a typical 16v engine.
Also don't discount the Corrado on practicality or reliability, we have had a Corrado in the family since new and
without a doubt it's incredibly reliable. There are 3 Corrados in total in my family and none have suffered any terminal or expensive failures. Most of the money spent on them is because we are car enthusiasts so upgrade/replace parts when worn not just after they have failed!
In terms of practicality I regularly travel with 2 downhill mountain bikes plus the associated kit on board. More recently I fitted a Polo 1.6 engine, a VR6 Turbo kit and 2 Corrado wings in the boot! On another occasion another Corrado interior consisting of front/rear seats and doorcards fitted in the boot. The rear seats are also suitable for adults and I find my Corrado is considerable more practical and spacious than the Audi TT.
Perhaps it is worth looking for a really good condition late 1993-95 2.0 16v Corrado, these have the 9A engine running on KE-Jetronic management which is more advanced than the Kjet on Golf and generally rather reliable and easy to work with - it has a diagnostic port for a start. It's worth noting that whilst on paper the 2.0 16v Corrado doesn't appear as fast as mk2 golf 16v, you can swap the camshafts from a 1.8 KR into a 2.0 9A which gives a very healthy gain in HP/torque - my last hybrid 16v consistently ran 160hp/145lbs torque.
That said though if 95% of commuting is done on bike then the VR6 insurance is really the only issue, the fuel usage between the VR6, G60 and 16v isn't enormously different, the 16v is the most frugal around town/short journeys. It's only some of the consumables that work out more expensive for example 6 spark plugs, 6 HT leads is more than double the price of G60/16v components.
It must of been the MK3 golf i drove but it was sluggish to 4k but came 'on cam'? after that. I currently drive a Octavia VRS which as a general car its very good and will be hard to beat but its a jack of all trades master of none. I'm getting constantly fed up of the way newer cars are going so want something to invest in.
I didn't know that about the Corrado so that could swing the argument. The other half probably wouldn't like either but i'd bet she'd dislike the Corrado most even if it is the most 'Modern' as such. I've been informed by an old colleague that the G60 is the quickest but also the most costly and fragile (the supercharger is a bit fussy). Is the standard 1.8 any good as well?
Man maths would say that seeing as the car will be used mainly SDP i don't mind paying a bit for running it on fuel and maintenance etc But i refuse to pay more than about £500 insurance for my next car. (Presently disputing a PI claim after a fault accident at about 5mph bump, doesn't help with an 'L' postcode and now a dented NCB the one year i didn't protect it, Murphy's law).
I didn't know that about the Corrado so that could swing the argument. The other half probably wouldn't like either but i'd bet she'd dislike the Corrado most even if it is the most 'Modern' as such. I've been informed by an old colleague that the G60 is the quickest but also the most costly and fragile (the supercharger is a bit fussy). Is the standard 1.8 any good as well?
Man maths would say that seeing as the car will be used mainly SDP i don't mind paying a bit for running it on fuel and maintenance etc But i refuse to pay more than about £500 insurance for my next car. (Presently disputing a PI claim after a fault accident at about 5mph bump, doesn't help with an 'L' postcode and now a dented NCB the one year i didn't protect it, Murphy's law).
^ I see, as it happens when I was looking for a new daily I was leaning toward a Octavia VRs/ Leon Cupra as I *thought* I wanted something newer again with all mod cons like AC/TC/Air bags etc but my brother spotted the Corrado VR6 for sale and I thought what the hell lets see what it's like and it was far far better than I was expecting for the money so HAD to have it.
My other Corrado is a G60, it's been owned by my family since new and is on 88k currently. Contrary to popular belief as per your mates comments my supercharger is original, in one piece and working fine. All i do is replace the £10 charger belts each year and replace the oil bi-annually. It has been on trips to Europe and done 130+MPh, it has done longer trips at nearly 40mpg. It offers a huge amount of flexibility a you can drive it like a V8 using barely 2000rpm and it's mid range is fantastic - high torque an low gearing!!
The chargers do need rebuilding at SOME point, VW never specified a range so there are chargers that have been rebuilt at 20k and some at 200k and some with over 200k without a rebuild. At £400 a charger rebuild is akin to a head gasket on many NA cars so I fail to see it as a deal breaker! The majority of failures are not the charger itself but a combination of poor oil, blocked/damaged oil feed lines, worn/snapped timing belts and over revving!
The main issue with G60 is not all mechanics know what they are doing so only a small number of specialists exist who are prepared to strip/rebuild a charger so when they do need rebuilding you may have to wait a week or two.
The majority of the rest of the engine is similar to a 8v Golf GTI.
My other Corrado is a G60, it's been owned by my family since new and is on 88k currently. Contrary to popular belief as per your mates comments my supercharger is original, in one piece and working fine. All i do is replace the £10 charger belts each year and replace the oil bi-annually. It has been on trips to Europe and done 130+MPh, it has done longer trips at nearly 40mpg. It offers a huge amount of flexibility a you can drive it like a V8 using barely 2000rpm and it's mid range is fantastic - high torque an low gearing!!
