2000 Golf Avantgarde Cabriolet

Honest John Back Room » The Back Room Archive
View Threaded
Tue 27 Mar 2001 22:41
2000 Golf Avantgarde Cabriolet - John Kent
Have just purchased this car for my wife from a main VW agent - it was their demonstrator. Apart from a corroding wheel, stained and smelly seat belt, mal adjusted tyre pressures, flaking coating on door pulls it is in excellent condition! Most of these are now resolved.

HOWEVER, the main problem is the ride. From 35-65 mph the wheels seem to patter and cornering is almost unnerving. Above or below this speed the ride is fine. The wheels have been balanced and swapped front to back. The dealer had the car for nearly two weeks to check and fix the other problems but having returned the car tells me that the ride is normal. It has the usual Avantgarde 16" wheels and 45 series Dunlop tyres but I just don't believe that this is as VW would have supplied the car. We have owned many VW's, the last being a 1996 MK 3 GTi which we had for three years and no problems. We have also driven a 1997 Golf Cabriolet which is smooth and as expected. Is our problem a design feature/fault or is it the tyres? I note that some Bora's have this same tyre/wheel combination. Any comments would be much appreciated.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 28 Mar 2001 15:38
Re: 2000 Golf Avantgarde Cabriolet - honestjohn
Probably a combination ofm the ultra low profile tyres and the inherent flex in the Golf Mk III platform and bodyshell even before they cut the roof off. In terms of flex, the convertible is the worst, the 3 door is next worst and the 5 door is the stiffest. The current pretend Mk IV Golf cabrio is still really a Mk III.

HJ
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 28 Mar 2001 21:34
Re: 2000 Golf Avantgarde Cabriolet - John Kent
Thanks for the comments - I'm going to contact VAG to see what they say - I'll let you know.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

From choosing the right tyre to what to do when it goes wrong - we have the answers.

Tyre News And Advice