gti mk 3 vs bmw 320

[golfvirgin]

hi all
craig here in spain. been a bmw driver most of my life and now in spain looking for my latest car....the beemers are well expensive here , way too many miles too etc etc ...and the golf gti has been catching my eye a lot...good price around 93 , 94 , 95 ...

anyone tell me anything about this car ? haha ye i suppose there is a lot to know...ust that i heard they are more to service than beemers ? that true ?  i also here from a few german friends that they are dead solid and last forever  smiley

never ever driven a golf in my life , how are they ? i am going to look at a mk 3 gti 2.0 16v , i guess it will have a bit of balls ..?
oh , one last thing , do they come with a service book that should be stamped ?

any advice appreciated cheers
craig

[Uruk Hai]

I've had a 320ISE so I'm speaking from experiance and I think the Golf wont be as comfy or as quiet as the beemer but it will thrash it when it comes to speed and the way it handles, be better on fuel and be just as easy and probably cheeper to run and maintain. Get the latest MK3 you can as some early cars seem to suffer quite badly from rust, perhaps a few of the MK3 owners will add a few gems of advice but it all comes down to how much you can afford and how many your willing to look at in order to get the right car for you. Or you could just get a nice MK2 

[golfvirgin]

thanks mate 

thats cool youve had both !  theres one thing thats really confusing me  , every advert seems to have different bhp !!!!???

whats the deal ? is it 112 , 115 , 120 or 150 ?     i can see that the 16v seems to be 150 bhp , i bet that is RAPID !!   but the others seem to be anywhere between 100 to 120..?

anyone tell me the concrete truth ? 

the more i see and read about the golf the more its growing on me.....but i wouldnt want to have something " underpowered " ..

thanks again

[DazVR6]

Golf 3 2.0l 8v =115bhp

Golf 3 2.0l 16v = 150bhp

Go for the 16v, you'll be disappointed otherwise

[Diamond Hell]

The Golf3 GTI 8V was featured on the cover of Car Magazine shortly after it was launched.

The photo was a lemon with a VW badge stuck on it.

That's about all you need to know.

[golfvirgin]

 

cool thanks all , got a better idea now !
so if it only says " golf gti 115 bhp " then its 8v and its bollocks basically...

like it says here  ?
http://www.coches.net/ocasion/ficha.cfm?id=20781079&orden=foto&marca_modelo=VOLKSWAGEN%20GOLF%202.0%20GTI%20115cv%205p.

[Uruk Hai]

I think even a 8v MK3 would be as fast as your a 320 beemer, My MK2 8v would have thrashed my beemer and does about 10mpg more 

[Peterdevo]

I have a Golf GTI8V and it is incredible fun to drive. You can get parts for them really cheaply if you know where to go. I have driven 318i 320 and the 535ti and while they might be quiet and reasonably quick, I couldn't wait to get back to the driving experience of the VW.
I am sure that if you get the 16V version it will be great to drive. The big thing in VWs favour is the fuel economy, not such an issue in Spain but I got 44mpg on the Golf on a 20 mile run down the motorway at 70 mph.
With the BMW I think you would struggle to get much more than 35 mpg.
They also hold their value pretty well, and are known to have bombproof engines. Mine passed the MOT with no faults mentioned and it is 11 years old. Not bad for such an old one

[kells]

@ 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

[golfvirgin]

did i mention i love the mark 2 as well....? 

anyone know the stats ? bhp etc ? the germans ( or the ones my mrs knows , and she lived there 5 years ) say its the best built model...ever