Golf TDI

[mjb]

I'm thinking about a 2nd car, a diseasel, from around 1999

I had a shortlist of a BMW 520D, a 406 HDi and a 106 1.5D but I realised I want something small and economical without compromising comfort, so I'm pretty much left with a Mk.4 Golf TDI - a car I fell in love with some years ago.

Does anyone know what I should be looking for/avoiding, and what trim level to get to avoid those hideous 2-tone seats? What trims are available, can I get leather, etc?

Cheers

[STALLED]

Driven a Mk4?

They are really stodgy to drive. Plenty of understeer. What about a Skoda Octavia - probably get a newer model because of the duff image and poor residuals!

[Captain Jack]

I know 150bhp versions of the TDI engines are allegedly weak and tend to break down more than their less powerful counterparts. Nice engines, though...

[mjb]

Driven a Mk4?

Yup - spent 4-6 months in a TDI

They are really stodgy to drive. Plenty of understeer. What about a Skoda Octavia - probably get a newer model because of the duff image and poor residuals!

Stodgy? Understeer? I was oversteering country lane corners within a few hours of getting in one, although I nearly put it in a ditch as a result of the ESP killing a slide It's a car I was very happy in.

I take it you mean Skoda Fabia not Octavia (small car remember )... I suppose I could live with the hideous cheap interior styling, but I've been in a few Octavias (taxis!) and found the seats to be more Audi than VW, and with my bad back the seats are the most important bit, with armrests a very big plus. I might go and try sitting in one though - it's a good idea - but there's only 5 Fabia TDIs on auction on ebay at the moment and only 2 of those are old enough to be in my price range

Looks like the SEAT Leon is another contender too, never been in one though so I dunno what the seats are like

[steve_earwig]

I thought Octobia was a Glof floor pan and a Fellatio was a Polio, putting the Ugtavia somewhere in between the Glof and Pussat.

Incidentally, I was cut up by a Glof yesterday (nothing serious as I'm used to the carp driving here and anticipated it) - an immaculate mark 1 diesel.

[mjb]

Surely the Octavia's a re-branded Passat? It's WAY bigger than a Golf, and heck, it looks the same as a Passat!


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0497842817
HOW MUCH????? AHAHAHAHA!!!!

[cardaft]

Golf mk4s are not the best handling cars ever, especially not in the more basic trim levels. I agree with stodgey and understeer, VWs are rarely built for handling in my experience.

TDi Golfs are a rip off price in my opinion, even for a decent 2000 reg car your going to be looking at £2500-£3000 for one with below 100K miles, even then you might be struggling. Unless of course you get one with a million miles but i wouldnt.

Not a car id like to own really, i had looked at one as they seemed to suit what i want, but they are quite dull. Most people seem to like them for their reliability (somenting ive found patchy on VW group cars to be honest), though you do have to pay for the brand, there are far more interesting and involving cars to own for much less than a golf, or much newer than a golf.

What about a Mk1 Seat Leon? The more sporting breed of VW, drives a bit better and looks better too. Though i recently drove a Toledo (Leon with a boot) and hated it, very dull to drive, seats were really uncomfortable for me but the engine did pull reasonably (1.9TDI 110).

After many many weeks of looking for a car for myself, ive come to the conclusion that i probably wont own anything other than a french car, i just cant fault them, they have never been any problems for me or my family (we currently have 7 french cars in your house and 2 VWs), the french cars are far more reliable than the VAG cars. Ive had two seats, they were great little cars, the 1.4TDi was a fantastic car but the petrol version had to have a replacement engine at 2.5 years old. Our 2.5TDi auto VW is needing a new gearbox at the moment as its failing.

French cars all of the way for me now, what about a 306 HDI? 307? You would possibly even get a C4 for the price you would have top pay for a half decent 10 year old Golf!

The Octavia is a Golf floor-pan, notice the huge over hangs back and front on the Octavia.

[Captain Jack]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0497842817
HOW MUCH????? AHAHAHAHA!!!!

Almost like being home! They were not bad cars for their time actually! Just the crap they churn out these days leaves a lot to be desired.

[mjb]

TDi Golfs are a rip off price in my opinion, even for a decent 2000 reg car your going to be looking at £2500-£3000 for one with below 100K miles, even then you might be struggling.

Who the hell looks for under 100k on the clock nowadays? Too many uninformed buyers looking to pay a premium for 5 figure mileages pushing prices up horrendously.

What about a Mk1 Seat Leon? The more sporting breed of VW, drives a bit better and looks better too. Though i recently drove a Toledo (Leon with a boot) and hated it, very dull to drive, seats were really uncomfortable for me but the engine did pull reasonably (1.9TDI 110).

