Hey everyone, need some help on this Mk3 8v GTi I may buy

[teamspb]

Thanks for the heads up!

Went to see the car yesterday, got it started and managed to move it a little...brakes work which is great just need to clear the rust of the discs.

The sunroof worked however, when it went into the tilt position, as it was coming back down, the passenger side stayed up in the air a little (around 5mm if that)...is this a common problem? Easy fix?

I also noticed with the gearbox/clutch problem, when the car was cold, it was worse, when it warmed up, the car would go into first and reverse alot easier...there is a quote in the car saying its the clutch cable which it possibly may be as the first 1/2 way of clutch pedal travel does nothing and then it seems to pull the clutch in towards the bottom of the travel...then when finding biting point, it literally is right at the bottom.

First things first! Time to get a battery for it!

[VW BUSH]

Could be a bent fork in the box or the cable, or both
I had the same situation on the sunroof once, it was a top out job and some new plastic bits from vw iirc

how rusty is it? did you look underneath?

[VW BUSH]

http://www.vagcat.com/

Join here for VW part numbers and exploded diagrams, will help a lot

[teamspb]

Could be a bent fork in the box or the cable, or both
I had the same situation on the sunroof once, it was a top out job and some new plastic bits from vw iirc

how rusty is it? did you look underneath?

Underside - chassis rails, floor pans etc all looked fine thankfully otherwise I would have walked away...

The only rust appears to be bottom of the passenger arch and the passenger side sill under the kit. Ill get the kit off and have a proper look around the car and see whats what.

I have finally agreed the price and will actually pick it up for less than I thought...RESULT!!

As long as the test drive goes ok, ill have it on the weekend!

[VW BUSH]

Rusty sills are from bent jacking points 99% of the time.
Not only does the plastic trim trap all the water and sh!t off the road, it acts like vaseline on the jack
Once it gets bent and the paint broken it rotts out pretty quickly.
The wings always rott down the bottom, not a problem they just unbolt.
Check where the floor blends into the inner arch/leg area, this tends to go with the wings.
Also VW used a shed load of underseal, which tends to hold the bungs in and make things look intact.
Whip ot the seats and carpet (30mins) and have a proper look under the sound deadening.
Good luck

Where about in London are you btw?

[teamspb]

Update on this!

Got the car home this morning! Car drive home no problem…took it round the block a few times to help clear the rust off the discs, filled up some water in the expansion tank, then off I went home! The car felt a bit shaky and nervous when getting to around 40mph but put this down to the tyre pressures being low!

Stopped up at a petrol station and put £20 of Shell's Premium…not finest…its premium unleaded LOL! Filled up the tires with air and off I went down the A60 at a leisurely 50-60mph and found the car not to be nervous any more and drove steady and as I would expect it to!

Problems were still there with the difficulty of getting the car into first gear and reverse so as soon as I got home it went into the workshop and had a proper look around it!

Now, what I thought was a rusty sill, actually wasn't, it was the metal section on the trim panel that you all mentioned earlier!! RESULT!!!! Unclipped the trim and the car looked fine (albeit missing the trim)! So some new side trims and we are good to rock!

Also thought I may as well change the clutch cable considering I can get it cheap enough…put that on and BINGO!!! First gear and reverse problems solved!! No issue with the vehicle now as far as I'm aware, had a look underneath it to and all seems solid…I did notice rust on the tailgate just above the VW badge which has come through on the inside of the tailgate so ill look for a replacement tailgate to put on. Check the tires properly to and can report they are as new and haven't perished either which is great!

Only problems I have with it now are the sunroof issue not closing on the passenger side (tilt position) and faded paint LOL!

Overall I'm pleased with the car especially with what I paid for it and look forward to getting it back to its former glory!

[g3uvn]

Sounds like you got a good bargian mate, I replied to you on ED38 - hope you can get the sunroof fixed!!

[teamspb]

Sounds like you got a good bargian mate, I replied to you on ED38 - hope you can get the sunroof fixed!!

Thanks for the reply!

At the moment it doesnt seem to bad to be honest! Ill get it in for a MOT in the next few days and see if anything pops up!

Hopefully it sails through...only concern at the moment are the brakes as they are pretty poor due them being slightly pitted and rusty...they got better and better on the drive home so I dont think theres an issue there...just need to drive it more! Perfect excuse lol!

Sunroof wise, where is the best place to get a new cartridge if its needed? Not sure if its easier putting a new cartridge in (do these come with all the relevant seals?), or if I should just source a second one and hope its OK

Ill get some pics up over the next few days!

[boneybradley]

Sounds like a good buy you got 

If your front brakes need replacing I can do some very good deals on discs and pads (280mm or 288mm for £56 delivered)

[teamspb]

Sounds like a good buy you got 

If your front brakes need replacing I can do some very good deals on discs and pads (280mm or 288mm for £56 delivered)

Net5 at ECP comes in handy for this lol