Thinking of purchasing a Golf

Carrick_10

Well as the title says I'm thinking of buying a 99 1.4 petrol golf as my first car! Now over time I've heard many stories that there meant to give trouble? Anyway I'm thinking of going buying it from him as he feels he needs a change after having it for 3 years and needs somthing with abit more power in it. I reckon it would be a grand starter car as its not to powerful and not bad on the insurance either. I've often been in it getting lifts home at the weekends from college and its seems like a grand car never give him abit of trouble since the day he got it passed the NCT there 3 weeks ago so all seems good. So basicaly I'd like to get opinions from other people would it be worth buying it? Or is it a type of car I should clear from?

RidleyRider

It'll be biblically slow. Have you contacted an insurance company? With the amount of young lads driving them, don't expect insurance to be cheap.

Carrick_10

RidleyRider wrote: »

It'll be biblically slow. Have you contacted an insurance company? With the amount of young lads driving them, don't expect insurance to be cheap.

I know but also taking into consideration I'm only starting out and don't want something to powerful just yet want to work my way up :P But yeah I've contacted a few of them during the week some where giving me ridiculous quotes up around the 3500 mark but then I came across one that gave me a quote online for 1985 so decided to ring them up see would they go any cheaper said they would give me a quote on my own name for 1540 seems pretty good in my opinion.

JohnBoy26

Those 1.4s are very soft and burn a lot of oil. Id avoid buying one tbh.

lomb

I bought one new and looked after it. The engines are fine. They do use a little oil but there is an oil level warning well before any oil pressure loss so you can top up when you get home etc if you see that. Probably uses around 2 liters every 10k miles. About 20 quids worth so not alot.
You wont notice it being underpowered except for overtaking which isnt really possible on fast stetches. Door card seals degrade allowing water into the car but thats a 2 hour fix with a pack of roofing silicone if you know what to do. Otherwise very reliable.
Good safe solid heavy car they were much improved after late 2002 so steer that way.

tuxy

I've known many people that have owned that model golf. Once they hit about 100k on the clock they have all burnt lots of oil. I'm guessing weak piston rings. Maybe if the car has been babied all it's life it might be ok but how are you to know with a second hard car.

Just for example the non vvti 1.3 corolla from around the same year does not have that problem, would be in the same insurance bracket and has the same fuel consumption while having more power.

lomb

tuxy wrote: »

I've known many people that have owned that model golf. Once they hit about 100k on the clock they have all burnt lots of oil. I'm guessing weak piston rings. Maybe if the car has been babied all it's life it might be ok but how are you to know with a second hard car.

Just for example the non vvti 1.3 corolla from around the same year does not have that problem, would be in the same insurance bracket and has the same fuel consumption while having more power.

You are correct, they do burn oil. Mine was babied with synthetic and burns around 1 liter every 5 thousand, thats 1 top up every 2.5 k miles. But at a tenner a liter its not too much cost wise. As I said there is an oil level sensor so you can safely drive 500 miles without topping up as the level will still be on the dipstick..

The main problem with pre 2002 cars is the oil thats burnt ends up as blowby in the crankcase and the crank breather mechanism meant that crank fumes were sucked backed through the intake throttle manifold. This meant that the oily fumes were oiling up the throttle sensors which basically screwed up the car. The post 2002 cars have a different mechanism, I think the fumes go in after the throttle manifold so they dont affect the sensitive electronics. Steer well clear of the older cars. If unsure of the model year with this feature check the air filter and box, it should have no oily residue in it at all. My 03 is the newer version.

Colash

That vw 1.4 engine is soft enough . But if looked after they will be grand .

tuxy

lomb wrote: »

My 03 is the newer version.

Then how is your info reinvent when the op is looking at a 99 reg?
The people I know with the older model had the oil light coming on every fortnight and sometimes every week. They would often have to buy a small bottle of oil when stopped to fill up with petrol so they could keep it in the boot for when it's needed.

Colash wrote: »

That vw 1.4 engine is soft enough . But if looked after they will be grand .

Your're never going to know for sure with a second hand car. Most Irish people do not look after their cars. That's why we loved old Toyota as they took abuse.

I guess the best you could do is get a compression test as this would give you some idea but why even go for a car that's so likely to have a fault like this. Also it's underpowered for a 1.4 even when it's fully working.

lomb

tuxy wrote: »

Then how is your info reinvent when the op is looking at a 99 reg?
The people I know with the older model had the oil light coming on every fortnight and sometimes every week. They would often have to buy a small bottle of oil when stopped to fill up with petrol so they could keep it in the boot for when it's needed.



Your're never going to know for sure with a second hand car. Most Irish people do not look after their cars. That's why we loved old Toyota as they took abuse.

I guess the best you could do is get a compression test as this would give you some idea but why even go for a car that's so likely to have a fault like this. Also it's underpowered for a 1.4 even when it's fully working.

Correct I wouldnt touch a 99 with a barge pole. Id go for a 2003 one. They are actually a top motor. Like a mini merc. Hard comfy seats so no bachache, good trim, quiet and refined. Much better built than their rivals, I wouldnt touch a corolla if I had the option.

tuxy

lomb wrote: »

Correct I wouldnt touch a 99 with a barge pole. Id go for a 2003 one. They are actually a top motor. Like a mini merc. Hard comfy seats so no bachache, good trim, quiet and refined. Much better built than their rivals, I wouldnt touch a corolla if I had the option.

