Just wondering how many people out there have one, and any comments on good/bad points of buying and owning one?
We have had nothing but old aircooled VW's so far, still love them, but it may soon be time to enter the modern age.

Mainly after any bad things to look outfor in buying one.
Also, of the people who own later watercooled VW's, how many do their own maintanance and repairs?
All this liquid cooling and electronic gizmo's has me worried....

Cheers for any comments!

Problems: Window regulators, door catches, plastic coolant fittings.

Good cars though

Good great all round cars

I had a 1600 manual
The 1600 is a dud though in all honest opinion
You REALLY have to row the gearbox.
Steep starts with four people you had to give it a gutfull to get away - I have no idea how the auto would cope
Wasnt all that economical either.
if you want auto I would look for a bigger motor.
Doubt you would pay much more.

Yeah the window regulators can break, but if they hadnt broken by now........
The replacements are better and fairly cheap

My biggest gripe is things like the windscreen washer hoses goes through the bonnet and is plastic that is brittle. Yes it just falls to pieces.
Why the didnt use rubber or soft plaastic I will never know

So all up - gets my tick
It is still a smart looking car

In sydney a good one can be picked up privately with say 150,000kms for $6k - $8k

That said I just bought a 1997 Mk3 1.8L CL manual with 120,000kms, with log books (propper service), 12 mths rego, new brakes and tyres for $3,200

Auto boxes in older VW's are somthing to be concerned about, not so sure about MK4's, but MK3 auto have heaps of problems.
You could do what Bizarre did and pick up a MK3 Golf GL (2.0L) or CL (1.8L) for less than $5,000 and you'd get many years of happy motoring.

Cheers all for the replies! Thanks for the comments on motor/GB combinations also.
I do not have to get anything in particular, the 1600 was simply looking for someting economical on fuel without having to pay too a high price for a relatively new car. If the 2L is as economical that is fine. The auto box is because the inlaws will also use the car occasionally and they can be hard on clutches/drive line, thought an auto would limit the risk.
No issues on power, anything this "new" will be more powerful than the old VeeDubs we have, we have no issues with a stock type 3 and auto box, and that runs rings around the kombi....

Don't have a specific budget in mind, but the price for the gen 4 golf's look OK. I would prefer a passat as they are similar priced, but they are a little large for the better half to drive. The polo's are a little cheaper, but I think they will be too small to lug kids around in.

Cheers 11cab, I'm sure you can help out when things break

Anymore feedback greatly appreciated.

Would anyone with a Gen 4 golf be able to measure the width of the rear seats? Inside measurement, door handle to door handle?
How comortable are they with 5 adults inside?
Just wondering how it compares to the cars I have. I assume it will be wider than a type 3 but smaller than a kombi.

Cheers

daughter has a mk4 1.8 manual and is a great car. 1.8 20v is a rocket compared to some others i have driven.
4 adults no problem, 5? put the skinny one in the middle and is ok

I've had two mk4 golfs, first I sold to buy a house, missed it so much bought another one!

My dad liked mine so much he bought one also. He has a 1.6l auto and it's a very good car. Is pretty economical and easily handles 5 adults up a steep hill.

My golf is a 2.0l manual (so was the previous one) and really there is not that much difference in power for everyday driving, just a little more torque, good for high gears. Had 6 adults (yeah bit cramped) and it was hardly noticeable except starting from stop up a hill.

Fuel economy, first golf was getting about 730km to a tank but my current one is about 650km a tank (first was was virtually brand new, second has about 150000 km on it).

I occasionally pull a 6x4 trailer with close to 1 tonne, but that really strains it, especially up steep hills.

They are a really great car. Faults, besides those mentioned by others, the early 1.6l manuals had weak gearboxes due to using rivits rather than bolts.

Golfs with centre consoles are prone to have the latch broken, but it costs $10 to replace.

The dash and arm rest plastics are rubber coated and often get scratched but it's not really a big thing.

Missing engine plastic shrouds and plastic bits are costly to replace from vw, so try to look for a car with all the bits.

Oh a word of warning, some people out there hack the odometre reading with a computer so be wary of low mileage cars. If the body is rough and showing lots of wear but next to no km's, then be vary cautious.

I have read that the south african ones had some reliability and quality issues, but never spoken to anyone with one.

The factory stereo are blaupunkts and are awesome, top quality sound, I don't understand why people change them.

Even though mine has quite a bit of mileage on it, it still feels like new honestly.

It is very comfortable to drive and can easily keep up with most cars. It's very quite and comparable to the mk6.

These golfs were built to improve the companies reputation for quality and class, as such, they were better than the audi a3. Because of this, the mk5 had dropped in quality slightly to improve audi's brand.

Width of rear seat from arm rest to arm rest is 130cm.

As you can see, I can't stop praising this car. It really is that good. Try going around in the city and see how many are still around.

There are lemons out there, but if you look carefully you should be able to find some really good condition ones out there for a reasonable amount.

If you need any other measurements or q's, feel free to ask.

Hey, Thanks again for all the great info, you sure make them sound good.
I still think a 1600 will do for our needs, but I should hold out for a good low mileage, well maintained one and not worry too much on motor/GB combinations Thanks for the tips on plastic panels, odometer etc!!
Size wise in the rear sounds about the same as the 411 so I can see how it will cope. What's distance from back rest to back rest (front to back) for the rear seats? Basically how much room for you thigh. The 411 has ~650mm with the front seats back.

Mainteance wise I guess they are quite simple? I assume like most modern cars they have a timing belt every ~100k and other than that's it's just fluids regularly?
What sort of life would you expect out of more major parts like brakes, clutch (if manual), CV's etc? I know this will very gretly with the person driving.

