Newbie questions

mk4 glx 1.6 · Post by **mk4 glx 1.6** » Wed May 21, 2008 9:00 am

Sofaboy wrote:It's either a polo or a 306 gti-6

If both of those are realistic choices, I know which I'd choose!

The 306gti-6 has one of the best out of the box chassis of all hot hatch's. The polo chassis (read suspension) needs modification to get it to handle remotely well.

At the end of the day it is pot luck whether a 6n2 Polo gti gearbox goes, the number of previous owners has little bearing IMO. Nice little cars well built, but not a huge amount of fun to drive.

Sofaboy · Post by **Sofaboy** » Wed May 21, 2008 9:39 am

Thanks for all the comments guys, even though im now even more undecided.

Its now going to be a case of when i start really looking which car turns up with the spec i want at the right price, the 306 is cheaper to buy but slightly more expensive to buy.

The weirdest thing of all is i tried looking at sensible cars and the insurance wasnt cheaper enough to stop me having fun for a few hundred more, you only get one shot at life might aswell live it the way you want to.

Sofaboy · Post by **Sofaboy** » Wed May 21, 2008 2:19 pm

Can someone point me in the direction of some cheap insurers, or would it be better to phone up?

So far bell have been the best for me but they've stopped online quoting for me today

Redline · Post by **Redline** » Wed May 21, 2008 2:30 pm

I think given your age, you're perhaps better off ringing them as I think a lot of online forms will just flag up error messages.

Sofaboy · Post by **Sofaboy** » Wed May 21, 2008 4:36 pm

thought as much, will look into it closer to the time

Thanks

shantybeater · Post by **shantybeater** » Wed May 21, 2008 4:56 pm

Imo the gti-6 has aged very badly, although they are damn quick for what they are & you can touch near 200bhp with some spending. Insurance will be a nightmare on it though so i think you can safely say no to it (in my opnion if you think you will have problem with the polo gti how do you plan on insuring a 2.0l 170 hp pug?). If you can insure this have you thought about the mk2 ibiza gti (2.0liter 16v), personally in black with their stylish white ronals they can look the dogs & go some too

Realistic choices in this price range & power & insurance:

Polo Gti: + well built + eye candy + Exclusivity + Great Features such as Climate control, heated leather, xenons - Gearbox issues - not great handling

106 gti: + good looking + Best handling out there + quicker than polo Gti by a fair amount - french - french - french ....oh & french

Saxo vts: + cheap, basically a 106 gti without any comfort + very light & fast - french - chavvy - uuuugly

or the final choice: Pulsar GTR & dont get insured

sorry i'm bored at home & supposed to be revising

Mouse_GTI · Post by **Mouse_GTI** » Wed May 21, 2008 5:30 pm

I'd say the Polo has great handling, just not as great as a 106 GTI as standard. Even on standard suspension compared to other Polos/Fiestas, I found the GTI to be a big step up

Sofaboy · Post by **Sofaboy** » Wed May 21, 2008 5:53 pm

shantybeater wrote:Imo the gti-6 has aged very badly, although they are damn quick for what they are & you can touch near 200bhp with some spending. Insurance will be a nightmare on it though so i think you can safely say no to it (in my opnion if you think you will have problem with the polo gti how do you plan on insuring a 2.0l 170 hp pug?). If you can insure this have you thought about the mk2 ibiza gti (2.0liter 16v), personally in black with their stylish white ronals they can look the dogs & go some too

Realistic choices in this price range & power & insurance:

Polo Gti: + well built + eye candy + Exclusivity + Great Features such as Climate control, heated leather, xenons - Gearbox issues - not great handling

106 gti: + good looking + Best handling out there + quicker than polo Gti by a fair amount - french - french - french ....oh & french

Saxo vts: + cheap, basically a 106 gti without any comfort + very light & fast - french - chavvy - uuuugly

or the final choice: Pulsar GTR & dont get insured

sorry i'm bored at home & supposed to be revising

Ye im meant to be revising aswell but have the concentration span of a baby, i have an exam tomorrow

.

Yes insurance will be expensive, but going off bell's quotes and they werent done wrong as i did so many i may have been banned there isnt that much difference to pay over a new 1.2 corsa or the like and imo its worth it.

Ive loved 306's since i was a wee man as mum had a fair few and they were rather good looking for something so mundane.

