What VAG car for £3000?
Discussion
I was wondering if I could ask for some advice in choosing my next car. I used to have a 98 Audi A6 1.8T and absolutely loved it. I replaced it with a Renault Laguna (Massive mistake) which I have thankfully just sold.
Basically the Audi is the car I have been most happy with and I want to get something else from the VAG stable. The Renault had so many things go wrong with it that the most important thing for my next car is to be as reliable as possible. That means I want a car which suffers from as few common problems as possible.
Build quality is very important and I want the car to feel as chunky and rattle free as possible. I want a nice reassuring clunk when I shut the door. I am not a fan of hard suspension so would like the ride quality to be as smooth as possible.
I am quite happy to get a diesel as long as it will be 100% reliable and not suffer some failure which will cost £1000's to fix. I would also rather have a car that doesn't have a Dual Mass Flywheel as these also seem to be nothing but trouble.
I want reasonable running costs so nothing bigger than a 1.8 really. I also want parts to be as cheap as possible and for tyres to be reasonable (i.e no stupidly expensive low profile tyres)
In an ideal world I think I would have an A4 but they are out of my budget. I like the MKIV Golf but have read they suffer from a few common problems. I think the best compromise for me would be a Seat Leon 1.8T, can anybody think of a better choice?
Many thanks for all your help, hope I am not being too fussy!
Basically the Audi is the car I have been most happy with and I want to get something else from the VAG stable. The Renault had so many things go wrong with it that the most important thing for my next car is to be as reliable as possible. That means I want a car which suffers from as few common problems as possible.
Build quality is very important and I want the car to feel as chunky and rattle free as possible. I want a nice reassuring clunk when I shut the door. I am not a fan of hard suspension so would like the ride quality to be as smooth as possible.
I am quite happy to get a diesel as long as it will be 100% reliable and not suffer some failure which will cost £1000's to fix. I would also rather have a car that doesn't have a Dual Mass Flywheel as these also seem to be nothing but trouble.
I want reasonable running costs so nothing bigger than a 1.8 really. I also want parts to be as cheap as possible and for tyres to be reasonable (i.e no stupidly expensive low profile tyres)
In an ideal world I think I would have an A4 but they are out of my budget. I like the MKIV Golf but have read they suffer from a few common problems. I think the best compromise for me would be a Seat Leon 1.8T, can anybody think of a better choice?
Many thanks for all your help, hope I am not being too fussy!
MK4 Golf is a lot classier than any Seat and if you put some half decent springs and ARBs it'll handle pretty well too. I've had a 1.8T before and currently have a V6 4motion.
Common faults are always going to be the waterpump, brakelight switch and bulbs going on the rear clusters every 6 months or so. I've also had the rear wash pipe come off leading to a drip into the boot lock causing it to think the boot is open. These are VERY easy fixes and any MK4 should have had the major stuff like the waterpump sorted as well.
Have a look at a manual V5 Golf as they sound stunning and have more than enough umph to keep up with most hatches with the benefit of looking good with a very good interior. Pretty rare too.
Common faults are always going to be the waterpump, brakelight switch and bulbs going on the rear clusters every 6 months or so. I've also had the rear wash pipe come off leading to a drip into the boot lock causing it to think the boot is open. These are VERY easy fixes and any MK4 should have had the major stuff like the waterpump sorted as well.
Have a look at a manual V5 Golf as they sound stunning and have more than enough umph to keep up with most hatches with the benefit of looking good with a very good interior. Pretty rare too.
I have seen plenty of Honda's break down too....
OK, when I say 100% reliable, I mean it doesn't need something fixing every other week. My Audi had a couple of problems such as a wheel bearing and an ignition control module but other than that it was pretty good.
Every time I drove the Laguna I felt something was about to wrong with it (amd usually did).
OK, when I say 100% reliable, I mean it doesn't need something fixing every other week. My Audi had a couple of problems such as a wheel bearing and an ignition control module but other than that it was pretty good.
Every time I drove the Laguna I felt something was about to wrong with it (amd usually did).
OK, I hate the Honda with a passion, it looks like an OAP car. I also don't like the A6, mainly the colour (same as my old one), the interior and the mileage.
Forgot to mention must be Silver and don't want a leather interior.
Wanted a Corrado VR6 back in the day but way too old now. Don't like the look of the Octavia, can't put my finger on it but just looks too boring.
I know I am way too fussy.