Thanks again!

ok distance from backrest to backrest is 630mm if front seat is all the way back, and 200mm gap for legs between backrest and front of rear seat. For my positioning (about half way back and roughly angle of typical beetle bucket seat) has 680mm and 280mm.

Maintenance, I don't do it myself on this one, leave it to my mechanic. Timing belt is supposed to be changed every 60k however many of the road have their original belts as it expensive to replace. Not sure about the rest.

Oh and when your inspecting cars, dont be scared off if you see cream and condensation inside the oil cap, it's common on these if driven infreqently and on short trips, because the engine does not get hot enough to evaporate condensation and traces of water in the engine. But this is the ONLY circumstance to happen.

Hey, thanks again.
Looked at a few for sale online, seems plenty to choose from, prices vary a lot though.
What are the differences between models GL, GLE, rally, generation etc? They all look about the same to me.

gl is 1.6L, gle is 2.0L, rally is 1.6, generation is later branding. Up until late december 2001 they used the gl and gle branding, generation started after that. Not certain but I think rally is before 2000 models. The SE and etc also started end of 2001.

Over the years the interiour colours changed a bit. Generally the 1.6 models had cloth fabric, and the 2.0 had velour. Also cruse control and rear fog light was not normally standard in the 1.6 models (May have changed after 2001?), where as the 2.0 had them as standard.

Early models had orange front fender indicator lenses but later they changed to clear.

Also pre 2000 models did not have an engine immobiliser. Afterwards it was standard.

At end of 2001 flip keys with integrated remote replaced the original standard key and separate remote.

Also early gle were 1.8L and some people reckon it performs better than 2.0l in low speeds, but 2.0l better higher speeds.

Trip computer also introduced on 2002 models.

Dash cup holders were revised over the years and the early ones were supposedly flimsy.

Not many differences, just small improvements. Essentially the car remained the same.

Thanks from me too for the info. I was vaguely toying with the idea of upgrading my Mk1 to a Mk IV.

just bought one for the wife ! she seems to like it !

Thanks again for all the great info, now I'm really torn between the 2L and 1.6L.... Will have to see what turns up, and look closer at what's out there.
Maintenance costs do worry me a little though, especially timing belt.
Time to start looking I guess. Lucky I'm in no rush, so can wait for the right car, unless the missus gets impatient.
Great to hear others are getting them also.
It's funny, never really notices Golf's before, but now that I'm looking they are everywhere.

go and have a look on vwwatercooled.org.au
there will be lots of info on the MKIV golf.

+1 with the vwwatercooledforum.

Don't be too concerned with the 1.6 to 2.0L, both are very good. I'm sure there would be 1.6's out there with cruise control, so it's almost the same. 1.6 has slightly cheaper insurance, so that's a big plus. (But heaps more expensive than it's aircooled relatives, almost had a heart attack first time I got a quote!:smilegrin

Oh and don't shy away from the light interiors if your concerned that it will show dirt easily, I have a cream interiour and the material is very resistent to dirt, a good vacuum and it comes like like new. (Except if you get grease on it LOL).

Keep a lookout for original floor mats, they have clips so they dont slide about. To buy them new from vw, the front pair are $170 and the rear are $120! Not essential but that is something I sorely miss from my first golf!

Cheers on the link, bugger more costs on insurance, what am I in for....

Thanks again for all the info. Been doing a little reaserch, seems electrical gremlins is the biggest thing to worry about, and seems a number of examples out there of people getting a dud. I can;t see any way to cover yourself from getting one of these yet.
Also cost of parts like lights etc, I guess that's why insurance is high for them.

Have been looking at a few cars, certainly a great range out there so have been looking mostly at lower milage cars or higher spec SE models. Even looked at a couple of Bora's, I assume they are essentiall the same as a golf and suffer similar issues?

Scary how many cars out there have not had timing belts done over 100k klm and 10 years old. I wonder how common it is for these things to die a sudden death?

Yes bora's are essentially golfs with a boot. Engine is larger, but most things are shared between the two.

Insurance is on par with other newer cars, so it's a fact of living unfortunately.

If you buy from a dealer you can get warrenty so that should cover you from any minor electrical worries, just don't count on it if the engine or gearbox goes.

True that the are duds out there, but that applies to all cars. There are plenty of people who write bad reviews on these cars but that does not necesarily represent the vast majority of happy owners.

As always, buying any car is always a gamble, so you really got to watch out.

Cheers Rob,
Have read into a couple of dealer warranties, don;t think they are worth much, they would easily escape paying out a cent I think. It's a bit like trusting a road worthy certificate...
Anyway, too many good cars to choose from at the moment, so just trying to pick the right one.
There are a number of "SE" golfs for sale, seem quite well speced for an older car.
Will see how I go.

Fair enough, happy hunting!

Cheers!
Have short listed a car, will see if I can work a deal. Keep you posted if it works out

Thanks again for your help, picked up a 2002 GL over the week end.
Hope it's a good one!

Very nice! Same colour as my first one, brings back many memories.

From the photo the bodywork looks to be in good nick. How's the general condition?

Since it's an '02, do you have the flip key and trip computer?

Cheers,
Interior is spot on, only 50,000km. Very few blemishes inside and out so it has been cared or.
The trip computer, remote keyless and a few other niceties were on the SE model. Looked at a few and would have preferred that but decided low klms was more important and this one came at the right price.
It's off getting the timing belt done and full service, so am looking forward to a decent drive soon.

As best I have found '02 was the last VW AG supplied golf, then they came from South Africa, probably doesn't matter though.

Well done