2000 Golf 1.6L - what to look for?

[ph9]

How reliable (or not) are the basic Golfs from around 1998/2000? I think I'd be looking at a bog-standard 1.6l 8-valve engine - possibly an auto gearbox.

Do they need timing belts and water pumps changed, and at what intervals?

Anything else to look out for?

[Pebbles167]

Don't know anything about the maintenance, but I had one in 2007, a 1.6. 8v & 16v are more or less the same. I hated it. Understeery, wallowy, fairly slow etc. Traded it in for a Renault Laguna which I thought was far better in all aspects.

The blue lit dials and switches the Golf had were nice though.

[ph9]

Thanks! I'm just looking for something to replace my old Volvo which was written off, and am just looking at individual cars which appear to be looked after and which aren't rotten (there aren't too many of those). I haven't seen the Golf yet, and don't expect it to be a fast, sporty ride, but as long as it's fairly smooth\comfortable\reliable I'd be happy-ish. I know VW probably aren't the most reliable, but think the cars from that era maybe weren't too bad. I'm waiting to hear from the seller...

[stevemcs]

What to look for ? A mk1 Focus with all of the welding done.

[Pebbles167]

ph9 said:

Thanks! I'm just looking for something to replace my old Volvo which was written off, and am just looking at individual cars which appear to be looked after and which aren't rotten (there aren't too many of those). I haven't seen the Golf yet, and don't expect it to be a fast, sporty ride, but as long as it's fairly smooth\comfortable\reliable I'd be happy-ish. I know VW probably aren't the most reliable, but think the cars from that era maybe weren't too bad. I'm waiting to hear from the seller...

It'll do you fine for all that, and it's not a horrible place to sit, which is probably most important for you.

It's old engine tech, tried and tested, no horror stories there. Rust may be present, but I've not heard of it causing major issues for the MK4.

[soad]

stevemcs said:

What to look for ? A mk1 Focus with all of the welding done.

Not sure there’s many left.

Used to see plenty over 15years ago!

I was looking for one in 2022, all rusty - MOT history a mess.

ST170 might be a better bet?

[Raymond Reddington]

I had a mk4 albeit 2.8 V6 4Motion and it was a lumpen old thing and quite unreliable.

That being said a friends MK4 TDi went on and on with minimal maintenance.

I have a MK5 Golf 1.9TDi and whilst I haven't gelled with it, it's a competent car for every day duties. I've got it up for sale for something bigger but I would probably keep it even though it is rather boring if I didn't need more space.