Should I buy an old VW golf?

[maxiewaxie]

I'm going to look at a WX Golf tomorrow, it's 1997 1.8 Automatic, it's done 55K genuine miles, been in the same family since new, full service history, very good condition.

The thing is I know nothing about cars but I've always bought either a VW Golf/Polo that's quite old but appears to be well looked after and so far so good but I've never had an automatic -is this likely to be more troublesome? Will a 1.8 engine use a lot of petrol?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you

[anthony25]

you cant go wrong with a vw what ever the model auto/manual which ever suits you best,as far as fuel consumption goes as long as its been serviced regularly and been well maintained 1.8 will average 40 mpg+,and the fact as its an auto wont create problems as long as its driven correctly

[PeaceUnited]

It all depends on what your purchase price will be, and how many miles you will cover. There common problem will be gearbox when that goes it will render the car useless. Unless you have deep pockets of corse. I would not pay more that 700ish and would expect long mot/tax. Heavy on fuel im sad to say, but joyful. Consider a polo 1.4cl you will thank me endless i promise you. Love your user name lol,

[TWR]

Hi, bit of advise weather you take it or not, that's up to you, take someone that has Mech Knowlege this in turn can save you a lot of money, they know what to look for if it cost's you a Tenner in the long run that will be cheap.

[Electrochem]

If it has full service history it is a good buy.

My only concern would be the low mileage. I know people will say that is a good thing, but it's probably been used for a lot of short journeys, which does a car no good.

I have a 1994 Rover diesel, which had 86 000 on the clock when I bought it in 1999. It now has just turned 193 000 and still does 350 miles a week to take me to work and back.

Our other car is just over 4 years old and averages 15 000 a year.

I don't think you should have too much of a problem with a petrol engine, but if it were a diesel I would avoid it like the plague.

I know someone who has a diesel and does about 3 500 miles a year. His car sounds like a bag of nails.

As has been said, VWs are pretty reliable, so I would certainly consider it, but take someone with you who knows what to look for or get a local mechanic to inspect it.

Good luck in your search!

[scrambler]

Depends how far and how well you drive, but i would be amazed if you got much more than 30mpg on average. Sound engineering and quality build. If the price is right it will be a good buy

[Andyvon]

Hi Maxie,

I've got a 1984 Mk2 Golf which I bought in 1987. It's done 240,000 miles on the original engine and still going strong. In 2006 we drove down to Gibraltar and southern Spain and last year we toured north France. I never get less than 39 miles to the gallon in daily use and about 44 miles on a long run.

The key is to keep the car well serviced and maintained. The thing with older cars is that they are simple and basic and keeping them in good condition doesn't cost much time, effort or money. All parts are available and cheap and there's nothing on the car the average owner like me can't do with just a few basic tools. Running costs are low too. My fully comp. insurance is �90.15 per year for example.

Try to take someone with you who knows a little about cars. Only consider a car that's passed it's MoT within the last few weeks. Modern tests were toughened up years ago to weed out 'old bangers' and if a car passes a modern test then it won't have too much wrong. Avoid any car with a 'short MoT' as the owner knows it won't pass this year without a lot of work and they are just getting shot. Also check the car has been regularly serviced and maintained. A 15 or 20-year old car that has been cared for will be far more reliable than a 6 or 8 year old car that's been thrashed and neglected. That's why you shouldn't worry about the age of the car. It's the condition of the particular vehicle you are looking at that's important - not the number plate.

Try to take someone with you who knows a little about cars. In short, provided the engine's good, there's no rust and the car has just passed the MoT you're probably looking at a good, cheap and reliable car.

[maxiewaxie]

Thank you all, you've been really helpful..
I went ahead yesterday and bought the car, I pick it up today. As I know nothnig about cars I decided it's best to go on the owners instead. I've looked at the service history since new, they have going to the same garage for years and have all the receipts, it's got a years MOT, it runs very nicely, has a small amount of rust along one of the passenger doors, I suppose it has done lots of short journeys for the mileage to be so low but I decided that I would only be losing �1000 if the worst came to the worst.
I'm not using to driving an automatic - can anyone help further and give me any tips how to drive it correctly.

Thanks again, fingers crossed.

[TWR]

Hi, I run an Auto myself, when you get into the car the selector should be in P-- Park, on the T of the shift arm there should be a Button, depress the button to select your gear, it will show you 1 2 OR (D) Just use that gear at all times unless you are (R) reversing, when stopped at traffic lights Etc, keep your foot on the brake otherwise the car will creep forward, If its a long delay press the button & select P. Auto are very economical to run as they select the right gear at the right time so there is no unnecessary gear changing so the fuel usage is minimal Also the gears cannot be selected unless your foot is on the brake this in-turn stops the car rolling into the car in front. when parking the car for the night or whatever reason select P hand brake on, end of advise.