Mk2 Golf GTI Daily?
Discussion
Spotted a lovely unmolested oak green mk2 golf gti on my way to work this morning haven't seen one of those for a while on the roads its an itch i always wanted to scratch when i was younger buy never did it! now im itching again!
Other than rust what are they like reliability wise? They are getting on a bit now are parts still readily available etc?
Other than rust what are they like reliability wise? They are getting on a bit now are parts still readily available etc?
Edited by TheBurgerKing on Wednesday 28th November 20:30
I have run these as daily hack transport, most recently probably less than five years ago. My experience was that they were immensely good - really incredibly capable and easy to live with. Yes, rust is an issue, but the ones I ran were mega-reliable, capable of monster mileage, cheap to maintain, a riot to drive and surprisingly good on fuel. I remember I used to get at least 34mpg out of a Digifant inj. model despite driving it indecently hard. The ones I had really put up with a huge amount of abuse, were totally capable in modern traffic (even feeling 'peppy' still) and left me impressed by just how good they really are. I moved on to new pastures when family situation changed and a Saab Aero appeared. I would have another in a heartbeat.
Used my '89 16v daily up until about 5 weeks ago. Advice is always to pick a rot-free example over a mechanically sound one because they do like to rot A LOT.
I did it the other way round and have added about 10k miles on mine since I've had it. Engine is very reliable (144k miles), hasn't asked for anything other than oil and coolant changes, and I have every faith that it can get me where I need to go. The bodywork on mine is shot, but it doesn't bother me as welding on a car of this age shouldn't cost the earth if you find a decent independent.
Couple of things to consider: road, wind and engine noise can grate at 70+ mph; power steering doesn't help all that much in reality, MPG of nearly 40 is achievable in an 8V and 34-ish in a 16v on a good run; they are old and have lots of foibles such as heater matrix failure but this soon gets forgotten when you floor it; parts are readily available and cheap enough (ECP and GSF are your friends) and lastly, there are dogs and then there are dogs.
All in all I thoroughly recommend it. Oh, and moving from a mk1 Golf to a Mk2 was a huge shock to me - agricultural feel replaced with premium package. As premium as you can expect for 20+ years old anyway.
I did it the other way round and have added about 10k miles on mine since I've had it. Engine is very reliable (144k miles), hasn't asked for anything other than oil and coolant changes, and I have every faith that it can get me where I need to go. The bodywork on mine is shot, but it doesn't bother me as welding on a car of this age shouldn't cost the earth if you find a decent independent.
Couple of things to consider: road, wind and engine noise can grate at 70+ mph; power steering doesn't help all that much in reality, MPG of nearly 40 is achievable in an 8V and 34-ish in a 16v on a good run; they are old and have lots of foibles such as heater matrix failure but this soon gets forgotten when you floor it; parts are readily available and cheap enough (ECP and GSF are your friends) and lastly, there are dogs and then there are dogs.
All in all I thoroughly recommend it. Oh, and moving from a mk1 Golf to a Mk2 was a huge shock to me - agricultural feel replaced with premium package. As premium as you can expect for 20+ years old anyway.
Ved said:
No reason why it'd cost more than anything else. Rock solid if they've been serviced well and it'll put a smile on your face.
You will feel very vulnerable on a rainy motorway though so don't expect it to feel modern when the weather turns.
Agree with this - rubbish tyres don't help but mine will regularly have the back end catching up to the front on roundabouts at 25mph or less. Hasten to add only in the rain, mind! You will feel very vulnerable on a rainy motorway though so don't expect it to feel modern when the weather turns.
Check the heater matrix works before buying too! Mine doesn't.
Edit: wet weather comment. In the dry it holds on tight.
Edited by alexandthegolf on Wednesday 28th November 21:34
alexandthegolf said:
Used my '89 16v daily up until about 5 weeks ago. Advice is always to pick a rot-free example over a mechanically sound one because they do like to rot A LOT.
I did it the other way round and have added about 10k miles on mine since I've had it. Engine is very reliable (144k miles), hasn't asked for anything other than oil and coolant changes, and I have every faith that it can get me where I need to go. The bodywork on mine is shot, but it doesn't bother me as welding on a car of this age shouldn't cost the earth if you find a decent independent.
Couple of things to consider: road, wind and engine noise can grate at 70+ mph; power steering doesn't help all that much in reality, MPG of nearly 40 is achievable in an 8V and 34-ish in a 16v on a good run; they are old and have lots of foibles such as heater matrix failure but this soon gets forgotten when you floor it; parts are readily available and cheap enough (ECP and GSF are your friends) and lastly, there are dogs and then there are dogs.
All in all I thoroughly recommend it. Oh, and moving from a mk1 Golf to a Mk2 was a huge shock to me - agricultural feel replaced with premium package. As premium as you can expect for 20+ years old anyway.
Bang on, much as I love the MK1, for many reasons, it isnt a patch as a standard car on a MK2. Would love to try another MK2, had four and two mk1's, the bell crank linkage for the brakes ont he MK1 was the main flaw I noticed.I did it the other way round and have added about 10k miles on mine since I've had it. Engine is very reliable (144k miles), hasn't asked for anything other than oil and coolant changes, and I have every faith that it can get me where I need to go. The bodywork on mine is shot, but it doesn't bother me as welding on a car of this age shouldn't cost the earth if you find a decent independent.
Couple of things to consider: road, wind and engine noise can grate at 70+ mph; power steering doesn't help all that much in reality, MPG of nearly 40 is achievable in an 8V and 34-ish in a 16v on a good run; they are old and have lots of foibles such as heater matrix failure but this soon gets forgotten when you floor it; parts are readily available and cheap enough (ECP and GSF are your friends) and lastly, there are dogs and then there are dogs.
All in all I thoroughly recommend it. Oh, and moving from a mk1 Golf to a Mk2 was a huge shock to me - agricultural feel replaced with premium package. As premium as you can expect for 20+ years old anyway.
Although it was a while ago now, I ran a MKII GTi 8v big-bumper as a daily driver for 3 years. One of the best cars I ever owned.
My gearbox synchro failed, and I had constant rocker cover gasket leaks. PAS pump whined a bit, but all was forgiven when you booted it, or chucked it around the bends. Properly good cars these.
(crappy 90's photo of my old one below). Sold with 140-odd thousand miles on it. I really miss it.
My gearbox synchro failed, and I had constant rocker cover gasket leaks. PAS pump whined a bit, but all was forgiven when you booted it, or chucked it around the bends. Properly good cars these.
(crappy 90's photo of my old one below). Sold with 140-odd thousand miles on it. I really miss it.
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