Budget £700 daily for 20-25k annual mileage
Discussion
Thought I'd share my adventures, ups and downs with the new daily over the last few months and maybe keep this thread updated in the future depending on interest as well as adding up what this thing actually costs to own. Anyway, work is around 70miles there and back each day which isn't exactly large mileage. But having a Missus 180miles each way and visiting her every 2 weeks or so really racks up the mileage and having a modified Japanese car that averages 25mpg on a good day wasn't going to cut it. So onto Gumtree to look for a diesel VAG of some sort with a 6 speed gearbox for motorway miles, not sure what drew me to VW Boras but I am into slightly quirky cars and don't see a huge amount of them on the roads. Having the requirement of a 6 speed meant it was going to be either a PD115 or a PD130. Its amazing how many of these cars were sold with either a 1.6 or 2.0 petrol so took a while to seek out a good diesel! Found this one in Bedford for £700 and was the cheapest PD130 on gumtree. So worth a look. 127k miles, some history with it but not as much as I'd like to see. But for £700 it was worth the gamble.
[url
|https://thumbsnap.com/YsHCFDGa[/url]
Got it home for a clean, and immediately needed to sort out those nasty yellow headlights!
Wet sanded then through the various stages
Machine polish with some G3 cutting compound and ends up like this
As a 22yr old having a wooden dash trim is so cool lol
|https://thumbsnap.com/FAV3aUcK[/url]
The first few weeks went okay, few hiccups that have arisen, I think the body module is failing as the boot doesn't open unless you have the key, and not all of the doors lock/unlock occasionally. I need to research more about this, seems a lot of the MK4 Golf platform suffer with this?
Didn't really have the time to sort that niggly issue (still haven't as I wrote this 3 months later haha) first 2 tank fulls the average MPG
Its amazing the fuel saving! £45 to do well over 500miles is absurd for jap fan boys like me!
But this is when the real issue that still is racking my brain. The fuel gauge reads full regardless, but when it starts to get real empty as in less than 10Litres then it reads half. Over the next few miles that will then go down into the red when the light comes on. The temperature gauge works whenever it feels like it wants to. So no idea what that is, faulty clocks maybe?
So remember when I said it had minimal service history? I looked into the history deeper and its had nothing since 65k miles. As well as the service light going beeeeeep everyone you go in it. So was well over due a service and still kicking out nearly 70mpg average! Trip to Euro Car parts, treated it to an oil and filters change. And threw on a cheeky egr delete at the same time ready for maybe a remap later on.
Mpg improved for a about a week but then dropped dramatically, I think the thermostat is possibly stuck? I dont get much heat through the heaters for a good 20mins or so. And now struggle to average 50mpg to work which is odd. I know the cold weather affects diesels more but 20mpg gone over night?
Another thing that's been racking my brain is the rear lights, its been blowing bulbs left right and centre in the N/S. On my trip to Birmingham in heavy rain, indicators stopped working altogether. But I've taken out the sidelight and brakelight bulb and now the indicators work again? I think maybe the cxxppy aftermarket rear lights are the fault here
I'm not sure why the mk4 golf platform seems to chew its front brakes. But its had terribly warped discs from the day I picked it up. Now the smart thing to do would be to stick the cheapest set of discs and pads in from euros. But if its going to warp them again in a few k miles its money down the drain. So onto the upgrade. Because its Mk4 platform, things off the bigger powerful VAGs, so 312mm discs off a TT 225 were chosen with brembo pads. All thats required to change is the caliper carriers. So I bought some TT calipers for £60, nicked the carriers and then sold the old carriers with the calipers for £30.
Mtec front and rear drilled and grooved discs
Size comparison with a large table spoon, yeh these are huge and mega overkill for 130bhp haha
Fitted and just about squeezed behind the oem 16inch wheels lol
So that brings me up to date i think, its sat on 134k miles, about to turn 135. So 15k over due a cambelt and water pump. Will need to get those changed over the Xmas period because cambelt roulette is not a game for me! Waiting on some OEM rear lights to turn up from ebay to hopefully fix the light problems!
