UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Um. They won't let you buy a vw.. because they want you to get something reliable?

Do they realise the irony of that?

I have a C reg polo. Around me, the oldest cars I usually see are about F reg, full of holes and ready for the scrapper. There are three cars that I see on a regular basis that are older than mine, two are polos and one's a golf, all are still running fine. I've had my polo for about 7 months now and all that it's needed doing to it was a filter change, a new headlamp switch and an ignition switch, anything else I've done to it was just to make it run perfectly rather than being essential. Parts are dirt cheap providing you don't go to VW for them, they're great fun to drive (the coupe S being the best of the lot), they don't have any kind of barryboy image and if you want the mod cons then you can fit them later with the money you've saved on purchase and running costs..

To quote my own dad, who's been doing various jobs in the motor trade from autocross to contract hire, Lada to VAG, my polo is a "cracking little car" and an absolute bargain.

Anyway, I hope that's enough of a selling job there Now go and change their minds!

"As much as you can for the money", lets see......

£300 on a good, solid mk2 polo, or £600 on a similar mk3 (nicer brakes, more aerodynamic and eco-friendly, "newer", but heavier)........ and put the remaining £700 or £400 towards insurance, tax, next years MOT, servicing, and of course (if anything's left) ALL THE PETROL!

There's spending wisely, isn't it???????? Rather than blowing the whole grand on the car and having to beg/graft like a miner to get all the other costs covered?
Bangernomics, I think it's called!

Jesus... Getting the most for your money when you're buying a second hand car isn't just about what spacky features or what length of metal you can get (oh yeah, try parking an escort vs a polo.. much easier in the smaller car, and unless you're regularly carting around heaps of stuff (like, more than a passenger plus an _entire_ student bedroom*) it's big enough!)... there's longevity - how long before you have to scrap it or sell at a knock down price "spares or repair" and buy something else - servicing costs (parts and labour), insurance/tax, running costs including petrol, oil and tyres etc.
* the escort however is useful for taking five folks, two bags each, down to mid france, and then back again with the same load plus lots of cheap wine, beer, chocs and cheese - but how *often* would you do THAT? In any case you may as well get a 5 door golf... and a second hand roof box with the change!

I went out looking basically to get something that would seat 4, not fall to bits in an accident, do 85mph, return at least 40mpg on average and be insurable (my budget was £1500 all-in ). You don't really *NEED* anything more than that, it's all fluff (still, it would be very nice fluff! ).

I just about satisfied all that, with an extra weeks minimum-wages, with the Polo (including the instant brake swap), and though I likely could have exceeded that in some areas with various other cars that were on the market, I dont know whether I'd still be driving them right now...
It was that or an old Astra, out of those cars I looked at... I'd probably still be one by now as Vauxhall did a similar construction job to VW with that car (well, with those of them still around - early afternoon wednesday ones of which my bro's is one) if you ignore rustable bodywork, and parts seem cheap. But the insurance is two groups higher as a minimum... plus steering is arm-breakingly heavy without PAS (another thing that can break down!) and the driving experience - well, can't comment on that, though it's quite pleasant as a passenger that doesnt mean much!
(or an oldskool-Skoda Favorit Estate "BlackLine", but lets ignore that )

thanks for the replies guys Much appreciated.
I think ill stick to looking for a polo, probably mk3 either squareback (love em!) or coupe, they're little cars that can be flung about easily (not that id misstreat my car) and should be cheap to run etc. And as you say what money i save i can have for any possible repairs or little mods.
Sooo i'm on the look out for some polos

One last thing, how are mk3's to run? im looking at 1.3's are they good on petrol?
Also ive been looking on autotrader and some cars just say 'polo CL' and no engine size! grrr as far as i know CL's come in 1litre and 1.3? I suppose ill have to ring to find out.

Bye

As far as the basics go (driving experience, running costs etc), the mk3 is very similar to the mk2. It's a touch more economical due to the fuel injection, a bit less nippy due to the catalytic converter and the extra weight, it has assisted brakes (although the servo is said to be pretty nasty, but at least it's there.. can't really comment myself though).

You'll get pretty much the same mpg from a 1.3 as from a 1.0, the 1.0 being more economical idling etc in city traffic, the 1.3 being more economical at higher speeds as you don't really have to drive it as hard.

As you said, the CL comes as both a 1.0 and a 1.3, so yeah, you'll have to call up and find out.

