Faults:

Persistent loss of power, jerkiness and misfire when cruising at 50+ miles per hour. Discovered 20 minutes after buying the car. Caused by broken link on air temperature regulator flap in the inlet of the air filter housing. DIY fix with a picture hook. £0 cost.

As with all Golf/Polos of this age its worth checking that all vacuum tubes around carburettor and air intake are not split and have a good tight fit onto each inlet tube. I got about 25cm of vacuum tubing from my local VW specialist (who refused to take any payment) and replaced all tube ends.

Faulty contacts on windscreen washer control arm on steering column. Had to strip and adjust copper contacts.

Brakes are terrible. The car stopped slightly better after changing flexible brake hoses during as part of MOT.

Oil leaks from rocker cover. Check before buying new gasket as leak may be from the fuel pump mounting seal. The fuel pump mounting seal costs £1.75 and is as easy to replace as the rocker cover gasket which costs £17.50.

Instrument panel bulb not working cheap (£2) but irritating to fix.

Also temperature gauge works intermittently. Previous owner had replace thermostat and sender unit. I cleaned the voltage regulator contact on the top back of the instrument panel and the gauge worked for a bit, but has gone on strike again.

Replaced boot on CV joint for MOT. £Not much.

Topped up 1/2 a litre of oil.

Paintwork is awfull, thinly applied (VW's idea of weight saving?), faded and streaky. The body work is bubbling around the sills.

General Comments:

The car is not fast, but it is light and nippy and the engine feels unburstable and revs its little heart out. Handling is generally good if tyre pressures set correctly.

But the brakes make progress slow because they never feel as if they are going to stop the car in time.

All things considered, not particularly reliable, but it only cost £150 and has been very cheap to fix and run.

Faults:

The car has gone through a basic rebuild,

Front disc's, pads replaced

Rear brake shoes replaced and valves

All suspension, shocks and springs

New 5 speed gearbox

Full exhaust system

All belts and filters replaced

Paint reconditioned

Fuel tank neck re welded.

General Comments:

Considering this is my first car its reliability and performance were excellent, the car is quite old, but the build quality of the car remains excellent and sturdy.

The car has taken a lot of work to get it to its current condition, but many parts have been replaced for peace of mind rather than neccessity.

The car has never not started on me and performs well when on the road.

Overall I am very pleased with this car and I can't wait to upgrade to a golf mark 2 so that I can continue my obsession with vw's.

Faults:

Cam belt almost killed engine.

Core plugs leaking.

Head gasket leaks.

Tracking is suspect.

Heater fan works when it feels like it and not before.

General Comments:

Bloody great car, loads of character. It has a few faults that would be worrying in a new or more expensive car, but it doesn't seem to mind and soldiers on.

Braking is fun as the nose dips to the tarmac.

I reckon I can take it to 150k with no major servicing, I like a challenge.

Faults:

Slow puncture always on the front tyre on the drivers side.

General Comments:

The car always starts up first time.

Surprisingly quick for a 1.0 litre.

The handling is very good since the car doesn't weigh that much.

The looks of the car aren't the best in the world, but as the saying goes looks are'nt everything.

Fuel economy is excellent I filled my up completely and it lasted for about nearly 1 and half weeks traveling at least 25 miles a day.