My wife wants a new (second hand) car for the short commute and dropping off the kids. We live in New Zealand at the moment and cars generally cost more than the UK, and are mostly imported from Japan. Being a bit fussy she won’t go for another Japanese car, which are the most popular over here and wants a Golf.

I’ve looked at a few, and they’ve been a bit rough. We are looking at late Mk4’s about 2002/2003/2004 with about 65,000 – 75,000 Km’s on the clock. But drove a 1.6 today and it was quite underpowered. So looking at the 2.0 Gli model and the 1.8 turbo Gti model. Does anyone have any experience or view on these cars?

Thanks in advance!

2.0 won’t feel any better than a 1.6 heavier and not much more power

1.8t is the only mk4 petrol to have, anything less and the diesels are a better drive

That would seem like very very low kilometrage for a car of that vintage. On 1.8t engines you need to look for evidence of regular oil changes with quality oil that meets the VW spec. (used to have a TT with that engine but no specific experience of the golf)

I had a Mk IV Golf GTI 1.8t back in the UK before moving over here to Oz.

Stuck 25K on it for the price of two services, one MOT, and a set of tyres. Had 75k (miles) on it when I got it, just over 100K when I passed it on. To be honest, it’s the only car I’ve ever had that I just knew would work every time I got into it (never having spent more than £3k on a car)

I’m now stuck with a horrid Hyundi Getz that cost 5K AUD with 128k km. I’d need another 5-10K to get a replacement Golf over here 🙁

Thanks, they are all pretty low KM imports here, normally verified mileage, it’s just what gets imported, i guess commutes in Japan are shorter 😕

Yeah i fugured the 2.0 wasn’t much more HP than the 1.6. I’ve give the 1.8T a go tomorrow, is there much difference in the pre 2002 cars? I don’t hink they all have the tiptronic and the stability control? is that right?

I’m now stuck with a horrid Hyundi Getz that cost 5K AUD with 128k km. I’d need another 5-10K to get a replacement Golf over here

Yeah Aus prices are just insane! I suppose you get paid more there but the house/car/beer prices are truly mental. The average age of a car in NZ is 12 years old, so we are seen as proper rich having post millenium cars. 😯

Well, new cars (Jap/Korea/Oz) don’t seem that much more than back in the UK, so just saving up and waiting to have a credit history before I probably get a scooby…

my 1.6 gear box was riveted together and therefore split, writing off the car. Otherwise, great car.

I’ve got a mk4 1.6 match. It’s pretty sluggish as the others state but solid and comfortable enough to drive.

I went for a 2.3 V5 over a 1.8T because I like the noise the engine made! 170bhp too

Things to look for are the window lifters breaking. The originals are plastic and snap and the replacements are metal. The other common fault on them is the rear screen washer. The tube that carries the water through the wiper spindle can snap meaning your washer fluid goes into the boot lid and kills the locks. Make sure the rear washer sprays upwards and doesn’t move with the wiper

Got a chipped 1.8T and not had any issues other than the usual coil pack replacement. Go for the newer AUM code (same as in the audis) as they are thr drive by wire and supposed to be the better engine.

I used to be a member on http://uk-mkivs.net/default.aspx but got into Mtb so the car became just transport and all funds diverted to new hobby. Loads of nice informative peeps and pages of stuff on everything you could possibly want to now. Just like on here really

As above I owned a 1.9tdi. It was brilliant apart from the electric faults (window regulators)

i have a 1.9 octavia, which shares a lot of the same bits, and faults, electric window mechanism can be fragile on older cars. They changed the materials, or at least the repair kit is different to the oem version. The windscreen wiper spindles have a tendency to corrode and then freeze. I believe the the instrument cluster can die, pull a fuse and it works again. There can be an issue with water getting into the electronics in the drivers(?) door causing issues with windows, mirrors, central locking etc.

1.8T’s have an issue with coil packs. In theory this should be sorted by now….

I also went for the V5 2.3 litre. The engine was wonderful, a bit thirsty mind, but like all the mark IV Golfs it was a fairly staid drive.

