My Money Pit

[craig_the_german]

It all started last August when I bought my first VW. I had dreamed of owning a dub since I first got my licence...some 23 years ago.

I found what I thought was a good buy. Mk4 1.6 Manual done just 50,000km. It had full service history so I thought i was onto a good thing.

Since then I have spent over $4000 in repairs (not servicing - repairs)

It has had a complete gearbox rebuild including clutch replacement - $3700
Gear linkage bushes replaced just last month and I have just been told that the air conditioning compressor is on the way out....conservative estimates range from "over $1000" to $1300 for an after market compressor....one place told me "you are looking at 3 grand if you want one with VW on the box"....

That will put the repair bill at well over $5000.....in just 50000km or 16 months of ownership.

To say I am P*#%ed off would be an understatement.

I had to convince the wife that VW were so reliable to allow me to buy it in the first place...now I have egg on my face big time.

Have I been unlucky and got a silver golf that has actually been resprayed as it was originally lemon yellow?

To think, I sold a 3 cylinder 900cc Daihatsu charade to buy the Golf. I owned that little beauty for 17 years and did over 330000km for a grand total repair bill of $300 for a clutch and $300 for a couple of CV shafts.....makes own a VW seem hellishly expensive...............

[Golf Loon]

You bought the wrong one mate. They put more love into the top of the range stuff.

The base models like yours used a lot of old parts, Mk3 Gearbox and clutch setup. Mk1 CV Boots and more.

Those 1,6 manual boxes are notoriously bad.

[craig_the_german]

My Money Pit

Hi,

I have since found out about the 1.6 manual box and it's issues.

I had thought of trading up to a GTI shortly but it's now hard to justify...I just don't think I am game enough.

[HOLEIN1]

i have had similar experiences with mine, although i still love it to death...

had lots of little things go on me over the last 12 months, and now im up for a gearbox rebuild and clutch, and the suspension is on the way out too

gets frustrating as all i want is a little run around with a few light mods such as ECU etc and havent been able to afford it yet as something is always going wrong

spose you get that with any car, theres always money to be spent, and unfortunatley VW parts are a lil expensive!

i used to have a little corolla, and yes it was a cheap fix, but it certainly didnt have the build quality and look of the dub so things like that justifythe expense for me

just wear it lke i do (as hard as it is), there great little cars

[Mrk_Mickey]

Ouch, that's a really unfortunate run with your car man...Don't really know what to say other than if you're willing, hang in there!

[dubbed]

Bit of a bummer, isn't it? I've had to replace the MAF and coolant sensor within six months of owning my GTI and it still has a couple of other issues.

I had an ED Falcon for 4-5 years and the only thing that went wrong/broke was a fuel pump. Any other problem was related to me effing around with it. I gave it hell too and she never complained.

On the contrary it feels so much better driving something with a bit of class, great features and excellent build quality (aside from the aforementioned common problems).

[HOLEIN1]

Ouch, that's a really unfortunate run with your car man...Don't really know what to say other than if you're willing, hang in there!

haha almost at then end of my tether!

funny coz ive wanted a MK4 golf for several years (no idea why) and when i finally get one its a flippin nightmare! haha

hopefully my bad luck will soon dry up and i get teh car that ive been longing for!

[spritle]

yep. I know what you mean.

I had the gearbox go on my mk4 1.6 just before my wedding. Needless to say SWMBO'd think's it's a lemon. But then she's got an AE112R Corolla so comparing a VW to a Toyota for reliability, the VW's always going to lose.

Is the VW cheap to maintain? Nup. I knew it going in when I bought it new, since my parents have had VW's in the past ($26 for a nut for a Type 3... back in the '80's). It almost makes my BMW bike parts seem cheap (at least you got fast turnaround for importing of parts ex germany).


But it's still more comfortable and nicer to drive than my wife's car (I don't get a back ache after 30 min's and a foot cramp after 2 hours on the freeway).

For me, that's the price . *shrug*

[VDUB-BUD]

Yeah I know what your your talking about. I just had to replace my air con. compressor in my MK4 GTI cost $1900. I also think the bearings are going, when i turn it makes a noise??? I thought i bought a steal when i first got it with only 45000k's on it thinking low k's meant better condition.lol. Looking to trade it in in the near future, going to go with some thing jap. Alot cheaper for parts and easy to get.

[peedman]

A good a/c place is m&j auto elecs in guilford who did mine. I think $1000 is a reasonable quote for a new one if its inc installation, new gas and dryer.

[gavs]

I feel your pain craig!!

After doing copius amounts of research, I decided against buying the Mk4 golf, only to find that my folks had already bought it for me after being convinced by a slimy c**t salesman at a dodgy dealership, to buy it under the premise of "it's german, of course it's reliable".

Didn't they feel stupid when I told them that it's a piece of sh*t mexican car! Anyway, after my short term problems with the car, (i've owned it since june!) i've decided that as soon as the warranty (which is probably worth nothing the shifty pri*ks) is up, i'm moving the Mk4 on. I got it to replace a Toyota surf, '89 build that had done approx 250,000kms, had a gearbox on it's way out, the injector pump dripped fuel, cooling system ate coolant somehow, leaky head gasket, power steering box was like a sieve, front hubs were shot, all the shocks were worn and i'd take it back over the golf anyday!!!

Spritle mentions that he finds his golf comfortable, I can't stand it!! No lumbar support in the backrest, the peddals are in a weirdo position for me, the brake is mounted higher than the throttle, the seat cushion has bugger all support and even after the 30min drive to and from work each day, I get out stiff and sore, something I never had a problem with in the Japanese car.

Add to that the myriad of squeeks, groans and rattles in a car that's not even 10 years old, my surf was pounded off road and 19 years old, missing 2/3rds of the screws that held the dash together and a seat bolt (dunno WHERE that went!) and the only squeeking or rattles I had was all the leaves sucked into the fan for the aircon!
I'm with VDUB-BUD, definatley going back to Japanese with the next car!