Mk4 Golf 4Motion

[Southie 10]

So ive decided that i need a new daily and a 4mo seems to tick quite a few boxes

 

Ive seen a couple that i like the look of and will be going to have a look at them early next week

 

Any weak points or problems i should be aware of ? what are they like to live with ?

 

Thanks, Steve

[Portent 0]

Funny enough I'm trying to decide whether to sell mine and move to a mk5 GTI as my wife would like a newer shape car. But I've owned it for 8 years so I think I probably know my way around them :) I really do think they are underrated. Like all mk4's however the stock handling is not great (can be fixed with after market mods or to some extent with the optional factory uprated suspension like mine). Mine has been a great car for almost everything. I have found little to complain about and it's my daily (I have a wife and two young kids so it has served as a family car and still entertained me before I got the Corrado).

 

 

Positives

 

* They are great motorway cruisers and A road machines.

* Very comfortable.

* Much more low down torque than the Corrado VR6 (the 24v engine really is better than the 12v for modern driving).

* Haldex 4wd is great in the snow and wet. I really love it. Feels very secure.

* It is a superb all rounder.

* Great build quiality.

* Mine has been fantastically reliable. Not sure if they all are but mine has been.

* Fantastic grip.

* Understated... not that much slower than an R32 but looks like a standard Golf.

* Sounds great although much quieter than an R32. The standard exhaust sounds quiet and isn't too intrusive on the motorway but still has a nice note to it at higher revs.

* Much more modern than a Corrado; good visibility, good ride, good lights, parts are easy to source, etc.

 

 

Negatives

 

* The mk4 wasn't VW's finest hour for handling so it wallows a little (but great grip as stated).

* Heavy on petrol (mine averages near 30mpg on a long run but much less on short journeys).

* They are cheap now so falling into the hands of people who abuse them.

* The Haldex reduces the size of the boot. I still managed to get a push chair in there though.

 

 

Things That Have Gone Wrong On Mine

1) Needed a new battery. But that's to be expected over 8 years so doesn't really count.

2) A radiator hose split (but I think that was related to my wife damaging it rather than any actual fault).

3) Advisory last year on rear suspension bushes wearing... this does seem to be a common fault.

4) Faulty boot light.

5) Petrol gauge very occasionally shows full when at 3/4 of a tank (seems to be a common issue and caused by the sensor in the tank so an easy fix).

 

And that's in in 8 years... Obviously I can't vouch for all the other 4Mo's but it seems a pretty small list for the age of the car so they can't be that unreliable.

 

 

Servicing

 

Every 12k/1 year if not on long life servicing.

Up to 20k/2 years if on long life servicing.

Haldex oil needs replacing every 20k.

Haldex filter needs replacing every 40k (although to be honest I'd suggest doing it every 20k with the oil).

 

 

I'm in Surrey so not exactly local but not a million miles away either. If you'd like to take a drive in mine then you're welcome to (assuming youre insured on other cars). I'm not trying to sell it to you as I haven't even decided if I want to sell yet (and it's 5 door so doubt you'd be looking for that). But it would give you a reasonable idea of what a well looked after example is like.

[Southie 10]

Thanks Portent :salute:

 

Lots of usefull info there, can i ask what year and mileage yours has done ?, just so i can compare it to what im looking at

 

"averages near 30mpg" doesn't sound too good tho, i have been expecting something more on par with a 12v, low to mid 30's

 

But overall a positive experience and reliable which is good to hear, one thing i don't want to happen is for a daily to end up diverting funds away from the corrado and other projects

 

Thanks for the offer of letting me take a look at yours, unfortunately i wouldn't be insured

[davidwort 0]

I think you get a lot of car for your money but couple of minor things, March 2001 onwards cars will fall into the higher road tax brackets as that's when co2 emissions tax bands came in and mk4 interior 'soft touch' plastics get very scruffy with age.

[Portent 0]

March 2001 until early 2006 is indeed the CO2 tax bands but they are capped to band K. After 2006 the cap is removed so R32's etc are very expensive. Because it's capped at band K I pay £270 for 12 months.

 

Mine is 2003 (53 reg).

61,000 miles.

I'm the second owner, bought it at 6 months old with 12k on the clock, it was previously a VW demonstrator.

Full VAG s/h (due a service now)

5 door.

Indigo blue.

Winter pack (heated leather seats, headlight washers, auto rain sensitive wipers).

Sports pack (Santa Monica alloys and slightly uprated factory suspension although no idea how much better it is).

Uprated factory audio (amp, 6x CD, DSP and audio controls on the four spoke steering wheel).

Climate control (think this is standard?)

