Opinion on VW Golf

bit of a bogey

Whats anyone's opinion on VW Golf's in general? Im looking at a 1.4 litre of year 2000.

I know Volkswagen are generally very reliable but I hear Golfs around the year 2000 only cause problems and are only succesfull from the VW name? Apparently they are very bad for burning oil? Whats anyones experience?

colm_mcm

bit of a bogey wrote: »

I know Volkswagen are generally very reliable

:eek:

EPM

Quote of the week

Saab Ed

colm_mcm wrote: »

:eek:

+1


That should read....." I know VW used to be reliable in the mid 70's"

Modern Veedubs are softer than fairy liquid hands. Dont pressume anything.

colm_mcm

Their silicone-damped grab hadles are top notch though.

stepbar

I have a 04 1.4l. Good solid car. I was driving a megane last week and really noticed the difference (my car was in the garage getting a cosmetic repair job done). Would recommend that you go higher than 00 if you could.

cup of tea

I drive a 1.4 02.....I think it's a great car.Have had no trouble apart from a fecked front right suspension, that will be fixed shortly

stepbar

You're downgrading?

GTE

In terms of anything but the engine the mark 4 Golf is pretty solid.
There are a few little things that can cause problems.
For me it was the rear window washer fluid pipe. There are weak connections there and can cause water to come into the boot.

I hear that there are also some drain pipes that can clog up and cause water to come into the front foot well, I havent experience that nor does the car show any evidence of it from previous owners.

Airbag plugs under the seat are a weak point. I had to do a little DIY work under the passenger seat yesterday.

EDIT:
Also the door locks are weak points but because of this kits are readily available. Happened to me, 20 quid for the kit.

The coating on the plastic is weird. If someone treated the interior badly and scratched the plastics in the car it can look odd. There is a soft coating that if scratched can reveal the black plastic underneath and can look bad.
It was bad in my car from the last owner so I used a steel wool and it looks very well now with the coating gone. It looks fine with the coating as long as it was treated well, if its damaged and it bothers you just get rid of it. Little thing really.

Rear legroom is tight if you are a tall driver, but I never care about passengers.

The problems are really little things. I agree that if it was a mark 3 golf or maybe earlier you wouldnt have these little problems but at the end of the day fixing the above cost me nothing but a couple of hours.

In terms of engines. The 1.4 is meant to be underpowered.
If you can find a 1.9 TDI from 2000 and the engine and car has been well maintained then that would by my recommendation.

I have one and I haven't had any major problems aside from a weird oil seal perishing and a temperature sensor needing replacing (15 euro fix).

In summary, the car is grand. Not a bother with it in my opinion but the engine you are looking at isnt the best for the car.

stepbar

In fairness a lot of my family have VW's. Da has a newish Transporter, bro has a Bora, my aunt and uncle in law have new golfs. Never any breakdowns (bar a timing belt in my aunts old golf). I think when the time comes I'll get another golf. As I've said, solid car on the road.

coolbeans

What does that mean: " A good solid car on the road"? Never really understood that expression.

bit of a bogey

Cheers all! I should have no significant problems so?

I take it that VW arent regarded as high as I thought judging from the first few posts!

GTE

bit of a bogey wrote: »

Cheers all! I should have no significant problems so?

I take it that VW arent regarded as high as I thought judging from the first few posts!

From what I have read the mark 4's from around that time if you want a diesel and the mark 4's in general for petrol are the best bunch of Golfs out there, though having said that I wouldnt count VW out because to be honest, there is feck all out there that is as reliable as VW used to be back in the day. Maybe Kia or some Japanese stuff but I want first hand experience on that.

Keep in mind also that in 2002ish the Mark 4's got a suspension upgrade or summet or other making them a better car to drive then the older ones, though I have a 2000 and I cant fault it. I wanna get from A to B every time I try and in comfort and it does it.

bit of a bogey

Wont be going any newer than 2000 tho due to the financial restrictions in this current economic climate!!:D

GTE

bit of a bogey wrote: »

Wont be going any newer than 2000 tho due to the financial restrictions in this current economic climate!!:D

I get ya. Be a cheeky fecker and see what you can beat some people down on.
Are you dead set on the petrol?

One other thing Ill say is, there is nothing wrong with the Mark 3 really, defo not more so then the Mark 4. If you are strapped for cash Im sure there are some of those out there and they would probably last to the end of the earth.

Melion

I had a 99 until last Summer. It was nothing but trouble. I had to put a litre of oil into it every 2-3 weeks, constant strange tapping sound from the second the engine was on which no garage could figure out.

Central locking was shíte, i had to lock it from the passenger door for the whole car to lock. Rear wiper came on at random times even without me touching the stick. Then when i did need it to work, no water would come out.

