Own a Bora or Golf ?

Silvera

Do you (or have you ever) own a Bora of Golf (99-04 models) ?

When I sell my current car - see sig below - I considering buying a Bora or Golf.

Can you answer the following for me -

- Has either model got any recurrent faults that I should look out for ?
- How is the 1.4 'power-wise' (i.e. both have a big body for a small engine) ?
- What kind of price would I expect to pay for a 99-00 Bora or Golf ?
- Any other relevant tips/info re either model ?


Cheers,
Silvera.

ando

going to a 1.4 golf from a 1.4 civic, you'll notice how slower it is. The 1.4 golf is dog slow (so I've heard, never been in one)

lomb

recurrent faults -yes. all golfs suffer from 1. faulty rear screenwash system, this results in water leaking inside the boot lid, and corroduing the boot light switch which means the boot light works on very few golfs over 3 years. tis a cheap fix though, 50-70 euros for a new light switch and wiper motor central brass piece that snaps after sticking in the shaft. way to tell is when u activate the rear washer the water should keep spraying in the centre and not move side to side with the wiper. if it moves side to side the brass tube is broken. anyway mosts golfs thus have a 'damp' smell

electric windows fall down as the yokes holding them up are plastic this can happen without warning at any time.

coil pack failure on the gti- very common results in the check engine light coming on and rough running, will damage the cat quickly.

dirty throttle body on the 1.4, due to a poor design on the blow by tube venting oily dirty crankcase gases before the throttle so gunking it up, results in very rough running, jerking, oil on the outside of the throttle area if u look under the bonnet. an easy fix though, needs cleaning every 20000 miles.

front brake failure due to cracked plastic air hose that goes from the throttle bosy to the brake booster, subject to a major recall.

brake failure due to corrosion of some part in the calipers, due to use of 2 different metals, not subject of a recall yet.

early gearbox failure is a known problem, persumably becomes hard to change gear?

1.4 is plenty powerful for normal driving, very fuel efficient. overall not a bad car, maybe a corrola is a better buy, far better built, nicer to drive, and more powerful if thirsty.

bazz26

Silvera wrote:

Do you (or have you ever) own a Bora of Golf (99-04 models) ?

When I sell my current car - see sig below - I considering buying a Bora or Golf.

Can you answer the following for me -

- Has either model got any recurrent faults that I should look out for ?
- How is the 1.4 'power-wise' (i.e. both have a big body for a small engine) ?
- What kind of price would I expect to pay for a 99-00 Bora or Golf ?
- Any other relevant tips/info re either model ?

Cheers,
Silvera.

My father bought a 03 Civic 1.4 90bhp hatchback a couple of months ago just for getting about in and has nothing but praise for it. You'll probably pay the same money for both the Civic and Golf so I wouldn't write off the newer Civic by a long shot.

The 1.4 75bhp engine in the Golf and Bora are more suited to urban driving due to the heavy body. If you want to overtake then you would need plenty of time and space. You would definately notice the difference from your Civic.

Best thing to do is test drive each and see which one you can live with.

unkel

ando wrote:

going to a 1.4 golf from a 1.4 civic, you'll notice how slower it is. The 1.4 golf is dog slow (so I've heard, never been in one)

Bulliohhh! Why do people think bottom of the range Civics are fast?

Standard '97 1.4 Civic is exactly as retarded of the mark to 100km/h as a standard 1.4 Golf MK4. Both are slower than a 1.0 liter Toyota Yaris :rolleyes:

The Golf's top speed is about 6km/h faster than the Civic

Eoin

I drove a Golf 1.4 previously (1.4 litre) and found it a pleasant car to drive, however as has been said before it was very sluggish - I would imagine that 1.6 litre version would be a better buy.

The VWs tend to be quite poorly spec'd, I think it was 2000 before electric windows were standard in the baseline Golf, so check that any cars you are looking at has the electrics.

If you search this forum you will see a good few posts about the rear lights on the Golfs blowing on quite a regular occasion - I think I had to change a bulb less than every 2 months.

The other problem I had was that the throttle cable (I think) got dirty quite easily, resulting in very sluggish performance when driving from a standstill. I think this is due to a build up of dirt on the cable meaning it couldn't move smoothly. I had to have this treated twice in the one year I owned the Golf.
<edit>
Sorry - just noticed now that Lomb gave a far better explanation earlier. Read his one instead
</edit>

Basically, I did like the car, but they are over priced for what you are getting and are not bullet proof as some people tend to think VWs are.

