Polo 1.3-litre, Peterborough

26 July, 201016 yr

Make: Volkswagen

Model: Polo

Year/Reg: 1993 (K)

Mileage: 115,400

MOT: None

Tax: None

Hi guys, first time poster. This car was previosuly adversited on Retro Rides, though a member from your forum recommended I put it up here too.

I'll try not to got into too much depth: To keep my partner happy, and with a Toyota MR2 Mk1 which already needs some fettling, I’ve decided to call time on our little VW Polo. The final nail in the coffin was its fuel pump (the exterior one, not in-tank). It’s corroded and leaks and I’ve not being able to find a cheap replacement.

Tax and MoT expired mid-June. It's been stood ever since. Daft thing is the car was in daily service right up until end of May. It was taken off the road when the petrol leak problem became apparent. As such it’s now a project which will require traillering away.

Very brief history: The car has had two owners from new. The first, a now elderly gent in Newcastle who decided it was about time he bought a Lexus. The second, my partner (who a couple of years ago lived across the road from said gent, and so inherited it) has used it as a 10-mile a day commuter wagon. Ignoring a limited number of recent runs to Scotland from Newcastle (for uni) it’s spent its entire life as a runabout.

Good points:

> Interior is near faultless. Tartan fabric seats have next no wear (driver’s seat included), the dash trim is practically mint, carpets are fine, sunroof works, there’s a functional stock radio cassette player and also a rather comical aftermarket anti-theft device which locks the gear stick in first or reverse.

> Bar the random anti-theft device the car is completely stock.

> Engine runs sweetly. Was used as recently as April for a 400-mile round trip for a weekend break in Scotland. As far as I can tell running gear, suspension and brakes and okay too.

> Body is good, I’ve checked the sills and there’s no structural rust to speak of anywhere.

> Five Michelin 155/70 R 13 tyres which have almost all of their tread.

Recent Work:

> Replaced rear and centre exhaust sections (June ’08)

> Full service (June ’08)

> Nearside, rear wheel bearing and stub assembly replaced (Apr ’10)

Bad points:

> Blowers only really work on full power.

> Battery tray can leak if rain blows in

> Back windscreen washer doesn’t work. Well, actually it does but the water ends up spewing into the boot. A pipe has cracked somewhere…

> Bonnet and front wings have gone slightly pink

> Last serviced June 2008 (when it came into my partner’s care) roughly 7000 miles ago. It’ll need an engine oil change at the least.

Very bad points (aka MoT fails):

> The main problem with this poor Polo is its fuel pump. The exterior (out of tank) cylinder has deteriorated and is now pissing petrol at steady rate.

> Although the back box and middle pipe are both new the front manifold needs replacing. To say it blows is a bit of an understatement…

> And finally, it needs a fresh handbrake cable.

Pictures: