UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

I have been trying to figure out why my car is so hard to start after it sits for a while. When I start the engine from cold, it keeps stalling all the time. I have to pump the gas and usually it will stall at least 3 or 4 times before it gets going. If I leave before the engine warms up it will kangaroo as I try to drive down the road. I was thinking it might be a fuel supply problem so I looked at the fuel filter before I started it and there was no fuel in it. Since I don’t have another Polo to compare it with but it made me think that might be my problem. Is it possible that the fuel pump or carburetor is letting air in the lines causing the fuel to drip back into the gas tank? I have found other posts in Polo forms with the same problem but no answer.

i had this when i first got my mk2 polo and when i took my brother out and it did it he told me that with old cars you have to tell it what to do so if it's sounding like it's going to stall when you start it up then rev it more, now i've got the hang of it i just rev it loads for the 1st few secs then it runs fine after that.

i don't know if that's the "right" way of solving this or just my way, i think it's essentially down to the notorious pierburg carb rubishness.