If the seat's uncomfortable, it's right off the cards.

the french cars are far more reliable than the VAG cars

Obviously not owned a Renault

what about a 306 HDI? 307? You would possibly even get a C4 for the price you would have top pay for a half decent 10 year old Golf!

The 306 interior is utterly dire (they may as well have just painted the body inside black) with a narrow footwell and the pedals far too close together, the 307 seats are too hard, but I can't actually fit my feet in a 307 drivers footwell so that's a non-starter The C4 is twice the price of a Golf and is too big, uneconomical, turbo laggy, and has a punto-esque sitting position.

The Golf TDI is comfortable (I drove Stoke to Farnborough and back 2-3 times a week for a few months in one without suffering backache), economical (55+mpg at 90mph), not too slow at just over 10s to 60 with very little turbo lag, and doesn't have 50p shop trim. The one I drove was so much more chuckable into the corners than my 406s too.

[Doggy]

I thought Octobia was a Glof floor pan and a Fellatio was a Polio, putting the Ugtavia somewhere in between the Glof and Pussat.

Is Sir just a morsel VAGophobic?

Puts me in mind of Clarkson & his cronies slagging all the 'Golfs in disguise', Leon, A3, Octavia, IIRC they concluded the Golf was the worst 'Golf' of them all - though it was probably a mk5

[steve_earwig]

Overpriced, overrated, uninspiring cars with a completely undeserved reputation for quality and reliability? Nah, couldn't possibly be that.

[turbolag]

If you don't want to compromise on comfort, then steer clear of the Glof. A granite church pew is more accommodating on the nuremburgs. Before she retired my Ma was a director for VW group and had them as company cars and I've driven dozens (literally, not a figure of speech) and the hard seats and relatively low gearing ruin an already mediocre car.

MKIV was a dire machine, and the diesels not the best. Even by the standards of decade old diesels they were tractors.

a diesel that age, I'd be controvertial and say a Rover 45 or ZS intercooled diesel. not exactly refined but easy to work on, durable, easy to tune (if that's your thing), and highly durable. Underated chassis too, with a double wishbone front end. There's better out there for those fat of wallet, but at this kind of money there isn't. The Rover 45 didn't thrash both the Golf and Merc C class in JD power for nothing in its day. Indeed, the 75 (now the BMW engined 75 diesel is another cheap possibility...) beat every single BMW, VW and mercedes model in JD. The old iron block Rover diseasel is thermonuclear proof, and 45s that age with old git full history lifestyles in moderate mileage are easily under a grand if you ferret around - no way is a Glof the same age worth double to triple. You won't get better that age on a squeaky budget.

Reasonable, if not huge, cabins and big boots, in a small to mid size car too.

[mjb]

If you don't want to compromise on comfort, then steer clear of the Glof.

I've already said I LIKE the Golf Mk.4. I find it surprisingly comfortable and it's big enough for a guy like me.

a diesel that age, I'd be controvertial and say a Rover 45 or ZS intercooled diesel.

Too big. If any Rover it'd be a ZR, but they're just as expensive as Mk.4's due to their younger age, not as nice inside, and Rovers pretty much have half of the letters/help sections of every issue of Car Mechanics magazine dedicated to them. In terms of reliability they seem even worse than Renaults.

[turbolag]

As aforementioned, according to JD Power they were better than the Merc C class and the Golf... what killed them was a culture of perception created by the likes of Clarkson, when in reality the few people that actually bought them reported to JD Power that they were rather better than the legend. Mud sticks, and it stuck, unfortunately. You think you'll get average or above reliablility out of a 10 year old MKIV then you've been sniffing Dais farts!

Go back a few years further when the legend of HGF on K series began. Watchdog tried to get details of owners in order to bring a class action against Rover, but they actually ended up hearing from more Escort owners with the same problem and quietly dropped the idea.

The 25/ZR was not a nice car to drive, though it looked rather younger and less frumpy.

Oh, and depending on the exact model the 45 is only 17cm longer than the MKIV Guff.

Seems pointless to buy a 10 year old car, presumably to save a few quid over the cost of a newer one, and then to consider one of the most expensive of the genre.

[TooT]

This is what i remember when i was looking at Golfs 2 years ago. Spec wise - Match, SE, and GT and as for engines it was a choice of 90 and 110bhp up till year 2000 and then the PD lumps came in with 100, 115, 130, 150bhp flavors.

Anyway as you know i went for the Megane dCi, have you thought about a Focus TDDI/TDCI?