Melion

I had a 99 until last Summer. It was nothing but trouble. I had to put a litre of oil into it every 2-3 weeks, constant strange tapping sound from the second the engine was on which no garage could figure out.

Central locking was shíte, i had to lock it from the passenger door for the whole car to lock. Rear wiper came on at random times even without me touching the stick. Then when i did need it to work, no water would come out.

coolbeans

bit of a bogey wrote: »

Cheers all! I should have no significant problems so?

I take it that VW arent regarded as high as I thought judging from the first few posts!

The 1.4 is ****e with an unreliable underpowered lump where the engine should be and ridiculously rolly handling.
The 1.6 is better but still only average by the standards of the class.
The 1.8T is OK too but not a proper GTI.
The TDIs are the best but there are equally good and better options form other manufacturers at lower prices.
Electrics and general build quality are below average on all models and gearboxes aren't bulletproof compared to the likes of Honda and Toyota.
Go elsewhere unless you find a very nice one.
The mark II. Now there's a proper Golf. Too old for you though.

Melion

Apologies for that, dunno why it posted twice.

GTE

coolbeans wrote: »

The TDIs are the best but there are equally good and better options form other manufacturers at lower prices.

From the year 2000? The only decent Ford diesel was the TDCI and they generally sell for a lot more. Ive been in a few Toyota diesels from 1999 and 2000 and they were God awful.

I believe that a well maintained TDI from 2000 is the best diesel out there in that general price range. Well maintained is the key part sadly, so many cars that I went to see when buying last summer that bloody idiots owned and treated them like crap.

madmac187

Guy living with me, the clutch went in his 130bhp golf at 40,000 miles, turbo went at 53,000. Personally steer well clear, an astra better off. Cost too much to fix. Brother had a caddy, 2 clutches in it and a third at 120k. Enough said all serviced in VW garages and minded never again they all said..

EPM

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Check the gearbox-worth paying someone a few quid to do. They are muck

coolbeans

bbk wrote: »

From the year 2000? The only decent Ford diesel was the TDCI and they generally sell for a lot more. Ive been in a few Toyota diesels from 1999 and 2000 and they were God awful.

I believe that a well maintained TDI from 2000 is the best diesel out there in that general price range. Well maintained is the key part sadly, so many cars that I went to see when buying last summer that bloody idiots owned and treated them like crap.

A 306 HDI or 1.9TD was a better car all round and far more reliable. Astra TDs from the era are OK and as good as the golf as a package. Focus not great and a Xsara would be worth a look too in diesel form. Surprisingly nice drive the Xsara. Pity about the facelifted version. A Corolla's a Corolla.

colm_mcm

The normally aspirated 1.9 PSA engine didn't really help the Corollas case either. no D-4D models sold in that shape here, although I've seen a few in Europe

coolbeans

colm_mcm wrote: »

The normally aspirated 1.9 PSA engine didn't really help the Corollas case either. no D-4D models sold in that shape here, although I've seen a few in Europe

Agreed. Would've been a grand motor if they lobbed a turbo on though.

colm_mcm

they did! pity they never sold it here, those old Corollas were pretty light, and the 110hp in the heavier Avensis of the time was nippy enough

martydunf

Iv a MK4 TDi and not a bother with it after 2 years ownership.

So there all not unreliable, you only ever hear the horror stories anyway.:rolleyes:

EDIT: and I know of a few others that have MK4's aswell that give no trouble

coolbeans

martydunf wrote: »

Iv a MK4 TDi and not a bother with it after 2 years ownership.

So there all not unreliable, you only ever hear the horror stories anyway.:rolleyes:

EDIT: and I know of a few others that have MK4's aswell that give no trouble

I think you're biased.

tossy

coolbeans wrote: »

The 1.4 is ****e with an unreliable underpowered lump where the engine should be and ridiculously rolly handling.
The 1.6 is better but still only average by the standards of the class.
The 1.8T is OK too but not a proper GTI.
The TDIs are the best but there are equally good and better options form

Is that the entire mk4 engine line up ? you left out 4 engines 2 of which are probably amongst the most reliable blocks VAG have ever made.Plus i would hardly agree the TDI engine are the best in the line up - no disrespect to the TDI.

GTE

coolbeans wrote: »

I think you're biased.

Hah, if you are not gonna believe the word of an owner will you believe the hear say of people who have different cars? A good thing would never be said about cars that way

GTE

tossy wrote: »

Is that the entire mk4 engine line up ? you left out 4 engines 2 of which are probably amongst the most reliable blocks VAG have ever made.

Which ones did he miss? Not gettin at your post, Im just curious.
Its pretty bad that I have to say that Im just curious. Otherwise it would probably sound like Im trying to say you are wrong and you should get off the internetzzz :S