Golf 1.4 - is it bearable?

Sobanek

Hey guys,
So I'm not much of an expert in terms of VAG engines, but I do know that the 1.4 in a Golf is a gutless, oil drinking engine.

My question is, is it a bearable car? I need to buy something by June, and the Golf 1.4 seems to be the good choice (at least tax and insurance wise).
Would the 1.6 8v (SR) engine in this be any better? My parents used to own a 1.6 16v Golf IV and it wasn't that bad. Not much of an oil drinker, and brought decent performance along.

robertxxx

Lovely looking and build, but it's fond if a drink. Not to sure what eng reliabilty is like.

EPM

The 1.6 8 valve is a very reliable engine if it's looked after. Has some useful extra go too. If you can get a 16 valve all the better.

Gearboxes can be weak on them too.

Nissan doctor

The 1.6 8v engine is more reliable then the 1.4 16v IMO.

But considering almost every major manufacturer makes 1.4/1.6 hatches, why does 'a gutless, oil drinking' car, as you say yourself, seem like a good choice??

Leonard Hofstadter

The 1.4 Golf has a reputation for being "soft" i.e. giving trouble after 100,000 miles for no apparent reason. Plus the gearboxes can give trouble on them as well. The 1.6 16 valve is just a larger version of the 1.4 so suffers from all the same issues. Not many of them around (thankfully). The 1.6 eight valve is much better. Most 1.6 Golfs are 8 valve, only a few between 2002 and 2003 I think (and I could be wrong on those dates, but it was the very last of the Mk4 Golfs that got 16 valves from memory). It only loses 5 bhp to the 16 valve version but is bombproof apart from the gearbox, which I'm told it shares with the 1.4. The 1.6 8V has 100 bhp and the 1.6 16V has 105. The 1.4 has only 75 bhp by comparison.

In the Mk5 there was also a 1.6 FSI, which is unrelated to the 1.6 16V in the Mk4 and is reliable too. This has 115 bhp.

If you want a reliable 1.4 then your options are either the Focus or the Corolla, both are bulletproof, the Corolla is mind-numbingly boring but is well able to move given its engine size (since it has 97 bhp), the Focus is much better in every area that matters bar one - performance - it is dangerously slow and in reality the 1.6 is much better in the power department!

billbond4

Keep away from 1.4 golf, i.e. besides drinking oil etc.
I had lots of silly things break in it,
like the rear seat latch broke,
glovebox latch broke,
door sensor for lights broke,
Coolant Temp Sensor broke...
And the worst is its really underpowered, its really slow to pull off from dead stop
Save yourself the hassle and get something else. !!

Sobanek

How about the 1.8 122hp MK1 Volvo S40? That's the same engine that was planted in the Carisma.

I'm really fond of 3 cars at the moment:

1.4 or 1.6 MK4 Golf - The interesting design, lovely interior, and this desirable VW badge.
1.6 or 1.8 MK1 S40/V40 - Safety, comfort, equipment
BMW E36 316i Coupe - Well, it's a BMW. 'Nuff said.

pburns

I don't know age or budget you have in mind but...surely there are better options than a 1.4 Golf!!?! Especially given the fact you are aware of some of the drawbacks. Dunno much about them but allegedly 'soft' AND slow....that's a double-whammy of mediocrity for starters.

And it's not like Golfs are cheap!

Sobanek

pburns wrote: »

I don't know age or budget you have in mind but...surely there are better options than a 1.4 Golf!!?! Especially given the fact you are aware of some of the drawbacks. Dunno much about them but allegedly 'soft' AND slow....that's a double-whammy of mediocrity for starters.

And it's not like Golfs are cheap!

I'm looking at a €1.5k budget for the car. The insurance company I'm dealing with will allow me 1.6 cars at most (1.8 Volvos and 1.9 TDIs as an exception). I'm 18.

I don't want a Fiesta, Polo or anything of this size. I've trouble driving them. I'm more comfortable with larger cars.

Nissan doctor

Sobanek wrote: »

How about the 1.8 122hp MK1 Volvo S40? That's the same engine that was planted in the Carisma.

