1999 Volkswagen Golf Highline 1.9 turbo diesel 110 bhp

Faults:

The cruise control failed because of a broken wire at 25000 km, this was repaired under warranty.

The driver's seat showed some wear fairly early at 25000 km, however, in the 100000 km since it has not become worse.

Occasionally shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear is hard. The dealer has not been able to reproduce and fix it.

General Comments:

The handling is very predictable, even at high speed while cornering.

The car listens well to its steering wheel input, and gives plenty of feedback. Steering could still be a bit sharper, though.

The interior is very well build. Even after 125000 km, it's still free of rattles and the like.

The dash materials have a quality look and feel, it makes many other dashes look cheap.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th September, 2001

1984 Volkswagen Golf C 1.6

Summary:

The most reliable cheap car I've ever had!

Faults:

Crack in the expansion tank, which caused a minor coolant leak.

Carb pulldown box is leaking, causing an unwilling engine the first minute or two after a cold start.

Rusty (steel) rims, need a repaint.

General Comments:

This car is almost in the state it left the factory and has a ridiculously low mileage. It still has the original tires!

Good, smooth running engine, but the fuel consumption is a bit high compared to modern standards (approx. 9 liters per 100 km).

There is absolutely no luxury in this "C" edition. I got some interior parts and windshield wiper interval relays from a scrap Golf, to make life more comfortable.

Boring paintwork and interior. Have to remember the license plate to retrieve your car in a big parking lot. It happened more than once that I was sticking the key into the lock and found out it didn't fit, simply because it was the wrong car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th May, 2001

30th Mar 2004, 08:11

Having sold the above mentioned car two years ago because of a company car (I had three cars in the lot, a bit much for one person ;-) ) I recently spoke the guy who bought the car. It didn't surprise me that the car is still running. The only maintenance (apart from a yearly oil change) needed were new tires and a new timing belt, which were both about time as they have never been replaced since the car was sold new in 1984! And recently, the car was an MoT failure because of a problem in the brake distribution system, which was not cheap to fix, but worth every penny considering the great state the car is in. You wouldn't believe the car is 20 years old!