My GTI needs money spending...but is it worth it???

[ralphtown]

Lets face it,these Mk3s are getting pretty long in the tooth now.
The youngest is going to be on an R plate and they were never the best handling or looking.

However,saying that,they,re rugged,pretty reliable and have a good turn of speed if you have a 16v or a VR6.

So......

My problem.
I,ve got a Mk3 8v on an M plate.
Less than 100k,varifiable with the history and the fact that the first keeper wrote in a blue note book,how much he spent.
I,m not kidding.He wrote down how much fuel he put in at every fill up and how much it cost and where he bought the fuel!!!

But I,ve got to spend money on brakes.Probably needs new ABS sensors.
The lowered suspension is not to my liking but is servicable,if a little harsh.

But is it REALLY worth it??
Unless someone can give me an address for bargain GTi spares,I,m looking at over £200 just for the brakes alone.
Factor in replacing a few bushes,maybe track rod ends and ball joints and we,re getting over £300.

The car can only be worth that for insurance.
But on the other hand.....

So,I,m in a bit of a quandry.

Should I spend over £300 on sorting the braking and handling of the car or scrap it and put the £300 towards a 16v or even a non VW.
(I saw a W reg Mondeo on our estate last week.MOT and a couple of weeks tax for £300).

I must say,I,m not too sure what to do.
Unless,like I said,I can get a really good price on the spares.

RALPH.

[Gavv8]

If economics are the only reason to own a car then it doesn't matter what you drive really.

[ralphtown]

Well economics have to be a factor with fuel as it is,road tax up again etc.

But to be fair,I do like the car.
OK,its a bit harsh over the bumps coz of the lowered springs etc.
Its a little thirsty but I,ve had worse.

but thats the point tho.
get shot of this and I could get a 16v which might be better on gas.
Or go get a Hyundai...whatever.

this is a car built in the 1990s.
it is old.
but it does have reliability and is fast enough for me.

so,is it worth doing all the work??
i tend to be really anal when it comes to fixing up cars.
i hate working underneath them or having to sit on concrete whilst I fix em.
so,i,ll tend to put things on that perhaps,I could leave for another day.
but it will all need doing and thats when the £££ start to ramp up.

Tick or Tock....its a real decision.

RALPH.

[itavaltalainen]

Under 100k and only brakes need doing?? Certainly worth it, no need to think twice, just get it fixed.

£200 for brakes? Discs are 50 for a set of two, pads not a lot more, full set of reasonable quality should be 100-150£ (not cheapest chinese or polish $h|t)... and to be honest, albeit them being brakes they are straight forward and a monkey could do them. It's 4/5 bolts to take wheels off, two to remove the caliper another one or two to take pad retainer off, small screw that holds disc in place can be tricky if rusted solid (new kits usually come with new screws/bolts). Then disc comes off... push pistons back, replace disc, retainer, apply metal free brake paste (white ceramic stuff not copper slip- fµkk$ your ABS!) to back of pads, replace caliper, some braking, etc -> Should not take longer than 1 hour for both sides

All other bits, you can get decent quality stuff for quite little money, drop links, track rod ends and so on you can change yourself - not too difficult.
But why do you think those need replacing? Does the wheel wobble when jacked up? Track rod ends are easily spotted if they are loose, same for drop links / bushes. I'd check what really is needed there.

Even if you needed new track rod ends / drop links or few bushes you should be able to get everything, even from GSF or Auto Parts, Volkbits in B'ham are reasonable as well. So alltogether you could get decent quality parts for less than 250 assuming brakes come in at 150 and other parts are needed - and a saturday

I'd do it - car sounds to good to go for scrap - I scrapped my LHD drive only cos registering here would have been >500£ and it needed new shocks/coils in the front - and it had done 240.000 miles!! Still ran better than many with 100k on Do I miss my 2.0 2E engine.....

[Deano2711]

The thing with a Mark 3 Mate is you have to feel the love for the car. It does not sound like you are into the car from the way you talk. I love mine to bits and it gets treated as well as my Missus. I have spent 3500 on mine since October when I bought it and will never see that money back in its lifetime but I have enjoyed every minute with her and would do it all again. Its not about money with these cars as there are a few on here who have spent more than me. Sounds to me like you want something more value for money that will hold some value.

[Screech16v]

Spend the money get it fixed ,you could get another car but that may need issues sorting aswell in the end costing you more,better the d you know

[kodkod.84]

Agree with Deano- I have probably spent on maintenance and parts what I paid for the car on the outset last December, but now my car is sweet as, feels like I owned it from new and not been through 6 owners and should last me a few years- it's only meant to be a stop gap car but I think I might end up keeping it
I love the MK3 GTI it's not the fastest, but a good solid driver- it's certainly cheaper to fuel up than my 2006 A4 2.0tfsi was!

[Gavv8]

All of what they said^ and i meant if economics are the only reason not just one of the reasons, you'll find plenty of haters of mk3's on here and plenty of people who love them and providing they are not rusty and you don't have to rely on garages all the time to do routine work on them they are great cars so all you have to ask yourself is..do you love it enough.

[ralphtown]

well,I,ve been looking around the web and got a few prices.

the car has a nasty bump steer problem,I suspect due to the lowering.
steering shakes under gentle braking and abs light is on and off like traffic lights.
Looking thru the little blue notebook,brakes were done back in 2009!!!

advisory for rear wheel bearing on last MOT,so may as well sort it.

you,re all correct of course.I could go and get a right heap of trouble.
and to be fair,I love this car on the M/way.
loads of torque.

so,I,ll fix him up and may God have mercy on my soul.

RALPH.

[Screech16v]

Amen!