G'day

As the title says how common are the MK2 Golf GTI's in Australia and how easy would parts be to come buy?

I ask because in a few months time I will be buying my first car
Now pretty much since last year I've been studying Beetles (L/super) virtualy every day and was extremly keen on buying a Superbug for my first car. However at the moment I really dont think I'm earning enough money to keep a beetle going if somthing were to go wrong, and the thought of having to re-sell a beetle shortly after purchasing it because of lack of funds is horrible.

And this were a little Mk2 Golf GTI comes to mind as its a VW and I love its styling and practicality (1.8L with a 5 speed). But if it too would cost to much to get parts for then Id like to go with a MK3 Golf.
Any input onto the Mk2 GTI's servicing costs, reliability and availability of parts would be quite helpful

Thank-you

My mate's son just bought a Mk 2
The Australian version is the 1.8L 5 door and there were not too many of them
The faster version is the 3 door 2.0L import

Dunno about in Qld but parts are reasonable

Mate's car has had to be repaired twice lately and wasnt too bad.

40 year old injection would be the biggest worry and period correct pieces

Personally an L bug is heaps cheaper to repair

Most parts are available through Camden Gti or GTi Imports at Galston
http://www.camdengti.com.au 

Thanks Bizarre,
I never knew that 3 door 2.0L were imported here, Id imagine they go like a bloody rocket with an engine of that size in a car so small. I agree with you on the repair costs for L bugs, but I just can't take the risk of buying a bug that is gonna need a heap of parts and time to get it into a "reliable" every day car state.
I've read about how reliable bugs can be, but getting them to a reliable stage is what worries me

Thanks

I personally believe that Beetles are far cheaper and more common than Mk1/2 Golfs, GTi or otherwise. My first Beetle only cost me $300 and I had it all fixed up and on the road for an outlay of perhaps an extra $500. My current S-bug has got wide wheels, nearly new tires, good paint and a stock 1600cc twin port engine in good nick, for a total cost of roughly $2500. I have picked up a few bargains and put in many hours of work at home in the garage, but it's definitely achievable, and they're simpler to work on for a DIY beginner than a Golf (in my opinion). I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to find a good, roadworthy Beetle for around $3000, and if that's out of your price range then so is a Golf GTi!

Ryan

what do you think you are going to pick a GTi up for??

My mate paid $4k for his and it was in good but unchecked condition
It was an ex show car but had sat neglected for about 5 years

Id like to think around $5,000
Is that being a bit to optomistic???
Only suggesting that price as the other (few) GTI's on carpoint are around the $5,000 mark.

Nah - you should get good for that

You would get a GREAT Mk 3 but wouldnt have the style

No Mk1 Golf GTIs were sold here at all. Any you see are all private imports.

There were no 3-door, no 16V, and no 2.0-litre Mk2 GTIs sold here at all. Any you see are all private imports. The ONLY Mk2 GTIs sold here were 5-door, 1.8-litre 77 kW 5-speed manuals from 1990-92, and autos from 1991-92. VW's then-importer, TKM/Inchcape, also brought in Mk1 1.8-litre 70 kW Cabriolets at the same time. They sold only 486 Golfs - GTIs AND Cabrios together - in three years. So there aren't many Mk2 GTIs around, but you might be lucky and find one.

TKM/Inchcape did not import the Mk3 GTI - we got the luxury VR6 instead. But our GL model (1994-98) got a 2.0-litre 85 kW engine, better than the Mk2 GTI. The Mk3 CL got the 1.8. There are plenty of Mk3 GLs for sale - check out http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/buy-a-car/  . You can find them for less than $5k now but you'll pay more for a good one with lower km. They're great cars but need to be serviced properly by a VW specialist who knows what he's doing. There are a few electrical relay gremlins that can crop up - K-Mart Auto won't know how to fix them, but VW shops do. They run well on 95-RON fuel and parts are easy to get too.

You just can't compare ancient Beetles with Golfs, much as we love them. The Mk3 came with twice as much power; five-speed manual or four-speed auto; fuel injection; four wheel power disk brakes; power steering; air-con and a proper heater/demister; power windows; power side mirrors; front air bags; four doors; a rear hatch with courtesy light; four-speaker sound system; night rear mirror; door, seatbelt and headlamp warning system; intermittent wipers; smart interior lighting; modern comfortable seats in cloth; split rear seat; rear wiper and demister; full carpeting; etc etc. Try fitting all that to a Beetle, even if it was possible, and see how much it costs...

BTW, Volkswagen uses a capital 'I' in GTI. Little i is for pretender copy cars.

Thanks Phil
The 3 (and 5) door MK2 GTI's are such lookers
Im not particulary concerned with mileage as my uncle once owned either a MK2 or MK3 with 400,000 km on the clock and it still had plenty of life left.

