Faults:

The central locking never worked. the system is pneumatic and I thought it would be too costly to repair so I lived without it. I put a back box on it and had Volkswagen set up the steering geometry. nothing else broke.

General Comments:

Words just don't do this car justice. what can you say about the original hot hatch. it set off like its tail was on fire. Started first time every time, held the road as well as you need a car to hold the road. it wasn't a formula one car, but it was 100% standard. id never have got rid of it if it hadn't been written off my an evil speeding Citroen. it did 35-40 mpg. parts were readily available and cheap. the seats were excellent, the dashboard was very well laid out. it made all the right noises. the rear subframes are weak on these cars so check the rear tire wear. also they shouldn't rust so if you find a rusty one, run away.

Faults:

I bought a new Golf in August 1990 because I wanted a bigger and better car than my previous car, an 87E Polo.

It was good for long journeys, but it was only the base 1.3 engine so the performance was nothing special.

For the first two years, the Golf gave good service.

General Comments:

But then came a phase where the car was cutting out and a fault occured with the suspension. I was told that it would cost £250 to repair because the warranty had finished. But I decided to sell it and to save money bought a Polo 1.3 CL.

The Polo lasted more than five years, but really got on my nerves.

The Golf was a reasonably good car, but it wasn't worth the money and didn't last as long as it should have done.

Faults:

Power steering pump gave up at about 123k.

CV boots have split once since owning the car.

Exhaust mounting has corroded.

General Comments:

Considering this car is 13 years old, I'm not going to complain.

Its absolutely fantastic and from going from Ford to Volkswagen, I am converted.

The car is reasonably quick and drives mint, as it has full history etc and is in extremely good condition. If you buy a decent one, I guarantee you'll look forward to getting in it - every time.

Faults:

No major faults to speak of, some minor ones..

On cold days the car starts and promptly dies. Waiting a minute and starting it means it then goes fine for the rest of the day!

Expansion tank cap seal perforated - sprayed coolant all over the bonnet when hot!

2nd gear synchromesh getting a bit clunky, especially on cold mornings. Might try synthetic gear oil.

Tracking needed adjusting - 8 degree toe in.

Starter motor sometimes reluctant to do anything.

Seal on drivers door started leaking, making the footwell a fish tank.

General Comments:

Overall a very solid and reliable car.

Changed oil every 5000 miles on all the Golfs I have had and never had a serious engine problem. These cars just want to live forever!

Performance is adequate - can be quick enough if pushed hard, but can also return 44 mpg if gently coaxed. Lots of low end torque (for a 13 year old car).

Handling is good - not a good as the GTI, but still sticks to the road well and never feels jittery or unpredictable.

VW build quality and over-engineering certainly shine through.

These cars don't depreciate like their Astra or Escort competition and still fetch good money 2nd hand.