I'm really fond of 3 cars at the moment:

1.4 or 1.6 MK4 Golf - The interesting design, lovely interior, and this desirable VW badge.
1.6 or 1.8 MK1 S40/V40 - Safety, comfort, equipment

Sobanek wrote: »

BMW E36 316i Coupe - Well, it's a BMW. 'Nuff said.

Urm...you should really drive more cars.
A mk4 golf had vaguely interesting headlights and blue lit dials when it came out...aside from that was as dull as cars come, especially in basic paddy spec and was pretty widely renowned as the low point in the golfs history.

Surely we're getting past buying a rubbish car because it has a desirable badge.

The MK1 focus of the same era was a vastly better car in every way.

Sobanek wrote: »

BMW E36 316i Coupe - Well, it's a BMW. 'Nuff said.

Come on man...educate yourself.

Sobanek

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Urm...you should really drive more cars.
A mk4 golf had vaguely interesting headlights and blue lit dials when it came out...aside from that was as dull as cars come, especially in basic paddy spec and was pretty widely renowned as the low point in the golfs history.

Surely we're getting past buying a rubbish car because it has a desirable badge.

The MK1 focus of the same era was a vastly better car in every way.




Come on man...educate yourself.

I actually found the Focus to be boring. I like the MK4s design. I think it may just be personal preference.

And I like the BMW!

Nissan doctor

Sobanek wrote: »

I actually found the Focus to be boring. I like the MK4s design. I think it may just be personal preference.

And I like the BMW!

That's a fairly unique view....but, fair enough.:)



And liking the BMW is fine of course, I like the E36 too, especially with the M kit. But saying 'well, its a BMW' about the boggo, underpowered, buyforbadgeonly, 316 just shows how good BMW marketing is

Sobanek

Sobanek wrote: »

..................

1.4 or 1.6 MK4 Golf - The interesting design, lovely interior, and this desirable VW badge.
1.6 or 1.8 MK1 S40/V40 - Safety, comfort, equipment
BMW E36 316i Coupe - Well, it's a BMW. 'Nuff said.

Here was I thinking it was a motoring forum

:pac:

Henry Ford III

18 y.o. with a €1500 budget?

Forget about 1.4/1.6 class cars. Tax/insurance will eat up most of the value of your car every year.

Get a 1.0 or 1.1 car.

Sobanek

Henry Ford III wrote: »

18 y.o. with a €1500 budget?

Forget about 1.4/1.6 class cars. Tax/insurance will eat up most of the value of your car every year.

Get a 1.0 or 1.1 car.

Like I said, I checked with the insurance company and I'm fine with anything up to 1.6.... (or a 1.8 volvo / 1.9 tdi seat, audi, vw)

mawk

I got my 1.6 mark 4 a little while back in great mechanical condition for 1300e.

paint was a little scratched from (i assume) cats walking across the roof and bonnet, which was good haggle ammo. its a great waggon, very little trouble, good power.
gearbox ain't great.

but you are a young guy, insurance its going to kill no matter what and statistics say you'll hit it off something within 18 months of starting to drive. so you should give serious thought to getting a small car for your first year or two and later put the two years worth of insurance savings towards your second car

166man

On a budget of €1.5k and you want something reasonably big, how about a Alfa Romeo 156 with either 1.6/1.8 engine? So much better in every single way than a 1.4 Golf..

Nissan doctor

Sobanek wrote: »

Like I said, I checked with the insurance company and I'm fine with anything up to 1.6.... (or a 1.8 volvo / 1.9 tdi seat, audi, vw)

When they say your fine with anything up to 1.6.....have you actually got quotes?

Are you male or female?

Insurance for most 18 year old males on a 1.0/1.2 is normally 3-4k on their own policy for the first year so I'd do some more research if I were you.

Henry Ford III

Sobanek wrote: »

Like I said, I checked with the insurance company and I'm fine with anything up to 1.6.... (or a 1.8 volvo / 1.9 tdi seat, audi, vw)

Great, but consider the figures. Tax alone on the biggest engine you've mentioned is €626. How much is your insurance likely be?

