Hi (Please bear with me on this),
If anyone could offer me some advice please do. After looking round for a Mark 3 Golf GTi I found a mint looking Black 3dr which is totally standard - Just as I wanted.
The car body work looks good with some marks here and there (P reg) but no serious problems that I can see. I have had it HPI checked and it all passes OK including the mileage - Not sure what they check but said it was OK.
The car is 7 years old and has the service history stamped up and all 4 MOT Certificates with it. It also has quite a few receipts but I think this is off the current owner(Cambelt done at 60K).
The only thing was the drivers seat bolster was worn and felt a bit saggy and the accelarator pedal looked well worn. The car drove well and didnt seem to have any problems except an ABS light which it is booked in to the garage to get fixed. I am getting an RAC check on wednesday and the sale is dependent on the outcome of this and I am satisfied with the reciepts for the ABS problem.
I have read that the seat bolsters do wear on these golfs though - Can anyone verify whether this points to an 85,000 mile car? The steering wheel was worn on the top but not smooth - More like a bit rough and the bottom looked fine - It was not smooth like my 142,000 mile Polo. The gear knob did appear a bit worn.
The thing is I am bricking myself buying a car privately and dont know if I am being over cautious. I am paranoid about it I guess.
Please please give me some expert help - I presume the RAC should pick up whether it is a duffer.
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You seem to have it all covered and are being sensibly cautious, the only other thing you could do is to ring the servicing dealer (from the stamps in the book) to confirm the sevice history is genuine and to ask them if they know of any accident damage/major failures/repairs.
Good luck
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Hi Stuart.
I've got a 97/R GTI 8v. Its done 78000 miles.
It does have bolster wear (sag a small amount) and yes the steering wheel is shiny at the top, and not the bottom, but not that smooth either. (got worse in last 2 years -17000 miles) and i've seen others with the same. It seems its just the type of material they use on the wheel.
If the cambelt was done at 60000 miles it was done at the right time so would indicate a careful/aware owner.
Mine also had the abs light come on - mine was for a sharp turn just knocking the abs sensor of kilter and needed a new one. nothing major.
Sounds ok tho. Just check electric windows and for rust on sill and bottom of door.
Let me know how you get on.
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Cheers for that. It makes me feel a bit better. I was really happy when viewing it and thought everything was in order but just started getting nervous as I am about to give someone £3000 for it. I kinda know what to look for on cars too but the RAC inspection was actually more do with knowing that when I really want something I would be able to miss something quite easily if you know what I mean.
The thing is I really wanted a black 3Dr one with good history and really this was the only one about - Looked at other colours though. Is there anything you can do to get the bolsters less saggy? They were not really worn just a bit saggy.
Thanks again and I will let you know the outcome
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No problems. Sounds like you got a reasonable one for price and condition.
Dont think you can do anything about the sagginess. no point in changing them as it will only get worse. might be worth it if you sell it but only with a cheap replacement seat.
If you drive it again it should settle at 90 degrees on the temp gauge and the mpg over say 5 miles when warm should average 32-37 mpg depending how you drive it. not less than 30 though. if it does it indicates either a) a thermostat problem and poor running, or b) a throttle valve control problem with it being caked up with carbon. Either job is easily fixed for not a lot of cost (c.£50)
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p.s should have mentioned that they are common problems with the car when encountering rough running.
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What do you think of your car then? I know they are not lightning quick but think they look very good. A lot of people dont rate them but I think it is just because they think they should be a lot quicker to wear a GTi badge.
I had a Clio 172 cup for a year which was very quick but there was no comfort and it rattled and was badly built - It was brand new when I got it. Then my girlfriend and I bought our first house so I sold it and got a Polo GT coupe H reg which I have been running for 6 months but it is a bit tatty. I do about 250 miles a week on motorways - What is the fuel consumption like on them?
Cheers
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Well i have to agree. They arent that quick - think Saxo VTR or slightly slower - in performance terms. The handling is a little vague but can be quite grippy. Not to much problem with understeer, but can oversteer badly where the back end will quickly slide out if the tyres are worn, and when i say tyres, i mean one tyre! if one rear tyre is quite worn it affects the whole handling. I find that it struggles on the motorway but is fine in general town, urban use.
I have said before, and still stand by, that i think it is really a GL with a GTI bodykit and badge. Wide tyres help grip as mentioned, but performance is a little wanting. However overall i'm quite satisfied with it - you get used to the (lack of) performance.
I test drove a 172 and just thought it would be great for the weekend/fast blat but horrible to own. I had a 306xsi before the Golf that was a hundred times better to drive, but rattled liked a stone in a tin can and build quality was poor. The Golf is a lot better as an ownership proposition. It doesnt do anything great. just everything well.
I get 32-35mpg average with normal driving, and my wife uses it sometimes to travel to work which is 40 miles all motorway and it reads about 37-38mpg. Get about 350miles out of a tank and it costs about £37 to fill (as you rarely go from empty). I always use Shell Optimax - it made a huge difference - 3mpg average more, more performance and smoother.
