Mk2 golf as a daily?
Discussion
So far my 06 ST focus is provisionally sold just waiting on funds my way. Now i am thinking of getting a 91 golf gti 1.8 8v as my next daily driver. the one i am going to see currently has 96k on it with a stack of receipts dating back to the 1st owner and from the pics it looks very fresh indeed. so guys Am i wise??
Well I don't know a great deal about them but i've been to many VW shows and spoke to owners who reckon they arn't as bullet proof as people make out.
Personally I think they still look great, but if I were looking at one I wouldn't assume they are as bombproof as people suggest. I drive a 205 gti daily so I wouldn't be fussed at running a mk2 golf daily as long as its been looked after. Just my 2p.
Personally I think they still look great, but if I were looking at one I wouldn't assume they are as bombproof as people suggest. I drive a 205 gti daily so I wouldn't be fussed at running a mk2 golf daily as long as its been looked after. Just my 2p.
I used one daily for 9 months without fault. I kept on top of basic maintenance and it didn't put a foot wrong.
There was a period where i was doing 70 miles a day for a commute and i took it on a few 800 mile round trips. Despite me saying all of this, you have to expect to give abit more attention than you would with your old focus.
There was a period where i was doing 70 miles a day for a commute and i took it on a few 800 mile round trips. Despite me saying all of this, you have to expect to give abit more attention than you would with your old focus.
You won't have a problem so long as your expectations are realistic. It's an older car than you're used to after all. Non-PAS steering is quite heavy and they aren't actually that powerful, but heaps of fun, simple, well made and should be reliable.
Watch out for gearbox syncro issues between 1st and 2nd.
Watch out for gearbox syncro issues between 1st and 2nd.
THE best car I have owned, I've had 2 and my dad had 3, Had great fun in then and stacked up a lot of miles.Very easy to work on and built to last, have started to notice that some are getting a bit of rot in these days but not bad for a car that could be up to 28 years old! if i see one on e-bay now i might get bidding fever! 
SooperDan said:
I had a Mk1 Golf as a daily for about a year not so long ago and it's far from reliable. It's a hoot to drive but you've got to keep on top of it for it to remain enjoyable and as something to rely on.
I think Mk2's are a little less high maintenance however.
A mk1 golf is not an inherently unreliable car.I think Mk2's are a little less high maintenance however.
I actually looked at getting a MK2 Golf as a daily driver after my Fiesta, what a minefield it turned into. Not easy to get a good one unless you want to travel it seems, I looked at a few locally that looked nice in the photos but turned out to be rusted old sheds. I was offered a test drive in one, pressed the clutch in and it just didn't come back out - a total death trap if that happened on the road!
No, it was rust, rust and more rust, under the boot lid, wheel arches, side skirts, filler cap, bonnet creases etc. Some right old smokers. Almost all of them I went to see were sub-£2000 examples, so I expected some mods, most came with cheap stainless steel exhausts, they all sounded nice, and one that I went in, a particularly shoddy looking 16V, lowered with a 6" oval exhaust tip, went like stink for an old girl, but it was strong money and I wasn't buying.
I found the 8V (comparitively) cheap to insure, only a £100 more per annum than my Fiesta and having about 50bhp more that sounded like a good deal. I really wanted a 16V though, and that was an eye-watering £2000 - I worked it out and it was something like £55 per bhp extra over the 8V! I paid less to insure the 270bhp Cupra R that I ended up buying!
In the end, I resigned myself to an 8V and was preparing to travel some big distances to view what looked like really good examples, but the money was getting higher and higher. What really finished it for me was the realisation that you cannot really take a car like this, some 20 years old, and drive it day in, day out in all weathers and expect it to be as robust as a modern car. In the end, it seems that buying a really clean, low mileage example around the £5000 mark and using it daily would quickly turn it into a £2000 ruster if it had to plough through the winters.
I still love the MK2 GTI and I would love to own one, maybe insured on a classic policy, for weekend use, but I've ruled them out as viable option for daily use - though I have now moved onto better things anyway. I think if VW re-released the MK2 big bumper, stlyed as closely as possible internally and externally the original, with a stronger modern chassis and a bit more power (but sticking a NA engine, obviously) they would sell like hot cakes, make no mistake!
No, it was rust, rust and more rust, under the boot lid, wheel arches, side skirts, filler cap, bonnet creases etc. Some right old smokers. Almost all of them I went to see were sub-£2000 examples, so I expected some mods, most came with cheap stainless steel exhausts, they all sounded nice, and one that I went in, a particularly shoddy looking 16V, lowered with a 6" oval exhaust tip, went like stink for an old girl, but it was strong money and I wasn't buying.
I found the 8V (comparitively) cheap to insure, only a £100 more per annum than my Fiesta and having about 50bhp more that sounded like a good deal. I really wanted a 16V though, and that was an eye-watering £2000 - I worked it out and it was something like £55 per bhp extra over the 8V! I paid less to insure the 270bhp Cupra R that I ended up buying!
In the end, I resigned myself to an 8V and was preparing to travel some big distances to view what looked like really good examples, but the money was getting higher and higher. What really finished it for me was the realisation that you cannot really take a car like this, some 20 years old, and drive it day in, day out in all weathers and expect it to be as robust as a modern car. In the end, it seems that buying a really clean, low mileage example around the £5000 mark and using it daily would quickly turn it into a £2000 ruster if it had to plough through the winters.
I still love the MK2 GTI and I would love to own one, maybe insured on a classic policy, for weekend use, but I've ruled them out as viable option for daily use - though I have now moved onto better things anyway. I think if VW re-released the MK2 big bumper, stlyed as closely as possible internally and externally the original, with a stronger modern chassis and a bit more power (but sticking a NA engine, obviously) they would sell like hot cakes, make no mistake!
