Which GTi to buy?

[Agreeable Slick]

well i hope he has the money for a dry dock for the mk3 then.

MK2 16v end of conversation.

[carl]

ive had 2 8vs they are a good car and most importantly they are a vw but i was dissapointed with the performance so i got myself a 16v which is much better if you like a blast sometimes , my dad has my last 8v and he loves it, but if you can drive both and see for yourself ,but you must use all the revs on the 16v or you wont feel much differance.

[Dubnut 8v]

go for the 16v over the 8v if it,s a mk3 golf why are,nt you considering a mk2 fella is it just you prefer the mk3?

[DubFan]

i don't think he's got the budget for the constant repairs 

My Mk3 16v needed lots of work.
I bought it for top dollar, thinking that it was a good specimen. The dealer was full of sh1t.
Then within weeks it needed a new Catalytic converter, and the standard one didn't fit for some reason, so that was a few hundred on a custom made job. Then the stereo stopped working, another £150 on a new one, and even then the wiring needed sorting out cos somebody had bodged it.
One electric window constantly wound itself down, so after attempts to get it fixed, I just had it disconnected.
Then needed a new alarm remote, that was £80.
Then it broke down as I was leaving work, wouldn't restart. Got towed home. Took it to the garage the next day, they replaced the distributor, another load of cash.
Lots of other niggly bits. Kept on stalling at traffic lights, even with a warm engine, garage couldn't work out why.
Then I got hit in the side by some tw@t who didn't stop to exchange details.
Then realised the clutch and gearbox were going. So sold it.
It cost me over a grand in 9months.

That said, it was a fun car to drive, nice and comfortable, great on the motorway (got upto about 45mpg at times). But I replaced it with a Mk2 16v, which was even more fun. Wish I'd spend the money on a decent Mk2 in the first place.

I'd say, if you can find a good condition 16v and you want the power, go for it, but be wary that the 16v engine seems to have more potential to go wrong.

[Neaty]

Sounds like my scirocco mate, nothing but heartbreak and pain! 

[mowgli]

I've had 4 (technically 5) 8v Mk3's and they are good all rounders.  Not as fast as the 16v but for 99% of the time they are fine.  Very easy and cheap to maintain which is what I was looking for.  Got 43 mpg the other day driving in traffic at 50, 40 mpg this morning on a 55 mile motorway commute.  Horses for courses, want to waste other drivers away from the lights get the 16v, otherwise the 8v is more than adequate.

[VeeDubGTI16v]

why dont you just test drive a few of each? then decide yourself

[illyun]

Test driving both seems like a good idea but unless the seller lets you thrash the 16v you can't really compare the two... I have had 3 Mk3 8v's and they are great cars but slow and heavy.  I would get a Mk3 16v if it were me - thats if I was limited to a Mk3... if not then there is no comparison to the Mk2 16v - my favourite car of all time    thats a quite a compliment coming from someone who drives a Mk5 GTI

[TwistedAspect]

I still reckon that for the money you are looking at you would be better off getting a nicely done MK2.....but then again, I am a bit biased 

[Thom89]

Personally, I'd give the Mk3 a miss... sorry but this is the Golf that started to lose its way, the Mk2 still had that German simplicity, high standard of build quality that can be found Porsche's to this day, I think that you have to own a Mk1/2 to know what I'm on about! for me the Mk3 doesn't seem to have that, Ive also seen examples that have gone rotten in a way that the Mk2s never did, unless they were totally abused, or badly repaired from accident damage... so I'm afraid it would have to be a 16v Mk2, if is was going out to look for one!... much cooler car, just my opinion,
Tom