UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

hey all im back again, have undergone some changes in situation since last time - it really looks like the polo will have to go. Before it goes on ebay (near summer i think) i was wondering if I could get a rough valuation from you guys.

For those that cant remember, the car was given to my girlfriend but she cant afford insurance all by herself.

It hasnt been used for a year or so, it has been off the road on a driveway. The MOT and tax has run out - but i am 90% sure it will sail through the MOT with no probs.

Its a 1990 squareback polo fox with a genuine 40,000 on the clock. It has a full VWSH with all stamps and details in the original manual thingy.

The car is in fantastic condition, the engine and gearbox are running very well with no crunches or clinkings.

Bodywise the car is in good condition from what i can see, I think it may have been garaged before. There are a few speckles of rust coming around the front wings where the grill is. I have felt all the sills and arches and they are as solid as a rock.

The dampers and springs are in excellent condition.

At the moment it has no mot or tax (the mot ran out three months ago).

A mechanic reckoned I could get 500 for it, but I wanted a better valuation from those in the know. Before its asked, pics are impossible for now!

I would also like to add that I have immense respect for you Groovy Carrot. Dont listen to percy whatever his name was. I got SERIOUS stick for the way I modified my car on the Honda CRX forum, because the people are so closed minded. At the end of the day, the car is yours and you are free to be as creative as you want.

I think the main reason why the mk 2 forum is going strong is that you are open minded about all styles and offer practical advice.

A car is a car, nothing more and nothing less. Yet I looked out my window every morning, and saw my CRX just waiting to be driven. It may be "just a polo" but at the end of the day - its your polo. What makes a car more than a car? You do.

Keep up the good work lads. (and laddesses).

Don't really know what to say.. but, thanks I think you just summed up the main reasons why uk-polos is such a nice place to be - friendly, helpful people who are open minded about cars and don't hand out flak to anyone who doesn't go with the popular trends..

Anyway, onto the valuation.. I think you could probably manage £500 if you advertised it locally - target sixth form colleges and universities, they're the best places to sell a car like this really. Advertised on autotrader you might be looking at getting £350-450 for it I should think. I wouldn't bother with ebay really, you'd be lucky to hit £250 on a mk2 polo, however good condition it is. People only really buy small cars on ebay if they want something cheap to rag around in for a few months until something better comes along and they can scrap it. If it's in good condition I'd advertise it elsewhere really.

Prices have fallen since I tried selling mine in the spring, but I was offered £450 for mine within a week of putting it up for sale (decided against selling it though after realising how fun it was to drive ), and mine's a 1986 C reg with 84,000 miles on the clock at the time.. so I'd be suprised if yours went for less than that.

From my experience, i must say that ebay is not as bad as you think GC. I've bought many cars from ebay, and even a couple of motorcycles. Out of all i've bought, the only problem i had was with a renault safrane, which i discovered later was a cash trap crap car rather than the cheap luxury i was after. (As most renaults are)

I've got my polo from ebay too for 100 quid with full service history, 82500 miles on the clock, two lady drivers. I only serviced it once (minor) when i bought it and it's now on 90000 (due for a service this weekend) and never caused me problems.

The catch is though, i didn't wait for the auction to end and asked the guy how much he wanted. When he said 100, i just jumped on the train and had a 2 hour journey to get it.

He only sold it cheap because it failed the MOT, with the only reason that it had a leak in the fuel tank. I MOT'd it next day with the petrol on reserve (the leak is where the fuel pipe connect to the tank anyway) and off i went.

5 months later, i still have the leak when i fill it more than half a tank, but it's as strong as a bull.

Luckily, i've found a guy breaking another polo last month, and got 2 tires with wheels, new bonnet (mine was rusting), fuel tank, 3 hub caps for 20 quid.

I'll be getting the fuel tank installed with this weekend's service, as well as a couple of mud flaps that read POLO.

So this is my story basically.

Only thing i need is now a rev counter. And i'm desperate for it...

As a summary, I think ebay can be a very good place to shop when you are careful enough.

Oh, I don't think ebay's bad for buying cars, quite the opposite, as long as you're willing to take a bit of risk, but then you always are taking some kind of risk buying second hand cars. What I think it's not good for is selling cars, especially cars like old polos. People tend to buy cars on ebay looking for a real bargain, so they rarely bid up to what the car is really worth. Of course, it's fine if you're selling something that isn't worth that much in the first place, but if you're selling a car that's in good condition and has been well looked after it tends to pay to advertise more locally..

You're absolutely right mate. I thought you said the other way. Sorry.

Never mind, I'm always making mistakes like that