The chargers do need rebuilding at SOME point, VW never specified a range so there are chargers that have been rebuilt at 20k and some at 200k and some with over 200k without a rebuild. At £400 a charger rebuild is akin to a head gasket on many NA cars so I fail to see it as a deal breaker! The majority of failures are not the charger itself but a combination of poor oil, blocked/damaged oil feed lines, worn/snapped timing belts and over revving!
The main issue with G60 is not all mechanics know what they are doing so only a small number of specialists exist who are prepared to strip/rebuild a charger so when they do need rebuilding you may have to wait a week or two.
The majority of the rest of the engine is similar to a 8v Golf GTI.
So should i be concerned about high millage cars C170k, Is it just the head and ancillaries that's the difference between the 8v and 16v (MK2 Golf). And when talking about the Corrado would the 2.0 have more usable torque than the 1.8. Torque to me is more important than outright power as its fairly built up round here so there is a fair amount of stop starting. Same of course goes for the Clutch are they pretty durable and the brakes from what i'd imagine would be good too. I do like ABS so do any models have that?
I wouldn't worry about mileage, I look at the overall condition and service history.
Hence my daily driver has 187k on it, my brother's daily drive VR6 has 196k on it. Mine had a new engine fitted in 2002 so the mileage is nearly 90k now, it uses no oil/doesn't smoke. It sounds wonderful and is returning circa 27mpg. My brothers car was on 170k when it needed valve stem seals replacing and at 185K the bottom end was swapped with one that had 92k on it as the piston rings were getting a bit worn.
Typically a 2.9 VR6 is more likely than a 2.8 to suffer from worn piston rings and the head gasket failing on the back left hand side piston. There are some parts on 2.8 VRs which can be used on 2.9s but most of the 2.9 parts are specific.
In terms of consumables as I mentioned before some specific VR6 components cost more than the 4 cylinder versions but on the whole things like aren't expensive.
Heres a quick guide of things we've replaced on VR6s over the last few years...
£160 clutch kit - sachs HD
£40 clutch slave cylinder - both mine an my brother's failed at around 180k - its easy to fix yourself!
£130 new coil pack
£60 HT leads
£60 secondary water pump
£100 supply/fit new primary water pump
£350 for new pads/discs/callipers and braided hoses all round with upgrade to 312mm fronts. Standard 280mm discs are £30, pads £15 and rear discs/pads £50 all in.
£15 wheel bearings
£6 oil filter
£6 spark plug
£3 air filter
£10 ISV - second hand
£70 each Bilstein shocks
£120 - full stainless exhaust system - second hand.
£40 second hand door
£20 wings
£50 for a bootlid inc spoiler/glass etc - spoiler mechanism sell for £50 on their own some days.
£10 sunroof
All the usual places for VW parts like TPS/ECP/GSF can supply Corrado parts, it's only PANELS and interior trim that is unique to the Corrado that you may pay a bit extra for but there are always people on the Corrado Forum and Ebay breaking them -- which is both good and bad in equal measures.
Hence my daily driver has 187k on it, my brother's daily drive VR6 has 196k on it. Mine had a new engine fitted in 2002 so the mileage is nearly 90k now, it uses no oil/doesn't smoke. It sounds wonderful and is returning circa 27mpg. My brothers car was on 170k when it needed valve stem seals replacing and at 185K the bottom end was swapped with one that had 92k on it as the piston rings were getting a bit worn.
Typically a 2.9 VR6 is more likely than a 2.8 to suffer from worn piston rings and the head gasket failing on the back left hand side piston. There are some parts on 2.8 VRs which can be used on 2.9s but most of the 2.9 parts are specific.
In terms of consumables as I mentioned before some specific VR6 components cost more than the 4 cylinder versions but on the whole things like aren't expensive.
Heres a quick guide of things we've replaced on VR6s over the last few years...
£160 clutch kit - sachs HD
£40 clutch slave cylinder - both mine an my brother's failed at around 180k - its easy to fix yourself!
£130 new coil pack
£60 HT leads
£60 secondary water pump
£100 supply/fit new primary water pump
£350 for new pads/discs/callipers and braided hoses all round with upgrade to 312mm fronts. Standard 280mm discs are £30, pads £15 and rear discs/pads £50 all in.
£15 wheel bearings
£6 oil filter
£6 spark plug
£3 air filter
£10 ISV - second hand
£70 each Bilstein shocks
£120 - full stainless exhaust system - second hand.
£40 second hand door
£20 wings
£50 for a bootlid inc spoiler/glass etc - spoiler mechanism sell for £50 on their own some days.
£10 sunroof
All the usual places for VW parts like TPS/ECP/GSF can supply Corrado parts, it's only PANELS and interior trim that is unique to the Corrado that you may pay a bit extra for but there are always people on the Corrado Forum and Ebay breaking them -- which is both good and bad in equal measures.
Well after a quick compare the market session Flux direct are coming back with some extremely tempting qoutes a corrado 16v can be insured for the same as the MK2 golf at £390 and the VR6 Corrado for £588 so pushing the top of what i'm prepared to pay just so long as flux are happy with buying from compare the market.