Tyres cost £60 each (michelin or pirelli only for me!). The biggest problem has been a rear light bulb (50p!) that has blown 3 times. Nothing at all really ever goes wrong and it is the only car i've had thats gone thru the MOT first time!. Its a bit rough in winter on start up but once warm is fine.
Mine has got Aircon which great tho. Has the one you've got, got aircon?
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Cheers for that - I already knew it wasnt a performance beast but I am buying it for comfort, reliability and the fact that I really do think they look good - Especially in black. The purchase is on condition that it passes the RAC inspection and he has the ABS fixed with reciept so I have not got it yet but hopefully Friday. The guy was very reasonable and said if the RAC inspection picks up anything he will have it fixed or discuss a new price.
It doesnt have Air conditioning which I have read is a bit of a pain as they apparently become very warm but its nearly winter so I am not worried about that at the moment.
Will be getting one whether this one turns out good or not anyway.
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Glad you're chuffed with it. Regards the ABS, basically if you turn it on there should be ABS light that stays on. The bulbs can get disconnected if people need to, so just take it out for a drive and jam the brakes on. Should get the little judder of the brake pedal to confirm its been sorted.
I like the Aircon in winter for the purpose of de-misting the screen as much as for making life cool in summer!!
I believe there arent that many pre R Reg with aircon so no surprises there. Should still be a good car!
If you have any queries a good site for referral is www.golfgti.co.uk
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p.s sorry - meant to read 'the ABS light shouldnt stay on'.
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Hi,
Just saw this thread and thought I would make a few comments.
You are right in thinking that the GTi is a relatively unspeedy car. The 16 valve or VR6 are the ones you should go for if you want speed, but as you say, that is not what you are after.
I had a 93 Gti and sold it within 6 months to buy a VR6. The bolsters on both sides of the drivers seats had worn on both cars I had -roughly 60k miles on each. I engineer car seats for a living, so know what I am talking about. I haven't replaced them simply because it is too much hassle. Best not to worry about them, just cheapo material they use.
As Phoenicks stated, check the thermostat and the sender as these usually fail at some stage.
Also, the doors are extemely heavy, so if it is a three door, check that the doors shut properly. They may have sagged. Mine have dropped about 8-9mm, but doesn't cause a problem.
Apart from that, I love my Mark 3 VR6. It is a very easy to drive, fun car that does not look out of place in 2004. Enjoy!!
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I am sorry to say that the RAC inspection came back and I was not happy enough with it to buy the car.
There was stuff that was to be expected:
Centre section and back box corroded,
Windscreen delaminating,
Radiator leaking,
Oil leak on the back of the engine,
Coolant leak on the back of the engine,
Required 2 Shockers - Prob not for 11 months when MOT,
Needed 1 brake hose,
Then the worst really was the bodywork:
It had had a new wing on the drivers side and the support under it was not painted - Points to a cheap job.
Both sides of the car and the bonnet had been repainted,
The drivers door had some finger prints in the paint from when it was drying,
There was loads of other bits of bodywork defects he mentioned but as expected on a car like that - 7 years old.
The thing is a lot of that points towards an abused unlooked after car and for that money you would expect a good one.
Anyway I am getting my deposit back. Cheers for all the advice. Are there any good ones out there???????
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what a shame! you did the right thing and let your head rule your heart.
there will be others. how about a Mk2 big bumper model. they were a better drive?
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I did think about a mk2 big bumper but it is like a minefield out there. I was thinking about the mk3 as they are a newer car and so there is more around. Also as they are not fast at all really it may have put off a few people and they may be less abused. I am hopefully looking at a K reg with FVWSH and 56,000 miles today. My friend who is good with golfs is coming but if it is a good one I would need to buy it without really getting it checked out. This makes me a bit nervous.
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I bought a Golf GTI last night. It seems pretty good. I suppose I have taken a risk with this one by not getting it checked out but there was enough money left over just in case. The service book had a full VW service history - N reg 5 door metallic paint - I came to the conclusion it would be easier to find an unabused 5 door and think I was definitely right. twin airbags, PAS, 4 x EW (Well rear drivers side does not work), ES, 5 MOT's. It also has a new exhaust fitted and 3 months ago a new gearbox. I know I am not a genius mechanic or anything but the gearbox is obviously new. It was from a guy who was about 40ish and it looks like he has taken care of it. He had no receipts for services or anything which would have been nicer. I paid £2550 for it. I do not trust it yet as I need to do a fair few trips up and down the motorways before that.
The bodywork was mint though - No panels out of alignment and there were not many marks on it at all.
It needs a new tyre - There is plenty of tread but it is cracking and looks dangerous.
The only thing that I did not notice till I drove it home was the rev limit kicked in at 5,000RPM - This is obviously not normal - Anyone any ideas?
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