Thought id get the ball rolling...
Vehicle: VW Golf4, 145000 miles, 115BHP, (possibly had something done, will find out on RR day) KnN Panel filter fitted by myself, no other modifications.
Length of ownership: 4 Months
Pictures:
Im not a 100% sure but i think this may have been remapped/bigger turbo as seems a bit more than 115BHP. I get a nice kick up the arse as soon as i hit 2000RPM and the turbo whistles loudly! Top speed is as stated in the books, at 120MPH, a little bit more on a downhill. Its not going to ever break records but is quick enough to keep up with a Fiesta ST. Handles fairly well, but you get lots of body roll, but i suppose thats what makes it fairly smooth to drive. I get good MPG, 50 around town, and on a run you can see about 65MPG if you drive sensibly.
Inside the car has a nice host of gadgets, fully adjustable seats; heated, electric heated mirrors, quickclear windscreen, climate control, ASR, cup holder
and for motorway journeys the centre folding armrest wins for me. Typcially of a diesel its louder than a petrol, but with the stereo on quiet you can hardly notice it. On that note the standard system, CD/Radio/Tape player, is very good quality, no need to upgrade speakers at all, Seats are comfortable and hold you in place enough while going round corners spiritedly, without digging into the side of you.
So far this has let me down a 3 times, i still cant pinpoint what the problem is. This has happen 3 times: when you come back to it after say being in shop for 5 mins and turning it back on, it turns over and over and wont start up, leave it for an hour and its fine. I think this is the glow plug relay though, no diagnostic machines seem to pick the fault up. I also had to replace the temperature sender sensor, however this is a common problem and easily fixed in 2 minutes.
Other common problems include rear axle bushes wearing quickly and doors dropping a bit as there so heavey!
Parts cost is N/A to me as i get it from work however for your average joe bloggs parts are easy and cheap to find (eurocarparts!). I would never want to do any major work on it my self as its bit more complicated than my fiesta but servicing is easy to do yourself. Mine falls into the pre 2000 tax bracket so costs bout 106 quid for 6 months tax, and i pay 120 quid a month insurance. 2 years no claims, and 3 points(SP30). Im 19.
Has built in alarm and imobiliser, alarm is a bit pants, but does the job.
Only negative thing i have too say about this is, i shouldnt really as it cant help it, is that it sounds like a tractor!
To sum up, if you can find one thats been looked after, serviced, cleaned, a cherised (SP?) like mine has and get a good deal, your in for a win! I looked at a lot of golfs before i found this one, and allthough this has a lot of miles, it drives like a dream and its in superb condition, inside and out (well apart from one dent the size of a 5p).
This is probably one of the better cars that i will buy in my life.
Hope this helps someone, James
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