[Closed] £400 VW Golf bangernomics

My £200 first car lasted 12,000 more miles.
Didnt look nearly as tidy as that though, you got a bargain there

It'll either go on for a while, or something will go, pot luck these days, but if you know the person it's a bit easier, PD engine is a good one, but as always, just got to hope there isn't something on the way out, i won't even guess as that would be bad luck!

My mum has an old golf which according to price guides is only worth about £500 and it's a really good reliable car which is nice to drive. The interior has held up really well also.

The MkIV seems to wear it's miles well based on the couple my mum has had and the number you still see around. Her 2002 one is still going strong with some big miles on it.

You've presumably got one of the last versions of the 1.9PD engine too which iirc was fairly solid although pretty dirty by modern standards. I had it in my early Mk5 in 105ps guise.

Good luck.

It's the 130hp engine but feels more than that so don't know if it's chipped. It's been doing 55mpg on its mway commute.

Not a MK4 fan but cant go wrong for £400. Bargain there, the PD130's are a popular engine conversion in the Caddy circles. If my PD BLS 105 ever goes pop I'll probably go down that route

Bought a 52 plate MK4 PD130 in 2009 to put motorway miles on. Was one of the cheapest advertised at the time due to mileage (126k) but these cars do wear the mileage well. Owned it for 5 years and sold it still running strong with 246k on the clock. Original clutch + DMF lasted until 190k. The 1.9 PD was one of the best 4 cylinder diesels around and would return at least 50mpg no matter how it was driven. It's a heavy lump of an engine but pulls very well, lots of torque. Happy shedding!

It’s the 130hp engine but

Just a good engine, had one in a b5 Passat.

Also had the scabby wings which were apparently a notorious problem for golfs and Passat's of that vintage. Something about dampening sponges between the wing and bulkhead holding water and rotting from the inside.

I have the Mk4 gti 1.8T currently at 201,000. Bought it for £800 off a friend at just over 180k about a year and a half ago. It's had a steering rack (£400) and two rear springs + dampers (£200) and obviously tyres which I don't think is too bad

Can confirm my driver side wing has rust. (I couldn't care less)

My friend who did the rear shocks said the exhaust is going to need a new mount ASAP so that's next - lol.

Good to hear about these leggy golfs. I had to get a car pdq when I got made redundant on 30 Sep and started a new job on the 1st Oct and lost a company car.
Got a 58 plate Golf with only 68k miles. Wasn’t a bangernomics price with those miles but it’s hard to believe it’s a 12 year old car.

Was only supposed to be a stopgap but I can see me keeping it, especially as the cam belt has just been done and it has the capability to do stellar miles.

I’d read on Pistonheads about the foam under the front wings recently so may have a look at removing them.

I took a 1.9 130pd A4 from 50k to 300k over the course of 10 years. Correct oil and servicing every 10k and a specialist indie garage and it never cost a penny other than servicing and fuel. Original clutch & flywheel, original exhaust.

Actually I tell a lie - I think I broke a spring once.

It was pretty heavy on front tyres considering I’m a careful driver. Other than that, motoring doesn’t get any cheaper

A mate of mine has a MKIV diesel which is about to click over the 250000 mile mark. It has a full leather interior which looks half that old at most. They look pretty dated now (but still better than the MK3) but if I was looking for a cheap workhorse I'd be happy in a MKIV.

Good to hear about these leggy golfs. I had to get a car pdq when I got made redundant on 30 Sep and started a new job on the 1st Oct and lost a company car.
Got a 58 plate Golf with only 68k miles. Wasn’t a bangernomics price with those miles but it’s hard to believe it’s a 12 year old car.

Was only supposed to be a stopgap but I can see me keeping it, especially as the cam belt has just been done and it has the capability to do stellar miles.

I’d read on Pistonheads about the foam under the front wings recently so may have a look at removing them.

These big mileage MK4 Golfs have the legendary PD engine which finished with the Mk4 but the son-in-law (he's my work colleague) of my £400er has a same year as yours GT Tdi and it's on 180k miles. It's needed a replacement turbo and an injector but again drives and feels like a car with half the mileage.

His wings rusted but he managed to get a pair fitted and painted from VW under the 12year anti corrosion warranty.

Had a pd130 passat from 16 to 178k here and mirror above sentiments. V solid. Always felt quite quick but think this was due to pronounced turbo kick in more than outright performance in a heavy Passat. Should be decent in a golf though.

haha for all those with mk4 golfs I have a mint set of winter alloys with goodyear winter tyres on....

