What do you think? (Golf 1.4 1995)

Crusaderjim

Hi all,

I'm was looking at buying a car though i'm stoney - what do you think of this? I know you cant really go too far wrong as I basically only need a runaround - Anything i should be mindful of? Havent bought a car before and dont know an awful lot so in unknown territory..

Any help appreciated..

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volkswagen/Golf/1.4-3DR-/200924193085917/advert?channel=CARS

Anan1

Looks well-minded to me. They're dog-slow and generally not great to drive, but at least that one has power steering. Make sure the timing belt's been done and you should be fine.

VolvoMan

The Mk3 definitely wasn't highpoint in the history of the Golf but in saying that, the one you're looking at there looks tidy enough and relatively risk-free for the money. I'd just negotiate a little more off the asking price, seeing as it is a trade sale. You could probably even ask for a minimum three month warranty

Buffman

Looks ok. Offer him €500 to start, but don't go higher than €750.

bazz26

In fairness I doubt you will get a 3 month warranty on a car that is almost 15 years old. I also think the asking price is a bit expensive. In this price range I would be looking towards private sales rather than a garage.

I'd rather spend a little extra on something like this:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200925194358017

or even something like this if the hidden bodywork is too bad:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200927194462635

groupb

OP , unlike bazz I would go with mileage and condition over the year of the number plate. Having said that I'm no fan of golfs anyway but if your heart is set on one , that car looks in good nick.

Nforce

VolvoMan wrote: »

The Mk3 definitely wasn't highpoint in the history of the Golf

Mk3 VR6 and GTi 16V were pretty decent.;)

PaulKK

I had a 92 1.4 Mk3 like that one, except mine was the 60bhp carbeurretted version with no power steering .

I drove it hard and it never gave any trouble, brought it down to cork every week for a couple of years no problem.
Put 40K miles on it and sold it with 120k miles for just 500 less than I paid for it 2 years earlier, thats what you call cheap motoring. I did service it every 5k mind you as I do with my current car.

Sold it 2 and a half years ago and passed it the other day still going strong!

I'd say go for it, its got 2 years NCT and you could prob get a small bit off that asking price!

VolvoMan

Nforce wrote: »

Mk3 VR6 and GTi 16V were pretty decent.;)

The VR6 was decent, if a little too refined for its own good. The rest of the range, including the GTi, was pure sh1te.

Crusaderjim

Cheers for all the ADvice! Decided to go with her in the end..got it for 825 with 3 months warranty.
Wont be using it for much so hopefully i wont have too much trouble with it..
Thanks again!

Anan1

Congrats, well wear!

GTE

Crusaderjim wrote: »

Cheers for all the ADvice! Decided to go with her in the end..got it for 825 with 3 months warranty.
Wont be using it for much so hopefully i wont have too much trouble with it..
Thanks again!

Good job on the warrenty! Great job even.

Is it an engine and gearbox warrenty?

Would you be prepared to chuck it into a main vw dealer and get it checked over? If there is something up then claim it. I did something similar, although the dealer who sold it to me fecked up when they broke an air intake pipe clip and the car was in limp mode 3 hours into its 3 month warrenty.
It was a cheap fix in the end but anything could have been wrong. Peace of mind knowing its in great nick and that i wont need to avail of the warrenty, at least I hope.

unkel

For once I was going to post it is not expensive. Those Mk3s were well built and should last. With a bit of a warranty and 2 years NCT, you can't really go wrong.

Crusaderjim wrote: »

Cheers for all the ADvice! Decided to go with her in the end..got it for 825 with 3 months warranty.

Well done! That car is depreciation free as long as you'll keep it going.

Nforce

VolvoMan wrote: »

The VR6 was decent, if a little too refined for its own good. The rest of the range, including the GTi, was pure sh1te.

There's actually not a whole lot of difference in terms of bhp between the 16V and VR6 Golf mk3. Book figures state 174bhp for the 6 cylinder VR6 and 150bhp for the 4 pot 16V...although the valvers tended to have been "under estimated" by VW so as not to take away sales of it's then flagship Golf.
My old unmodded 16V could easily keep up with a mate's VR6 Golf......though the sound of the VR was waaaaaaaaay better.;)
Now.....as for the 8V...........well the less said about that the better


Good luck with the new car OP!

Barr

Good deal , Its great he offered a warranty at that pice and age of car .

unkel

Nforce wrote: »

My old unmodded 16V could easily keep up with a mate's VR6 Golf

Mk3 2.8l VR6 is lardy and overrated. A Mk1 1.6l GTI can nearly keep up with it...

air

I could be wrong but I think a dealer is required by law to provide you with a 3 month warranty on any used car sold?
Although a quick search turns up nothing so I could be talking toss here.

Nforce

unkel wrote: »

A Mk1 1.6l GTI can nearly keep up with it...

Ahh....keeping up might not be a problem.........stopping tho'....:p:D





Disclaimer:...I've owned a mk1 Gti 1.6 in the past

Crusaderjim

bbk wrote: »

Good job on the warrenty! Great job even.

Is it an engine and gearbox warrenty?

Not sure to be honest, the clutch was replaced in it for the NCT and from what i can tell the gearbox is perfect in it.

Would you be prepared to chuck it into a main vw dealer and get it checked over?

Thats a great idea - would that cost much?

Thanks again for the advice - its running well and very tidy..

Anan1

Crusaderjim wrote: »

Would you be prepared to chuck it into a main vw dealer and get it checked over?

Thats a great idea - would that cost much?

TBH, if it's running well, doesn't need a service, and has a fresh NCT then i'd leave well enough alone and just drive it.:)

Anan1

unkel wrote: »

Mk3 2.8l VR6 is lardy and overrated. A Mk1 1.6l GTI can nearly keep up with it...

Nforce wrote: »

Ahh....keeping up might not be a problem.........stopping tho'....:p:D





Disclaimer:...I've owned a mk1 Gti 1.6 in the past

From memory, the brake servo was never moved for RHD Mk1s - there's some sort of a long (& flexible) linkage going across the width of the car.

Nforce

Anan1 wrote: »

From memory, the brake servo was never moved for RHD Mk1s - there's some sort of a long (& flexible) linkage going across the width of the car.

That's correct......the standard braking system of the rhd Mk1 GTi was/is adequate at best when new....but when the linkages slackened over the lifetime of the car.....:eek::D

polyfusion

Good luck with it OP, looks nice and tidy.

Proper bumpers on that too, you wouldn't be afraid to knock a few other cars in the car parks with those! A bit of back-to-black on those and it would look even better.

JimmyCrackCorn!

I broke the valve seals at 100,000 on mine.
Not the best engine in the world.
Manifolds tend to pull away from the head meaning a replacement head as i tried everything else.

If you could get a 1.6 i would the 1.4 was not a good engine.