1983 Volkswagen Santana 1.8
Summary:
An older car that really lasted for a very long time
Faults:
Great car when I first got it, but due to i's age, slowly things started breaking down one by one, mostly little things that didn't stop you from driving the car.
Odometer stopped working.
Boot lock didn't always open easily.
Buttons you pull up to unlock the doors from the inside, broke off one by one.
Front passenger window wouldn't wind down anymore.
Switch for air blower on the dashboard was stuck on full blast and you couldn't switch it off anymore. Only solution was to remove the fuse, but that meant you couldn't de-fog the windscreen anymore.
Electric aerial worked intermittently and sometimes not at all.
Car would shake for up to 20 seconds after you'd switched off the ignition. Mechanic wouldn't set the timing until I'd bought a seal for between the manifold and carburetor, costing $270 New Zealand Dollars (double that figure for American Dollars).
Seats have started to wear badly, but that would be due to its age.
General Comments:
Due to the age of the car, some of the problems I had were not surprising.
Otherwise it was a great little car that was bought very cheaply, and was very cheap to run.
There was almost no rust whatsoever, and for a car this age that was very very impressive. Probably the German steel living up to its reputation.
Parts were on average more expensive due to it being a European car.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 22nd July, 2001
23rd Nov 2002, 17:50
The Santana is the best selling car in china since 1985 with over 3 million on the road. They sell the original for about $16000-18000, a new version called the Santana 2000 with the late 90's passat body for $20000-22000 and the brand new passat for $32000-50000! After riding many of the made in china examples I find them pretty solid and rugged with some examples with 400000 miles on them! Handling is nice, but the suspension is a bit harsh especially on rural roads. Anyways the car is very interesting, a bit outdated, but is overall pretty nice.
2nd Sep 2003, 05:25
I've just been given a 1984 Santana G15 does anyone know where I can get info online about these cars?
22nd Jun 2002, 05:17
The Volkswagen Santana is quite an interesting car, it is a Passat/Audi 80 variant produced for the Australasian market in the 80's, possibly the only European car made under contract in Japan. There is still a handful of good examples in Australia and New Zealand.