Discussion
one thing to be aware of on Lupos is that they rust underneath the black plastic (can't think of the proper name)gutter things on the roof.
Definitely something to keep an eye out for and deal with early.
My understanding - is that its not a case of - it might rust under the black things on the roof - but that IT WILL rust there.
Sorry
Such a nice little car too
Definitely something to keep an eye out for and deal with early.
My understanding - is that its not a case of - it might rust under the black things on the roof - but that IT WILL rust there.
Sorry
Such a nice little car too
Lost soul said:
aka_kerrly said:
Good write up to apart from the "ruined by dubsters" comment- that really ticks me off.
Why does it tick you off ?"Petrolheadness" or being a car enthusiast or whatever term you like should be universally accepted around here regardless of the badge, the suspension height etc. Being young an owning a VW doesn't make us all want to run our cars on bumpstops, ruin our tyres, ruin our suspension, cut our chassis legs apart , fit wheels 4inches too wide.
OP: enjoy the car, seriously I mean it, it's a cracker. Do what you want to do with it but don't get sucked into thinking that you have to build a track car, keep it 100 OEM, have it OEM + a few upgrades from different models, Show look whatever. Best try to ensure that modifications can be restored to standard and you won't lose money on a Lupo GTI!
Sir Fergie said:
one thing to be aware of on Lupos is that they rust underneath the black plastic (can't think of the proper name)gutter things on the roof.
Definitely something to keep an eye out for and deal with early.
My understanding - is that its not a case of - it might rust under the black things on the roof - but that IT WILL rust there.
Sorry
Such a nice little car too
It's hit and miss, some do some don't. My GTI had it but VW fixed it and re sprayed half the car for free, even at 10 years old.Definitely something to keep an eye out for and deal with early.
My understanding - is that its not a case of - it might rust under the black things on the roof - but that IT WILL rust there.
Sorry
Such a nice little car too
My Sport doesn't even have a hint of it. The gutter strips are body coloured though, not black.
Defcon5 said:
It's hit and miss, some do some don't. My GTI had it but VW fixed it and re sprayed half the car for free, even at 10 years old.
My Sport doesn't even have a hint of it. The gutter strips are body coloured though, not black.
Good to know they don't all do it - my apologies - I thought the gutter strips were black - it was only afterwards I noticed that on Ops car they were body coloured.My Sport doesn't even have a hint of it. The gutter strips are body coloured though, not black.
Defcon5 said:
Sir Fergie said:
one thing to be aware of on Lupos is that they rust underneath the black plastic (can't think of the proper name)gutter things on the roof.
Definitely something to keep an eye out for and deal with early.
My understanding - is that its not a case of - it might rust under the black things on the roof - but that IT WILL rust there.
Sorry
Such a nice little car too
It's hit and miss, some do some don't. My GTI had it but VW fixed it and re sprayed half the car for free, even at 10 years old.Definitely something to keep an eye out for and deal with early.
My understanding - is that its not a case of - it might rust under the black things on the roof - but that IT WILL rust there.
Sorry
Such a nice little car too
My Sport doesn't even have a hint of it. The gutter strips are body coloured though, not black.
Defcon, I looked at my engine cover today and noticed that the right hand clip on the back seems to have broken off.
Thought I'd update this as the miles have been racking up on the Lupo - I've done 4k since April which for me is a lot of miles in six months. It continues to be an absolute joy to drive and own and hasn't missed a beat apart from a few bits that have needed doing.
A few months ago I noticed a squeak coming from the nearside rear wheel - I immediately suspected a bearing might have gone. A trip down to Auto Tecnic discovered that it was actually the exhaust as the clips holding it on had broken free, meaning it was just sitting on top of them and bouncing, causing the squeak. The exhaust is massive compared to the size of the car and the brackets aren't really up to the job of holding it in place. They'd been welded before (it looked a bit of a bodge in truth) and the middle section of exhaust was quite badly corroded. I had the brackets welded back on and up to now it's been fine, but I plan to have it done properly and the centre section replaced after the winter when my wallet can cope with the hammering
The main thing that frustrates me with the car is that it spends 90% of its life in town, meaning I rarely get the chance to give it a good blast. I decided to take it to North Wales to do exactly that and explore some of the fantastic roads over there - I did the Llanberis Pass, B4391, Evo Triangle and Nant y Garth Pass but in truth, every road was driving nirvana as they were almost completely deserted. The GTI was an absolute hoot and it felt right at home on those roads which seemed ideal for a good hot hatch
I didn't take many pictures as I was too busy driving, but these were taken at the end of the B4391 while I waited for my cooked brakes to cool
After being laid up for 2 weeks while I was on holiday in France, I took the Lupo on a 450-mile round trip for a short break with the OH in London and then Manchester. Aside from a blast home over the Snake Pass, the driving involved long motorway slogs which, surprisingly, showed that it is a perfectly adequate long-distance cruiser. At 70 in 6th it spins at just over 3k which might seem high but in reality there is only a small hum from the engine which reaches the cabin and the seats are extremely comfortable - after the 4 and a half hour drive up to Manchester I got out and felt like I'd just been to the shops! It was a part of the car's character I didn't expect and best of all, I averaged 41mpg which included being stuck in traffic getting out of London which I was very pleased with. The only drawback is the small fuel tank - the best I managed is 280 miles between fill-ups.
