57 minutes ago, Yeti said:

It was Loveday and Bennett, then became Louth Volksworld with a lot of the same staff. If you pull out of the industrial estate and swing a left towards town, Volksworld is now about 400 yards down on the left. 

 

Aha! I wonder if Volksworld has any of the old dealership information. I doubt it. 

 

As as I understand it, L&B was bought out by Dixon Motors, and became Dixon Volkswagen until the group folded. It’s a shame, I would have liked to trace some history here but I doubt it’s possible. 

 

By comparison, I know someone with a really early “new” Mini. BMW Group has the most incredibly detailed records of everywhere that car went before it was sold. I’ve no illusion that I’ll uncover the same. 

 

The suggestion is that either it was a showroom car (built in January, registered on Northampton plates in June, at a dealer in Lincolnshire) or that it’s excess stock from the recession. This would apply to all HERP cars. 

 

One thing I do know is, it’s not a press car. But the plate implies it was registered by Volkswagen UK. 

Well, it's been a while. Figured I'd drop in and say hi.

 

The Polo is still here, obviously. Well, technically it's not as it's stashed in my parents' garage at the moment because we're having work done on the driveway and my garage is full of builders' tools. But I still have it. And, since my last update, I'm now a Dad of three. Because who needs sleep, and hobbies?

 

What's new? It's got boost return hoses for the first time:
42543B6D-86F5-4389-AE01-E8BD29146981 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

This turned into a bit of a 'mare as I had most, but not all, of the required pipework and was missing the non-return valve that goes into the crankcase breather. Those weren't cheap to get hold of, but not too difficult to source via VW Heritage. And they're 100% worth every penny because I don't think it's ever run better than it does at the moment. I miss the hiss it made when changing gear, but it's smoother and seems quicker than it ever has. 

 

Ultimately that's the second most exciting thing fitted this year because... my eldest is no longer in ISOFIX seats. So he can go out in it with me, if I strap his booster into the passenger seat. This thing was my first car back when I was 17, it feels weird being a greying mid-30s Dad, taking my school-age son out in it. But he loves it.
Untitled by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

So much, in fact, that he seems to think it's his. He'll be signing up on here before I know it:
A9B29D8E-FE89-438C-AF13-3F9963E83569 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

We've been to a couple of car meets in it this summer. It needs a proper polish and wax, but I don't know when I'll get the time to do that. Maybe when the kids leave home...
Untitled by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

Just as well he does like it, as we've outgrown our family car (the Renault), which throws up the need to convoy:
Untitled by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

Thankfully, though, I've been able to get my hands on this as a daily. It's a beast - 184bhp, 2.0 TDI with a DSG box and pretty much all the options. Not a bad steer, either:
5EBB691D-C1BB-46D1-AEAB-A0B50CB9D7D4 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr
 
This is better, though. Kept my car company for a few days. Good fun:
4E43956F-1771-4F29-A2AC-CB16F899E7D3 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

B2A3AE38-CD33-489B-BB8A-FE630FE6DB9E by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

Up GTI was good fun as well. Not quite a complete hot hatch, but a giggle nonetheless.
Untitled by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

Not much else to report, really. It's just a good all-round day-to-day performance car. Quick, fairly frugal when you want, decent on a long journey, and becoming really quite unusual on the road. It gets quite a lot of attention these days, I guess because you just don't see them around. New tyres next...

 

Edited 24 September, 20187 yr by Alex

Congrats on the kids mate, It's great being able to enjoy your passion with them ain't it 😎

 

Good to see the polo is still going well. It's amazing how many of the older club polo'ers still have one. Just a shame the forum has died such a death 

Yeah, it's brilliant when they share the interest. I've got two boys who are both into cars, it's sort of weird thinking back to how I was when I bought this one imagining that I'd still have it now. Life has changed quite a bit since... but then I've owned it half my life, so that's to be expected. 

 

And yes, the early turn-of-Millennium Club Polo members in particular seem to be very prone to hanging onto them. I can't see any reason to sell it, though the value of the parts within it are creeping up. 

Yeah I still have my 16v Mk2 breadie (in many pieces) because it just seems pointless to sell a car I paid £50 for that one day I might get completed ha. 

 

Alex will be buried with this Polo Elvis style. 

6 minutes ago, kerrly said:

Yeah I still have my 16v Mk2 breadie (in many pieces) because it just seems pointless to sell a car I paid £50 for that one day I might get completed ha. 

 

Alex will be buried with this Polo Elvis style. 

 

Bugger me sideways, Ginge is alive!

 

I agree, either Jenson steals this away or Alex will be buried in it

1 hour ago, kerrly said:

Yeah I still have my 16v Mk2 breadie (in many pieces) because it just seems pointless to sell a car I paid £50 for that one day I might get completed ha. 

 

Alex will be buried with this Polo Elvis style. 

What a waste! Haha! 

 

1 hour ago, jonPDpolo said:

 

Bugger me sideways, Ginge is alive!