Auto dimming rear view mirror (not sure if that's standard?)

Cruise control.

Garaged since 2008.

 

Some very poor phone pics taken ages ago...

http://www.ajb.nildram.co.uk/pictures/IMAG0114.jpg

http://www.ajb.nildram.co.uk/pictures/IMAG0118.jpg

 

 

The point above about the soft touch plastics is valid. Mine has a few marks on the rear ash tray where the kids have occasionally put their feet and also a few marks by the ignition barrel where they are covered a sort of rubberised paint. The standard alloys might be a better bet too as the Santa Monica's are prone to water affecting the laquered surface.

 

 

 

If you're not insured then technically you can't test drive another (private) car for sale. So (legally) testing any car will be a challenge.

 

If you're interested in any cars that happen to be close to me then I could pop along and take a look first if that's any help.

Edited August 14, 2012 by Portent

[coullstar 0]

Your doing well getting above 30mpg. Ive had two and it was 26mpg average. 4wd and weight come into play compared to the Corrado 12v engine. I think they are the best all round Mk4, they just need a few little tweaks.

[kdub 10]

Had a few of these.

 

The misses has one for her daily driver which I take for the odd blast. She bought it with 50 thousand and now has 87k on it. Fitted with 18" alloys with 10mm spacers on rear, cat back resonated system and just about to have some weitec gt's put on it. Been faultless apart from anti roll bar bushes and drop links which these cars are quite sore with. Change the oil every year and haldex oil/filter every other.

 

Averages 29-31 to the gallon and she drives it fairly quickly. Secret to the 24v engine is to keep it up between 2-3k rpms, use the box not the torque and lightly on the throttle. Acceleration is quicker than the majority around you and the car reckons it does 18-21. Lug the motor or over rev it and that drops quickly down to 11/12mpg. Once up to speed a bit of defensive driving i.e. big gap between you and the car in front and really staying smooth with the throttle will see 29 to low 30's all day every day average. A good motorway run will see 34/35 on a good day.

 

Comparing it to R32's mk4'S that I have had it is better on fuel, much more comfortable and has 95% of the performance for half the money. Leaving the same price as the car to do what you like to it before you run into R32 money. Plus point as well is it is a street sleeper as nobody outside of the VAG scene knows what it really is.

 

The first one I had, I changed the anti roll bars, poly bushed it, weitec suspension kit and some sticky tyres. That thing handled excellently and all done for around 1100 quid at the time. Bought that car for 7k and the R32 i sold before I bought it went for 12k. So was still around 4k up.

 

 

There are a few cracking ones out there and if you constantly watch ebay etc you do find the odd 40-50k car come up for 3.5-4k which you would be looking at 8k plus for the same mileage R32.

[Southie 10]

Thanks for everyone’s comments

 

After a stupid amount for driving around i finally have one! Ive done almost 400 miles in the last two days and enjoying it, Its also showing about 34mpg, so pretty happy with that so far aswell

 

 

Two owners from new

68k miles with full service history from PSI Tuning

New discs and pads all round

New tyres all round

Just been serviced

 

Only thing that lets it down is the alloys, which have some quite noticeable lacquer peel in places, oh and no leather, but the cloth interior is still quite nice and its clean

 

I might look into uprated ARB in the future but im happy with it for now

[coullstar 0]

Good show, thinking about another one of these as well to replace the Beemer.

[Portent 0]

Well done. I've been looking at mk5 GTI's to replace my 4mo and every time I get back into mine I can't believe how good it it. I'd say it is certainly a better car than most modern GTI's. The only reason we're thinking of changing is that my wife wants a more modern number plate parked on the drive :( It's quieter, smootherm more comfortable, faster and sounds better. Great cars and underrated. Can be picked up for buttons nowadays too (dealer offered me £2k trade in). I think it's ironic that my Corrado is now worth more than the main family car :D

 

^^ I see that one has Santa Monicas and winter pack. Nice.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Portent

[Southie 10]

Yeah, i think its almost the same spec as yours

 

it also has the CD auto-changer, audio controls on the steering wheel with cruise control, Climate control, Auto dimming rear view mirror, just doesn't have the leather

 

Don't think you would have too much trouble selling yours privately if you wanted to go down that route, there were a couple that i wanted to view but had sold before i got there, so there must be a bit demand for them

[Portent 0]

I think I probably will be going down that route. I was looking at a few cars at dealers for ease of trade in with the service due. But haven't found the right car yet. So I think I'll get the mot, big service and haldex done and then look to sell and buy privately. Would you mind pm me how much you paid so I can guage how much they are selling for (rather than simply being advertised for). Thanks.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Portent