The fight in my head has raged on for ages, it was at first a lupo gti but there more expensive, then it was an old mini and the thought of my lanky legs in that thing made me weep and the fact i weirdly think it will be cold in a n old car in the winter, then it came down to the 306 and i was set, until last week when i saw a polo gti on pistonheads and wanted it and ended up here.

The way i see it is

306- Better looking, more reliable, better handling, quicker
but more expensive to insure and i will kill myself with lift off oversteer

Polo- not exactly a munter, leather seats, xenons, so much personality, its the only car id be tempted to name like olop on here
but its so unreliable from what i see on here, money pit, more expensive to buy.

its a crazy war for me and like i said it will boil down to test driving two examples and seeing if i find the 306 not as scary as youtube videos make it look.

Im willing to blow my first years driving cash on a car i can keep for a fair few years rather then buy a 3K corsa, run it into the ground and never see my money again.

Mouse i recognise your car from somewhere but i really cant put my finger on where, im tempted to say tyresmoke

Tim_GTi · Post by **Tim_GTi** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:08 pm

The Polo GTi is not really unreliable.,

It does have a dodgy pedal box, but there was a re-call for them so it's never a problem.

The clutch lasts just as long as any other car, but it does get quite hard towards the end of its life. Once replaced your happy days though!

The Gearbox IS a problem, but you can tell a dodgy gearbox a mile off, and you can also tell a dodgy driver selling his polo a mile off.

If you want reliability don't go down the Peugeot route lol. They dont even come in the same sentence. At least with the polo you know what to expect and know what to look out for, Peugeots are extremely unreliable and unpredictable, you don't know where to start.

I had so many problems with my 306 it could've put someone off driving for life. My friend also experienced massive disfunctions with his, as did another mate of mine. THEY, are a money pit. It is also (given its age and nature) very hard to find a decent one in decent condition (if they exist).

You may think this is a biased oppinion coming from a polo GTi owner. But I have reason and fact as to why I think the 306 is a bad choice, and there's a reason why i own a polo, they're damn good cars.

In terms of finance for a polo, i think everyone else has that covered!

Make the right choice

shantybeater · Post by **shantybeater** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:12 pm

gotta agree with tim here, the pugs are definately more of a money pit than the polo...and the polo is much prettier!

Limited experience of having a 306 as i used my mums for a little while, endless faults through its life & still ongoing...totally unpredictable

(although that said, 106's seem to be fairly reliable)

Sofaboy · Post by **Sofaboy** » Wed May 21, 2008 10:36 pm

Lol I should have seen the last two comments coming, in all fairness our 3 306's were much more reliable then the GT TDi we have now and thats just over a year old.

Whatever happens guys I will pop back on regardless of if i have a polo or a pug or something else because common sense caught up

Si_GTi · Post by **Si_GTi** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:12 pm

Sofaboy, yep you'll recognise both Mouse and me (Si_GTi) from Tyresmoke

Sofaboy · Post by **Sofaboy** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:19 pm

bloody hell so this is where you all went, ive noticed the polo forum has taken a bit of a hit lately, im sure i see the odd post from you guys every so often

Mouse_GTI · Post by **Mouse_GTI** » Thu May 22, 2008 10:16 am

Ha ha, just realised too Si, welcome Sofaboy!

I'd say mine has been pretty reliable so far mechanically in almost 2 years ownership. I am awaiting the death of my gearbox though (need to get a soundclip of the noise and post it on here)

morris_GTI · Post by **morris_GTI** » Thu May 22, 2008 10:31 am

HI mate welcome to the forum

im a newish owner of a polo GTI (had it now for around 4 weeks) and i have to say i do love the car !

I had a mini cooper for a week, and i still prefer the GTI

Just the fact that for the money (around Â£3500) you get so much chucked in such as climate control, xenons,bbs alloys,sport seats/interior/6cd changer/fog lights/imobiliser....

Hardly any other cars for that price have these features...

The bad news however is that there are a few glitches with them, i broke down the other week as the gear linkages went,Â£60 to repair but fustrating none the less.Also, atm i have problems with it whereby a few sensors are failing - annoying, but cheap to repair none the less.

Despite the few niggles ive had, its a minter! My mates all love it, girls like it too

so to be fair youre onto a winner !

get one. lol

hope this helps.

oh and btw for insurance try www.quotedetective.co.uk and compare the market.

im 20, 0 years no claims on 3rd party F&T and its Â£1450 a year.