I’m in need of a new motor and have been looking at 2002/03 mk4 tdi golfs (130/150bhp). The thing is, i’m a bit weary as I’ve read they’re not particulary reliable, have shocking handing but on the upside have excellent performance and economy from the tdi motor. The cars i’ve seen are between £3500-4500 with around 70-90k on the clock and I’d be interested on your thoughts on the matter. I’ve already had a mk2 tdci focus, should just get myself another one of them?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

150 is more prone to cam failure.
130 is better but still has it.
100 is slower, but a 300 quid remap will get you 140

I know of a Bora 150 Sport with 98k for sale in Newcastle. Nice motor.

Just make sure you change the oil regularly and with proper VW specced oil and it should be grand.

had 2 130’s, handling not great but it aint that bad (if you push it it’ll eat front tyres). build quality is superb and I never have any problems with the running gear.
decent car imo

Handling is shite but they are pretty robust and are a great long term ownership prospect.

I looked at a few recently, didnt like them much so ended up with the same 130 engine in an a3 quattro. It’s bloody ace and was much better value for money.

I wanted to like the focus but I really don’t.

Get a another Focus a much better car than the MK4 Golf in almost every department. Or if you can stretch your budget get a MK 5 Golf with the 2.0 TDI engine.

our Mk 4 golf 1.6 handles amazing but had it on vagcom this morning to realign throttle body £35 ,also need to keep throttle body spotless otherwise it runs like a bag o shite

My wife has been driving one for about a year now. It was a slightly rushed purchase as her other car was stolen, and she needed a car fairly quickly for work. Despite not spending ages looking for one, the one we bought seems good.

Our is a 04 TDi 150. With about 100k on the clock. I don’t drive it much, but it seems comfy to drive, probably better sat on the motorway than tearing around country lanes. When you sit in it it feels like a solid car. Economy is good, I think it does about 50mpg. The tax disc is cheap. Performance is ok, my wife previously had a Impreza, obviously it is not a patch on that, but it is not bad for a diesel.

There is a common fault with the front fans not working, this had failed on ours when we bought it, but I got it fixed at the sellers cost. Worth checking if you do buy one. It has had a couple of minor electrical problems that I have fixed. Other than that it has been fine.

Didn’t have a Golf but had a Seat Ibiza TDI 130 (same engine) and had it remapped to roughly 180 bhp, 300 lbs-ft at Jabbasport. It was very quick, not just for a diesel either.

+1 for the A3 130 TDi Quattro. Remapped 180 bhp… absolutely loved it.

Did you have any clutch problems after remapping it? Thinking about doing it when the DMF inevitably needs replacing.

I have an 52 130bhp golf and cant fault it.

Still does over 60mpg on a run if you take it easy and stick to 65-75mph. bought it with 70K on it and on 130 now and touch wood not had a problem.

I wouldnt say handling is that bad, its a lot nicer than a focus to drive in my opinion and a lot better finished. If i didnt need a bigger car then id keep it till it died!

I didn’t. The Jabbasport remap limits the torque in 1st and 2nd to prevent, or at least prolong DMF and clutch wear. You will find this is a good thing, I would hate to think how fast you would go through tires if they didn’t. I was worried about the clutch/DMF issue too before I got it done, but trust me, its worth it.

It kept up with Civic Type R’s, and even a new Renault Sport Clio which really surprised me.

The look on their faces was priceless 😆

Obviously the Ibiza is quite a bit lighter than the Golf, but I’m sure it will still be as much fun.

Slight thread hijack, but I’m looking at getting an 03-04 seat Ibiza cupra tdi which I believe has the 150bhp vw diesel lump, does the jabbasport remap work on these engines too, or are they pushed as far as they’ll go already? Also does it destroy the possibility of drivingbit economically on days when I want to be sensible? I’m selling my prodrive impreza so looking forward to more than low 20’s for mpg!!!

Reports of weak camshafts in the 150 engine put me off them. Drove a couple and they didn’t seem much quicker than the 130.

I think the remap cost me £300 ish

Here’s the link

http://www.jabbasport.com/

Many people recommend them but there are others.

Ibiza Cupra is 160 and 260 ft lbs and they remap to roughly 200 bhp and 310 lbs ft, don’t quote me on that, Google it.

Economy actually improves because you have more torque, that’s if you can drive it sensibly, the torque becomes addictive.

The difference between the 130 and 150 engines is;

The 150 has a bigger turbo, bigger injectors, a front mount intercooler, and less restrictive airbox (may have missed something there)

The bigger turbo obviously takes longer to spool up, so acceleration might not feel any quicker than the 130 (might actually be slower) but once you get going it should be quicker.

One thing to note is, both the 130 and 150 bhp engines pretty much always make more power than stated from the factory.

If you use PD specific oil, it is supposed to cut the chances of cam shaft wear.

Personally I prefer the 130, and many others do to.

Cheers folks, this is all really valuable info. Can’t believe the range in prices out there, from £2000-5500 for seemingly the same vehicle! I’ve seen a couple of 130 tdi’s so will call up about them tomorrow. Wish me luck and thanks again!

Good luck matey

the neighbour gave me one of These for my Golf 130 TDi last night and it makes a huge difference to power, absolutely flies now. Cant comment on economy yet but not disappointed!

a friend of mine had the mark 4 130hp TDI, and that had the cam failure that others had mentioned at around 110000miles.

The end result was that it needed a new engine.

the neighbour gave me one of These for my Golf 130 TDi last night and it makes a huge difference to power, absolutely flies now. Cant comment on economy yet but not disappointed!

I would remove that before it knacks your engine. It just tricks the engine into dumping more fuel in, that is it. Total waste of time.

I’ve got a 52 plate GT TDi – the 150 bhp one. Bought it with 60k on it about 5 years ago and it’s coming up to 160k. Had a few niggly problems – mainly electrical, including the injector loom which gave rise to a misfire on one of the cylinders. Handling is average but for motorway miles it’s great. As above, find a good one keep it serviced with the proper TD oil and bobs yer uncle. I like mine anyway.

That should be PD oil!