GolfGTIforum.co.uk
General => General discussion => Topic started by: dan7712 on 23 January 2011, 17:03
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Hello,
Well, after owning a string of Pugs (Currently have the 306DT) I am looking for something a little bit more, well lets say well made and not French!
Being 20, I still have to look out for insurance as this is usually more than the price of the car! I have been hunting around and like the look of the MR3 GTis 16v. What sort of price range am I looking at here as they always seem to vary from around £500 - £2000. I understand that some are well looked after and others are just falling apart but what is a good price for one? Also, what seem to go wrong with these cars, I mean, what are the usual problems? How do you tell if the car has been booted all of its life, as in does it smoke blue on ideal like some cars do?
Really, I just want some general advice on it all.
Cheers
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£500 will get you a 16v that needs some TCL, possibly tax and/or MOT and a good service. £1000 will get you something decent, with a few months tax and MOT, some mods maybe, some rust maybe. Give or take £200 for this.
£1200+ will get you a good 16v, with relatively low miles (100,000 or less is low), no rust/little rust, MOT and tax and some mods maybe. Anything above £2000 is too much to be honest, unless it's a real minter with low miles and an anniversary edition.
£1200+ is VR6 territory, for a decent well taken care of VR6.
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£1200 is around the price I am willing to pay for a decent one. I am looking around the 100k miles range, lower the better! Not meaning to sound stupid, but what should I be looking in one to buy? As in trim level sort of thing? Also what is the tax on one of these things? I would love a VR6... But my insurance doesn't seem to like the idea of me owning one though :(
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you CAN get a lower mileage one for less than £1200, but it wont be a quick and easy find, £750 for a 87k 3 door valver is my best find so far
as for faults / buying guide etc look in the Mk3 section down the forum a bit V V V V V V V
search function will highlight all you need to know :wink:
and hello and welcome
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Check out the classifieds, some nice mk3's there I found one for my mate but he's after a scooby now. Have a look at his dubrides thread I think it's still for sale http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=169152.0 theres more aswell some nice mk2's aswell that I've been tempted to sell my mk3 for one or two of them
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check out MK4's either the 1.8t or 1.8 20v N/A.
insurance isnt too high i have found.
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Mk3 is the way to go for a first golf. They are cheap to buy and run, and parts are in abundence and really cheap if u wanna do basic mods etc. Lots will say mk3's are crap, but I love mine. It's great for a beginner to have a play around without worry though as they are very simple and easy to work on if u want to gain experience with servicing and modding your own car
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all i'd say is, leave ebay alone, i occasionally see a few nice lookers at the used car dealer but autotrader has yet to be beaten! lol
my dad's latest car, my mum's last 3 cars and my golf have all been autotrader fare, and all decent, just learn to scan for desirable bits of descriptions, like mileage etc. :smiley:
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Look for a model that had only one owner, and chose one with all the extras!
Good hunting!
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Nowt wrong with ebay if you dont mind trawling. Thats where the bargains are. For me - buy from ebay, sell on autotrader.
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i will add dont buy from auto trader as most on there are dreamers. as for trim level not really much differnce between 16v's if looking at ceaper ones check jacking points un the sills for damage as if damaged they will start to rot. also check abs light comes on during start up and goes off after a few secs.
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all i'd say is, leave ebay alone, i occasionally see a few nice lookers at the used car dealer but autotrader has yet to be beaten! lol
my dad's latest car, my mum's last 3 cars and my golf have all been autotrader fare, and all decent, just learn to scan for desirable bits of descriptions, like mileage etc. :smiley:
I'm a bit more for eBay. Every car I've ever bought has been from eBay and they've all been great cars. Remember if you win the auction and get there and its not as described then you are well within your rights to walk away. There are certainly some bargains to be had
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I lol'd at some comments on here :grin: then i rofl'd too :laugh:
I have bought MANY a car ( be it for mesen or recommended for others ) many a car from Ebay and autotrader without issue or comeback.
Other smaller car forums car throw up bargains, I got a Water cooled dub on a mainly air cooled forum , and made a fortune on it.
The free ads and the likes of gumtree can be the place for real bargains too.
My advice.
Look EVERYWHERE
Be willing to travel ( 350 miles by bus, train, tram and then my mates car and a test drive and a half home )
Use my guide in the car for sale section regarding checking mot histories online before paying out for ANY checks - its free
And good luck
:smiley:
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I found a 3dr mk3 8v gti with 25,000 miles, black heated leather, ac, fogs, etc. found it on ebay. I lost the bid but said I would pay £300 extra if he sold it to me. So did pay top dollar for it but it was worth every penny. It's even had 8 volkswagen services :smiley:
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more miles but excellent spec and the work needed is nothing, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170591488946&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT also very desirable colour, ps nothing to do with me, was toying with it for a sales car but just bought a job lot so space limited