sub £1k gti?

[lexie]

i've been looking through some posts about cheap gti's and people seem to be impressed by the amount of car you can get for not a lot of cash, even as low as 500 quid. i always thought it would cost $$$$'s to get a half decent gti.  to cut a long story short i've been looking through the autotrader website and there a few 2.0 8v 3 door mk 3's that caught my eye that are less than a grand, they have 100k+ miles on them but as far as i know they are good for 200k if looked after properly(please correct me if i'm wrong).

basically i want to know if these make reliable cheap motors that can do 20K a year or is that too much to ask of a 10/12 year old car?

[Mr Blue]

Hi Lexie

They are well over 10 years old so you will expect worn bushes and things. I dont believe in service history when it comes to vw's. They just randomly break down but its always good to have some

Ive never had major problems with mk3's myself. Just stay away from mk4's

[lexie]

i'm looking at a mk3 gti as a daily driver, but a mk4 anniversary as a second car for the other half to use during the week as she does very low milage. what's wrong with mk 4's?

[Mr Blue]

they break down all the time. the 1.8 turbos are full of problems. electrical faults - engine sensors etc, windows dropping, wipers not working etc etc. We have two mk4's on the drive and they are a right pain.

My friends who own mk4's are always round mine because ive got software to fault find.

Just being honest mate.

back to the mk3 chat.

[lexie]

i've heard that vag.com gets plenty of use tbh 

the only other car my gf would have is another classic mini or a fez st lol

the suspension issues you mentioned would be sorted with new shocks and springs , add a s/steel exhaust and some bbs or similar alloys and i'd be happy for a while at least.

how does the body work and the seats hold up? are the side bolster parts of the seats solid foam or is there a metal support within it?

[R98 HUF]

Seats can wear around the bolster usually drivers side.

Bought mine a couple of months bak, its only done 66k but ill be adding 18k a year to that!!!!! So im hoping it will be reliable!!  Better option maybe reduce the budget for her car and get yourself a nice one for £1500-£2000!

Good luck

[monkeyalan]

if you need reliability......buy a honda or toyota.
I've been tempted every time i've been looking for a new car as all my vw's have played up.

[Noggin]

bought a MK2 8v november 04 did 38k in it in 18 months and it only let me down once when the rear calipers seized and only needed basic maintanance but for a radiator that got a stone through it couldnt fault it on reliability

[Seth]

your about 2 weeks too late just sold this for £920

[AlanD]

Feel the need to defend the Mk4. Only had 1 problem (coilpacks, common fault) with my Mk4. Been good as gold to me. Obviusly more expensive than the Mk3 so maybe a little too much for yourself, certainly not sub £1k.