Overall I'm continuing to enjoy the car and can see it staying for the foreseeable future - I haven't felt the urge for more power just yet!
A few months ago I noticed a squeak coming from the nearside rear wheel - I immediately suspected a bearing might have gone. A trip down to Auto Tecnic discovered that it was actually the exhaust as the clips holding it on had broken free, meaning it was just sitting on top of them and bouncing, causing the squeak. The exhaust is massive compared to the size of the car and the brackets aren't really up to the job of holding it in place. They'd been welded before (it looked a bit of a bodge in truth) and the middle section of exhaust was quite badly corroded. I had the brackets welded back on and up to now it's been fine, but I plan to have it done properly and the centre section replaced after the winter when my wallet can cope with the hammering
The main thing that frustrates me with the car is that it spends 90% of its life in town, meaning I rarely get the chance to give it a good blast. I decided to take it to North Wales to do exactly that and explore some of the fantastic roads over there - I did the Llanberis Pass, B4391, Evo Triangle and Nant y Garth Pass but in truth, every road was driving nirvana as they were almost completely deserted. The GTI was an absolute hoot and it felt right at home on those roads which seemed ideal for a good hot hatch
I didn't take many pictures as I was too busy driving, but these were taken at the end of the B4391 while I waited for my cooked brakes to cool After being laid up for 2 weeks while I was on holiday in France, I took the Lupo on a 450-mile round trip for a short break with the OH in London and then Manchester. Aside from a blast home over the Snake Pass, the driving involved long motorway slogs which, surprisingly, showed that it is a perfectly adequate long-distance cruiser. At 70 in 6th it spins at just over 3k which might seem high but in reality there is only a small hum from the engine which reaches the cabin and the seats are extremely comfortable - after the 4 and a half hour drive up to Manchester I got out and felt like I'd just been to the shops! It was a part of the car's character I didn't expect and best of all, I averaged 41mpg which included being stuck in traffic getting out of London which I was very pleased with. The only drawback is the small fuel tank - the best I managed is 280 miles between fill-ups.
Overall I'm continuing to enjoy the car and can see it staying for the foreseeable future - I haven't felt the urge for more power just yet!
aka_kerrly said:
I don't want to derail this thread but to me the OP bought the VW because that is what he wanted from a car but then feels he has to try and distance himself from one aspect of a much wider car modifying bandwagon to try and ensure that he is accepted around here. That is why referring to this whole ruined by dubsters comment gets to me.
"Petrolheadness" or being a car enthusiast or whatever term you like should be universally accepted around here regardless of the badge, the suspension height etc. Being young an owning a VW doesn't make us all want to run our cars on bumpstops, ruin our tyres, ruin our suspension, cut our chassis legs apart , fit wheels 4inches too wide.
OP: enjoy the car, seriously I mean it, it's a cracker. Do what you want to do with it but don't get sucked into thinking that you have to build a track car, keep it 100 OEM, have it OEM + a few upgrades from different models, Show look whatever. Best try to ensure that modifications can be restored to standard and you won't lose money on a Lupo GTI!
So, basically, it was a good idea not to buy one that had been ruined by a 'Dubber? "Petrolheadness" or being a car enthusiast or whatever term you like should be universally accepted around here regardless of the badge, the suspension height etc. Being young an owning a VW doesn't make us all want to run our cars on bumpstops, ruin our tyres, ruin our suspension, cut our chassis legs apart , fit wheels 4inches too wide.
OP: enjoy the car, seriously I mean it, it's a cracker. Do what you want to do with it but don't get sucked into thinking that you have to build a track car, keep it 100 OEM, have it OEM + a few upgrades from different models, Show look whatever. Best try to ensure that modifications can be restored to standard and you won't lose money on a Lupo GTI!
Nice car. I'd be happy to own one of those ...at (almost)twice the age of 19.
Exactly.I had a 54 Lupo for three years; black with the red/grey cloth. What a great car. Was great for going into town on a Sunday as you'd be guaranteed a parking space!
However the tank was smaller than the average kitchen bin! I had never appreciated it as much as the time I drove it back from Oxford after three days with a Polo 1.2 loan car.
However the tank was smaller than the average kitchen bin! I had never appreciated it as much as the time I drove it back from Oxford after three days with a Polo 1.2 loan car.
Arun_D said:
Very nice Lupo Gti. I have a real soft spot for these, and was considering one as my daily runabout, when I finally gave the Exige a well deserved relegation to weekend/track only car. In the end I went for a Panda 100HP, but would still like to tick the Lupo off the list one day.
