Just Been Looking At Mk4 Need Advise.

[Dannvag]

It's clean and standard, aum engine 127k on clock engines quiet as a mouse it boosts ok no dodgy noises goes through the gears ok.
 
 
Just a couple of niggles though before i go take a second look with my vagcom at hand.
 
 
It was sat idling for about 20 min while I looked round it, I took it for a quick 5 minute drive and upon parking it up it started bogging, it sounded like the engine fan was trying to kick in however it dimming the lights and dipping the idle bad... give it 5 mins and it was fine again any ideas?
 
next thing, the gear stick was a bit stiff however it goes in every gear fine including reverse! Is this just a simple linkage adjustment or is something underlining? I've had many 6n polo's that are known for bad boxes so this is a must work feature coz ive had enough of vw's horrid boxes lol!
 
It has done 127k very limited service history, i'm told it's had a belt done but is there anyway of really checking when i go to it again tomorrow?
 
It has cloth recaro seats and there are heated switches on the dash for them and headlight washers however he said he's never had either of them working, will vagcom tell me why?
 
Last question with that mileage if i got a belt done would it be safe to remap or would people not trust it on that mileage?
 
Thanks!
 
Dan

[1.8Tgolf_Chris]

Bought my mk4 turbo on 170k and runs sweet as, The heated seats could probably be the element in the seat burnt out, seems common and happened to mine anyways

[dom]

Welcome mate, I'll answer your questions below:

It was sat idling for about 20 min while I looked round it, I took it for a quick 5 minute drive and upon parking it up it started bogging, it sounded like the engine fan was trying to kick in however it dimming the lights and dipping the idle bad... give it 5 mins and it was fine again any ideas? - Could be the coolant temp sensor, this causes a lumpy idle when warm. This is a 5 min job to replace and will cost about £20 from VW, VAGCOM will show it as a fault. It might also need the throttle body cleaning - again a simple job.
 
next thing, the gear stick was a bit stiff however it goes in every gear fine including reverse! Is this just a simple linkage adjustment or is something underlining? I've had many 6n polo's that are known for bad boxes so this is a must work feature coz ive had enough of vw's horrid boxes lol! - The boxes on MK4's are pretty good, as you said it might just need the linkage adjusting - there are lots of guides on YouTube. It might also be that the dogbone mount needs to be replaced.
 
It has done 127k very limited service history, i'm told it's had a belt done but is there anyway of really checking when i go to it again tomorrow?  - Not really, factor in a cambelt and tensioner change along with waterpump when negotiating a price.

It has cloth recaro seats and there are heated switches on the dash for them and headlight washers however he said he's never had either of them working, will vagcom tell me why? - Not sure about this one tbh as I don't have either.
 
Last question with that mileage if i got a belt done would it be safe to remap or would people not trust it on that mileage? - Perfectly safe as long as the engine is healthy, make sure there are no boost leaks, give it a decent service (including the oil pickup pipe) and be prepared to replace parts that may be past their best, e.g. actuator, fuel pump, N75, MAF etc.