The mint with the hole...

[Dr Nookie]

I'm looking for a Polo as a second car, mostly for daily duties for my wife. She want's a mini but literally everyone I speak to say avoid them..

We've really got about 7.5k tops and that puts us right on the cusp of a 1.4 facelift which has a bit fresher look and nicer infotainment etc.

I've noticed a lot of Jap imports at various dealer and never considered one. Should I ignore those/should they be cheaper/are they more hassle in any way?

[A500leroy]

Ignore, they have little rust protection and may be more to insure.

[Auto810graphy]

A500leroy said:

Ignore, they have little rust protection and may be more to insure.

Everyday is a school day as I thought it’s just JDM models that were not under sealed the same rather than a worldwide manufacturer not doing something for one small market.

As pointed out, insurance bit sometimes ULEZ and a few parts / options are different however VW UK approved the “Moda” Golf GTI’s etc a few years back and these were non UK designated cars.

[Scootersp]

As an alternative view they don't use salt over there and so many Jap imports come over in mint underneath compared to UK cars, so 'all' you'd need is a chassis treatment and you could be golden?

[Dr Nookie]

Cheers all. Bit of a mixed bag then.
I’d rather get a standard UK model tbh, I just can’t stomach spending more than 7k on a Polo for spare car duties.
Gotta be auto for the wife, that’s the issue - really limits the cars you can look at.
We’ve considered everything else, and it is perfect for what we want annoyingly…

[Dr Nookie]

wyson said:

I’d be scared of a £7k Polo with an early dry clutch DSG. Dry clutch DSG’s of that era were shockingly bad to drive and very poor in terms of reliability, just read story after story of £1.5k mechatronic rebuilds on newish cars just out of warranty.

As a member of Zipcar, I tried multiple early Polo and Golf DSG’s they were all dire, no matter what engine they were attached to. When it came time to buy my own Golf, I got a manual, even though I spend most of my life crawling in London traffic.

Should say that I recently drove a 22 plate Polo with DSG, it’s moved on so far in the past 10 years. Much less jerky in traffic, not as dim witted, no head jerking levels of shunt moving from forwards and reverse gears when parking etc. Really quite an acceptable transmission now, even if I still prefer the behaviour of a torque converter.

If you read what PH’ers say in the forums, people with newer cars, say upto 4 years old say positive things about DSG. People with older cars, say negative things, the dim wittedness of them being a biggie.

If an auto is essential, at your budget, I’d buy a different, non VAG car. I’m guessing from what you are saying, a £1.5k mechatronic rebuild won’t be small change to you. If you MUST have a Polo of that era, at least swot up on the early symptoms of DSG failure and go on an extended test drive before purchase. I would bet that a fair number of cars were sold because their DSG’s were on their way out. Good luck OP.

Edited by wyson on Wednesday 11th October 10:18

Thanks for that.
I wasn't aware of reliability issues on the auto, although as a passenger on a recent test drive I wasn't over the moon with it. We have no option on auto - it's all she can drive.
We have flexiblity on marque and she really wanted a Mini, but I can't face wading through the endless bad copy on the timing chains and wot not and every garage near me has said avoid them..

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd take a good look at the Kia Rio in either 3:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308311...

Or 2 spec:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309141...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309131...

With their conventional autos & N/A engines they're nigh on bulletproof.

[anonymous-user]

Why not get a hybrid? Plenty of models from Toyota, Honda and others for less than 7.5k. They still act as an auto, plus you avoid the dry clutch DSG issues with the Polo as described

[wyson]

Dr Nookie said:

Thanks for that.
I wasn't aware of reliability issues on the auto, although as a passenger on a recent test drive I wasn't over the moon with it. We have no option on auto - it's all she can drive.
We have flexiblity on marque and she really wanted a Mini, but I can't face wading through the endless bad copy on the timing chains and wot not and every garage near me has said avoid them..

DSG seems to be a difficult technology to get right. Peugeot and Ford have struggled with their dual clutch transmissions. I'd personally avoid the lot at that sort of power level. VAG wet clutchers for higher output cars like the Golf R are supposed to be fine however.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a27438193/ford-p...

Edited by wyson on Wednesday 11th October 16:00

[akirk]

I have just spent a similar budget on a 2012 Mini Cooper S convertible - looked at the polo as well, but the mini just seems so much more fun - plus I like having a convertible. Mine is a R57 (R56 is the non-convertible) - they have a bad reputation because pre c. 2010 they had the N14 engine which fell apart as you watched, however the newer ones have the N18 engine which is apparently far more robust.

[lj04]

Buy a mini after 2015. 1.5 is a decent engine