So costs to date
Service kit - £65
Egr delete - £20
Rear lights -£25
Brake upgrade - £250 (ouch!!!!)
[url
|https://thumbsnap.com/YsHCFDGa[/url]Got it home for a clean, and immediately needed to sort out those nasty yellow headlights!
Wet sanded then through the various stages
Machine polish with some G3 cutting compound and ends up like this
As a 22yr old having a wooden dash trim is so cool lol
|https://thumbsnap.com/FAV3aUcK[/url]The first few weeks went okay, few hiccups that have arisen, I think the body module is failing as the boot doesn't open unless you have the key, and not all of the doors lock/unlock occasionally. I need to research more about this, seems a lot of the MK4 Golf platform suffer with this?
Didn't really have the time to sort that niggly issue (still haven't as I wrote this 3 months later haha) first 2 tank fulls the average MPG
Its amazing the fuel saving! £45 to do well over 500miles is absurd for jap fan boys like me!
But this is when the real issue that still is racking my brain. The fuel gauge reads full regardless, but when it starts to get real empty as in less than 10Litres then it reads half. Over the next few miles that will then go down into the red when the light comes on. The temperature gauge works whenever it feels like it wants to. So no idea what that is, faulty clocks maybe?
So remember when I said it had minimal service history? I looked into the history deeper and its had nothing since 65k miles. As well as the service light going beeeeeep everyone you go in it. So was well over due a service and still kicking out nearly 70mpg average! Trip to Euro Car parts, treated it to an oil and filters change. And threw on a cheeky egr delete at the same time ready for maybe a remap later on.
Mpg improved for a about a week but then dropped dramatically, I think the thermostat is possibly stuck? I dont get much heat through the heaters for a good 20mins or so. And now struggle to average 50mpg to work which is odd. I know the cold weather affects diesels more but 20mpg gone over night?
Another thing that's been racking my brain is the rear lights, its been blowing bulbs left right and centre in the N/S. On my trip to Birmingham in heavy rain, indicators stopped working altogether. But I've taken out the sidelight and brakelight bulb and now the indicators work again? I think maybe the cxxppy aftermarket rear lights are the fault here
I'm not sure why the mk4 golf platform seems to chew its front brakes. But its had terribly warped discs from the day I picked it up. Now the smart thing to do would be to stick the cheapest set of discs and pads in from euros. But if its going to warp them again in a few k miles its money down the drain. So onto the upgrade. Because its Mk4 platform, things off the bigger powerful VAGs, so 312mm discs off a TT 225 were chosen with brembo pads. All thats required to change is the caliper carriers. So I bought some TT calipers for £60, nicked the carriers and then sold the old carriers with the calipers for £30.
Mtec front and rear drilled and grooved discs
Size comparison with a large table spoon, yeh these are huge and mega overkill for 130bhp haha
Fitted and just about squeezed behind the oem 16inch wheels lol
So that brings me up to date i think, its sat on 134k miles, about to turn 135. So 15k over due a cambelt and water pump. Will need to get those changed over the Xmas period because cambelt roulette is not a game for me! Waiting on some OEM rear lights to turn up from ebay to hopefully fix the light problems!
So costs to date
Service kit - £65
Egr delete - £20
Rear lights -£25
Brake upgrade - £250 (ouch!!!!)
It seems amazing that you can get cars as good as this so cheaply.
I had an Alfa 156JTDM 150 with a remap, that I reluctantly had to scrap due to corrosion. I was not sure what to get next, so a good pal arranged for me to have his son's 51 plate Polo 1.9L, a car that he acquired via a trade colleague for £500.
The Polo was red, no rust whatsoever, a few trim bits missing that I soon sorted via ebay. It had 126,000 miles on it, and was sitting in my pal's garden as his son could not afford to run it at that time. Hence it was SORNed.
I ran that car for 3,000 hard miles up and down the A1 to Gateshead at 80 + leptons every day, and never had any issues with it. Apart from the lack of power ( compared to my beloved Alfa with 190BHP!) with it being a non turbo VAG 1.9, it was a brilliant car.
When I found my current car, a mint low milage one owner 2010 Volvo C30 1.6Drive E that had 33,000 on it ( for running costs mainly !!), we drove down in the Polo to Lincolnshire, viewed the Volvo at a main dealer, agreed the sale, then I brought the Volvo back to Co Durham, en route we sold the Polo to a chap via Gumtree for £500 (!) and then returned home.
When I had placed the Polo advert a couple of days prior to this, the phone rang off the hook, I had at least 10 people wanting to buy it !
Some were just trying to get it for £250 (!) but we sold it to the first guy who left a coherent, polite and reasoned message !!
Just shows that there is ( or was a couple of years ago !) a strong market for £500-£1000 cars that are cheap to run.
Your VW looks a good buy. I always liked that era of Bora : as you say they are a bit quirky, not many around and they always seem a bit cheaper than the equivalent Golf. And they have a huge boot I seem to remember !
Another pal has a P reg 1.9 TDi Audi A4 estate ( PD engine) which may be the same as yours? and it still has very little rust. He seems to get 55mpg all the time, although he does not drive it hard ( at all !).
He tells me that it is very important to use the correct oil on VAG PD diesels, and he tends to use Bosch MAFs when required as the cheaper ones do not last.
I am sure a remap on yours would make it a real stealth car, with a better intake/exhaust.......!!!
Just be wary of the clutch ( if it is a DMF flywheel !) if you go the remap route, and if you do, then make allowances for it with the extra torque.
I used to drive my remapped Alfa more like a petrol engine, using the revs instead of relying on the torque in 5/6th.
Looking forward to your posts on this one !
I had an Alfa 156JTDM 150 with a remap, that I reluctantly had to scrap due to corrosion. I was not sure what to get next, so a good pal arranged for me to have his son's 51 plate Polo 1.9L, a car that he acquired via a trade colleague for £500.
The Polo was red, no rust whatsoever, a few trim bits missing that I soon sorted via ebay. It had 126,000 miles on it, and was sitting in my pal's garden as his son could not afford to run it at that time. Hence it was SORNed.
I ran that car for 3,000 hard miles up and down the A1 to Gateshead at 80 + leptons every day, and never had any issues with it. Apart from the lack of power ( compared to my beloved Alfa with 190BHP!) with it being a non turbo VAG 1.9, it was a brilliant car.
When I found my current car, a mint low milage one owner 2010 Volvo C30 1.6Drive E that had 33,000 on it ( for running costs mainly !!), we drove down in the Polo to Lincolnshire, viewed the Volvo at a main dealer, agreed the sale, then I brought the Volvo back to Co Durham, en route we sold the Polo to a chap via Gumtree for £500 (!) and then returned home.
When I had placed the Polo advert a couple of days prior to this, the phone rang off the hook, I had at least 10 people wanting to buy it !
Some were just trying to get it for £250 (!) but we sold it to the first guy who left a coherent, polite and reasoned message !!
Just shows that there is ( or was a couple of years ago !) a strong market for £500-£1000 cars that are cheap to run.
Your VW looks a good buy. I always liked that era of Bora : as you say they are a bit quirky, not many around and they always seem a bit cheaper than the equivalent Golf. And they have a huge boot I seem to remember !
Another pal has a P reg 1.9 TDi Audi A4 estate ( PD engine) which may be the same as yours? and it still has very little rust. He seems to get 55mpg all the time, although he does not drive it hard ( at all !).
He tells me that it is very important to use the correct oil on VAG PD diesels, and he tends to use Bosch MAFs when required as the cheaper ones do not last.
I am sure a remap on yours would make it a real stealth car, with a better intake/exhaust.......!!!
Just be wary of the clutch ( if it is a DMF flywheel !) if you go the remap route, and if you do, then make allowances for it with the extra torque.
I used to drive my remapped Alfa more like a petrol engine, using the revs instead of relying on the torque in 5/6th.
Looking forward to your posts on this one !
