VW Polo old X reg (82), 1 litre hatch. 43k miles (all previous MOT certs to prove it!) ££££'s of service history, totally immaculate, not a spec of rust, just passed its MOT without fault.
I have first option on buying it, the current owner wants a nominal fee for it but I would like to give him what its worth - your opinions please!
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Certainly £150. £250 maybe, if you're very very very generous. If you're mad, you might go up to £300 if it has a full tank of petrol. Thirsty on the motorway, mind.
Make sure you keep changing the oil regularly, else you'll end up with a blocked oil breather.
There are loads of these around - look on ebay. If you need a new set of tyres for one of theses, you're better off buying a whole second-hand car on ebay for a fiver, swapping the wheels with yours, and putting it back on ebay for a fiver...
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Mapmaker, you are incorrigible!
Don't forget to see if the £5 car's windscreen wiper blades are newer!
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A car of this age effectively doesn't have a value, no matter how clean and low mileage it is. An old car is an old car. Repairs will very quickly cost more than the thing is worth. There are a number of weak spots on these cars, including leaking fuel tanks.
I would not offer more than £100, since it will cost you to scrap it when the time comes.
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Won't cost you to scrap. HJ wrote very recently about one with no V5 and 6 weeks' MOT that went at auction for £30 as 'scrap metal prices have gone up, and it's now worth something to a scrapman'.
An old car is worth something. You need the Bangernomics valuation model bangernomics.tripod.com/bangval.htm
Whilst you're there, you can read about why the Mk II Polo is such a good car
bangernomics.tripod.com/minor.htm
The article starts with a picture of my old Polo - paid £200 for it after it had been resurrected (with 12 months MOT). Brings tears to my eyes.
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Some very interesting info on that bangernomics site, but the valuation using its formula works out at £400 which I think is too high. I may take it for a drive and if everything seems ok I will give him £200 for it...
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£380, actually (unless it has a full tank...) at 12x30 + 20 (scrap value - but I'd be inclined to assume you might haveto pay 20 to scrap it, which takes it down to 340).
It's only a guide, and it probably over-values really old small cars with a full MOT using £30 per month. And I think that will be because you have to factor in a possibility that you will only get under 12 months out of it owing to major failure.
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Looking on the bright side, as long as you take reasonable (yet cheap) care of it, you won't lose a penny when you sell it.
These Polos are almost indistructable and most have been scrapped because the owners wanted something newer rather than terminal rust, engine failure etc.
Oh yes, they sing along at 90mph on the motorway - a bit like carpets, the harder you beat them, the better they are!
Gareth
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But they only give you 28mpg at 90 - flat in fifth... sorry, flat in fourth. Better off buying Patently's Patently-carrier; you'll get more mpg, and the residuals will be better...
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Oh dear. Here we go again. Where's No Dosh when you need him?
Anyway, it's not for sale. So there.
;-)
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Unfair. They don't rust. Head gasket easily replaced. Oil breather a pig to replace, and the cause of terminal failure on most of them. Virtually indestructible.
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I've looked at the Bangeromics site and having run a MK2 Polos for over 10 years (and still have a 1988 Ranger now) my thoughts are as follows:
1. Generally I think the article is painting a better picture of the car than is justified. Yes they are tough cars but they do have a lot of faults. Ironically the earlier cars were better for rust prevention since the quality of the steel was better. Also they had conventional ignition points and either Solex or Weber carbs.
2. Typical faults are: juddering clutches, worn synchromesh on second gear (the 4+E gearboxes are particularly bad in this respect), water pumps, alternators, hall senders, awful Pierburg carbs post 1985.
3. They do rust badly if allowed - around the fuel filler in the wheel arch is a notorious mud trap and will cause the sill to rust. As it's so close to the petrol tank you can't do any welding - bye bye Polo.
4. Cabin leaks due to plastic membranes in doors cracking.
5. Cabin fan/blowers get noisy and then pack up (made in France...)
6. Rear wipers are weak and pack up.
7. Wiring to tailgate stretched every time you open the tailgate and eventually breaks. Easy fix however.
8. Rear exhaust too heavy for its two rubber supports. I've modified mine but smile whenever I see a Polo about to deposit its exhaust on the road.
9. Pierburg carbs are very difficult to set up correctly and genuine parts are getting harder to find.
10. Fuel tanks rust - expensive, just having mine done :-(
Then there are the interesting design features such as the non-servoed brakes and you can't see the dashboard switch illumination because VW couldn't be bothered to change them around for RHD.
But I still like my old Polo. It doesn't go out much now as it's kept as an old friend in the barn and will never be sold.
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