Laguna was picked up today so I am very happy there is a Renault sized gap on the drive.
Forgot to mention must be Silver and don't want a leather interior.
Wanted a Corrado VR6 back in the day but way too old now. Don't like the look of the Octavia, can't put my finger on it but just looks too boring.
I know I am way too fussy.
Laguna was picked up today so I am very happy there is a Renault sized gap on the drive.
Golf MK4 1.8t without doubt. I have had 3 and all been superb other than odd niggles (window regulator clips being the main one!).
They do everything well, fast enough, good economy, good ride so long as rear beam bushes ok, superb built interior and thay are very light and airy inside compared to A3 etc. Handling not exciting but reasuring enough.
I tend to find that most people who slate these cars have never actually owned one and just go by road tests that say they are not a proper GTI. The non turbo GTI is slow, plainer interior and does not have the same suspension as the turbo, so it is fair to criticise it, but the 1.8t is actually a very good car.
They do everything well, fast enough, good economy, good ride so long as rear beam bushes ok, superb built interior and thay are very light and airy inside compared to A3 etc. Handling not exciting but reasuring enough.
I tend to find that most people who slate these cars have never actually owned one and just go by road tests that say they are not a proper GTI. The non turbo GTI is slow, plainer interior and does not have the same suspension as the turbo, so it is fair to criticise it, but the 1.8t is actually a very good car.
I bought my wife a mk4 golf just over a year ago and she absolutely loves it. It's a GT TDI 130, lovely bright blue (not sure of exact colour name)and really nice sporty seats in cloth. Drives well with plenty of punch and torque mid range. It cost us just over £4k which was good for a 75,000 mile with f.s.h and 1 previous owner. If you're lucky you might see one for around £3k mark.
When we bought it we changed the cam belt and gave it a full service. The only thing that has gone wrong is the plastic clips on the window regulator snapped. Bought new kit with metal clips for around £40 and took me a Sunday afternoon to fix.
That impressed with TDI engine that i replaced my old van and bought a caddy 2.0 tdi 140. Also got a B5 S4, so i'm all vagged out!
I recon the MK4 golf as mentioned in the previous post is worth a look. Good luck.
When we bought it we changed the cam belt and gave it a full service. The only thing that has gone wrong is the plastic clips on the window regulator snapped. Bought new kit with metal clips for around £40 and took me a Sunday afternoon to fix.
That impressed with TDI engine that i replaced my old van and bought a caddy 2.0 tdi 140. Also got a B5 S4, so i'm all vagged out!
I recon the MK4 golf as mentioned in the previous post is worth a look. Good luck.
Interior on the Mk4 GTI's is particularly good IMO, my 99 1.8T has 184k miles on it and inside it still looks very good, apart from the drivers mat could pass for a car with 50k on the clock.
To add to the other common faults/niggles Rear beam bushes at 100k miles are dead, done about 60k on Powerflex ones now that still seem ok.
To add to the other common faults/niggles Rear beam bushes at 100k miles are dead, done about 60k on Powerflex ones now that still seem ok.
Many thanks, I think a MKIV Golf GTI 1.8T is winning at the moment although I wonder if I could get a decent one for around £3K?
Only downside is it cost me £500 to get the cambelt changed on my A6 1.8T and I am guessing this will be the same?
So nice not having to think about the Laguna anymore, never buying a non German car again.
Only downside is it cost me £500 to get the cambelt changed on my A6 1.8T and I am guessing this will be the same?
So nice not having to think about the Laguna anymore, never buying a non German car again.
Joey Deacon said:
Does half the front have to come off the car to change the cambelt on the Golf?
Did you buy the cam locking tool to do it?
No and no. There is only one cam pulley at the belt end so it was easy to keep in step. It's a bit awkward as you can' get the engine mount out easily - solved by just working around it!Did you buy the cam locking tool to do it?
£3000 will easily buy you a 2001 ish 1.8t. Probably over 100k miles but should still be superb - walk away from any that are not.
The one in the link is not a 1.8 turbo, just the normal 1.8 that was replaced with the 2.0. Neither are a patch on the 1.8t and were never labelled as a GTI on the continent, just in the UK !!!
1.8t is the only true GTI
The one in the link is not a 1.8 turbo, just the normal 1.8 that was replaced with the 2.0. Neither are a patch on the 1.8t and were never labelled as a GTI on the continent, just in the UK !!!
1.8t is the only true GTI
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