Hello all,

I'm brand new on the forum.

I've just passed my driving test and can't wait to get a car.

I love the Polo and for insurance purposes I need to start with a small engine. The 1.2 from 2002 is what I am hoping to get.

My dad is going to help me to find one.

Whilst researching the pros and cons of the Polo he has found a few adverse comments about the timing chain/belt.

I am hoping that I have come to the right place here to find out what to look for generally when buying a second hand Polo 1.2 of about the 2002 age.

Thank you very much

Rachel

Welcome :-D

1.2 3cylinder's a chain cam. trouble free. think the 4 cylinder's a belt. As long as the belt/tensioner (and anything else that should be changed at the same time) is changed, it should be fine.

check you can hear the indicators clicking. it's not the relay you hear - it's an electronic module that's the wrong side £200 when it breaks!

Check the rear wiper works and actually wipes the whole length of the blade. Ours (and others i've heard about) miss a big patch in the middle - VERY annoying on a car that shape!

throttle bodies tend to fail (engine management light'll be on if there's any worries in that department) dear too, for what they are!

inner rearmost bushes on the front suspension are a shocking bit of design and fail (with apparently correct tracking and accelerated wear on the inner edges of the front tyres being the symptom.) MOT testers might not think to look... ours passed MOT with them BADLY distressed... I found the problem a week later!

rear screen washer hoses come apart and turn the boot into a swimming pool

electrical connections to rear lights suffer after water ingress round the reaer lights leading to weird electrical gremlins! (and the rear lights will most likely break where the "bolt" is fixed in the 1st time you take them out to change a bulb)... can be glued, and lights are cheap enough on ebay etc.

ours is an 03 reg (owned from nearly new) that's suffered all the above but still has original exhaust, shocks, springs, and only on it's 2nd set of brakes at nearly 70K miles.

and if it's got "keep fit" windows, it's really easy to knock the rear winders if you put stuff on the back seats, leaving the window open 1/2" or so... just enough to keep everything nice and damp so the mould/moss starts to grow!

Hope that helps.

coilpacks!

and welcome

chain driven is far from trouble free, I know of lots of people who have had chain failures (including myself) mainly around the 50k mark.

VW actually done a revised chain kit, if this hasn't been done, knock £200 off the price at least and make sure it's done straight away!

chain driven is far from trouble free, I know of lots of people who have had chain failures (including myself) mainly around the 50k mark.

VW actually done a revised chain kit, if this hasn't been done, knock £200 off the price at least and make sure it's done straight away!

Interesting...[creeping paranoia feeling]... Relating to which engines?

Thanks very much for the information.

I've used the knowledge (well, my dad has!) to find me a lovely little Polo.

And such a bargain too - not a 2002 but a late 2004, tinted windows and big alloys.

I understand that the later Polos don't suffer from the chain belt problems mentioned by Panda. Am I right?

Thanks again guys.

Rachel

chain driven is far from trouble free, I know of lots of people who have had chain failures (including myself) mainly around the 50k mark.

VW actually done a revised chain kit, if this hasn't been done, knock £200 off the price at least and make sure it's done straight away!

Interesting...[creeping paranoia feeling]... Relating to which engines?

1.2 12v engines, it's a massive flaw. So much so that VW developed a revised kit.