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German engin-erring

I would appreciate any advice re private purchase of a 2001X 5-door VW Golf 1.6 16v SE in metallic reflex silver. It is a one owner from new car registered 01/01/2001 - petrol engine, full VW service history and a genuine 43K on the clock. Is there anything I should be wary of? What would be a reasonable offer?

Asked on 24 October 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
This is the engine famous for timing belt failure, not because the belt
fails but because the plastic pulleys it runs on fails. So you want belt,
tensioner and all pulleys replaced. Otherwise, the long list of problems afflicting Mk IV Golfs as listed in car by car breakdown at www.honestjohn.co.uk It's certainly no way to buy real "quality and reliability", but resale values are propped up by this myth and that's a fact of life. Retail value is a comparatively high £3,000.

Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.

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