The car in question

I have had 8 Mk11 GTi's, but only one 16V, it was my last golf, & I want another, but the best part of 6K could get you a lot of car these days.
And anyway I get a nice company car that's a hell of a lot faster & handles 10x better, so why do I still want it?

I guess it's the same reason I want a DP freestyler BMX, its crap by modern standards but it's what I used to have, so what do you want, as opposed to what you could have, car wise & bike wise?

£6k can buy you a fair whack of car that will depreciate very quickly!

£6k into that isn't going to be like throwing money down the drain is it?

Mk 2 GTI just about as good as it gets untill Mason finishes his silly Mk 1

"crap by modern standards"? Bit harsh? I'd guess it would be a lot of fun.

However I've got a P1800 (after years of lusting) and may succumb to something sensible. As for bikes, I've tried retro, nice to look at, crap to ride.

If you can afford it get it – stick it under a cover somewhere nice and dry. Use on nice days and it will appreciate.

Although after reading it again and noticing the 170k im not too sure – yes restored but still not best for collectors.

If you could find one with genuine 20k on then that would be a find.

Why wouldn't you want it. I'd buy another at the drop of a hat if I din't have a company van, and wasn't saving for a house. Still reckon it's the best car ever made.

£6k into that isn't going to be like throwing money down the drain is it?

Hmmmm

I think the first is only worth what someone will pay, especially as reading the ad closer it seems it was re-built in 2006 & has had a fair amount of use since.

There are a lot of valvers about for 3-4k with less miles, something has stopped me 🙁

Awesome car, but I'd be looking at G60s if I had 6k kicking about, even a rallye

But for a touch more

Kharman ghia dude

Having had cars that have lost me plenty in residuals and cost me a small fortune to run I went for a complete change. At the moment (and for the last 3 years, which is unheard of for me) I drive a Fabia vRS, I really am very happy withit but I too have always hankered after something from my earlier years. I fancied an XR3, XR2, MR2 or GTI and the likes. So for my 34th birthday my wife bought me a 1986 MK1 Golf GTI cabriolet. 😀
as for bikes, my main bike is a Bionicon Golden Willow but I'd love a Team Raleigh Burner although I'm under no illusion that I'd look anything less than a fool on it… Not unlike the Golf most likely 😀

when I was 17/18 my dad bought a mk1 (I think, the 1600 one) gti with a full body kit – he went to test drive an estate of some sort but this had been ordered & cancelled and he liked it 8)

and he insured me for it 😯

and I didn't crash it 😯 😯

It looks like a nicely judged restoration for someone who actually wants to drive it rather than bubble-wrap it. It's the iconic hatch of it's generation, the right model and the right colour. If you can keep it covered and can aford to say loose £1500 over however long you own it, go for it.

The right colour would be oak green – closely followed by the bright blue metallic 😉

Buy my 1989 scirocco for £500.

HTH

That car would be HUGE fun (I used to have the 8 valve) and I would rather have that than the so called hot hatches that are around now. It's had lots of good work done but is the price right?

I drive a boring Ford but would much rather have a Caterham R300 90% of the time. Can't think of a bike other than a Laverda RGS1000/Jota 😉

On the upside, it's a 3 door.

Personally, I'd be looking for a 90 spec car and hoping to pay rather less. The car has obviously been built to look externally original, but to me, a nice Golf needs something a bit nicer than 14" Montreal alloys.

I'd say it's definitely on the pricey side – have a look at Volkswizard and the other old Golf specialists. It'll never be worth as much as a 40k all original car for the true anally retentive buyer, but the work hasn't added that much to it to someone looking for a modified car. Ultimately you'd have to look at it – if the paint's very good, and the car's had every rubber bush and engine mount replaced, maybe there's so much work in it that you couldn't find another in the same nick for less.

Or have a look on ClubGTI's classifieds.

drive a boring Ford but would much rather have a Caterham R300 90% of the time.

My Busa would be more fun than an R300 🙂

http://pistonheads.com/sales/1698155.htm

Quite a stroll down memory lane. Some years ago I had a black version of that exact Mk2 16v in the OP.

Mine was in good nick when I sold it but it did have 130k on the clock and not the 12l in the advertised one.

I loved that car and if I had a spare 6k doing nothing and another family sized car for regular use I would be tempted.

I would also be tempted by a VR6 Corrado, another motor which has been discussed on here.

Bazzer

I was expecting 2 wheels. That is lovely but must have cost you a small fortune!

I was expecting 2 wheels. That is lovely but must have cost you a small fortune!

We don't talk about the cost 🙂

But I would rather be out on my mountain bike these days than doing track day's in that. So I thought it was about time I let someone else scare them self in it.

Bazzer

12,000 miles since restoration
(170,000 miles since new)

= Shiny shed.

If you want to ask idiot-types of money for an old car always prepare your case thoroughly (waffle and plead/cojule)….

If you want a mkII Golf- why not the Citi-Golf? South African import of the GTI model? Its basically all the tooling etc of the mkII made upto recently.