Lenny

nice post about the golf there lomb

lomb

cheers lenny and eoin_s, i ahve been servicing my golf and my mums for several years and have come up against all the above faults. the most worring one is the brake failures. the one caused by cracking of that vaccum tube happened to me, the brake assistance literally fails, i replaced it with a rubber hose as the genuine part was 100 euro. got a recall notice from vw 3 weeks later out of the blue. never got the genuine part fitted as i reakon the rubber hose is better than brittle plastic.
the otehr one cased by corrosion due to dissimilar metals is very worrying and results in brake fluid loss. moral is to check the brake fluid reservoir at every fuel tank fill. apparantly the level warning indicator goes off too late and u would have lost enough fluid at that point to suffer brake failure apparantly.

the throttle body problem is a joke, the only way to permanently fix it is to insert some type of filter on that tube before it enters the airbox lid. the tube is on the left of the airbox on the top, big rubber tube. otehrwise expect to spend 10 euro a year and 2 hours to spray the throttle with carb cleaner(buy from halfords)-spray into the running engine with the airbox off and rev the crap out of it while spray it in.

ds20prefecture

Silvera wrote:

When I sell my current car - see sig below - I considering buying a Bora or Golf.

Would you consider the Škoda or Seat equivalents? The Mk IV Golf has a lovely interior, but other than that has little/nothing to recommend it over it's much cheaper cousins, both of which have livelier handling and a bit more equipment for the price.

Also, how about an Audi A2?

MercMad

I saw a 2005 Bora yesterday and wondered what the guy was thinking buying that ??

Then I remebered I had a Bora in 2001 for about 3 weeks whilst my new car was delayed. It was a 1.4 Trendline or Highline or whatever the one up from the basic one is !

I loved it !!

I did 3,000 miles in it and was very impressed with the build quality and the ambience. It was great for cruising the Motorways but the acceleration WAS slow, it wasn't annoyingly slow to the point where I couldn't live with it !

There are very few cars of that year 99-04 that can match it for quality feel. Civics of any years dont come close, they all feel plasticky and noisey and I dont care how fast they are !

Just dont buy a basic Golf/Bora, get the next one up and take it for a drive !

mad m

I've had Golf's from 95-98-01 and now i have the new version.The clutch on the 95 was a pig to push down,you'd need arnie legs for it.But the only problem ive had with a golf was when the electric wing mirror adjuster snapped off.

Brought it to a VW dealer and in an hour it was fixed.Having said that ive never bought a VW in Dublin,always go down to Portarlington.There is always some mad waiting list in Dublin for Golfs.In VW dealer in Portarlington he has always had one or if not the one i wanted the most ive waited was a month.

I even went down on the train to get it and i was picked up in a Merc by one of the sales reps,mind you i was carrying over €20 grand...

Homer J Simpson

I have a 99reg 1.6 Golf Comfortline. Very very heavy on petrol....as stated above have had probs with the throttle body and had to get it cleaned for 20euro. Strangely enough I've never had to replace any bulbs in her so far..... I have her 10 months now.
My dad has a 01 reg 1.4 Golf baseline and it is very underpowered. It doesnt bother him however as he only does town driving. The baseline has no electric windows and seats are quite uncomfortable. He had to pay an extra 300 in order to have remote central locking ( this included an alarm).
The golf defo is a stylish car however its handling leaves a lot to be desired.

I reckon if your insurance permits and you have the cash go for the Tdi model.

Eoin

Homer J Simpson wrote:

I have a 99reg 1.6 Golf Comfortline.

and here was me thinking you drove this car (see attached)

Downtime

Silvera wrote:

Do you (or have you ever) own a Bora of Golf (99-04 models) ?
When I sell my current car - see sig below - I considering buying a Bora or Golf.
Can you answer the following for me -
- Has either model got any recurrent faults that I should look out for ?
- How is the 1.4 'power-wise' (i.e. both have a big body for a small engine) ?
- What kind of price would I expect to pay for a 99-00 Bora or Golf ?
- Any other relevant tips/info re either model ?

I have a 1.6L Comfortline and I love although i have had the problem with the rear windscreen washer and the gearbox which was replaced FOC by the garage. Other than that I find it nippy and I get a good 42-46 MPG out of it on the M50 and about 35MPG around the city, roughly 430 miles per tank at €44 a tank. Happy enough with that.
Price: around the 9-10k mark.

Thumper Long

i drive a mk4 gti, 99 reg, and i absolutely love it, i was going to trade up but have decided to hold on to this for the foreseeable future, although the 1.8 may be a little heavier on petrol, the turbo and the recaro interior with leather steering wheel etc make a big difference, the only problem i have had was a break bulb going twice in a month but it hasn't gone since, the 1.4 is realatively slow, but the gti is not breakneck fast but for irish roads it more than suffices and the spec difference is worth the extra

Silvera

Brilliant !!
Thanks for all the feedback guys !