Mrs had the same which she bought for 400 quid 12 years ago. It wouldn't start after it rained. It had an oil leak. The alloys were porous and all four tyres went flat each week and the turbo whistled. The trim was held on with woodscrew.
She consistently reminds be of how great it was. So much I bought get a low milage mk6 golf. Still not happy

I have a 2003 Bora PD150 (Golf with a boot). It's only showing 108,000 miles but I am pretty sure a few more have been "unrecorded". Most important thing is to use the correct type of oil in the PD series engines. Also as they get older the cost of a cam belt change can exceed the value of of the car. I played cambelt roulette by waiting 8 years to get it done and got away with it.
There is loads of info and how to videos online, as this was such a popular car, so it makes a great bangernomics option.
The front wings are a known issue due to a piece of sound absorbing material, stuck inside the wing at the top of the wheel arch, acting as a sponge to hold water and let the wing rust rust from the inside. Ebay has pattern prepainted wings for £100 and they are a bolt on part once you have removed the front bumper etc.
Boost pipes/clips can be a problem but nothing that a couple of self tapping screws can't fix.
Mine does 50+ mpg all day long and will easily swallow 2 bikes and enough stuff for a week away with the back seats folded down.

haha for all those with mk4 golfs I have a mint set of winter alloys with goodyear winter tyres on….

Winter is a long time off in a £400 190k mile snotter!.....

It’s the 130hp engine but feels more than that so don’t know if it’s chipped. It’s been doing 55mpg on its mway commute.

I came to the conclusion in mine its just the torque makes it feel powerful. Mine got to 245000 before structural rust killed it. Scabby wings was the only outward sign.

It’s the 130hp engine but feels more than that so don’t know if it’s chipped. It’s been doing 55mpg on its mway commute.

I’ve had two PD engines, both economical. The 130 in a Polo which would get to high 50s mpg on the motorway-I can’t remember the exact figure now. The other was a 140 2 litre which would get 57mpg on a sustained cruise. Both felt faster than they were as per what joshvegas said. It was like the unit injectors took a breath before hard acceleration which gave the impression more was happening than actually was.

My current common rail is more economical, just on my commute but as soon as I give it some welly the mpg drops fast where as it only dropped slightly when hammering the PD engines.

Edit- the 130 was not around long enough to judge reliability, 10k to 40k but the 140 did 120k with me over 12 year and engine wise only needed a new turbo.

The 1.8T 20V is a great engine as well. Probably the most reliable performance petrol they’ve done. Had a mapped mk1 VRs that was just silly performance for an 04 car.

I also believe the Mk4 was the start of the cost cutting at VAG, it had a higher cost to build ratio than the following, so had a little nicer finish and fit, i've got a MK5 and it's nice, was going to upgrade but they do seem to cut little bits every model, or make them extras!

The 1.8T 20V is a great engine as well. Probably the most reliable performance petrol they’ve done. Had a mapped mk1 VRs that was just silly performance for an 04 car.

Going down the VW rabbithole now! The guy who runs the garage who have spannered my £400^ snotter is the uncle of my work colleague who's father-in-law owned my Golf....anyway Paul ran a Mk1 Scirocco with a 1.8 20v that did low 8's, that then became a road legal Polo that also ran at 'Pod.

They love the 1.8 and its ability to be tuned and take abuse......

Also as they get older the cost of a cam belt change can exceed the value of of the car

Can’t understand the logic. Yes it may be c£500 but if everything else is fine why not spend that rather than buy something else?

I bought mine from my redundancy pay and started a new job immediately, so the car is “free” getting over 50mpg* on a 30 mile daily commute means I’m just about in credit comparing fuel, tax, insurance and service costs to what my BIK tax was.

*helps that I now drive like my Dad now I’ve got to pay for my own fuel!

I won’t mind if I have to pay for any additional costs if needed as it will be a hell of a lot less than financing something newer.

My commute will be c8k miles pa so I can see me keeping this a while. I have even been tempted to look for a leather interior to tart it up (it’s a 1.9tdi Match) if I’m going to keep it. A previous owner fitted GTi wheels and the original alloys came with it for winter use. I can’t decide whether to sell the GTi wheels or not.

Also as they get older the cost of a cam belt change can exceed the value of of the car.

Indeed. One of my favourite passtimes is sitting by the side of busy roads in cars that have failed due to just ignoring maintainance . Yes things still fail but few things are as instant stop no warning as a cambelt.

I had a Mk 3 2.0 16v GTI, Mk 4 1.8T GTi & Mk 5 GT.
I'd say the Mk4 was the most unreliable as the vacuum hoses seemed to always need replacing as they split with age, saying that all of Golf's got to the point when I'd had enough repair bills and wanted shot of them to be someone else problem, and looking at the MOT history online thereafter that was the case.

My current Audi A3 2.0 quattro is a far better drive than any of my previous Golfs but still the same VAG reliability - will the coil packs play up today, let's wait and see....

OP if the rear washer is a bit shit. Don't get fooled into thinking its just a bit shit, the wee hose has popped off and its rusting your rear door.

Nice! Proper bangernomics, respect! My VW is 21 years old. Cost £350 and flies through MOT every year. Best car ever. Can't be far off classic status I wonder? If that brings any benefits? Hmm..

Also as they get older the cost of a cam belt change can exceed the value of of the car.

But that's the beauty of bangernomics. You just do it yourself. If you mess up you've wasted a few hundred quid. It's not even a hard job. The first time is daunting but after that it's easy.

Also as they get older the cost of a cam belt change can exceed the value of of the car.

Again, for the cost of a cambelt you get a car that you know. Value isn't always monetary.

PB motors ace.

That'll go mechanically for ever.

An '02 plate Mk 4 Golf here, but with a 1.6 petrol engine.
My mum had had it from new, until 4 years ago, when I got it off her.
It usually shows 40 to 45 mpg, but I do drive like the 61 year old man I am.
I wouldn't mind a dab radio in it, but that's it.
Cheap motoring.

RustyNissanPrairie
Full Member
It’s the 130hp engine but feels more than that so don’t know if it’s chipped. It’s been doing 55mpg on its mway commute.

I had an Ibiza with the 130pd engine in it.
Took it from 24k to 274k miles. Only got rid of it when my daughter arrived and we needed more space.
Only engine related failure was a couple of boost pipes.
Biggest cost was new AC compressor at £500 fitted.

Average mpg was 58. Driving carefully I could get 62mpg to a tank.

You mention a retrofitted 6 speed box, but that was standard in the Ibiza. The 110 version had a 5 speed box.

The guy who bought mine had it mapped to 180bhp and replaced the clutch with a single mass version. I can't imagine it lasted much longer.

I think my cost of a cam belt change can exceed the value of of the car comment wasn't very clear. What I meant was when looking to buy, the cam belt history is a major factor in the value of the car.
Electric window regulators are likely to fail but there are low cost kits to refurb them available although it's not a 5 minute job. The "possessed" central locking thing can have you questioning your sanity.

“possessed” central locking thing can have you questioning your sanity.

Tbh the whole MK4 electrics will have you doing that. They were sodding awful.

The dash on ours was more like an Xmas tree ...... You couldn't tell if it was an actual fault or not as from one day to the next you got different lights.

The dash on ours was more like an Xmas tree

Mine can be like that. Especially if it's been raining or had its yearly pre-MOT wash. I took the engine management light bulb out about 50k ago cos it was just completely random and annoying.

I remember on my Mk4 Tdi golf estate the side lights kept popping. To change the bulbs you had to drop the bumper to get the head lights out, so in went some LED bulbs. Drop links on the front had a habit of going as well. An easy car to work on though. I think mine was a 110 bhp. Felt lively for only 110bhp but they had a narrow power band.

I bought a bangernomics Golf Mk4 1.8T GTi a few years back with 130,000 miles on it for 800 quid. I put another 50,000 miles on it over the next couple of years. I got shut of it when the heater matrix went. A new one was fifty quid, but it meant the whole dash had to come out and that’s a full days Labour apparently. I sold it to a guy who was ripping all that out anyway to use it as a track car

I'd bought off a mechanic who’s had it sat in a lock up for years. It was lowered, had some well-kerbed BBS Monza’s on it and was mapped to 200bhp.

It was a lot of fun for 800 quid 😃

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Bet you kept the plate though Adam 😉

That’s the joys of photoshop mate 😂

It was on a T plate. One of the first Mk 4’s

I have a 2003 Audi A3 1.8T about to be sold. Same motor and chassis as the Golf, but without the rusty wings. Will stick it on classifieds shortly

I discovered why it feels faster than 130hp....

Look at that for a rocker cover! It's not a sticker either, it's dipped/in moulded or something.

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Dem wheels on Binnners are the ones put on mine. I like the wheels, but as the car is the std VW free grey colour they loose their appeal in the greyness. Hence I’m tempted to put the standard silver allots back on.

