Faults:

New fuel tank at 125000 due to leak from bad design.

Rear brakes rebuilt due to leak 125000.

Seat's changed from base Polo to Polo C (so I could have headrests) and seat covers added due to seat wear being uncomfortable.

New fuel pump 120000 due to o ring breaking and causing leak.

A few little things, easily replaced with parts available from scrap yards.

Stopped driving this car for a while due to clutch about to go.

General Comments:

I got the Polo off my girlfriend when she bought a new car and I knew at the time that the clutch was well worn, and the gearbox bearing's are very noisy.

I have now owned 3 1litre cars and of all of them the Polo has been the fastest, it has a good amount of torque and will generally leave bigger cars behind.

Handling is unbelievably good for a car of its size, even in the wet my Polo corners like its on rails and will let you get away with a lot!

Although a few things have gone wrong with this car it has never not started! The body work is not in great condition, (due to my girlfriend and her sister owning it before me) and the engine has seen some abuse, I found out my girlfriend had done 16,000 miles without a service (service intervals are supposed to be 5,000) and I have to admit although I have serviced the car and maintained it better I have also driven it harder. Having said this the car and engine have stood up to this use, at 131,000 it never gives a puff of smoke even on a cold morning.

The parts I have had to replace have all been easily available and have been very cheap, even the more expensive parts are available for less money than going to VW direct, i.e. the fuel tank I bought was £63, and I know with these new parts on it will be the last time I have to worry about them.

Now the clutch has finally started to give up I have switched cars until I have the spare cash to replace it (about £100-150) and then I hope to see many more happy hours of motoring from my little VW.

Faults:

The car suffered from a poor engine idle when cold, this was rectified by adjusting the carburetor.

Had a small electrical fire caused by a poor earth strap connection, easy to repair with a soldering iron and some insulation tape.

General Comments:

If you are looking for a performance car then you don't want a polo.

Its quite nippy around town, but overtaking is hazardous unless you have a very long run up down a hill.

Handling is not too sharp as it leans very heavily when pushed into bends.

Very good build quality though, it won't fall to bits around you.

Faults:

I had many problems with the carburettor of the car, I'm afraid I cannot remember specifically which parts of it, but a total cost of £300.

I've also had to have the carburettor flushed through a couple of times.

The earth wire of the carburettor had come lose, which resulted in the car not being able to run unless you constantly had your foot on the gas pedal! This took me and my Dad a couple of hours to realize it was the earth lead - think of how much a garage would have charged!!

General Comments:

I had this car given to me by my Nan - it was my Granddad's car before mine and he was the only previous owner. He hardly used it hence the incredibly low 8500 miles!

To be honest there were some good points about the car, but they certainly don't outweigh the bad!

Good:

Rear view vision - excellent for reversing.

Very cheap insurance, it's either group 2 or 3.

Bad:

Very poorly designed brakes - I almost had a fatal crash into the back of someone thanks to them instantly skidding under a slight pressure on damp road!

Road handling is very dangerous - I don't know how this car was let on the road!! You literally have to crawl round some corners to keep it on your side of the road!

Very sluggish - fair enough not much power being a 1.05 but still could be a little nippier for such a light car!

Overall I would have to recommend not to get this car - for the general safety of yourself on the road and it's awful reliability - only 8500 miles and that much work in 6 months!

I now have a 1995 Renault Clio 1.4 RT and lets just say I notice the difference!