gti mk 3 vs bmw 320

[Mr Blue]

well i hate to brag yes. yes it is 

the 16v is the best engine in the mk3 (or the vr6)

Servicing is less expensive than any bmw! You have inspection 1 and inspection 2 on BMW's...dealerships can charge £1000+ just for a service

so way cheaper

[Uruk Hai]

@ Uruk Hai

dude believe it or not its the late models that i have found to have the most rust problems, did somebody say galvernised?
my earyl mk 3 is totally rust free

I'm just going on the buyers guide in Golf+ magazine which states as follows :-

"MK3 Weighty and overrated except in the 16V and VR6 guise. Check all the usual places for rust; suspension struts fail around 80K. Later cars had galvanised bodys; check early examples for rot beneath the number plate !"

I perhaps incorectly made the assumption that the later cars being galvanised and newer would be less rusty than the early MK3's, I appreciate that age is no garuntee of condition and in most cases the way the cars been looked after dictates the overall condition more than age. Having said that personaly I would still rather have a 98 than a 93 ! and I think it still comes down to how much you have to spend and how long you have to find the right car for you, I take your point though 

[golfvirgin]

ok , so ive found one i like , good price etc etc , going to look at it on monday , anyone remind me what things i should be checkin especially ? mk 3 gti ..erm...doors someone said ? 

cheers 

[kells]

I looked at loads and loads, i wanted zero rust, the worst were the late examples, found them to be fairly bad in these areas, top of windscreen, door bottoms badly, tailgate can be a problem under screen due to faulty seals and around the plynth

check sills (dont mean the plastic sill covers that have probles and can easily be replaced) and front lower wings behind the sill covers where u cant see, mk 3's hold dirts here like you wouldnt believe, if u own a mk 3 i sugest u remove the arch liners and check here!!!!

3 door cars have a major issue under the rubber seal on the inner sill when u open the door, seen this on very late models BAD...pull rubber up and check

and just in reply to my man Uruk Hai,  Really wouldnt believe all you read, trust me i did that and it got me nowhere i would rather have my 93 car than a rusty later model, i would have had any that was black and had no rust regardless of age, just so happened it ended up been a 1993 car that found its way into my life
and a great car its turning out to be

but as you say, hunt long enough and you will find what your looking for,

[Uruk Hai]

I happily bow to your superior MK3 knowledge 

[kells]

I happily bow to your superior knowledge 

 

[robiwill]

I think with the late mk3 golfs it depends also on where they were built something to do with the chassis number, I remember reading about it on here. german built mk3 golfs are the ones to own.

but believe me get a 16v mk3 over the 8v it is so underpowered for the size of the car.

or get a Mk2 which I have to agree with your german friends is still a very good car for its age.

[kells]

in response to robin above, their will be a letter in the middle of the chassis number, think its the 8th or 9th digit (but not sure off top of my head) well if its German and the one to have it will have the letter W here, W for wolfsburg...