2000 VW Golf GTI, 1996 Golf 1.6 CL
Well, it was cheap to buy at least...
"I'd saved up some money from working in Sainsbury's over summer and I'd had a craving for a classic Golf since I was little, plus I'd spent seven years walking past a Tornado red 8V GTI on my walk to school. My parents had persuaded me to buy a boring, but reasonably reliable, Mk4 GTI about nine months earlier as they thought being a student I needed something that wasn't going to cost a fortune. Anyway I sold that for £650 and paid £500 for the Mk2 because it was so cheap, had a decent spec, was unmodified and was for sale about eight miles away."
What I wish I'd known:
"In how much of a bad state it was. Rust everywhere, it was overheating, it leaked from the door membrane, dodgy secondhand alarm and the seat was broken. It was terrible. Since I bought it I've spent thousands getting it into shape."
Tom's learned - and spent - a lot but all worthwhile
"It's just a great all round car that's a bit special. Yes it cost me a lot but now it's working properly I use it whenever I can, it's very practical being a four-door version, does the usual commute and shopping trips with no issues. I'm impressed by its economy as well, I get about 38mpg on the motorway and 28mpg on my commute through Exeter.
"It gets quite a lot of looks around town, I think because it's quite different and they're getting rarer so you don't see many on the roads. I've had quite a few 'I used to have one of those' comments and people saying how it's nice to see one that hasn't been slammed on some ridiculous alloys. It sounds pretty good too. I'm lucky to live in rural Devon so early morning B-road drives are amazing, it handles so nicely and has great composure when you're going briskly. I work nights so when I leave at seven I get the local B-roads to myself, it's a great way to unwind after a long night."
Things I hate:
"How much it cost me, although I really should have just bought a nicer one in the first place. To date it has cost about £5-6,000 since buying it 18 months ago, which as a student has been difficult but I'm lucky my parents have been so supportive in letting me leave it on their driveway and sometimes fronting me money for it. Other than it's hard to fault. It let in a lot of water early on so I'm still getting rid of that and as a result it mists up really fast ... and the demister's broke so I always carry a towel with me!"
It's taken a lot of graft to return to former glory
"It's been very expensive but a lot were specific to this car; better examples are cheaper to run and maintain and the majority of owners have spent far less on theirs to get the same vehicle condition. The two MOTs cost me £2,700 together, then £1,200 on more bodywork (primarily rust), £900 a cylinder head rebuild and then about the rest of the money went on parts. It hasn't yet made me cry!
"Thankfully servicing and insurance are quite cheap - I'm with Admiral fully comp, 21 with two years NCB and 2,000 miles a year and it's £380 - pretty good from what other owners have said. VWS and JW Bodywork in Exeter have both been great at looking after me and it, they're both very understanding of my situation. Thankfully parts are pretty cheap - places like VW Heritage and GSF are great and I can get 99 per cent of parts from them or eBay. I'm lucky it's got the original 15-inch BBS wheels because it only cost me £300 to get all four tyres replaced.
Local back roads are this Mk2's hunting ground
"Most of the lighter work I've done either myself or with my dad - such as the radiator, water pump, speedo cable, door membrane and various seals. It's quite an easy to car to work on with a basic toolkit and Haynes manual."
Where I've been:
"Sadly nowhere particularly interesting. It was supposed to drive us to Le Mans in 2013 but it could barely leave the drive so we took my Dad's Mk4 GTI instead. It's only done about 1,100 miles since I've owned it, mostly commuting, B-roads or up onto Dartmoor."
What next?
"I couldn't bring myself to sell the car if I tried and it's so nearly back to 100 per cent I'm going to be keeping it for the foreseeable future. Next on the to-do list are the front brake discs and the demister. I want to keep it original so it's just going to be repair work from now on. That being said I'm really hankering after a Mk1 Golf GTI now though so who knows..."
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