Theres a minter of a mk3 golf gti being sold round the corner from me.. red, 70k, totally standard, old womans shopping hack!

Couldn't have came up at a more perfect time as my wee Polo has sadly died

Just thought i'd gather some opinions from you guys and see whats what! Any advice is muchos appreciated!

:-D

Edited 8 November, 201114 yr by SCO_OLOP

Test drive it and see what you think?

Some people like them, others (Mclovin ) hate them.

All personal opinion. They rust like fook, are underpowered and handle like shite is the main three concerns that seem to crop up.

I'd own one but it would have to be a hella clean ABF.....nothing else.

Edited 8 November, 201114 yr by demolover

i;ve got an abf (mk3 16v) and i got it with 58k on the clock - currently on 65k.

nice car, no rust really (which is not common)

suspension is a bit soft - but perfect for what i want, family wagon.

8v are slow - the valver with 150bhp isnt bad but needs some thrapping up the revs to shift.

window regulators are shit on them as are abs sensors

Its not as nice looking as a mk2 obviously, but they are cheap as chips and mine has turned a few mk3 haters around.

i;ve got an abf (mk3 16v) and i got it with 58k on the clock - currently on 65k.

nice car, no rust really (which is not common)

suspension is a bit soft - but perfect for what i want, family wagon.

8v are slow - the valver with 150bhp isnt bad but needs some thrapping up the revs to shift.

window regulators are shit on them as are abs sensors

Its not as nice looking as a mk2 obviously, but they are cheap as chips and mine has turned a few mk3 haters around.

See, Pete knows what the people want.

I have only been in the ABF and a VR6 and the latter wasn't all that. The ABF is the one i would go for. I think when clean and fettled they have a mk3 GT, G40 bigger brother charm about them with the black plastic arches etc and contrasting paintwork.

Saying that i bought another GT recently and thats what i would buy instead of a mk3 golf 8v gti. More fun, cheaper to run, maintain and insure.

Theres a minter of a mk3 golf gti being sold round the corner from me.. red, 70k, totally standard, old womans shopping hack!

Couldn't have came up at a more perfect time as my wee Polo has sadly died

Just thought i'd gather some opinions from you guys and see whats what! Any advice is muchos appreciated!

:-D

You'll only get a few responses, most of the mk3 gti owners died due to the crap build quality.

Test drive it and see what you think?

Some people like them, others (Mclovin ) hate them.

All personal opinion. They rust like fook, are underpowered and handle like shite is the main three concerns that seem to crop up.

I'd own one but it would have to be a hella clean ABF.....nothing else.

Add me to that list. Cant stand the things. The bodywork turns into sponge the second you look away. Mate had a solid one while we were in Uni, 12 months later it failed the MOT with serious rust issues. MOT tester managed to push his hand through the sill by accident.

I've personally helped send 3 to the scrappy.

I've had 3 and never had any rust issues.

Try and find a post-'96 model as I'm pretty sure the shells came galvanised from the factory (seems true, mine have all been fairly clean despite high miles and unwashed painwork).

Wouldnt have any engine other than a TDI to be honest. Vr's arent quick for a 2.8 and they're thirsty as out, ABF's aint all that either. At least the TDI will do what it set out to do eg, reliable and good on juice.

You only buy a VR for the noise and given a choice id have a 2.9 corrado over the golf.

I had a valver gti and for the money (£500) it was a right laugh!

Had some dodgy lowering springs which made it handle slightly better than standard!

But it was quite fun revving it's tits off!

I had a valver gti and for the money (£500) it was a right laugh!

Had some dodgy lowering springs which made it handle slightly better than standard!

But it was quite fun revving it's tits off!

You only buy a VR for the noise

Heard that more times than i can remember, but seriously, who would buy a car purely for the noise the engine made and not take any other factors whatsoever into the equation? Must have more money than sense.

They do make a nice noise, theres no doubt about that, but cmon....would you pay strong money for a Daewoo/Kia etc if it had a relatively fruity sounding engine alone? Didnt think so.

yeah they rust.. but consider similar era polos - mk4, they are just as bad from what i've seen on here.

this summer too i was getting 40+mpg on journeys with still plenty of torque and tbh, when i drive my g40 i miss the valver!! mmm comfty - and even with wallowy springs it'll still out corner and out brake a g40! (wishbones and 280mm brakes to thank!)

You only buy a VR for the noise

Heard that more times than i can remember, but seriously, who would buy a car purely for the noise the engine made and not take any other factors whatsoever into the equation? Must have more money than sense.

They do make a nice noise, theres no doubt about that, but cmon....would you pay strong money for a Daewoo/Kia etc if it had a relatively fruity sounding engine alone? Didnt think so.

There are no other factors its a mk3 golf

Ye but what are the chances of Kia ever making an engine that doesnt sound like a cat with its dick stuck in a hoover.

