Faults:

Clutch cable failure - easily replaced with a temporary repair cable that is of better quality than VW part.

Cold air affects the carburettor and running - solved by permanently opening valve that heats the carburettor from the exhaust system.

Seats wear easily, don't consider mine to be high mileage, driver seat is torn and can feel the frame.

Boot lid is rust prone, large hole behind numberplate currently.

General Comments:

So simple to work on and parts easily available due to its long-lived popularity.

Tidy, spacious interior.

Looks smart and presentable and slightly GTi.

Quite fun to drive, a basic car with a bit of go and potential.

Faults:

Needed a new wheel bearing on the passenger side front.

General Comments:

This is the best car I have ever driven. Its peformance is fantastic and fuel mpg is very good considering it's a hot hatch... can honestly say I can't fault the car one bit... everybody should have to drive a VW Golf GTi mk11 and I know they'd never look back...

Faults:

Muffler broke at 115000 km.

Front brakes worn out at 125000 km.

General Comments:

The Golf II is probably the last real Volkswagen, a simple and easy to fix construction at low costs with reson'nable room for passengers.

My 2 door Golf has been owned by a 65 year old man before who was the first owner and took care about the car. It was absolutely rust free and the engine was dry.

Spare parts are ridiculously cheap, every scrap dealer has a vast amount of them, so it doesn't matter much something breaks.

The engine might have been some kind of modern in 1980, but nowadays it's a joke. For it's power output the fuel consumption is too high, about 8 liters per 100 km. New plugs and filters didn't change that. With the 55 hp it is absolutely lame, when you boot it just the noise increases.

The handling is OK, you always get a proper feedback from the road. Without power steering you have a direct feeling while driving, while parking it is hard work.

The seats are a torture. I couldn't find a position in which my back didn't hurt after 3 hours, and normally I don't have problems with my back.

The Golf offers enough room for 3 people and luggage, but has it's limits.

When you are looking for a low price car and are able to fix some things by yourself, get one. Even a lot of people aren't realistic about the worth of their Golf, you should be able to find a good one at a reasonable price.

But it is technically, ecologically and with it's safety features absolutely out of date Here in Germany it is rather expensive in insurance and tax as well, especially when you have a model with uncontrolled catalytic converter.

I wouldn't buy another one, for that prices there are better deals. Nowadays this car is just for fans.

Faults:

Brake caliper seized, had to be replaced.

Had an intermittent fault with the car spluttering to a halt on motorways, only to start and run OK a few minutes later, finally attributed to carburettor freezing, easily fixed by replacing the hose to the air intake.

Choke pull down unit replaced.

General Comments:

Never failed to start or to get me home in eight years.

Would buy another if this car ever breaks, but I can't see it happening.

Completely rust free, even though it is not garaged and I rarely clean it.

Handles well, not particularly fast, but quick enough.

Faults:

Front wheel bearing.

Front outer CV boots (both sides).

Exhaust mounts (all!).

Headlight (a bit dim due to earth fault).

Back box.

General Comments:

Blinding performance (0-60 in 8 seconds).

Sticks to the road like glue.

Can do 48MPG, but not if you drive fast!

Bombing around the Cornish roads I usually get 35MPG, which isn't bad for a hot hatch.

As yet never failed to start (fingers crossed!)

Never broken down whilst I've had it.

Body work is solid.

Swapped my K reg 1.4 Clio RT and paid £300 for this car, I got the better deal as the Clio was scrapped last year!