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My Mrs is after a 9n for her next car. It'll be a 1.2 most likely, but i was wondering if you guys could tell me if there was anything i should look out for?
Well, I got my wife a 1.4 75PS , that seems now to have been the better choice as the 1.2 engines seem to have a suspicious cloud hanging over their heads - use the search function here, on www.seatcupra.net - Ibiza mk4 forum and www.briskoda.net - Fabia mk1 forum! You will also find what the usual faults and problems are with the rest of the car, choose wisely and you should end up buying one that has had all its problems sorted out already.
The 1.2 engines have a bad name for sort of partially wrecking them selves - even while being serviced, due to a duff bit of engine design - I think that it all is based around the timimg chain - this is a super "new" low maintenance method of driving the camshaft - errr, no, this is an old idea brought back to remove the expensive fibre cambelts and their short service period, only trouble is that it is normally the chains damper that fails - so its £££££ time. By getting a 1.4 75PS you will avoid this and end up probably with a bettr spec'd car. There is a modification to the chain damper - but will you be able to work out if the update has been fitted to the engine, and if it has, did the previous failure shorten the useful life span of that engine. Also the 1.2s seem to have a bad name for needing new cats quite early on in their lives. There are some 1.2 tales of woe on this site I seem to remember - it is meant to be a good responsive, and spirited engine all the same - but you will not appreciate that when it goes POP and needs a lot of cash! There are plenty other areas of these cars you'll need to spend money on without this extra "treat".
They're in general pretty good mate, as said the 1.2 engines suffer from timing chain failure which ends up being a big job to repair and expensive if not covered under warrenty or good will from vw. They have not modified the parts which fail so the problem has been rectified on many vehicles.
Air con seems to be common for faults with the re-circulating flat and the mixer motor flaps. The bushes at the back of the front wishbones also wear out quite frequenty aswell according to some peoples account, however I think this varies on how the car is drive etc.
1.4tdi would be a good shout aswell, very good ecconmy and often have better spec than some of the low petrol engines so would be good to look into them and £35 a year tax :O
We bought an 02 plate 1.2 about 3/4 months ago, with 62k on the clock. We knew from the service history it had already had the usual timing chain failure and had that work done in the previous year (along with a replacement coil pack - these also go very commonly, on all the engines AFAIK).
Almost immediately we had a problem with the emissions light coming on, and staying on. Fuel economy was worse than we expected too. Now if you google "polo emissions light" you'll get a million different reports and a million different possible solutions, but what we've learnt is you HAVE to get these cars to a decent garage and get the codes read from the computer, that's the only way to pin it down. In our case, the catalytic converter had failed and needed replacing. We had more bad luck when the first garage used an aftermarket part and the computer rejected it (as it didn't quite match the efficiency of the VW part) and the light came right back on a few days later - in the end we took it to an independent VW specialist and they replaced it with a genuine part, which was no more expensive than the aftermarket one in fact.
That particular problem was solved, but a month or so later we had another one - the car started to rev on its own (without the thottle being depressed) and then alternately lose power at other times, with both the emissions light and the EPC (engine management) light coming on. That turned out to be a sticking throttle valve - apparently these get "gunked up" and occasionally need cleaning/adjustment. No idea if this is the first time it's happened to this particular car in its (now) 65k miles, or if it's more regular. Unfortunatlely, after a running repair by an AA man (basically squirting some cleaning stuff into it) seemed to solve the problem a few weeks ago, it actually came back again last night, and right now the car is back at the garage and we're waiting to see what the computer has to say this time (hopefully it's just the throttle valve needing a more thorough dissassembly/clean, maybe it's something else entirely).
Other issues so far - the headlights are a PITA to change yourself (but possible), the aircon/temperature settings often misbehave and blow red hot when set on cold and occasionally vice versa - another VERY common problem and apparently an expensive fix, and the hose running back to the rear screen washer has so far detached itself in two places - in the boot and the engine bay - leaking washer fluid everywhere until re-joined. Oh, and the automatic close no longer works on the driver's switch for the passenger side window.