@binners it's now cut up and the interesting bits are going in my old mk2 scirocco.

It’s a good solid motor Dunc. It’d just had a timing belt and water pump on it and new shocks on the front

That's a LOT of car for the money.

My Daily for the last few years (60 miles of country lanes every day) is a 2005 Polo Gt. Same 130PD engine, but remapped up to about 170bhp. It's the torque on these that makes then nippy, mines about 300 ft/lb.

Totally trouble free so far, bought on 67k now on 110. 20K on the remap.

@RustyNissanPrairie

It looks like the boost pipes have been upgraded and the that an EGR replacement pipe has been fitted too.

@rusty that's been hydrodipped, means nothing really.

Check the intercooler though, you don't do all the pipes without good reason.

It looks like the boost pipes have been upgraded and the that an EGR replacement pipe has been fitted too.

👍 it's had EGR delete and the rocker cover was a replacement when the timing belt was done, the head gasket and valve stem seals were replaced during the timing belt job as the idler bolt snapped in the process and required the cylinder head removal.

But more importantly I found £3 in the armrest so the car effectively cost me £397!

Looks the same as our family one which is just about to tick over £200k.

Mechanically feels really tight (pd130). Front arches starting to rust. Think it'll do another 100k tbh

I've been playing with the idea of getting a really old VW as a daily driver. Specifically a MK1 Golf GTI. I've always had VW's and enjoy fettling with them, but the one thing that worries me is scrotes trying to nick it all the time. I'd be relying on this car daily for work so really don't want the hassle of it always going missing. Anyone have experience with this?

I’ve been playing with the idea of getting a really old VW as a daily driver. Specifically a MK1 Golf GTI.

You'll need to take out a second mortgage for that, if you can find one

Bangernomics that most certainly isn't

Bangernomics that most certainly isn’t

No, slight thread derailment... 🙂 Always wanted one, convertible especially. Old enough to take the insurance hit now.

I drew them all up for a bloke who'd had them all. Always red. This is a 1.5 metre high print onto alloy plate he's got up in his front room He picked it up in a standard looking Mk7 GTi, that on closer inspection wasn't very standard at all 🙂

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51038554488_378e87baf0_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51038554488_378e87baf0_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2kL6W6o ]Golf GTi composite 2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/14162682@N00/ ]bin lid[/url], on Flickr

The best galv in the world doesn't last 20 years.

Still for the money why not.

A mk4 golf track car?! I thought I'd heard it all.

i bought an ibiza with a 100hp pd engine recently as a drive to work shitter. paid 600 quid for it and probably same again on tyres, brakes, cambelt and oil changes etc. it does an easy 50mpg average, 55 on a run and as it is so small it is really easy to park. i put winters on it for the snow and it ploughed on like a good 'un. the joys of a car you dont care about - i can park it in a hedge, people can open doors on it at the supermarket and i wouldnt even notice. i hoping i get a good couple of years out of it. my other car and the wife's car are both auto, and i have smashed it into gear without the clutch a couple of times - so if it needs a new dmf or gearbox im losing 🙁

@simian did the remap make mpg better or worse?

That's quite cool Binners

Shows the golfs descent into obscurity quite well.

it’s had EGR delete

That makes them feel more responsive.

Also if I remember the pre 2004 6 speed manual box couldn’t handle the 228lb/ ft of the 130PD so the Golfs had a 5 speed box which was burlier. I think the old box was rated to 212 lb /ft. After 2005 the Polo GT and Fabia VRS and Ibiza FR had a newer 6 speed box which could take up to 258 lb/ft

one month and 1k mile update.
Erm....nothing much to report. Serviced with Mann filters, oil filter is in a genius position on top of the block so you don't need to scrabble around underneath the car (I sucked the oil out via the dipstick).
Does just under 60mpg on a 50mile A-road and motorway run.
Hasn't been washed yet.
Bargain.

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oil filter is in a genius position on top of the block so you don’t need to scrabble around underneath the car (I sucked the oil out via the dipstick).

Right? Quite afew things on that car are a piece of piss its like they planned it. Even the timingbelt is hardly an awkward task and the aux belt i did in a halfords car park faster than the halfords guy could swap a bulb in his wee tent thing.

I’ve been playing with the idea of getting a really old VW as a daily driver. Specifically a MK1 Golf GTI. I’ve always had VW’s and enjoy fettling with them, but the one thing that worries me is scrotes trying to nick it all the time. I’d be relying on this car daily for work so really don’t want the hassle of it always going missing. Anyone have experience with this?