You only buy a VR for the noise

Heard that more times than i can remember, but seriously, who would buy a car purely for the noise the engine made and not take any other factors whatsoever into the equation? Must have more money than sense.

I did, but then the car I swapped it for only owed me about 200 including the tax and test I put on it and even then I regretted it straight away. Get it into a tunnel and wind the window down and for that few seconds you wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world... But then it was back down to earth with a crash when you realised that even with all that noise you weren't actually going anywhere very quickly

The comment about the KIA is pointless because mk3 golfs don't tend to sell for strong money.

You say non of your mk3's had rust issues and then go on to say they had unwashed paint work, so they probably did but it was covered by shit

I do like the vr6 seats tho, just put some in my jetta and with a bit of modifying they look factory and are a real nice place to be, other than that tho the vr is a massive let down in every way from my experience. Problem with the mk3 gti (especially in 8v flavour) is that in the eyes of insurance its a sporty car although its not, so your paying sporty insurance for a mundane motor.

Worth watching this topgear clip just for the lolz at the mk3

Edited 8 November, 201114 yr by Mclovin

Cheers for the responses guys! Obviously I wont know for sure till I drive it but going from you lot are saying... they're kind of shit, lol

The comment about the KIA is pointless because mk3 golfs don't tend to sell for strong money.

You say non of your mk3's had rust issues and then go on to say they had unwashed paint work, so they probably did but it was covered by shit

I see VR6's ranging from £500 - £4000 generally. Usually over the £1k mark, which is strong money to me, especially just for buying an engine (because the buyer doesnt care about any other factors, such as reliability, having 4 tyres, having a heater, having a steering wheel etc - just the noise).

My point about my unwashed mk3's is that they didnt even rust with 2 years worth of winter salt and general wet mud on them - which tbh is more than i can say a lot of cars i have owned.

What everyone means to say is you want a Mk2.

an 8v GTI is no faster than a 16v polo to 60.

lots been said but its down to what you want,have a drive and see how you feel,you must like the looks of the mk3 to be at this point

mclovin is right ,high insurance for not a lot of car,spesh a 8v

borrow or wait and get a mk4 imo .youll be suprised how little extra the insurance is on a 1.8t compared to a 8v mk3

but thats my opinion only,down to you kiddo

abf with a kr head?

Would have to be a ABF, we had a Yellow colour concept with the an ABF conversion. Was a wicked car.

And the rust ain't as bad as every says it is, the people who say that bought a cheap shit one.

I converted my old mk3 to a VR6 and along with uprated suspension it was brilliant! I know its not a GTI 8 valve, but as far as handling is concerned you only need to stick an aftermarket suspension kit on it and it'll handle great! I was really surprised how well mine handled! Would beat most things on the road that I came across, however they're absolutely SHITE on fuel

I think they only don't handle well when they have standard suspension, and that goes for most standard cars from that era anyway!

Apart from that, they are just generally good cars! They can be everything you want from a car, quiet, comfortable, refined, fast, reliable, can look good sometimes ( ), so I'd say if you can get it for a good price, go for it! Parts for them are pretty cheap now too!

I'd just like to add for the person that said they have poor build quality- BOLLOCKS When you take one apart, its unreal how much consideration has been taken on things you wouldn't even think of during their build process, and they make the car so refined. Especially considering they are like 15 years old now. You can't say mk3 Golfs have shite build quality whilst driving a mk3 polo and thinking yours is any better (I did find your comment funny though :-D )

Edited 9 November, 201114 yr by Phataz1

I got a 1.8 8v for my winter car put the polo coilovers on it slammed it low and very fookin slow in my op it looks nice from the front but every other angle it just ugly looking thing

And the rust ain't as bad as every says it is, the people who say that bought a cheap shit one.

Most mk3's are cheap and shit, its the only vw I can think of that you can't add scene tax to

There is no point trying to say that mk3's don't have a problem with rust, its a well known fact that they do. They were being built at the same time that vw (and many other makes for that matter) started sacrificing build quality in favour of cost cutting. They started using cheap recycled metals and plastics which just don't last the test of time. You only have to compare how many rusty mk2 golfs you see to how many rusty mk3's you see, then just to proven the point even further take into the equation that any rusty mk2 you have found have been through many more salty British winters than the mk3's.

It's not just golfs, mk4 polo's are built from equally shit materials as well as any other car being built by vw during that era.

Az comparing a mk3 polo to a mk3 golfs build quality is a little pointless, the polo was built cheap and basic where as the golf was meant to be the flagship model. If a more modern golf was built worse than an older poverty spec entry level shopping kart than some thing is really going wrong with the company that built them

VR6's are the tits, but then mine has had plenty of £££ spent on it. I went out in a standard one and the noise is surprisingly quiet when its all factory standard.

VR6's also sell for GTi money because the seller knows how much dollar it needs and hoping the buyer doesn't