Shame you won't be getting the coupe s.. apart from anything else it would have added to the somewhat dwindling mk2 numbers on this forum.. but still good luck laying your hands on a mk3, and enjoy it

Agreed, you can batter the 1000 down the motorway at 85-90, and it'll be happy to do it all day all year, but that's really wringing blood from a stone power-wise (30mpg or so, as your foot is permanently in contact with the carpet at crazy revs - kind of like what you'd usually use for 15 secs or so while overtaking!), and the noise, while quiet awesome to experience for the first couple minutes, becomes something of a jet engine howl after a while.... its a lot happier around 60, esp with the 4-speed... you'll get some pretty sweet economy with it if you can control yourself - which may be more what you're after rather than pure performance at first, but let your heart guide you a little as well as (mainly) your head. If you absolutely have to have an acceleration rush get at least a 1.3CL..... otherwise your whole 1.0 driving experienced will be coloured badd by the lack of it

a 1.3 with the economy 5-speed box is a pretty good combination with either mk2 or mk3, it'll sit at a constant 75mph, and pull in over 40 miles to the gallon whilst wafting at part throttle in the lower to mid 3000s

and, if you remember to knock the ignition off when in a queue or at lights (particularly those you come to learn have a long time between changes), both engine sizes have a similar consumption at idle ---- infinite mpg (or, zero L/100km)!!

unless the driver is a total retard, it shouldn't be too hard to ask them what the engine size is, or at least what its maximum cruise speed is (low 90s for 1000 (i've never seen more than 106 even on a mega hill), high 90s to the ton for 1300 CL)... in fact if you grab a few reg plates of prospective cars and plug them into the "right" insurance website for a quote, you'll get the engine size out of it as well. Not to mention trim level etc

oh, and unless you have legs like lance armstrong, dont discount the value of a brake servo. i have relatively powerful hindlimbs myself, but its still the one luxury - apart from a radio, heater or temp guage (i've got little else to lose!) - that i'd have to do a week's test run without, to see if i could stand losing it for everyday driving... it wont make you stop significantly quicker, say, from over 50mph or down a hill, or on a cross country run where you plan each curve at least a couple seconds in advance --- but the one-time split second "snap" braking response e.g. around town when you need to snatch off some speed or dodge an ice-cream obsessed fat kid is greatly improved as it feels like you have an extra couple of feet on the pedal til the brakes properly bite (rather than the more "progressive", bicycle-like feel of the "raw" mk2 setup... which gives a *little* more feedback, true, but i still consider to be a concept worthy of wariness).

You are a fountain of knowledge
I definatley wont be getting another 1.0 after my 1ltr 106.
Can you believe im looking at mk4's now, my parents seem to be pleased with the look of some of them. So i'll let you know what i'm going to look at!

DubLass wrote:You are a fountain of knowledge
I definatley wont be getting another 1.0 after my 1ltr 106.
Can you believe im looking at mk4's now, my parents seem to be pleased with the look of some of them. So i'll let you know what i'm going to look at!

They aren't as nice as the MKII's or MKIII's but I'm beginning to like mine a bit more than I did!!!

You'll be doing well to get one for less than a grand!!! I Think?

you could just about manage it, having taken a quick peek in this years parkers guide on the front of Autocar (?) ... the buggers have removed the mk2 & 3, its only 95 onwards now.. i think a 1995 1-litre 3 door base spec in "moderate" condition and average miles is worth about £800. still an alright car from what i've heard, and of course you can find 5-door ones but heavier still than the mk3 - you really dont want to get the early-model 1.0 litres...

For under a grand you'll get a mk4, but it'll be an early 1.0 in not great condition. Bear in mind that the early 1.0's have an engine based on the mk3, which is based on the mk2, which in turn is based on the mk1... you can track it's roots back to the early 70's. They also haven't increased it's power since the mk2, and they've added a lot of weight since then, so you'll want to look at bigger engines, which means spending more money on purchase unless you want to spend double that on maintenance later.

I'll still say that although it's a strange experience getting into a car without a servo at first, once you've learnt to use it there's nothing wrong with it. If anything, in an emergency I'd rather have a couple of split seconds to work out what's going on and what I'm doing about it before I lock the brakes up in a reflex movement.. but that's just me I guess. I agree that having a servo is a nicety, but not a necessity.
Actually, having said that, I'll admit that I'd feel a lot safer with a servo if I have weight in the car (friends, guitar equipment etc).. it gets a bit tricky to stop then, bit unnerving. Going off on a tangent now...

Back on track, I would suggest that if your parents are being this picky about your car you should show them the car you want and get them to pay the extra if they want you to get something else.. otherwise just buy it, it's your choice.

GroovyCarrot wrote:Its a strange experience getting into a car without a servo at first, once you've learnt to use it there's nothing wrong with it. If anything, in an emergency I'd rather have a couple of split seconds to work out what's going on and what I'm doing about it before I lock the brakes up in a reflex movement..

In that "couple of seconds" you havent just hit the child chasing after their ball, you've gone right over them and are another 25 yards down the road. (at an indicated 30mph)

Just a thought.


s*** even if i cant avoid hitting them, i'd at least like to have one of the back wheels lock up and leave tyre tracks so no ambulance chasing "witness" relative goes claiming i didnt even brake