Are the late Mk3s more prone to rust than the early one? I thought the post 95 ones were galvanised. Going to be off on a search for a valver shortly so watching this thread with interest.
the galvernisation process was crap, the late cars are not as well protected with waxoil as they thought they didnt need to with the galvernised thing going on (where in reality using less waxoil was a cost saving thing)
the 3 doors go on the inner sill under the rubber where it joins, manufacturing fault, they all go here, some very bad
5 door cars suffor on the inner rear door where the connector for all the wires goes, very thin metal here and once it rusts it basically leave a huge hole, its not visible so you reall have to check for this by moving the grommets
bonnets, door bottoms and above the screen affect the car, mostly on late models
tailgate around the screen, early cars had faults with a fauty seal, so can go here due to build up of water, late cars were supposed to have sorted this but iv seen them go around the wiper hole, and above the number plate behind the plastic strip which has the lock on it
they also go on the holes where the plate is held on
also seen some cars with rust behind the rear lights, altho its rare
another huge one, missed by many is the front sill and lower front wings, you need to remove the inner arch trim to get to this, right at the bottom, in the corner where the sill meets the arch, gets absolutly packed with muck, stays damp and over the years rusts from the inside
all these points are for any mk 3 not just a gti/Vr, if you know your mk 3's you will be fine
minor rust isnt a put off if the price is right, if its on a door, you can alays pick up a new door on ebay for 25 quid etc, same with bonnets, bumpers grills etc etc....
its the parts you cant easliy change you need to worry about
a well looked after mk 3 will last years, my 1993 L plate is completly rust free and feels like it will last forever, VW went metal with the vaxoil on it by the looks of it