I always liked German cars and a Golf or Bora seems the most likely option for me.

Would the Bora be regarded as slightly more upmarket than the Golf ?
(I recall reading in a UK mag that it was regarded as slightly 'classier')

Another option would be a c.1998 Audi A4, though it would be the older model.

My brother has a '03 Octavia and while it's a nice enough car, I don't fancy goin for a Skoda (or a Seat).........I'm a stickler for tradition

I would also consider a 316i or a C180, but it would mean going for an older car with higher mileage (I plan to spend about €7 - 7.5k)...........and it difficult to get a well maintained car over c.8 yeas old in Irl

I've had my current car since new (and have looked after it), and it only has 42k miles, so I would like to get a newer car with about the same mileage.

bazz26

A mate of mine at work recently bought a 1998 A4 TDi 110bhp for €7.5k. Lovely car and he is getting over 600 miles from a tank of diesel.

If you must buy a Golf or Bora don't buy the entry level models. As with most German cars the more they cost the more car you get. Even an entry level mid 1990s 316i or C180 may not have things such as electric windows.

Silvera

Is €7 to €7.5k a realistic budget for a 99/00 Bora or Golf ?

(I saw a 99 Bora with 47k miles for sale for €7kono last weekend. Didn't view the car, so it could have been crashed or rough. No point in looking at cars until I sell my own first).

Perhaps I should also consider a Focus or Astra ?


Thanks for the feedback. Most appreciated !

Silvera

BTW, what do you guys reckon on the price I'm asking for my Civic (see my sig) ? It's a genuine mint car with no mods.

BrianD3

Don't do it Silvera!

I really think that going from your current car to a 99 or 00 1.4 Golf/Bora wouldn't be a good move. First of all, surveys and anecdotal evdience show that the Golf is less reliable than the Civic. Secondly, which car do you trust more - a low mileage 97 Civic that you've owned from new and cared for yourself or a slightly newer Golf that has been owned by someone else and possibly abused, badly driven, badly maintained etc.

Also, the Golf lags behind as a drivers car. Handling will feel more stodgy and rubbery than the nimble Honda. And contrary to what unkel said, the performance of the Mk4 1.4 Golf is down compared to a 97 1.4i Civic (i have the figures in front of me now - Golf 0-60 is 13.5, Civic 10.8)

OK the Golf feels rock solid inside with high quality plastics etc., it feels like a higher class of car than its competitors. The other side of this is that equipment levels on VW have usually lagged behind the competiton. I've also found that VW seats give me backache after about 20 mins due to the hardness. Other may prefer this hard feel.

But I actually know a few people that changed to Golfs/Boras from other vehicles - a Focus, Pug 306, Citroen Xantia. All of them regretted the change and preferred their old cars. I think they were swayed by the "classy" styling of the VWs inside and out.

I really think you should consider the Focus, Astra, a newer Civic, Megane 1.4 16v, Honda Accord etc. ahead of the Golf. Or else hold on to your current car Do you need a bigger car than the 3 door Civic or do you just fancy a change?

Silvera

Thanks for the 'heads up' BrianD3.

I suppose I do also 'fancy a change' .......plus I'd like a bigger car

When I was in New Zealand last year I drove a lot of Astra's (worked for a car rental co) and I have to say I did like the 'feel' of them on the road - they even drove better than the V6 Holden Carlton (Opel Omega) !!
(Any time we were heading out to deliver cars to the airport, I choose an Astra over the rest!)

I also have been in many VW's over the years and yes, they do always have hard seats.
Wouldn't buy a Megane though. I worked on Renaults for many years and they're not the best built cars about - though they are comfy to drive


So perhaps I should seriously consider a Focus or Astra ??!

damo605

Don't know if this will help but I took a spin off my Fiancee's sister's new (new to her) '00 Bora 1.6 Comfortline and it was an absolutely beautiful drive - Felt powerful, comfortable and solid (Comparing this to me own Safrane, Fiancee's FTO and me Da's 04 Avensis) and all this on a rough road.... Felt really really good and I say this under duress as I HATE German cars with a passion and wouldn't buy one (again) in a fit!
Definitely worth a test drive....

Silvera

Cheers damo605.
Hmmm, decisions, decisions

Best plan of action is to test drive all options - Bora, Golf and Focus (I've ruled out the Astra as I don't like the look of them).

I reckon if I go for a Bora, the 1.6L version would be best. But the 1.4L might be ok in a Golf.

Silvera.

Alfasudcrazy

Its the Bora for me every time - great car

http://www.maserati-indy.co.uk/alfieri104.htm

Silvera

As Homer would say - "Hmmm...Bora.."

Silvera

Hey !....I've just noticed - 1000 posts for me !! :eek: