Im currently on the look out for a Mk1 golf in original condition, and while seaching I have noticed that there arnt as many Mk1's around as there used to be.

Couple of years ago I had a b1 1975 passat, and finding that was really hard. Back then there were more Mk1's on the road. Where have they all gone????

Its hard to find one full stop even harder to find one in decent condition.

hey man,

yeah they are getting hard to find, even crap ones to use as donors are becoming expensive!

try the watercooled site if you are looking to buy, that's the best place for Golf's.

cheers

I got an 83 SA model with 160k km on it for $1k if you want . Needs body work but not too bad . Its an auto . Its missing the carby to make it run.

It depends on what your after 2 doors are getting harder to find and you are right you dont see many on the road anymore they pop up on ebay now and then there a couple on carsales atm and if its in average condition expect to pay for it $$ anything thats remotely good even more $$$$$

In the past couple of years i brought a couple mainly for spares but 2 in particular i bought had big plans ran out of cash sat out side for a couple of years to rot its a similar story with most you see for sale these days shame really its hard to get one you dont have to strip and start over.

The mk1 doesn't get that much attention at all here in Aus which i think puts some of these projects to rest early on cause they don't draw the attention factor, don't see any in magazines i took mine to couple VWs shows i get the question "what is it by a judge!" been on a couple watercooled cruises you see 10 mk5 gtis and 1 mk1 thats why I love em cause they are unique

I bought one a while back as my first vw! love it and yeah it did take a while to find, especially a 2 door
you rarely see them getting around which is a shame, but i guess that makes them more appealing
i'm selling it now btw, need money for the kombi...

Yep, Mk1s are rarer than beetles and kombies. I guess they weren't appreciated in their day and were allowed to deteriorate and not restored. Except for real enthusiasts they're not appreciated today either. No one wants to pay much money for them.

It seems there's a lot of 'granny spec' Mk1s coming out of the wood work lately so they're the ones to look out for. I got lucky with mine.

It's interesting that,
sure its not entirely fair to compare a Beetle to a Mk1, as the Mk1 is generations ahead in design and technology

the Golf is a very nice car to drive, I love the steering, they just stick to the road, even with stock wheels and standard suspension, toss it into a corner and it holds on like a little race car. you have heaps of boot space, back seat is easy to fold down or remove completely, then you have massive amounts of space there. Used mine recently to take the lawn mower to be repaired....wouldn't fit in the boot of most cars. Easy to park, cheap on petrol...good highway speed.....ample room inside.....fact is it out classes a Beetle in every area.....except in charisma and character.


Its a very nice looking car, there is nothing wrong with it, but it will never have the appeal of a Beetle. Maybe that is why they are not appreciated yet?

That is of course just my opinion,

As I said there is nothing wrong with the Golf family, they are very good, sensible hatchbacks, world leaders in their class.

Beetle is good for the weekend cruise car, Golf for everyday use.

Desh makes some good points. Yes in terms of design and technology, the Golf is so superior to the Beetle in every way that there's just no comparison. Of course in 1976 (when the Golf was first sold here) it was a brand-new, state of the art design and the Beetle was already ancient. However I would argue that the Golf is every bit as appealing as the Beetle, and every bit appreciated as the Beetle is (at least in Europe - just not in Australia - yet). The Wörthersee Golf show in Austria is the largest one-make enthusiast car gathering in the world, for example, and nowadays there are more Golf enthusiasts in Europe (and even in the UK) than air-cooled enthusiasts. But then Europe has had a continual supply of new VWs over the years while Australia has not.

Yes you see more Beetles and Kombis in Australia than you do Mk1 Golfs, but that's because of the different scale of the sales of those vehicles. From 1954 to 1976, VW sold 265,000 Beetles in Australia and over 80,000 Kombis up to 1979. However, from 1976 to 1981 VW sold only 12,198 Mk1 Golfs here. The Melbourne factory had closed, all Golfs were fully imported from 1977 and LNC Industries was only interested in what made money - selling Subarus. VW only sold the LS and GLS Golfs here - no cheaper L or GL models that might have sold in volume, and no GTIs at all. No attempt to source from South Africa or Mexico.

The good news, however is that nice Mk1s do turn up from time to time. When you find one, grab it and look after it! It's actually good that not many people appreciate them - it makes them more special to us. And who cares what other people think anyway.

I agree that the Golf is light years ahead of the Beetle in terms of style and comfort (but still a 30+ year old car). Sure it doesn't have quite the same charm as an aircooler, but I think it is a lot more appealling than most other cars from the period. And those GLDs are pretty cool too.

The down side to the lack of appreciation is that people don't look after them, chuck out spare parts and cut up unwanted shells for scrap. There's not that many of that 12,000 left that we can afford to bin too many of them.

Once people binned or abandonded un wanted splitties - now people restore the rustiest examples and they go for big bucks. Golfs aren't quite in the same league but they're an important car historically, very cool but getting rarer and hard to find in good nic. You could see them going the way of the splitty. What's unappreciated and everyday in one year could be a prized treasure in another.
The relatively low number sold here is also working against it - the newest aircooled bug (in Aust) is about the same age as the oldest Mk1, but you see bugs everywhere, but rarely a Mk1 (around here anyway). Spotting one is almost cause for celebration.

Conclusion, if you see one, get it if you can. I love mine and I ain't getting gid of it in a hurry.

Luke, keep looking mate, they are out there just need to be in the right spot at the right time. My son and I have purchased 2 in the last 12 months, both 2 doors and both off ebay. One for $200 and one for $500. The $200 one is now undergoing a full rebuild as was painted over the xmas break while the $500 one was for donor parts. There're out there just keep looking......