What car would you recommend in the same price bracket as a 99 Golf? It's his first car so it's probably best to keep it cheap.
My vote still goes to the corolla, very cheap to run and insure and a very good engine. I've heard many on here recommend the fiesta from that year but have not owned one myself.

lomb

Id go Yaris or Polo 1l. Both have very good fuel economy, very low tax on 1l, zero depreciation, good looks and both are fine to drive, easy to park, good in cities , cheap tyres etc. I prefer the Polo(with power steering) as I think its a safer handler and better built than the Yaris and probably safer if crashed. That wedge shape is also a classic good looker. We had a 1998 corolla which was also very good but the running costs would be far more than the superminis. The engine and gearbox was very good on the corolla even though it had been driven on low oil pressure yes pressure by my brother for a while.

tuxy

The yaris can be more expensive to buy second hand than a corolla they hold their value but are a great car.
I don't know much about the polo.

I just looked up the 1.4 mk4 and mk5 golf, they both have the same engine the mk5 is even slower than the mk4 which was horribly underpowered. ( the mk5 is heavier) I know someone new to driving does not need a powerful car but it takes close to 15 seconds to reach 60mph!

Of course the smaller cars are cheaper to run but perhaps the op needs a car in the same class as the golf/corolla

Henry Ford III

Engine issues are well documented, and the gearboxes aren't too long lived either in many cases.

tuxy

What about a 99 focus 1.4? I have no experience with the car but I have heard good things about the focus.

Colash

How much are u willing to spend ? I know where' there's a fresh 99 yaris going. Lady driver and comes with an nct . It just came on the market

tuxy

Colash wrote: »

How much are u willing to spend ? I know where' there's a fresh 99 yaris going. Lady driver and comes with an nct . It just came on the market

How does the gender of the owner factor in to it?

VeVeX

tuxy wrote: »

How does the gender of the owner factor in to it?

Only valid reason I can think of is so the new owner knows that the interior and steering wheel will need to be scrubbed because most likely it'll be covered in makeup and false tan??

Focus_sligo

tuxy wrote: »

What about a 99 focus 1.4? I have no experience with the car but I have heard good things about the focus.

Ford focus is a fantastic car, I have 3 of them currently. That said, the 1.4 engine is a poor enough engine in the focus.

Fiesta 1.25 Zetec would be a great car. Reliable cheap and cheerful. Not expensive to fix either.

Jesus.

tuxy wrote: »

I know someone new to driving does not need a powerful car but it takes close to 15 seconds to reach 60mph!

Christ that is dreadful.

Still, most of us started out with a run-around and worked our way up. This will be fine for the lad.

Lurching

I started with a 1L polo. 1.4 Golfs arent all that slow.

Wouldn't a compression test give you an idea of oil burn? Or am I way off?

lomb

Lurching wrote: »

I started with a 1L polo. 1.4 Golfs arent all that slow.

Wouldn't a compression test give you an idea of oil burn? Or am I way off?

They all burn oil. The problem is that the pre 2002 ones the crank vapours go in before the throttle which clogs it up and the sensors. I wouldnt touch a pre 2002 with a bargepole. There is alot of misinformation on this thread. The golf is not slow once wound up you make rapid progress same as any other car. The gearboxs were only a problem on the 1.6 I believe.

tuxy

Lurching wrote: »

I started with a 1L polo. 1.4 Golfs arent all that slow.

Wouldn't a compression test give you an idea of oil burn? Or am I way off?

They are considerably slower than other cars with the same engine cc while still costing the same to insure. I did recommend a compression test but then decided picking a car with an engine that's not known for these awful problems would be even better.
It's a terrible engine and this is well documented.

tuxy

lomb wrote: »

The golf is not slow once wound up you make rapid progress same as any other car.

I've driven late 90s golf and corolla in 1.3/1.4 many a time. The golf takes lots of work to overtake, the corolla is effortless in comparison. And why wouldn't it be when the engine is considerably more powerful.

sean1141

tuxy wrote: »

They are considerably slower than other cars with the same engine cc while still costing the same to insure.

They are well able to go fast enough to go over all the speed limits in this country.

You know as well as everyone insurance quotes can vary from person to person so saying they cost the same to insure is not accurate.

Henry Ford III

lomb wrote: »

They all burn oil. The problem is that the pre 2002 ones the crank vapours go in before the throttle which clogs it up and the sensors. I wouldnt touch a pre 2002 with a bargepole. There is alot of misinformation on this thread. The golf is not slow once wound up you make rapid progress same as any other car. The gearboxs were only a problem on the 1.6 I believe.

1.4 Golfs are heavy and lack power. They are therefore pretty slow to accelerate.

The gearbox issues relate to all engines in the Golf range.

tuxy

sean1141 wrote: »

They are well able to go fast enough to go over all the speed limits in this country.

You know as well as everyone insurance quotes can vary from person to person so saying they cost the same to insure is not accurate.

Not what I was talking about, the golf actually has a higher top speed because of a longer 5th gear. But its lack of power does make it more effort to drive.

Yes the op would need quotes but there will be very little in quotes between the two cars.

vectra

Get a clean 1.3/1.4 civic.
Literally Bomb proof.

tuxy

vectra wrote: »

Get a clean 1.3/1.4 civic.
Literally Bomb proof.

Can be difficult to find one that's been looked after. How does insurance compare to the other cars listed?

vectra

tuxy wrote: »

Can be difficult to find one that's been looked after. How does insurance compare to the other cars listed?

My son started in one of them and insurance was no different to a 1.4 Leon/Golf