L-M

Buy a Golf with a good nct and you'll be fine. i drove 24,000 miles in a 1.4 with heavy 18" wheels, i don't drive like a spas so the "underpowered" thing never came into play, unless i was trying to overtake a tractor with a car coming towards me. it's very driveable.

The other great thing is that everything on the Golfs are cheap and easy fix (bar emissions). Make sure the belt is done with the water pump, as they're prone to snap at their interval.

You can pretty much google anything to do with a Golf, and fix anything yourself with a handy size toolbox. Servicing them is a easy as pie too.

Everyone on here underrates them, but the engines in the 1.4 Corollas of that era burn oil too, any other 1.4 Skoda or Vw is the same thing and the Fiats and Renaults of that era (Megane and Bravo) are pretty worthless.

Go for it.

Sobanek

Nissan doctor wrote: »

When they say your fine with anything up to 1.6.....have you actually got quotes?

Are you male or female?

Insurance for most 18 year old males on a 1.0/1.2 is normally 3-4k on their own policy for the first year so I'd do some more research if I were you.

1680e tpft for a 1.6 Golf
1740e tpft for a 1.8 volvo s40
1885e tpft for a 1.9 tdi passat

so yes, I've done my research.

Nissan doctor

Sobanek wrote: »

1680e tpft for a 1.6 Golf
1740e tpft for a 1.8 volvo s40
1885e tpft for a 1.9 tdi passat

so yes, I've done my research.

Male/18/full licence or provisional licence?

Either way, if they are your own policies in your own name they are the cheapest I've ever seen!

Sobanek

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Male/18/full licence or provisional licence?

Either way, if they are your own policies in your own name they are the cheapest I've ever seen!

Male, 18, Full Licence, 20% family&friends discount included.

ShadowHearth

Op, you said 1.8 Volvo is exeption?

Can you check about pug 406 1.8? When I was getting my first insurance in Ireland 1.8 406 was cheaper to insure then 1.4 golf or civic.

406 is a lovely lovely car. Reliable as tank. Very good mpg too. Check up insurance on these m8. Way better alternative to 1.4 golf!

Nissan doctor

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Op, you said 1.8 Volvo is exeption?

Can you check about pug 406 1.8? When I was getting my first insurance in Ireland 1.8 406 was cheaper to insure then 1.4 golf or civic.

406 is a lovely lovely car. Reliable as tank. Very good mpg too. Check up insurance on these m8. Way better alternative to 1.4 golf!

But a 406 doesn't have a VW badge, what use could it possibly be as a car?:P

Henry Ford III

So €1500 for a car and then up to €2500 p.a. for tax and insurance?

Something somewhere is way wrong imho.

Sobanek

Henry Ford III wrote: »

So €1500 for a car and then up to €2500 p.a. for tax and insurance?

Something somewhere is way wrong imho.

Why? Would €600 for a car and €2000 p.a. for tax insurance sound more reasonable? ...

splash221

Only buy these vehicles when they are fresh ones a year or two. The old ones will break your heart and I should know sold lots of them.

Henry Ford III

Henry Ford III wrote: »

So €1500 for a car and then up to €2500 p.a. for tax and insurance?

Something somewhere is way wrong imho.

Not unusual for young folk to pay more for insurance per annum than the value of the car May or may not be wrong but unless you're spending thousands on your first car as a teenager it's hard to avoid.

Henry Ford III

Sobanek wrote: »

Why? Would €600 for a car and €2000 p.a. for tax insurance sound more reasonable? ...

Of course not.

Surely the idea should be to minimise the fixed costs, thereby freeing money up to buy a better (smaller) car?

Just my 2c. worth.

BostonB

Sobanek wrote: »

...My question is, is it a bearable car?...

Define bearable?

Sobanek

BostonB wrote: »

Define bearable?

Bearable to live with / to drive?

BostonB

Not the meaning of the word. What do you find bearable.

What bearable is highly subjective. I might be happy with a 1L because I only do city driving, you might be only doing motorway driving in which case a 1L might not be bearable, you might live somewhere with bad roads so you might like something softer rather than sporty. You might carry 4 passengers a lot so you might want a bigger engine. You might be doing mega miles, you might be doing tiny distances.