Love the little Lupo, incidentally how do you rate the panda 100hp ride, I've been tempted by one as a cheap city car but the general opinion seems to be it's too firm, how do you find it?larsson7 said:
Arun_D said:
Very nice Lupo Gti. I have a real soft spot for these, and was considering one as my daily runabout, when I finally gave the Exige a well deserved relegation to weekend/track only car. In the end I went for a Panda 100HP, but would still like to tick the Lupo off the list one day.
Love the little Lupo, incidentally how do you rate the panda 100hp ride, I've been tempted by one as a cheap city car but the general opinion seems to be it's too firm, how do you find it?Mine, however, is very well controlled and certainly not overly-firm or crashy. Perfectly acceptable for town driving on lumpy roads.
Thought I'd update this thread as I haven't for too long - changes have happened!
The grey Lupo has now been sold to a lady from Birmingham who had been looking for an anthracite model for two years!
I took it up to 73k and it still drove as well as the day I bought it - brilliant car and I would say it will be missed, but...
... I've bought another one!
This was never planned; one evening I was browsing Auto Trader and noticed a 2005 blue GTI for sale, only 45k and it had the heated leather with air con. If I could have afforded one when new (and was old enough to drive!) it was the exact spec I would have picked. I later discovered that the car was not the more common Raven Blue, but was in fact Laser Blue, a colour that was only offered at the very end of production. This meant that the car was one of less than ten made in Laser Blue!
I phoned the seller that evening, arranged to view the car but then received a text the following day saying someone else wanted to view it the day before! I expected this due to the provenance of the car so had to leave a deposit before even looking at it. After a long and boring trip to Norwich (you can't pop down to your local dealer for these cars), I found that the photos flattered it (nothing new there) and it needed some TLC but was without doubt a straight car and definitely worth buying. The seller bought it for his girlfriend and was amazed how much interest he'd had - he clearly had no idea how rare the car was. Needless to say I kept quiet about that
I picked it up the following week but didn't sell my grey one straight away as I wanted to get the new car up to standard. It basically needed a bloody good clean - a machine polish brought the paintwork up as good as new and the main cost was getting the wheels refurbed as they were in a sorry state.
This was the result:
With the hot weather this week I'm very much enjoying having air con as it's the first car I've owned which has had it. Plan is to keep the car exactly as it is - although my old one was on coilovers I'm quite enjoying the comfier ride and want to keep things original. I've stuck a K&N filter in it and left everything else as I just want to enjoy the car as it is. With rare cars like these you can't normally get your perfect spec but I've been lucky enough to do that
The grey Lupo has now been sold to a lady from Birmingham who had been looking for an anthracite model for two years!
I took it up to 73k and it still drove as well as the day I bought it - brilliant car and I would say it will be missed, but...... I've bought another one!
This was never planned; one evening I was browsing Auto Trader and noticed a 2005 blue GTI for sale, only 45k and it had the heated leather with air con. If I could have afforded one when new (and was old enough to drive!) it was the exact spec I would have picked. I later discovered that the car was not the more common Raven Blue, but was in fact Laser Blue, a colour that was only offered at the very end of production. This meant that the car was one of less than ten made in Laser Blue!
I phoned the seller that evening, arranged to view the car but then received a text the following day saying someone else wanted to view it the day before! I expected this due to the provenance of the car so had to leave a deposit before even looking at it. After a long and boring trip to Norwich (you can't pop down to your local dealer for these cars), I found that the photos flattered it (nothing new there) and it needed some TLC but was without doubt a straight car and definitely worth buying. The seller bought it for his girlfriend and was amazed how much interest he'd had - he clearly had no idea how rare the car was. Needless to say I kept quiet about that
I picked it up the following week but didn't sell my grey one straight away as I wanted to get the new car up to standard. It basically needed a bloody good clean - a machine polish brought the paintwork up as good as new and the main cost was getting the wheels refurbed as they were in a sorry state.
This was the result:
With the hot weather this week I'm very much enjoying having air con as it's the first car I've owned which has had it. Plan is to keep the car exactly as it is - although my old one was on coilovers I'm quite enjoying the comfier ride and want to keep things original. I've stuck a K&N filter in it and left everything else as I just want to enjoy the car as it is. With rare cars like these you can't normally get your perfect spec but I've been lucky enough to do that
Edited by chriscoates on Wednesday 17th August 20:49
I don't need to tell you that you've picked up something special. It's even got the right floor mats in it.
Strangely, I'm now seeing *more* of these about. There's three local to me, now, when I'd been the only one for years.
I've had mine ten years and will keep it for another ten if I possibly can!
Strangely, I'm now seeing *more* of these about. There's three local to me, now, when I'd been the only one for years.
I've had mine ten years and will keep it for another ten if I possibly can!
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