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/view-classic-cars-for-sale.php/orderby/year/desc/1/searchtype/returning

Looking at just the engine build alone without the gearbox and I doubt you'd get any change from more than 6K. What can you get new now for 6 grand that could even come close to that, answer nothing!

Go for it. If you don't someone else will. I sold my Toyota Corolla GTI RWD Coupe(facelift) and have always regretted it. To buy a heap now would cost me 6 to 8k. To make matters worse the new owner rolled it a month after I sold it to him.

He who hesitates!

What can you get new now for 6 grand that could even come close to that, answer nothing!

Impreza WRX and it'd walk allover it especially in the wet?

Not the point though, is it? As the OP said he has a company car which most Impreza drivers would give their right gonad for.

Inbred456 is spot on, look at the cost of the engine and other work done on the car and by the looks of it the owner will let it go for not much over £5k. That's a lot of pleasure for not a lot of money, comparatively speaking 😉

Golf 16V, crap by modern standards? Not a chance.

I had a 1991 16v (one of the very last Mk2s built). It was a bloody good car, excellent handling, firm (but compliant) chassis and a gearchange that hasn't been bettered since. I've not driven anything that steers so keenly on the throttle and it goes like stink to boot. The 35+ mpg economy is a bonus IMHO.

Buy one. If I could convince the missus, I would have another.

@Hora – the Citi-Golf is based on the Mk1 with a Mk2 grille.

The brakes are Mk1 awful and the five door chassis isn't Mk1 GTI stiff either.

PJM1974- still lush tho!

Can you still get spares for older cars?

I have been eyeing up an Merc 2.3 in Mint but 125000 miles…
Edit C class 200 for a grand-looks mint. But I think Merc parts are dear.

That Golf looks really nice, lots of work gone into it.

@OP What will you use it for? show car or summer or all the time toy?

Which one?…

Which one Hora? was that aimed for me or above?

Three door cars suffer from poor door seals and they haven't made the replacement parts for some time. You can adapt newer seals to fit with a stanley knife though.

There are a good number of pattern part replacements in the market, from body panels to engine valves, spares for a VW aren't usually too much of an issue.

Thanks for all the input & debate all.
I would only use it every now & again, not sure when really but I wouldn't show it. To make matters worse I would have to build a garage to keep it in & re-do the drive to accommodate it, this wouldn't be a cheap exercise 😕

I could buy a 'shed' & do it up, I have access to a couple of great mechanics & the highest discount from places like euro car parts, not to mention a painter that will do any bodywork, so I can get things 'on the cheap' so to speak.

Lastly Hora's 'shiny shed' comment could well be right, as I said earlier the work was done quite some time ago…

Not a classic car but a classic ad !

http://www.wehostdns.net/clio-ebay/renault_clio.html

I could buy a 'shed' & do it up, I have access to a couple of great mechanics & the highest discount from places like euro car parts, not to mention a painter that will do any bodywork, so I can get things 'on the cheap' so to speak.

No no no no no!

Either buy a minter if originality's your thing (ie, 30-40k, FVWSH) or a car that someone else has already done and done well – occasionally they do pop up on the likes of CGTI. Start going through a car properly and you're very quickly into big money – even a cheap MK2 build would run to a fair whack:

£1500-£3k for paint, depending on how good a mate the painter is and how good you want it.
£200 for shocks and springs if you go for the budget end of things.
£500+ for rebushing all the suspension.
£500 for a cheap ABF swap with you doing a lot of work yourself.
Probably £1k if you pay someone else to do it, go for the MK3 Gearbox (02A I think) and have the MK4 shifter fitted to get a decent gearchange and a box that will take the power.
Silly bits are now big money – some of the body kit parts aren't available from VW any more (or GSF, ECP etc.), so you need to buy a complete one from GPC.

Easily another grand in there for silly bits – dynamat, dinitrol, replacing parts that don't look right now the rest of the car is mint and shiney etc. Beyond that, it can easily suck up HUGE amounts of spare time – I've got a MK2 GTI in my shed that's needed a few bits of tidying up for a VERY long time now (painted, but needs some electrical work doing etc.).

Spares are generally available for old Mercs and VWs for a good amount of time – VW guarantee you can get the lot for 15 years, but plenty of MK2 parts are still available. Merc certainly used to have a policy of discounting older Merc parts as a bit of a marketing ploy to make the cars look long lived by encouraging maintenance.

Test drove a stack of those – they drive like tanks. Light tanks, but still tanks – horrifically clunky everything, agricultural gearboxes, noisy engines, reasonable handling but nothing spectacular. Christ, I bought a pug 205 instead – thats how agricultural the golf felt!

Merely a shopping car that left the factory warmed over, and for some reason gains Kudos with age because of a VW badge. I don't get it.

Buy something original and interesting instead. Because lots of folk want spazzy old Golfs they're overpriced.

Waderider – Harsh but very true.

Any suggestions then boys?