028butlerboy said:
Good advice guys, the guys looking £3200 for the one i'm currently looking at, and it does look mint and im fussy when it comes to motors, i thought VW did a good job of the underseal on these cars, am i wrong?
Underseal or not, it's had 20 years to erode away, along with every scratch, chip and ding, it's plenty of time to fester and rust.It all depends how realistic you are and your level of expectation.
They are solid and dependable but they're old now. You can't just jump into one and use it as you would a new car, but then you won't be losing thousands upon thousands in depreciation, so even when you factor in maintennance and upkeep will still be much much cheaper to run than your focus and a much less conformist car also.
I used a supercharged 91 G60 Mk2 as my daily driver in Germany even over the snowy period. I didn't have any major issues.
How handy are you with a spanner?went all over that car and it had zero rust even though it lived outside in Germany where they salt the roads more than in the UK.
It's old so I would keep an eye on things like the alternator, the starter motor, the waterpump etc.
Those parts are cheap to get from all the various motor factors around.
Body rot is the main thing. Mk2 are pretty good in that regard but they're old now so have a poke around underneath. The pre 1990 cars are better protected and have alot of cavity wax injected into them. Alot of Mk 2 Golfs had two line of wax that marked the panel under the rear tail gate and after complaints about this VW injected less wax into the cavities. As a result the later ones are slightly more suspectible. The top of the tail gates are prone to rusting.
I would own another one in a shot if it was big enough for my needs.
They are solid and dependable but they're old now. You can't just jump into one and use it as you would a new car, but then you won't be losing thousands upon thousands in depreciation, so even when you factor in maintennance and upkeep will still be much much cheaper to run than your focus and a much less conformist car also.
I used a supercharged 91 G60 Mk2 as my daily driver in Germany even over the snowy period. I didn't have any major issues.
How handy are you with a spanner?went all over that car and it had zero rust even though it lived outside in Germany where they salt the roads more than in the UK.
It's old so I would keep an eye on things like the alternator, the starter motor, the waterpump etc.
Those parts are cheap to get from all the various motor factors around.
Body rot is the main thing. Mk2 are pretty good in that regard but they're old now so have a poke around underneath. The pre 1990 cars are better protected and have alot of cavity wax injected into them. Alot of Mk 2 Golfs had two line of wax that marked the panel under the rear tail gate and after complaints about this VW injected less wax into the cavities. As a result the later ones are slightly more suspectible. The top of the tail gates are prone to rusting.
I would own another one in a shot if it was big enough for my needs.
Edited by Marquis Rex on Monday 26th December 22:50
I have a rough 8v GTI for my work commute when I'm not on my bike (i.e. wind/rain). It's got some rusty panels but mechanically sound. Still fantastic to drive, proper direct steering, has about 180k miles on it and still feels fast. I've had it since 2003 and never had any major bills. Parts are easy to get and cheap. Great car.
Downsides are there's very little in the way of refinement. That's about it. Good ones are now expensive, but mine isn't a good one by anyone's imagination .
Downsides are there's very little in the way of refinement. That's about it. Good ones are now expensive, but mine isn't a good one by anyone's imagination .
028butlerboy said:
I'm not getting my hopes up, I have done in the past and been let down drastically. I reckon if I can get him to settle at around 2800 I would be happy enough, and as said I won't loose much due to it being cheap enough. Does anyone know what they're like to run tax and fuel wise?
Well, you won't lose a lot in cash terms - but you're likely to lose a lot as a percentage.That appears to have a bit of a 'scene tax' and then some.
Whilst the days of nice ones for under a grand are long gone - I can't see any reason to spend more than £2k on a daily driver - if you're getting a car that's truly mint enough to be worth £3k or so, then it won't be worth anywhere near that once you've run it as a daily hack.
Yep had them as my dailys for about 3 years now, so my entire driving career!
Started out with a 1.6 driver, got my 1 years ncb and brought myself a nice 8v gti on a g plate! Absolutely fantastic cars! Plenty quick enough, great handling, economical and classic looks and not too bad insurance! Just keep on top of essentials and prepare to break out the tool kit once in a while!
Common things to look out for is rust on scuttle panel under windscreen, boot lid and under plastic arches, aswell as the more important places underneath, heater matrices are common to fail but are easy enough to replace!
Remember they are 20 odd year old cars now and need respect if gonna be run as a daily!
Good luck hunting mate!
Here's a pic of mine! Lowered on coils, oz alloys, and a de other trick peices
Rik
Started out with a 1.6 driver, got my 1 years ncb and brought myself a nice 8v gti on a g plate! Absolutely fantastic cars! Plenty quick enough, great handling, economical and classic looks and not too bad insurance! Just keep on top of essentials and prepare to break out the tool kit once in a while!
Common things to look out for is rust on scuttle panel under windscreen, boot lid and under plastic arches, aswell as the more important places underneath, heater matrices are common to fail but are easy enough to replace!
Remember they are 20 odd year old cars now and need respect if gonna be run as a daily!
Good luck hunting mate!
Here's a pic of mine! Lowered on coils, oz alloys, and a de other trick peices
Rik
028butlerboy said:
I'm not getting my hopes up, I have done in the past and been let down drastically. I reckon if I can get him to settle at around 2800 I would be happy enough, and as said I won't loose much due to it being cheap enough. Does anyone know what they're like to run tax and fuel wise?
You'll get a decent one for that kind of money; just be wary that a lot of people over-value these so make sure you leave you rose-tinted specs at home. Generally speaking, 8v's don't use too much fuel and are pretty average for pottering about in without being too needy, you'll probably see mid 30's in MPG for everyday use. And as mentioned before, the stuff that can go wrong with them are pretty cheap to replace and good alternatives are readily available from breakers for pittance, plus they're dead easy to work on
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