It makes the £649 or whatever it is i'm paying for the Octy now (without claim) in perspective and may be all the ammo i need to change. I think the Corrado is one of the best looking cars ever and i dont think i'd be too fussed on either engine But i'd feel like i should of gone the whole hog and got the VR6. Its yet to be seen if a three door with 2+2 isn't practical.
Just noticed SWMBO G60 for sale in the classifieds.
It makes the £649 or whatever it is i'm paying for the Octy now (without claim) in perspective and may be all the ammo i need to change. I think the Corrado is one of the best looking cars ever and i dont think i'd be too fussed on either engine But i'd feel like i should of gone the whole hog and got the VR6. Its yet to be seen if a three door with 2+2 isn't practical.
Just noticed SWMBO G60 for sale in the classifieds.
Edited by Madkat on Tuesday 7th January 15:14
Excellent news.
If you can justify G60 or VR6 then either will reward you with a engine full of character, wonder noise and enough oomph to get you into licence loosing territory surprisingly quick. The main difference especially compared with your VRS (which as I said before I like and rate highly) is the controls, the Corrado is from the golden era of having power steering with some weight, brakes which can be pushed hard without ABS cutting in or the ridiculous over servo'd feel of most modern cars and an accelerator pedal which actually has a physical link the the throttle.
The throttle response is wonderful, the sensation that something is happening immediately and likewise when you let off the throttle the snap as the throttle body shuts during quick gear changes, the gearbox itself is smooth but the throw a bit long. I'm planning on swapping a mk4 mechanism into mine as it's about the only thing VW have improved on!
If you can justify G60 or VR6 then either will reward you with a engine full of character, wonder noise and enough oomph to get you into licence loosing territory surprisingly quick. The main difference especially compared with your VRS (which as I said before I like and rate highly) is the controls, the Corrado is from the golden era of having power steering with some weight, brakes which can be pushed hard without ABS cutting in or the ridiculous over servo'd feel of most modern cars and an accelerator pedal which actually has a physical link the the throttle.
The throttle response is wonderful, the sensation that something is happening immediately and likewise when you let off the throttle the snap as the throttle body shuts during quick gear changes, the gearbox itself is smooth but the throw a bit long. I'm planning on swapping a mk4 mechanism into mine as it's about the only thing VW have improved on!
I've had loads of Mk2 GTIs over the years and love them to bits.
I even managed to get a new toy a few months back, a black 16v 3 door, but following redundancy, it's looking like I might have to get rid of it
I'd also say look for rust underneath, around the petrol filler and down the a posts.
Anything mechanical can usually be replaced relatively cheaply.
I even managed to get a new toy a few months back, a black 16v 3 door, but following redundancy, it's looking like I might have to get rid of it
I'd also say look for rust underneath, around the petrol filler and down the a posts.
Anything mechanical can usually be replaced relatively cheaply.
Thanks all, The E30 is another temptation think i'd be looking at a 325/328 but they don't seem as good on the qoutes i done so far. Not ruling it out and i will probably look at one in comparison.
I don't mind paying a bit more for the right car but only to a point and it seems like those in the know here that 2k should be more than enough. I believe the Corrado has a thatcham cat 1 alarm/immobilizer but what about the golf?
I don't mind paying a bit more for the right car but only to a point and it seems like those in the know here that 2k should be more than enough. I believe the Corrado has a thatcham cat 1 alarm/immobilizer but what about the golf?
The mk2 Golfs didn't have any security from the factory, but it is easy enough to get one fitted.
The Corrados didn't originally have any security, but from about L reg on they did.
For the BMWs, they didn't actually do an E30 with the 328 engine, apart from the South African spec 333s, the 325 was the biggest factory engined car.
The Corrados didn't originally have any security, but from about L reg on they did.
For the BMWs, they didn't actually do an E30 with the 328 engine, apart from the South African spec 333s, the 325 was the biggest factory engined car.
We have a mk2 in for bodyshell restoration, estimated at £10k ( roughly 50/50 strip&metal/prep&paint) now it's blasted it's the best shell we have ever worked on, needed 8 hours metalwork, most of that tidying up jack dents in the rails. Will come in well under estimate! But yep, REALLY good ones are starting to get sought after
^ Jacking points and scuttle panels are two of the most common places for them to rot. Luckily you can still buy genuine repair panels.
I've got a project 16v that needs considerably more welding, sub frame mount, inner rear wheel arches and a complete scuttle..luckily the mechanical side and interior are A1 condition.
The bodykits can hide all sorts of horrors, if you want a project shell that will be having engine/running gear upgrades it can be better to source a non GTI shell that didn't have plastic arch an sill trims , then you can really see what you are getting...
I've got a project 16v that needs considerably more welding, sub frame mount, inner rear wheel arches and a complete scuttle..luckily the mechanical side and interior are A1 condition.
The bodykits can hide all sorts of horrors, if you want a project shell that will be having engine/running gear upgrades it can be better to source a non GTI shell that didn't have plastic arch an sill trims , then you can really see what you are getting...
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