You seem to be picking on price only, not what you need in a car.

Sobanek

Well, I'm going to be doing about 120 motorway kms each day, Monday-Friday with some occasional city driving. Also, I'm travelling on my own.
I would need some boot space though, as I might be carrying larger objects.

L-M

How far of a drive?

Sobanek

Limerick man wrote: »

How far of a drive?

Newbridge -> Carlow -> Newbridge

Leonard Hofstadter

At that kind of mileage you'd be better off with a diesel. Small capacity petrols at motorway speeds will guzzle fuel as they'll be running at between 3500 and 4000 rpm depending on the car! They'll also make a racket. From memory the 1.6 Focus only runs at 3,000 rpm on the motorway so will be very frugal not to mention quieter than other cars, and it's a great little car anyway.

Sobanek

captainspeed wrote: »

At that kind of mileage you'd be better off with a diesel. Small capacity petrols at motorway speeds will guzzle fuel as they'll be running at between 3500 and 4000 rpm depending on the car! They'll also make a racket. From memory the 1.6 Focus only runs at 3,000 rpm on the motorway so will be very frugal not to mention quieter than other cars, and it's a great little car anyway.

I'd be planning to convert to LPG if it did cost me too much.

bazz26

Sobanek wrote: »

I'd be planning to convert to LPG if it did cost me too much.

Have you priced a LPG conversation? Could cost nearly the price of your petrol Golf.

Sobanek

bazz26 wrote: »

Have you priced a LPG conversation? Could cost nearly the price of your petrol Golf.

Yeah, they're around €999 to install, but return great savings.

Nissan doctor

Sobanek wrote: »

Yeah, they're around €999 to install, but return great savings.

How many stations near you are selling LPG?

voojeq

volvo v70's ain't bad either, they're as good as s40's but can be pricey if something goes wrong

how about that pug 206 gti from bangernomics thread, 1250 sounds reasonable and its not a gti on logbook?

Henry Ford III

voojeq wrote: »

volvo v70's ain't bad either, they're as good as s40's but can be pricey if something goes wrong

how about that pug 206 gti from bangernomics thread, 1250 sounds reasonable and its not a gti on logbook?

Are you suggesting a fraud?

Sobanek

Sobanek wrote: »

I'd be planning to convert to LPG if it did cost me too much.

Are you seriously considering spending a grand to convert a €1500 1.4 Golf to LPG? That's one of the least economic savvy things imaginable.

Nissan doctor

RoverJames wrote: »

Are you seriously considering spending a grand to convert a €1500 1.4 Golf to LPG? That's one of the least economic savvy things imaginable.

The thread itself its struggling with savvy IMO.

scamalert

My first car was golf 1.4l,never again ,bought it with under 100k miles on it,after a month i was pouring 1l of oil every week to keep it running,door lock broke ,back suspension went bust and many more small things that eventually eat up through a pocket.Never seen such a rubbish built car before it,it has good looks for the car and is comfy enough,but otherwise 1.4 base model is pure joke.

RandomAccess

Just want to point out that not all 1.4 Golfs burn oil.

But they are quite slow.

Nissan doctor

RandomAccess wrote: »

Just want to point out that not all 1.4 Golfs burn oil.

No, but when buying second hand, it would be virtually impossible to tell what ones are and what ones aren't.

RandomAccess

Nissan doctor wrote: »

No, but when buying second hand, it would be virtually impossible to tell what ones are and what ones aren't.

True, but I just wanted to add some balance because frequently on here everyone repeats the same factoids verbatim and it gets a bit tiresome.

On the subject of identifying engines which are burning oil, would it be possible to tell by the inside of the exhaust pipe?
As I happen to know the one I am talking about it is clean as a whistle. Though perhaps that would only identify chronic oil burners, maybe by that stage the blue clouds would be easily spotted.

mjgjm

Sobanek wrote: »

Male, 18, Full Licence, 20% family&friends discount included.

What insurance company is this with? As i have all of the above and am still just under 3K, on a 1.4l Golf

bazz26

6 year old thread, like.