Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk2: PH Carpool
A sanguine approach to learning the hard way has been useful for one young PHer and his dream GTI...
Car: 1991 VW Golf GTI 16V
Owned since: September 2012
Previously owned: 2000 VW Golf GTI, 1996 Golf 1.6 CL
Well, it was cheap to buy at least...
"I'd saved up some money from working in Sainsbury's over summer and I'd had a craving for a classic Golf since I was little, plus I'd spent seven years walking past a Tornado red 8V GTI on my walk to school. My parents had persuaded me to buy a boring, but reasonably reliable, Mk4 GTI about nine months earlier as they thought being a student I needed something that wasn't going to cost a fortune. Anyway I sold that for £650 and paid £500 for the Mk2 because it was so cheap, had a decent spec, was unmodified and was for sale about eight miles away."
What I wish I'd known:
"In how much of a bad state it was. Rust everywhere, it was overheating, it leaked from the door membrane, dodgy secondhand alarm and the seat was broken. It was terrible. Since I bought it I've spent thousands getting it into shape."
Tom's learned - and spent - a lot but all worthwhile
"It's just a great all round car that's a bit special. Yes it cost me a lot but now it's working properly I use it whenever I can, it's very practical being a four-door version, does the usual commute and shopping trips with no issues. I'm impressed by its economy as well, I get about 38mpg on the motorway and 28mpg on my commute through Exeter.
"It gets quite a lot of looks around town, I think because it's quite different and they're getting rarer so you don't see many on the roads. I've had quite a few 'I used to have one of those' comments and people saying how it's nice to see one that hasn't been slammed on some ridiculous alloys. It sounds pretty good too. I'm lucky to live in rural Devon so early morning B-road drives are amazing, it handles so nicely and has great composure when you're going briskly. I work nights so when I leave at seven I get the local B-roads to myself, it's a great way to unwind after a long night."
Things I hate:
"How much it cost me, although I really should have just bought a nicer one in the first place. To date it has cost about £5-6,000 since buying it 18 months ago, which as a student has been difficult but I'm lucky my parents have been so supportive in letting me leave it on their driveway and sometimes fronting me money for it. Other than it's hard to fault. It let in a lot of water early on so I'm still getting rid of that and as a result it mists up really fast ... and the demister's broke so I always carry a towel with me!"
It's taken a lot of graft to return to former glory
"It's been very expensive but a lot were specific to this car; better examples are cheaper to run and maintain and the majority of owners have spent far less on theirs to get the same vehicle condition. The two MOTs cost me £2,700 together, then £1,200 on more bodywork (primarily rust), £900 a cylinder head rebuild and then about the rest of the money went on parts. It hasn't yet made me cry!
"Thankfully servicing and insurance are quite cheap - I'm with Admiral fully comp, 21 with two years NCB and 2,000 miles a year and it's £380 - pretty good from what other owners have said. VWS and JW Bodywork in Exeter have both been great at looking after me and it, they're both very understanding of my situation. Thankfully parts are pretty cheap - places like VW Heritage and GSF are great and I can get 99 per cent of parts from them or eBay. I'm lucky it's got the original 15-inch BBS wheels because it only cost me £300 to get all four tyres replaced.
Local back roads are this Mk2's hunting ground
Where I've been:
"Sadly nowhere particularly interesting. It was supposed to drive us to Le Mans in 2013 but it could barely leave the drive so we took my Dad's Mk4 GTI instead. It's only done about 1,100 miles since I've owned it, mostly commuting, B-roads or up onto Dartmoor."
What next?
"I couldn't bring myself to sell the car if I tried and it's so nearly back to 100 per cent I'm going to be keeping it for the foreseeable future. Next on the to-do list are the front brake discs and the demister. I want to keep it original so it's just going to be repair work from now on. That being said I'm really hankering after a Mk1 Golf GTI now though so who knows..."
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My first car was a mk2 driver (1.6). I loved it and on account of that still have a massive hankering for a GTI, but need a bigger car at the moment, and need modern reliability. I treated my golf appaulingly and it had pretty much every mk2 issue in the book. Still miss it though!
Cheap Mk2's are cheap for a reason! Out of interest, where was the rust?TIME TO PLAY MK2 GOLF RUST BINGO
- Battery tray
- Fuel filler area
- Inside rear arches
- Rear tub where it joins to the monocoque
- Between windscreen/scuttle
- Inner wings
But seriously 6k could have bagged a seriously fast Mk2. With it being a 5 door, that thing will never hold its value well.
3 months had passed when I found a low mileage (88k miles), pretty much 100% original and unmolested, original dealer sticker, original dealer invoice, and also printed picking sheet from the factory(!), example in the classifieds for a couple of grand (the owner didn't realise what they had). A trip across the country few days later it was mine. I removed/changed anything that wasn't factory, used it as a daily and it never went wrong.
After these pictures were taken I found the original dealer plates under the boot carpet, so they went on also!
After 9 months I was approached and offered a really silly amount of money for her which I couldn't turn down!
Great cars
es.I'd paid £725 for it 6 months earlier and managed to sell it on for £100.
Fair play for spending all that money. I loved mine for the brief time I had it but could never have justified that sort of expenditure. Especially when you consider the sort of E36 M3 that money would get you!
Does look a lovely thing now though.
I'm not sure I could bring myself to spend so much money on something that is probably better off scrapping, but all credit to the guy - he stuck with it and has a car he now knows inside out
I bought a fairly good condition 1991 5 door 16v for £1400 in Feb last year with a view to tickle it back into shape over time. 6 months later I sold it for £1700, after spending probably that much on it just getting it up to a reasonable standard:
• Two new rear doors bought, stripped and sprayed (original ones were rotting under the locks due to the membrane failing and water running along the impact bar)
• Engine tune up and new Bosch injectors sourced and fitted
• Various bits of trim
• 2 new BBS alloys
• Numerous tinkering and welding (sub-frame especially) to get it through the MOT
It ran like a dream, the interior was near mint and I absolutely loved it. However it would have continued to be a money pit (sills were starting to rust) and as much as I'd always wanted one, I couldn't justify the expense for what was a toy. Credit though for keeping another on the road. The attachment becomes as much financial as well as emotional!
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