Hi all,

I'm new to this site, and will hopefully soon be the proud owner of a polo.

Haven't got one singled out that I'm going to buy yet, but looking for one under £1k as a first car.

My family's had VW's for years, golfs, corrados, sciroccos - so a polo is the only way to go! :-)

Is there any kind of buyer's guide around? Advice on what to look out for when buying?

(I've had a look at the Mk table and I'm looking at 6n's, maybe a 6n2)

Welcome to the club!

My family were BMW until I bought my first polo, since then my dad swapped his 320d for an EOS and has a Bay Camper! Will never convert the Ford GF though :(

You could buy my 1.4 8v 6n2 off of me? :p http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?...=310842&hl=

If it's a 6n you're after then rust will be your main enemy

and if its a 6n2 it'll be gearbox and electric windows are iffy.

Other than that, if you can find one that's been looked after then it will do you well!

Welcome!

buying guide to a 6n is quite easy...

- Rust.

but in all seriousness, they rust like mad. front and rear arches, doors, sils... all over. other than that, theres not really any massive faults. its just a case of finding a clean one.

6n2s have a galvanised chassis so the rear arches wont rust, nor will the sils. but i've just had to put a pair of wings on my 2000 6n2.

other than that, on a 6n2 you'll be looking for...

- gearboxes, the majority of them might as well be made of toffee, but this is mainly on the GTIs. i've had no problems on my TDI and its on 184k! if it feels alright and goes into gear no problem, it'll be fine. you can get re-conditioned boxes.

- pedal box, probably the most common fault on these because the clutch pedal snaps off the pedal box on the models with a cable clutch... so most of them. if its already snapped and been welded back on or the pedal box replaced, you should be alright.

-rear axle bushes, i've heard of a few people needing to change them but they're not that expensive to change.

then its just the usual stuff really, timing belts after around 60k and a water pump every other timing belt is recommended, service history etc etc..

what engine size would you be looking at?

completely forgot about the pedal box!

Fantastic, thanks Andy. I'd be looking at a 1.4 as although it will be a first car I may be doing a fair few motorway miles so a 1.0 wouldn't quite cut it.

I didn't realise there were 8v and 16v versions though, probably why certain insurance quotes were wildly apart.

As for buying yours Starry - if it was standard I'd think about it but for a first car, having it modified isn't really an option I don't think.

Thanks again for the advice!

Edited 25 July, 201313 yr by IbsKhan