 

I agree, either Jenson steals this away or Alex will be buried in it

My money is on Jenson having it. Though his younger brother Ewan has become equally fascinated, and we've yet to find out whether baby Eve has inherited the same love of cars. It's possible, poor girl.

 

The thing is, it's all very well keeping old cars alive, but the direction of travel isn't particularly accommodating in the UK. For example, I live in Cardiff and there's already talk of putting a 'Clean Air Zone' in the city centre over the next couple of years. Give it another 20 years and it'll probably be banned from the motorways if autonomous cars hit the mainstream. Personally I'm looking forward to having an electric daily, but despite by best intentions for the G40 I do feel like it's on the slow and steady path towards obsolescence. 

 

Unless I decide to do something crazy like convert it to battery power, of course. It's not a factory G40, so I'm a bit freer on that front. 

I think our cars might be related! 😂 nice to see it being used. I use mine daily in the summer months and always look forward to it!

Lovely red g40 that was an import from Germany.

 

great car.

So it turns out I'm crap at updating forum threads these days. Needless to say the car is still lurking. Hopefully you'll have caught my updates in Performance VW - and if not, why not?

 

Ironically, having ended my last post saying tyres would come next, push came to shove. My car managed to collect a screw in its front passenger side Toyo just after its MOT last year and, recognising that I live in Wales, I decided to get myself a set of Uniroyal Rainsport 3s for it. Annoyingly this all happened around the time I ditched my full time editorship and went freelance (a year last weekend) which delayed things. But I made good use of my first week as my own boss, got my new rubber fitted and... err.. broke them in. That was fun.

 

IMG_7720 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

Some of that breaking-in mileage involved my first trip to Caffeine and Machine, and a two-birds-with-one-stone job getting my car's alignment done at the same time. It's been cornerweighted and had a bit more camber dialled in at the front (there isn't much adjustment available) but I came away with some fresh ideas for how to go a step further and plans to do so during the summer once I'd got my money's worth out of my latest investment.

 

IMG_8140 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

The car had other ideas. It doesn't drop oil usually so, when it did, I got worried. Turns out the head gasket had let go and, while it wasn't letting anything into the cylinders, it was pissing oil while I was driving. And I'd done a lot of miles last winter as you can see. This has never been a fair weather car.

 

Polo_rear_dirt by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

It took a while to get it into the workshop (I get the long-term build slot and a rather tasty R5 Turbo was taking that space), so Jenson and I made it shiny while it waited.

 

IMG_1659 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

AutoGlym HD wax, if you're wondering:

IMG_4378 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

In the meantime I got to play with some pretty unlikely stablemates for a 28-year-old Polo. Including all £335,000 of Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge pictured here doing the school run - yes, you can get three kids and two buggies into one. No it isn't easy.

 

IMG_9437 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

The car went into the workshop in April and, luckily, the head gasket swap didn't uncover anything anything unexpected:

 

IMG_9725 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

And that's about it really - it's the noisy idiot on the driveway next to the silent Outlander PHEV I've been running for a few months, and our own really rather brilliant family bus (C4 SpaceTourer).

IMG_4184 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

BA787266-4220-407C-9A4A-26E835AAE57E by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

Pictured here at a Volkswagen UK driving event - I got to show a couple of the guys from the press office around the car while it was there:

B988493F-0557-4628-9A44-A685B16E6E08 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

Back at Caffeine and Machine... as you'll have seen in another thread:

93D507C3-4482-46D0-882D-FC1456B15BF1 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

And here shot against the glamour of Leigh Delamere Services. I think it's ageing rather nicely... and you know what they say, if you don't look back at it when you've parked it, you've got the wrong car.

9C80AF2D-0AD8-40ED-B1E8-8F3377752BA6 by alexgrantuk, on Flickr

 

On it ticks. Nothing major left for it other than sticking around and putting a silly grin on my face.

 

 

 

Only just caught up again with the thread yesterday. Nice to see an update.

Nice to have one to give!

Still here. 
 

 

My account appears to be as old as I was when I set it up. Which means I’m old. 
 

What’s new? Not much. A slight lockdown paunch and some more grey hairs. The Polo is ageing better than I am. Not that that says much. 

Look, here it is somewhere other than my bloody garage. #fuckcovid19
 

Hey Alex. Glad to see the car is still looking awesome. Im at the stage where mine needs a full strip and respray. I'm playing whack a mole with rust. 

Mine needs a bit too. But good to see another familiar name!

So, last weekend, for the first time since this virus shat on everything, I managed to get myself to an actual, real-life car show. AutoFest 2021, up in Stoke Prior. And it felt... mega. 
 

 

My car got a spot in a Volkswagen huddle up by the show and shine (which I was judging... gulp).

 

On the way in, I clocked a sweet 2F at the other end of the field:

 

 

While I’d been wandering, we’d been joined by a breadie...

 

...and had a little Polo Show going. 👌🏻

And yeah, for the first time in a long long time, things felt normal. It was great. Seeing the car looking shiny at a show was a good feeling. Pearl Grey and sunshine... strong combo. 
 

Took it to C&M last night for the StrassenKultur evening and… well this was awesome.