A somewhat late response to this @jambourgie. I run a Mk2 GTi as a daily - I also have a VR6 Corrado - and it actually works pretty well. For starters, the mechanicals are basic compared to modern cars so you can fix it yourself and pretty much any fault that happens has already happened to someone else and is documented on the interweb. Spares are cheap and easy to access. Smaller wheels mean cheaper tyres. It's also really good fun to drive in a slightly primitive, basic, connected sort of way. Practical too with the hatchback and fold down seats. Mine's been mostly pretty reliable bar a broken clutch cable and a driveshaft that broke and fell off on the A6. That's over a decade or more. I also dinged a wheel and various bits on the Hardknott in my previous Mk2, but that was me and a huge pot-hole rather than being the car's fault.

Downsides? Sound ones at any sort of reasonable price are increasingly hard to find, ditto ones that haven't been bastardised by eejits. They are old cars, so occasionally things just wear out, perish, die etc, but as above, spares are easy to source - VW Heritage are good, but there are plenty of other options. They are not secure cars, pretty much all Mk1 and Mk2 Golfs have been subjected to pry-ins on the front door handles, hence the security plates you sometimes find on them. And they are not safe by modern standards.

As far as theft goes, so far - touch wood - I've not had an issue with that. But then even 'expensive' early Golfs are still worth a lot less than some dull repmobile or family hatchback / SUV. I'm more concerned about dings from braindead shoppers in supermarket car parks tbh.

I think the central issue is that any Mk1 Golf sound enough to be a reliable daily is also likely to be too expensive and too nice to use as a daily. A Mk2 is probably a better call, but they're also going up in price. I suspect you'd end up keeping the Golf for weekends and buying something cheap and cheerful for daily use. Oh, whatever you do, don't bother with a Mk3 GTi, just a dull, gutless thing that should never have had a GTi badge. I owned one for 18 months or so and it was a bit rubbish.

RustyNissanPrairie

one month and 1k mile update.

All sounds good! Bargain!!
I sold my Ibiza for £400. I think the next owner only got about another 20k miles out of it, before it was toast.
But, I sold him it with 274k miles on it & he decided it would be a good idea on a 13 year old car that was still on original clutch, injectors, turbo etc. to have it mapped to 180bhp. He was a bit of a barry-boy.

bsims

Also if I remember the pre 2004 6 speed manual box couldn’t handle the 228lb/ ft of the 130PD so the Golfs had a 5 speed box which was burlier. I think the old box was rated to 212 lb /ft. After 2005 the Polo GT and Fabia VRS and Ibiza FR had a newer 6 speed box which could take up to 258 lb/ft

Mine was the 130PD & had the 6-speed box, on an 03 plate. I test drove the 100 version & that only had the 5-speed.
The 6-speed gearbox in the 130pd was the same one as put into the Cupra I believe, which had 160bhp & moar torques (can't remember how much) and the 130 was commonly re-mapped to ~170bhp without gearbox issues - the clutch was a bit touch & go apparently.

oil filter is in a genius position on top of the block so you don’t need to scrabble around underneath the car (I sucked the oil out via the dipstick).

Right? Quite afew things on that car are a piece of piss its like they planned it. Even the timingbelt is hardly an awkward task and the aux belt i did in a halfords car park faster than the halfords guy could swap a bulb in his wee tent thing

One surprising thing was how long it takes the PD engine to get any temperature in the oil which probably points to their longevity due to not needing to rev it. I took it on my usual 'warm up route' which for my Transit or Volvo is enough to get the oil warm and thin enough to Pela suck it out yet the Golf oil was still cool and viscous.

You won't be enjoying that in winter 😂

My GF is currently driving a 2003 Focus we got her for £350.
It’s gone through 2 MOTs and nearly 3 years with barely anything spent on it.
If it died tomorrow it’s cost would be about the same as 1 month’s depreciation on my car.
Bangernomics is great when you find the right car.

@stumpy01 - I must have my dates mixed up. I suppose they just didn't alter production for the later the Golf GTPDs.

Yeah, the Ibiza Cupra had that box, my Mum had one and it was considerably faster, bumpier and noisier than the 130bhp cars.

@RustyNissanPrairie - I seem to remember when I had the egg delete warm up took even longer, make sure you have hat and gloves in the door bin for winter.

Update!
MOT due in a few weeks but sold to a VW fanboy work mate for £400 that I bought it for. I did the rear brakes, wheel bearing and replaced a sun visor clip but otherwise cost me nothing for 7k miles!

Awesome little car - loved driving it.