Advice/Opinions on purchasing a Mk4 Golf GTI

[Diofix]

Hi all,

I am currently in the process of looking for a car as my previous car has thrown in the towel (engine failure) and I will have to limited access to the car I am currently using when my dad comes back from the US in mid July.

Right now my two top cars are the Mk4 Golf GTI and Ford Focus. My main concern with the Golf is the reliability and known issues with the car along with the running costs of a German car. I have had both good and bad feedback regarding the GTI, a family friend owns one and absolutely loves it considering it to be one of the best car he's owned. On the flip side, my fathers girlfriend has one and complains that it suffers from a whole range of issues.

What are you experiences with the MK4 GTI, I understand that it varies from car to car but is there anything major I should be aware of or is it just like any other car where you're bound to have issues?

Any advice is greatly appreciated, I wanted to do my research this time as the last car I bought came with a whole range of issues, but I suppose that is to be expected for a $3800 18 year old first car.

Thanks in advance
James

[leighaus]

Which model focus? The gti is pretty rock solid. Has so minor interior electrical problems, prone to door lock failure and window failures. Engine is quite strong and gearbox is hassle free and smooth.

Any car could be a lemon, so it's hard to pin point. Water pump / timing belt is good to have on the recent service books

[No457 Snowy]

Make sure the car has a log book with a solid service history by a VW specialist, it's important these cars get the correct attention at the services. Notice I said a VW specialist, it's not Rocket Science but the average Holden/Ford mechanic is the wrong guy for these cars, even a simple wheel alignment (with possible sub-frame adjustment) will throw the guy who aligns Holdens/Fords all day at the tyre place.

A couple of common issues are the plastic window clips letting go and the window dropping into the door (replace with metal clips - later models had the metal clips from the factory) and the clutch pedal mechanism snapping (can be repaired with a strengthened weld), both these items can be fixed to minimise the chance of them happening again. (or they can be repaired with new plastic parts kits that will inevitably fail again in future). So a lot can depend on who has worked on the car and what knowledge they had,....or didn't have.

Snowy

[bullsta]

Do it.

[noone]

Service History, major service items, etc.
The Mk4 is pretty slow std, but if you get a chipped one or decide to get it done, they can be fairly perky.
Have a think about who would service it if you did buy it. I do my own as its not hard, but someone has to do the tricky bits (timing belt, etc).

How many KMS?

[Diofix]

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies and sorry I haven't checked in a while (uni exams, yay!). I plan on going to have a look at a few cars over the next fortnight so hopefully I find something nice

Which model focus?

Currently considering a ~2006 Focus, I learnt on my grandfathers 06 Focus (was auto though) and he has had next to no issues with it, but he has also only done 48,000 km in 6 years... I'd still rather the GTI.

Make sure the car has a log book with a solid service history by a VW specialist

Definitely something I'll look at, my mother once took her 320i to the local mechanic and they f*cked up, also plan on using the mechanic my parents use who works on Audis/BMWs/Mercs/VWs.

A couple of common issues are the plastic window clips letting go and the window dropping into the door (replace with metal clips - later models had the metal clips from the factory) and the clutch pedal mechanism snapping (can be repaired with a strengthened weld), both these items can be fixed to minimise the chance of them happening again. (or they can be repaired with new plastic parts kits that will inevitably fail again in future). Snowy

Has so minor interior electrical problems, prone to door lock failure and window failures. Water pump / timing belt is good to have on the recent service books

Would it be worth replacing these things (window hinge, clutch mechanism) straight away in order to prevent them? I understand that most german cars built late 90s early 2000s have a lot of electrical issues so that's something I'm prepared for, in fact the car I'm currently driving (Dad's car) had the central locking fail on me a few weeks ago.

Again thanks for all the replies, hopefully if I can find a nice example of a GTI in the next few weeks, in which case I'll most likely be on the forum a lot more.

[grtuned]

Do it.

Do it again!!