Am pondering buying a VW bora(diesel more likely).
Have read great reviews of the td model on peach or lemon........any readers here got one and if so any pointers what to watch for.....and would you recommend one?
Edited by Pugugly on 26/03/2009 at 23:01
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My VW Bora 1.6 SE is 10 years old in November - it still has an excellent exterior silver finish and the interior has stood up to such long use with very little signs of wear or tear.
I would have preferred a diesel when I bought it six years ago, but it came at a price I couldn't refuse from an independent used car dealer friend (I'd had two Jettas and was thinking of a Vento at the time).
The Bora averages around 41mpg on a run and 35mpg in urban areas.
It's just coming up to 70k and I intend to keep it for some considerable time yet - my second Jetta, a 1.6 TX, was 13 years old when it was taken in PX (£650) for the Bora...:-)
Edited for you, I assume the "second car" reference was to a Jetta and not Bora
Edited by rtj70 on 26/03/2009 at 23:13
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Cheers for that Stuart, even though the petrol models dont seem as good as the oil burners, I drove a 1.4 with over 140,000 miles on the clock and the engine pulled like a train....very sweet indeed.(for some reason the 1.6 petrol variant is not available here in Ireland).
Any more comments appreciated.
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We bought the hatchback version - a 52 plate Golf with the 130bhp PD TDI under the bonnet a few weeks ago. Nice car to drive with a very impressive performance and economy compromise. Handles tidily, surprisingly decent steering, comfy, very stylish interior. Not quite so impressed with some of the creaky plastics, or the refinement of the engine, but then the latter is well documented with the PD, and it more than makes up for it in other areas.
My friendly VW tech who is going to be charged with servicing it recommends them as being generally reliable. They have a few common problems (electric window regulators, alternator pulleys, MAF sensors, DMFs at big mileages), but he reckons most breeze 150k with very little needing to be spent.
My only real disappointment is that the quality of that gorgeous looking interior is not as good as it looks, with some squeaks and creaks at 85k that my 142,000 mile Volvo doesn't even hint at.
Oh, and a completely sad fact - these cars have the best instrument panel illumination ever! ;-)
You could do a lot worse.
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Octavia would be a better choice, unless you have a problem with the badge.
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Octavia would be a better choice
Why?
Don't discount the V5 engine, quiet and smooth and can be bought for much less than a tdi (we've got both PD diesel and V5 Golfs, I drive them back to back). V5s are chain driven, mine returns low 30s MPG, but I rarelly do any urban driving.
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just swopped a 53 1.9 diesel bora for a touran. we had the bora from 19k to 78k, no probs whatsoever. 45mpg av. better built than the same age golf as it was intended to be a small executive saloon. only thing to consider is the small boot opening. jag.
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better built than the same age golf as it was intended to be a small executive saloon.>>
Where do you get that from?
The front panels are different, the front running gear is exactly the same, the front doors and interior are the same, the rear door window frames are different, it has a boot and different rated dampers and springs to compensate for the extra weight / boot overhang.
It maybe slightly quieter due to the more ridgid rear, but thats it.
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I get mixed up with Jetta, Vento and Bora. Are Vento and Bora equivalent of Mark III and Mark IV or Mark IV and V Golfs? Old age.
Acquaintance's wife has a diesel Bora and engine kept cutting out. Garage could not find anything wrong and told her to keep fuel tank topped up above 1/2 full!. Seems OK apart from that silly advice.
I'd a loan Bora and the sharp bobbing of the suspension after going round a tight corner was sick making. No trouble with an equivalent Golf.
Luggage boot is enormous!
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I get mixed up with Jetta Vento and Bora.
Jetta = Mark 1, 2 and 5 Golf.
Vento = Mark 3
Bora = Mark 4.
I think that's right.
I've always preferred the saloons, and they make good sense second hand as they don't hold value as well as the Golf hatches, and are therefore better buys. Especially if you're not selling on soon.
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Similar mechanicals, better dealer network to deal with. I don't know exactly but seems larger. Higher spec for the same money. Should be able to get a MK2 Octavia for reasonable money. Boras & Mk1 Octavias have awful ground clearance leading to burst sumps. Octavia is hatchback and imho more practical.
I have the feeling Boras will be more expensive to buy, insure and service however i have nothing to back this up so may be wrong.
Edited by loskie on 27/03/2009 at 10:57
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I've had a Bora (hence the name) - 2.0 Petrol and an Octavia - 1.9 TDI. Given a free choice, I'd go for a Bora diesel. The Bora has a far better interior, and, if memory serves, a far better ride, but the 2.0 petrol didn't give marvellous mileage, used almost as much oil as it did petrol and was, in terms of the engine, the least reliable car I ever had - even the Yugo only had a single engine failure !
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I've had two Jettas, both with big mileages, and the current Bora (69k) over the past 17 years - none of them have used any oil in between changes nor have there been any oil leaks on my light grey flagged front garden area.
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Sounds good DP................a few squeaks I can live with.......thats why God invented vaseline.
Loskie....badge doesnt bother me(have trade insurance and choice of beemers mercs etc to drive)....but my fave car is a battered 1993 Citroen zx n/a diesel with 235.000 on clock.
A mate had an octavia.......electrical gremlins broke his heart.....kinda put me of Skodas.
Still looking......a decent Bora here starts from about 4k (dealer)......you dont know how lucky you are across the pond.
Will keep you posted and more opinions welcomed.
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I have two friends who eventually bought a Bora after travelling in mine - both insisted on the same Reflex Silver finish...:-)
The first was someone who was looking for a car on lease, the second a housewife with a young family who realised that the Bora offered far more protection for her offspring in the (hopefully unlikely) event of an accident than in the car she was driving at the time.
Even one of the offspring, a Ford stalwart, cottoned on to the fact that the Bora was very stable, firmly planted on the road and ended up buying a souped up Golf...:-)
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