Thanks

Phil, thank you for correcting me on my GTI spelling error! I've never had any dealings with waterpumpers so I don't really know much about these things. I would really love to have a Mk2 GTI of my own one day, but as has been noted above, they are very rare in Australia and nowhere near as fast as the proper European spec ones. For this reason I'm not really sold on the whole idea, as you can easily get a much faster hot-hatch from another manufacturer for your money. Don't get me wrong, I love the Golf, but I just don't see a $5k 77kW 5 door as much of a performance bargain. For the same money invested in something Japanese I could have a turbocharged car with double the power. Granted, the Golf was possibly the first hot-hatch, but many of it's more recent imitators are now a better buy than the original. On the other hand, air-cooled cars are completely different to any modern car, and to me they are more about enjoying the driving experience and the unique style rather than outright speed, and for that reason the direct price comparisons don't apply.

Ryan, yes I do live in SA and things are a bit easier here because there are no roadworthy inspections of any kind required, even when you buy/sell a car. Also, I was lucky with my first car to snag an absolute bargain. I do maintain, however, that a solid Beetle in good condition with RWC will be cheaper to buy, run and maintain than a Golf GTI in similar condition. Air-cooled spare parts are cheaper and more common than water-cooled stuff, and the cars need them less often, provided that they are looked after. As an example, it is easy to find complete used 1600cc twin-port engines in good running condition for well under $1000, fenders for $40-100 each and sets of wide wheels for under $200. With no oil filter, the only parts needed for regular maintenance are a $5 sump gasket kit every second oil change, and a set of plugs or a fan belt whenever you feel they need changing. Be aware that they do need an oil change religiously at least every 3000 miles (roughly 5000km). If you can do an oil change, adjust valve clearances on flat tappets and check your points and fan belt then you can service a bug at home, which will save you money. Even having said that, a service from a VW specialist with new points and plugs should still come in around $200. If a modern car is what you are after, then go for the Mk3 Golf, but if you want every drive to put a smile on your face, then my money would be on the Beetle. Just my 2c!

No, the Aussie-spec Mk2 GTI was a great disappointment in terms of power output. Ours was a 'left-over' spec that was originally designed for the Japanese market, to run on the low-octane early lead-free petrol of the time. It's all we could get then, as our small market and almost non-existant VW presence then meant that we had to take it or leave it. And even with VW selling 30,000+ vehicles a year here now, the problem still happens. Our Golf R will only have 182 kW, compared to the UK-spec one at 198 kW.

No, you wouldn't spend $5K on a Mk2 GTI purely as a 'performance buy'. But what about as a newer classic VW that is worth preserving? Don't forget it's not all about 'performance'. Our Golf Mk2s were still GTIs in every other way - fantastic suspension and brakes, and classic looks that still look great today. You can't say that about an '89 Pulsar Q. Likewise with the Beetle - the Triumph Herald of the time was faster. But which one is more prized, and collected, today? Golf Mk1s and Mk2s are becoming colllectable in Europe and the UK because people are realising they were better than their peers of the time. Australia is just a bit behind the times Golf appreciation-wise but hopefully we can change that. You can still do a few things to the Mk2 to speed it up - Mk3 engines bolt straight in, including the Euro 16V, and even the VR6.

As for today, the number of awards the Mk6 Golf has won (World Car of the Year, Wheels COTY, Drive COTY, CarsGuide Best Car, NRMA Best Car, Top Gear COTY etc etc) shows that recent imitators are NOT a better buy. The Golf shat all over its imitators when they were compared in detail in those reports (see February 2010 Wheels for example).

We need to get rid of this silly 'us v them' thing with air and water VWs. They are BOTH VWs, they are BOTH great. True VW Happiness is owning at least one of each !

"I mean, for the price of a mid-90s 2.0L Golf, I could get a nice V8 Commodore of the same year, or a classic Mini in decent nick, or an imported Daihatsu Charade GTti turbo. For the price of a nose-heavy VR6 I could buy a turbo Skyline and go drifting!"

Of course you could - they might be fun - but then I couldn't think of you as a 'Volkswagen' enthusiast! And VWs holding their value better than the cheep and cheerful copies is great when you own one. But Mk3s are quite affordable, and you can get nice Mk4 Golfs for around 10K now. Yes you could get a Commodore instead; most people do. But I wouldn't - I love VWs.

Ryan there's plenty of time to get a Beetle later, as a project car, as you keep driving your nice Golf to work every day. There isn't much difference between a Mk2 and Mk3 as far as working on them goes. Engines/gearboxes, suspension and brakes are similar enough to not worry about. The difference is that the Mk3 is more complicated in that it has electro-pneumatic central locking, and power windows - a few more things to potentially go wrong. But parts are easier to get in Australia as they were a 'mainstream' model, and VW dealers still stock parts.

Looks like we're coming from opposite ends - I've never owned anything but Vollkswagens, and wouldn't think of buying anything else. At least we can meet in the middle!

Haven't seen any MK2 Golf's around the Cairns area but I just got back from a 6wk trip to South Africa and they are VW mad!! The most common car I saw over there were MK1 Golfs! Yes you heard right. MK1 Golf's, or 'Citi Golf's' as they are sold over there. They use the old styling but chuck a whole heap of modern stuff into the car like alloys, air con, power steering etc etc and are very popular with young drivers as they are cheap to buy and run. http://www.vw.co.za/models/citi/