00 golf

bmw535d

friend of mine is going to see this this evening, anything i should look out for when looking at it for him?

miles seem a bit low for an 11 year old car, but says it has a full service history. i know the central locking is a pain in these so will be testing that for sure. anything else?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1810067?cid=1810067&

chiefwiggum

is it a sdi or tdi??

sdi is painfully slow and wouldnt pull you out of bed(i had one and would know)

all these mk4's are whores for blowing bulbs

but apart from that i never had an issue

bazz26

Check the rear windscreen wiper, they are known to fail. Also check inside the boot for dampness as water can get in through the windscreen wiper area.

Check the front passenger footwell for dampness too, water can get into the footwell from the top of the door due to a poorly designed drain. Not fitting the pollen filter properly can also cause dampness in the passenger footwell.

Make sure the gear goes into all gears smoothly as VW gearboxes of that erra were soft. Also check when the timing belt and water pump were last changed, I think it is every 60k miles or 5 years on the TDi.

Imo €2k seems a bit expensive for an 11 year old example especially a baseline model.

bmw535d

its an sdi, which is easier on diesel a tdi or sdi?
yea ill tell him to offer 1700 for it.

GTE

Roof drains can block and let water in. Very easy to fix.
Inner door skin seals can perish and let some water in. Easy enough to fix for a DIYer.
Rear window washer pipe can pop off. Easy to fix.
Never had bulbs blowing up on my 2000 tdi.

SDI is slow but will easily do 3 to 4 times the mileage it has now if its well taken care of. Just like the TDI of the era I suppose but even less to go wrong.

Im on 165,000 miles on mine and I seem to be going through a period of replacing bushings and tie rod ends etc but I think its just the cycle that the car is in.

SDI is easier on fuel from all that I have researched.

Atlantic Dawn

bmw535d wrote: »

its an sdi, which is easier on diesel a tdi or sdi?
yea ill tell him to offer 1700 for it.

SDI is ****e, avoid as it's too low powered and you will be paying top whack motor tax for it, makes much more sense to get the TDI.

GTE

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

SDI is ****e, avoid as it's too low powered and you will be paying top whack motor tax for it, makes much more sense to get the TDI.

The SDI is not ****e. It is low powered and may put a lot of people off because of this but it is fine for most things. A car to get around for someone who is not too bothered about speed but does care about how much money he/she is chucking into the fuel tank. There are about 3 SDI Golf/Bora's locally and for what the need the car for its perfectly fine.

Just because it doesn't suit your demands of a car does not make it ****e.
For me, having been in a SDI (70hp) and owning an TDI (90hp) I would prefer the TDI but I know I could get around perfectly well with the SDI and at the end of the day just be happy I can get around.

However I feel that being an SDI and a slow car should be reflected in the price.