thinking about it

[new2golf]

hey there,
Am seriously considering a 1999 golf GTI with 129K showing on the clock. No idea on the service history as yet but it is a one owner (mature) type scenario. Was wondering if anyone could enlighten me as to what to look for and also get some idea of future servicing costs with these vehicles. Would really appreciate your insights....

[new2golf]

Been looking around since my post and can see that the car was due for a major service at 128K which doesn't seem to have been done cause the oil is pretty dark. Looks like there is an 8K service interval too. Are there any recommended Service Techs in Sydney for these cars ?

[GermanwithaVdub]

ey there welcome to the forum.

the member here: Golf Loon has a workshop in campbelltown specialising in our cars.

or if you're more northside drop into fry's spares on alexander street in crows nest and ask them about recommended mechanics they're good blokes.

all i know about the mk4 gti is that out of the box, its fairly lame, but a few pieces of aftermarket piping and an ecu re-map later you can have quite a fun car

GL with your search

[No457 Snowy]

Been looking around since my post and can see that the car was due for a major service at 128K which doesn't seem to have been done cause the oil is pretty dark. Looks like there is an 8K service interval too. Are there any recommended Service Techs in Sydney for these cars ?

Check out this thread for Seb's (Bug_Racer) number and some details. He's good.

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newf...ead.php?t=3076


Cheers

Snowy

[shami]

Yea sebs a nut...

Hes actually at his garage as we speak putting in my v2s....

[thepowercosmic]

hey there,
Am seriously considering a 1999 golf GTI with 129K showing on the clock. No idea on the service history as yet but it is a one owner (mature) type scenario. Was wondering if anyone could enlighten me as to what to look for and also get some idea of future servicing costs with these vehicles. Would really appreciate your insights....

Hi there,

If you're in Sydney I highly recommend Seb - though that hasn't stopped people from Melb travelling up to Sydney to get their car looked at...!!

He has been and will be the only mechanic to work on my car.
Being part of the VW Racing Team, I doubt that there is anyone that knows more about Golf's.

His workshop is located at Girraween.
Give him a call 0410 541 322.

He would be the best person that would be able to enlighten you on what to look out for and give you prices on future services.

As for the car you're thinking of buying - having done 129K, you would want to be sure that the current owner has changed the timing belt.

Another common thing on Golf MK IV's to fail are the window regulators.
You should be able to check it yourself - just check to see that the windows moves up and down freely and listen for sounds that aren't normal.

There is good information in this forum - stay a while and have a read (if you haven't already done so)

Hope that helps.

[new2golf]

Hey,
Thanks for your interest and info guys....spoke to the owner this morning and he said the clutch was replaced bout 5K ago (VW wanted 2K+ but he found someone thru a eurocars spares shop in waitara to do it for 1.5K). The pwr window regulators have been changed at $300 a piece and he is going to hassle his wife for the service book which has all been done at Denlo cept the clutch. I was wondering if any of you had used this spares place in Waitara....they have OEM for Merc, BMW and VW and this guy reckons they are heaps cheaper than VW. I will get the name of the business today. Sounds like this golf is going to be in my garage soon!!!

[SoVeReIgN]

From a post on Ozaudi -

I've made a habit of bursting into print on this topic in the past, so bear with me while I do it again. Don't know that anyone ever reads it anyway



When I was 'shopping' for my current b5, I came across a few that didn't seem too well cared for. But as long as they had good service records, I kept them on the list.



The ones I was really suspicious of were the cars with incomplete records, records where the services had been done way out of schedule or just no books at all.



Then I heard a "true confession" from one dealer that a lot of young kids buy "prestige" cars these days to impress the girlfriend or the family, and either don't know or can't afford to have the thing serviced (or maybe just don't care). Some can't even be bothered to take it back to the dealer for the first free service. So what comes on the market after a year or two is a car with 20 or 30K on the clock but it's never had an oil change since the engine was assembled.



DON'T BUY THIS CAR FOLKS!! Not unless the price has been discounted to allow for all the parts you may have to replace down the track (starting with the turbo and going right up to the pistons and main bearings).



Regular oil changes are crucial to the 1.8T engine. In fact, I would feel much more comfortable buying a car that had had regular intermediate (7,500km) oil changes. And it's gotta be the right oil too.



Usually what happens is that the service book gets "lost" before the car is resold. And the funny thing is - the previous owner "just can't remember" where he had the car serviced.



This is complete BS. If you ever hear this line, walk right on by (a famous song from the 60s that only young codgers would remember).



The other likely tale is that the reason the service book has no stamps in it is because "it's always been serviced by me brother in law who's a champion mechanic. But he's just starting up in business and hasn't got his stamp organised yet...." Yeah, yeah. Your brother's a racing driver, right?



No books, no sale. Not unless you have serviced the thing personally or have bomb-proof evidence that the oil has been changed AT LEAST every 15K, and if it has more than 90K on the clock or is more than 4 (? might need checking) years old, the timing belt has been changed. Hopefully, all the other stuff on the list would then have been done at the same time.



The above advice might keep you out of the bankruptcy court. No need to thank me in advance.



kermac the bold

[new2golf]

Thks for the heads up sovereign / Kermac. Even thought the car looks pretty good I doubt whether I will buy it unless I see the service books and that they are bonafide.

[SoVeReIgN]

The original question was about a golf 2 and all you lot were whittering on about a golf 4? why???


Very diffrenet cars. Golf 2 with those ks is a good proposiotion IMO

1999 Golf GTI is a Golf 4.. ?