RE: Shed Of The Week: Volkswagen Golf GTI

[jontbone]

daemon said:

I've one of these a couple of years ago.

I quite enjoyed it.

Bought it like this...



A bit of TLC and a set of BBS rims off ebay later....

Looked nice to begin with, looks amazing with those BBS rims

[RoverP6B]

Still a handsome car, but rather have a VR6.

[Drive Blind]

Juicetin1 said:

Yes it was the Mk4, the non-turbo 2.0 was only badged "GTI" in Britain

and the NA 1.8

[rb5er]

Boring in every conceivable way.

[JMF894]

djbobbins said:

Ah - the Mk3 Golf. The car on which I learned a very important lesson - always do a data check when buying private.

The one I caught a cold on was a boggo 1.4l model, felt more solid than the Nova it replaced but when I got sick of the recurring garage bills and decided to get rid, I found out it had been Cat C damaged and clocked.

£2k to buy, £500 ebay sale a year later, about £2k of garage bills inbetween :-(

I can relate to this story my friend. I feel your pain................

[rolo0151]

An ex girlfriend of mine had one in around 15 yrs ago. It was so slow & boring. She traded in a really nice Jetta gti 16v. She tried to convince herself the golf was a good buy but she always wanted that Jetta back.

That said I quite like the look of this shed & would happily smoke it for a few months as a stop gap car

[B'stard Child]

MKII I'd say yes but this model always looked fugly so no ta

[bimbeano]

I have driven a Mk3 Golf Tdi Van conversion from 2005 till 2010. Had loads of fun with it as it really didn't matter what happened to it ... always full 'throttle', sometimes on 3 wheels (or 2), parking spots in Paris difficult to find? Not for my Golf :-) . I just made sure it got well maintained so it stayed solid as a house.
I bet this 115 hp couldn't be half as 'fun' as the diesel.

[chasdad]

Had one of these in the 90,s. Bought with high mileage a.t the same time I had a 306 gti 6 with low mileage golf was a lot slower and cumbersome but was a far better car.

[BrownBottle]

lufbramatt said:

They're not much different really in the handling department to a mk2, considering most of the suspension components are identical and major parts like subframes can all be swapped over. Maybe a bit softer but that's easily remedied with better springs and shocks.

Correct, the Mk2 was just as crap to drive as the Mk3 which was just as crap to drive as the Mk4...

Mk5 on slightly better due to cloning the rear suspension from the Focus, still that terminally dull trademark VAG steering though...

[GDC20]

Had a three door 8 valve one for a year and I thought it was a really nice car and hugely underrated, nowhere near as bad as some people say they are.

[crostonian]

Anyone else had a 3dr Mk3 and had the front door fall off due to corrosion around the hinges. It happened on one I had when it was only 4 years old and it also happened to a neighbours a few months later!

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

I ran one for 20 years. I loved it.

She still had plenty of life (and 8 months MOT), but in the end she had to go. I bet not many go the that great scrapyard in the sky looking as good as this:





I actually washed & hoovered it before collection. Still don't know why

[AlexC1981]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

I ran one for 20 years. I loved it.

She still had plenty of life (and 8 months MOT), but in the end she had to go. I bet not many go the that great scrapyard in the sky looking as good as this:





I actually washed & hoovered it before collection. Still don't know why

How come you didn't sell it or give it away? Was it a victim of the Scrappage scheme?

[anonymous-user]

Boring and stodgy as it is this would be an excellent bangernomics shed, you could get years out of it with very little expense.

Interesting to compare it to a contemporary 1997 Ford Escort or Vauxhall Astra F - two dreary heaps that would have died or fallen to bits long ago.

[Baz Tench]

My mate had one for about 12 years and recently replaced it with another one for £550. He loves them, always keeping them immaculate.

I quite like them too. Not quick, but good honest motoring.

Edited by Baz Tench on Saturday 3rd October 15:47

[Darkslider]

Whilst I can see where Shed might have been going with this, once again it's a bit wide of the mark and not quite there. A Mk3 GTI with the 2.0 16v 150 bhp engine could easily be had for shed money, or even better its little known cousin the Seat Ibiza GTI, same 150bhp motor in a Polo chassis for even more performance and chuckability.

Why on earth would you choose the dull and lethargic 8v/five door option for your money?

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

AlexC1981 said:

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

I ran one for 20 years. I loved it.

She still had plenty of life (and 8 months MOT), but in the end she had to go. I bet not many go the that great scrapyard in the sky looking as good as this:





I actually washed & hoovered it before collection. Still don't know why

How come you didn't sell it or give it away? Was it a victim of the Scrappage scheme?

I knew nobody who wanted her. Couldn't be bothered with tyre kickers

[Jimmy Recard]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

I knew nobody who wanted her. Couldn't be bothered with tyre kickers

I would've had that for over scrap value. I don't particularly like these cars but something MOT'd always has a value to me.

[daemon]

rb5er said:

Boring in every conceivable way.

I would say it isnt. Its a decent looking car particularly compared to todays anodyne euroblobs, nicely finished, and OK not a rocket ship, but it represents "something" as its got us talking about it. Granted, not necessarily for all the right reasons.

The one i had had an induction kit on it so it sounded quite snorty too. Sold it on to an enthusiast.

A boring golf would be a 1.4e

Edited by daemon on Saturday 3rd October 20:47

Edited by daemon on Sunday 4th October 09:34