Paul S4 said:
Stuff
Oh I agree there's some absolute gems to be found at this sort of money. In fact my brother's so impressed with this one, hes just picked up an identical one haha. I want to focus on the interior as thats where I spend most if my time with this car, thinking heated leather recaros from a golf, nice head unit and upgraded speakers. Then maybe think about putting some different wheels onto it and improving the looks a bit. It's not even remotely cool being my age driving around in this haha. They did do a polo PD130 but theyre quite rare and often now big power due to the low weight of them. Yeh more than likely will be a PD130 in your pals A4, most VAGs of that age will be PD something ChrisCh86 said:
When I saw the thread title I knew that the best choice would be a VAG PD 1.9 TDI, they seem to go on forever and are cheap to run. Not much comes close for crazy mileages like this!
Yeh haha, I've witnessed my younger brother start his 200k mile golf up stone cold. Hold it on its rev limiter for 20seconds then turn it straight back off. So if they can take that abuse, they can take me pootling up the a14 and m6 at 70!My brother ran a PD130 for over 225k miles. When it finally died (cost of replacing all the brakes (again) was more than the car was worth) he swapped into a Passat that was nowhere near as good.
Even at 225k miles (lots of motorway) the interior could have passed for a 50k mile car and it was still on its original clutch.
They're really under-rated in my book.
Even at 225k miles (lots of motorway) the interior could have passed for a 50k mile car and it was still on its original clutch.
They're really under-rated in my book.
Powderpuff said:
My brother ran a PD130 for over 225k miles. When it finally died (cost of replacing all the brakes (again) was more than the car was worth) he swapped into a Passat that was nowhere near as good.
Even at 225k miles (lots of motorway) the interior could have passed for a 50k mile car and it was still on its original clutch.
They're really under-rated in my book.
Thats crazy! I hope it gives me the same reliability. My girlfriend seems to approve too which is always a bonus hahaEven at 225k miles (lots of motorway) the interior could have passed for a 50k mile car and it was still on its original clutch.
They're really under-rated in my book.
Powderpuff said:
My brother ran a PD130 for over 225k miles. When it finally died (cost of replacing all the brakes (again) was more than the car was worth) he swapped into a Passat that was nowhere near as good.
Even at 225k miles (lots of motorway) the interior could have passed for a 50k mile car and it was still on its original clutch.
They're really under-rated in my book.
Scraps a shed for the cost of brakes.Even at 225k miles (lots of motorway) the interior could have passed for a 50k mile car and it was still on its original clutch.
They're really under-rated in my book.
That's some extreme shedding
I always liked the Bora, main thing I have read about them is people sell them as they get bored rather than they break, the perfect shed!
That looks like a very good buy. I have just done something very similar, £600 has bought me this to use over the winter months but I'm thinking I might just keep hold of it. Polo Sport 1.9 tdi PD 100, 144k with a full history, bodywork is in vgc and the interior looks like new. Only issue is the eml is on, P0183 code for fuel temp sensor which I hope to fix this weekend.
Hopefully you will get plenty more miles out of your Bora. Happy shedding.
Hopefully you will get plenty more miles out of your Bora. Happy shedding.
Had a PD130 Bora years ago and still look back on it with fond memories.
Did everything well and comfortably, and cost next to nothing to run.
I had the fake walnut dash too, but went double DIN as I worked for Alpine at time so it cost me next to nothing.
Just checked and it's still on the road, having now covered 196k!
Did everything well and comfortably, and cost next to nothing to run.
I had the fake walnut dash too, but went double DIN as I worked for Alpine at time so it cost me next to nothing.
Just checked and it's still on the road, having now covered 196k!
I took a remapped 6speed PD115 from about 70k to 115k miles about 10 years ago, fantastic car. Dragon green with beige old man interior and wood trim. Possibly one of my favourite ever cars, certainly enjoyed it more than the A6 2.0tdi that followed.
If I was ever in the market for a low price motorway car I’d happily get another, although I’ve become somewhat lazier and accustomed to auto’s now.
If I was ever in the market for a low price motorway car I’d happily get another, although I’ve become somewhat lazier and accustomed to auto’s now.
jjwilde said:
Literal kids with asthma dying from pollution and here you are thinking it's funny to remove the EGR. You're a piece of trash dude. It's illegal for a reason.
You know I've gained about 30% fuel economy since doing away with the egr? So its probably near on the same pollutants coming out the back, if not slightly betterGassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff