Golf GTI

[robert_raw]

Hi,

Due to a massive increase in my mortgage payments I am having to sell my Integra Type R

I don't want to buy a boring replacement car, I have spotted a nice looking MK1 Golf GTI Cabriolet on ebay.  it is the 1.8.  Obviously coming from a 1998 Honda to a 1985 VW I am expecting a huge difference in reliability and performance, but what else should i expect?

I used to have a 1986 VW Polo that used to cut out all the time in the wet and cold, is this likely to happen with the GTI engine, or are they fuel injected?

Also, with it being a softtop, are they generally very leaky cars?  If so, are they easy to fix?

The one i am looking at is a 1985 model with 113k on the clock with 12 months MOT.  Does about £500 sound about right for this?

[Komenda]

Due to the age reliability is always going to be an issue, but then also due to the age its pretty cheap to fix (most of the time). First thing you will probably want to do is replace the hood if it is leaking which will set you back upto £300 for a pretty decent one. You may need to replace the rubber seals, which can be pricey.

£500 sounds cheap, for a pristine example expect to pay £3k. Use this as a benchmark and work down from there. More you pay the better the car will be.

[gibby]

Expect to be disappointed in the performance difference, mk1 cabs are quite nippy but they are not as fast as you're used to. On the plus side, when the weather is dry and hot (rarity these days) expect to have fun with the roof down. No matter what age a mk1 cab is, it will draw more admiring glances than your Type R ever could.

Just because it's a convertible doesn't mean it will leak, but there is more of a chance that it will over an hardtop obviously. If the roof is in decent condition then you should be ok. When I had one I remember reading in the handbook to expect some water to get in and that will have been given to people who had bought them brand spanking new.  

£500 for a mk1 cab is pretty much a rock bottom price. I wouldn't expect to get a runner with an MOT for any less than that. I'd say if the car is all round solid then £500 is cheap as chips.

[ginga]

i feel for ya mate i had a teg r, sold it for th same reasons. still upset 3 years on

[dub-diva]

Hi there, sorry to hear you're having to sell your beloved car... I feel for you, we sold our 1959 rat beetle the other week, and we got a 1988 Mk1 gti cabriolet - it does leak through where the roof handles clip into the top of the a-posts... the water doesn't pour in, it just kinda drips... alot    The market value for it was approx £1,400 to £1,600 but we part ex-d it against the beetle and got some cash from the deal too, so it's hard to estimate its true value - but the £500 seems like a bargain! 

[gibby]

it does leak through where the roof handles clip into the top of the a-posts... the water doesn't pour in, it just kinda drips... alot   

Yup mine used to drip in around there sometimes, well, more like through the little triangular rubber at the top of the quarter light. Two things to try, first of all if you park facing down hill then start parking up hill. Bit obvious I know but it does make a difference. Also, the roof clips, the silver hooks that clip into the holes on the handles themselves can be screwed up or down, screw them up a turn to make the roof sit tighter on the windscreen seals or vice versa. If you tighten them slightly it might just make a bit of difference as to where the roof rubbers sit on the windows and the seals and might help your leak. Don't tighten too much though as it will make it harder to clip and unclip the roof.

[dub-diva]

Ah-ha! Genius... especially the part about parking the other way up on the hill!

Will get Mr Diva to check the screws on the clips - had a whole load of rain water in over Saturday night/Sunday morning, but the rain was absolutely hammering down - seats only just dried out! lol

Thanks