golfs

[arollingstone]

i know there is a separate VW section but there doesn't seem to be much going on there.

Im basically just asking for experience from other people who have had golf's as im looking at buying a MK4, not sure to go petrol or diesel though?

the 1.9 TDi sounds pretty ideal especially with the 50+mpg and tones of torque but in terms of cheapest to run, would petrol be better? doing a fair number of miles so MPG is a concern but i dont want a pidily 1.4!

views and opinions welcome!

[HustleRussell]

My mate has a 1.6 16v and it's slow. I'd take a 105bhp or 130bhp PD TDI engine personally. Mk4 is getting old though so make sure you don't buy a knackred one.

[J4CKO]

They tend to be pretty expensive, I sold a 2.0 Bora for £600 and it was very tidy with under 100k, diesel ones were two to three times more expensive and usually had more miles, the difference buys a lot of fuel, petrol is a little cheaper plus aging PD engines tend to use a lot of the expensive PD specific oil, plus they tend to cost more to repair. Also, that torquey delivery tends to be harder on tyres and brakes, the engines are usually heavier so the handling suffers, not that much of an issue on the MK4 Golf as they were never all that great.

Just saying that a diesel isnt always the no brainer it sometimes seems.


They do drive quite nicely though, relative to a small petrol.

[okie592]

i had a bora 110 non pd tdi, it was a good car, but not very good to drive, bought it for 2k 2 years ago and sold it for 2k with a extra 40k on it,

mk4s are getting very very old now, and i do think you can get alot better cars atm, most people seem to just buy them for the "scene"

[BFG TERRANO]

Had 3 golf TDi's over the years from new. Taken straight past 100,000 miles with no issues. 2 Passat TDi's the same. I'd have another.

[Mister3man]

I had a 52 plate GT TDI 150. 115k miles on the clock when I got it.

Liability from day one. I got it because I thought it would be great (everybody raves about how reliable they are), but mine was never right.

Problems I had in two months:

Radiator fans (expensive if you want to replace, although you can modify for a little less)
Climate Control display intermittant.
Alternator + battery had to be replaced.
Rear ABS sensor
Intermittant central locking
Gearbox was notchy to the point it needed replacing
+ the engine 'hunted' at idle. I never bothered even investigating this, I just wanted to see the back off it so I part ex'd it as soon as I could!

edit: A mate of mine has a 2004 Polo GT Tdi (pd 130 lump) - nice enough to drive but thats been far from trouble free either.

[folos]

Get a GTI, MPG won't be that bad really - early 30s?

[Changedmyname]

All depends on what you want the car to be, they can be transformed into a good car with a little tweeking .
I have the 18T ,which I have owned for 9 years now, mapped to 212hp (switchable)nice comfy place to be.
Service them yearly and it will be well worth the money.

[Fun Bus]

folos said:

Get a GTI, MPG won't be that bad really - early 30s?

My Wife's 180bhp GTi gets early 30's on a run - low 20's round town.