That said, although overall it was very well built and generally reliable, the cooling fans failed several times, perhaps 3-4 times in the 6 years I had it from new. It was a fault with the fans in the V5 and didn’t seem to affect other models.

I played hell with VW for replacing fans that they knew would fail in less than 18 months or so refusing to pay £600 for fitting new fans that they new were most likely going to fail and all in all VW treated me well.

I had the 1.9 tdi on a 52 plate and wouldn’t buy another one. It had lots of faults happen: Both front electric window winders collapsed, rear washer pipe comes apart and fills boot with water, sensor in the coollant expansion tank failed, windsrcreen wiper rack siezed, glove box handle broke, turbo started playing up to mention a few. I confronted VW on all these problems, to which they admitted were all common faults and updated parts were available at rediculous prices. All this started just outside the 3 year warranty they offer. Ended up buying a Focus instead.

Things to look for are the window lifters breaking. The originals are plastic and snap and the replacements are metal. The other common fault on them is the rear screen washer. The tube that carries the water through the wiper spindle can snap meaning your washer fluid goes into the boot lid and kills the locks. Make sure the rear washer sprays upwards and doesn’t move with the wiper

Good points.

I had a GT TDI about 5 years ago- It had all the issues you mention. I sold the car to my dad about 3 years ago and it got to 120k miles without an issue. (apart from the minor niggles mentioned above).

It would still be going now if some old dear hadn’t slammed into it whilst parked at 60mph and wrote it off.

I love VAG group cars- my most recent was a mk5 GTI dsg and it was a dream (until it was stolen a few mts ago and it only had 18k miles) Regardless of what people say vw/audi sure know how to put a car together.

Had a gti for 3 years, done 40k in it with only routine servicing and maintenance, pretty nippy but not the most inspiring car to drive. nice interior too. avoid 2.0 gti as they are oilburning slouches, v5 is very heavy and juicy, go for a 1.8 turbo or non turbo, both good 20v engines…watch for window mechanisms that drop, dropped doors on 3 door models, rear beam bushes and any hesitancy which could be a throttle body….good cars, ide buy another..

had the 1.9 tdi on a 52 plate and wouldn’t buy another one.

+1
mine as awful too, loads of irritating problems and it had terrible handling.

Had a 1.9TDI 90bhp estate for a year. Worst handling car I’ve ever owned but the best fuel economy. That 1.9TDI is a fantastic Diesel. Parts are cheap and home servicing is a doddle. Small things needed doing in that year, having said that it had 140k on it when I bought it. Wiper linkage and anti-roll bar bushes. Side light replacement is a bumper off job but only takes 20mins. You can improve the handling with after market shocks etc but having said that if its for the wife she may prefer a softer ride 😉 Never failed to get me to work and I sold it roughly for what I paid for it minus the parts cost. The 1.8T is the only petrol model I would have. The 110TDI would get my vote. It has the best MPG and a good spread of torque and power.

when i moved to NZ a few months ago my plan was to buy another golf, as it’s all i’ve owned in the past 10 years however they were just too expensive and second hand parts would be hard to come buy as VW don’t seem to be that popular.

I’d say have a look at the BMW 318Ti (the compact one) as they are a decent price and there are plenty on the roads. guess your choice becomes more limited the further away from the central north island you go just because there are less people.

2.0 litre engine is pants. Terrible on fuel for its power and pretty rough. 1.8T is a lot better and more powerful but still thirsty. The mk4 was a bit if an embarrassment for VW overall. Well made, good image but most models handled incredibly badly and no engines really shone. They suit the diesels better. R32 was good – I had one for a year – but big fuel costs.

http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/VW-Volkswagen-Golf-Mk4-used-Buyers-Guide-GTI-etc-etc_W0QQugidZ10000000000796739

Check out the review-some faults to watch for but otherwise a fine buy.

All the best Alex, hope all is well in NZ!

All european cars are expensive here even the Jap imports. BEar in mind many of them spend all their time in traffic so its stop/start and very hard on the drivetrain. My advice would be if you can persuade her that nobody ever got rich fixing Toyotas so get one of them – they aren;t too bad and much better value to maintain and run than a Golf. If you are in Wgtn get it serviced/checked at Powerhaus in Thorndon.