VW Polo 2004 Tdi - Trade-up advice

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Tue 7 Apr 2015 16:00
VW Polo 2004 Tdi - Trade-up advice - hendog5k

Hi,

I've got a 2004 Polo Tdi (Twist) that needs upgrading... It's done 75k and in decent nick, but has a slight issue with the front left tyre wearing much more quickly than the right. I think it may have had a bump before I bought it, and hence the early wear etc.

I'm keen to get another economical car for primarily motorway driving, and have about £5,000 to spend.

Does anyone have any advice for what I could get for the Polo, and a decent replacement?

Cheers,

Henry

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Tue 7 Apr 2015 21:18
VW Polo 2004 Tdi - Trade-up advice - Brian Tryzers
Are you sure you need to change it? It would cost far less than £5000 to get the suspension checked and corrected, if that's the only problem. You could keep the rest in the bank and keep saving for something much newer. Small, economical cars are sought after secondhand, so your £5000 might not buy you what you want, which ought to be something much newer and still under warranty. £8000, on the other hand, might - if you can keep saving for another year or two.
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Tue 7 Apr 2015 22:27
VW Polo 2004 Tdi - Trade-up advice - Bromptonaut

If it does what you want other than the tyre wear thing then get that looked into first. Cheapest motoring is the 'run it into the ground' sort.

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Wed 8 Apr 2015 14:40
VW Polo 2004 Tdi - Trade-up advice - hendog5k
Cheers for the replies - I'll see what the garage says.

If there are more deep-rooted, expensive problems - any tips for a decent replacement?

Thanks again.
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Wed 8 Apr 2015 17:39
VW Polo 2004 Tdi - Trade-up advice - concrete

Agree with others here, run it and then run it some more. Can't imagine your problem is unfixable so get a couple of estimates. A VW dealer and a good recommended independant should be fine. If replacement is decided upon then try a Skoda Fabia. However as already suggested, 5K doesn't really get you much in that market.

Good luck

Concrete

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Wed 8 Apr 2015 19:10
VW Polo 2004 Tdi - Trade-up advice - Alby Back
It is, as others have said, almost certainly a cheap and easy fix if it's just the tracking that's out.

However, do you know for sure it has never had any front end impact damage ? Sometimes cars which have been accident repaired are never quite straight. If it's that, then moving it on would be a good idea.

It'll not cost much to get the tracking sorted though, and if that cures it you'd almost certainly be best to keep it. Every time you buy from or sell to a dealer there's their margin to consider. They have to have one to stay in business but unfortunately at the budget end of the market, it by default represents a fair percentage of the price.

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