Basically, it's hard not to conclude that this car is a complete lemon, which is a shame for us, and should be a warning to you. Steer clear. Don't be fooled by the badge, or anything you've read about earlier Polo's, these 9Ns are NOT reliable cars and not worth the money. It's a nice enough drive when it's working, but it'll let you down far too much. Save your money, buy something older, simpler, and better built in the first place, it'll last you a lot better.
If you MUST get one of these, buy as new as you can - maybe an 04 upwards - and maybe you'll benefit from a few improvements in the manufacturing.
UPDATE - our regular garage have read the fault codes and think we need a whole new throttle body (price approx £500 inc one very expensive part and some labour).
We're taking it to our VW specialist to get their opinion.
Another update - the VW specialist can get the part cheaper and it'll be approx £370 all in. Apparently it's the motorised valve that's developed a fault (none of the motors in this car seem to be any good).
It's bearable, but we're still this close to just getting rid.
Well apart from all the criticism's from "JUV" I havent had major problems with my 2004 1.2L 9n......Only issue I had was the wishbone bushes which are common problems in 9n's and must say it hasn't improved in 9n3's........
It would be better to buy one with low milleage and most importantly with FSH........
I wouldn't say that 9n's are the most unreliable cars, I am sure their are few people on here who have had problems in them.....
Not all the cars behave in the same fashion....some are good and some are bad......end of the day it is all mechanics and sometime of the day it can and will go wrong.....
If you go for 1.2 then it will be abit heavy on fuel but if you are gonna do motorway miles then it should give you 40-45 MPG.....
Best range in 1.2 would be the 1.2 12V - 65bhp which is quite nippy and reliable......
Apart from 1.2s why dont you consider the likes of 1.4TDI, and 1.9TDI which I am sure few members on here would agree about there good reliabilty....
I'm just relating our direct experience with that same 1.2 12v 65ps engine, not criticising for the sake of it - in 3-4 months it's already cost us a lot of money and more than one mechanic has told us that these 3 cylinder engines are bad news. For four years maybe they're fine, at six (like ours) they go wrong and aren't cheap to fix either. I just can't honestly recommend one, aside from the badge on the bonnet there really aren't too many plus points.
Well i hope we dont have the same problems as you JUV...
We have just put a deposit on a 1.2 03reg with only 46k on the clocks. Full VW service history and is generally in very good nick. Its Summer blue, which my Mrs loves lol. Its got some nice VW wheels on it which helped seal the deal.
Its just a shame we cant slam it on some 9x13's or something (i love a bit of stretch 'n' poke) the Gap-insurance on the finance doesnt allow any form of modification..
Can i just verify that its a camCHAIN on the 1.2's..? Ive had no experience with chains before, how often do they need changing?
Did 40,000miles in the first one with no problems other than coil packs about every 15,000. My brother now has this one and its still going strong, now has over 50,000 on the clock. (sometimes a little creaking from the suspension, so got the bushes changed)
I have done 7,000 in my current 1.2 and have had no problems so far.
As said don't expect good mpg from them. I'd say for a tank of petrol doing mostly motorway miles expect up to 400miles max. And for a tank of petrol doing mostly round' town driving expect a max of 330 miles.
To be honest they are pretty slow wee motors, don't drive them hard and you should have very few problems. It's tempting to plant your foot all the time in them and go through the gears as fast and hard as possible becasue their only 55/65hp!!
I agree with black-a4 1.2s are good cruisers but expect alot of torque or in other terms push it to limit....take it easy with the acceleration and you'll be flying....
And yes it is a timing chain in the 1.2s...if you are keen in mechanics would recommend buying one of those Haynes Manual.....alot of info...
Im sure she'll take it easy. She's a little nervous driving atm as her last car she wrote off; she hit black ice and managed to roll it over a metal fence and through a brick wall.. it did amazingly well for a KA.
the Gap-insurance on the finance doesnt allow any form of modification.. 
it did amazingly well for a KA.