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Was advised to ask you good people,on what to look out for when buying a polo gti am i right in thinking they were made for only 2 years 2000/01
i really need to know faults,price and specs
any help would be great
regards
steve

Hiya, this is what I was told when I was buying mine back in October, seemed to be good advise as its a lovely car!

Firstly test drive more than one if you can, you're more likely to be able to pick out faults that way. Major things to look out for:

Pedal box recall - vw issued a recall for the pedal box, most have already been done and will have either a sticker under the boot carpet or a receipt to say so (or both). If it hasn't been done vw will do it for free, its just a bit more hassle for you.

Gearbox - The Polo gearbox is really the cars only disappointment, as far as I know the problem is that the bearings in the box can wear down too quickly which eventually kills the box. Watch out for any whining when you test drive and also any crunching or difficulty getting into gear (except reverse).

Things to look out for in the specs of the car include climate control (an upgrade over standard air con, heated leather seats (very desirable and will probably push the price up), a sunroof (some cars have both sunroof and climate control!?) and a 6 cd changer in the boot rather than the single in car cd player.

Colours are red, silver and black only for the GTI and it was produced for 2 years only. The standard alloys are BBS split rim 15 inch and tend to corrode easily so look out for ones in good condition.

Anyway I've babbled away for a while - hope its helpful!

I think Bryony has covered most of the major stuff there.

One other thing to check is whether or not the cambelt has been changed. The tensioners can fail prematurely so VW now advise that it's done every 4 years. (See sticky thread at top of this forum).

They should all have Xenon gas-discharge headlights with washers. If it hasn't, then that might be a sign of front end crash damage where they have been replaced with standard ones.

And yes the spec can be all over the place on earlier cars. The later ones ie. 2001 models tend to have a more standardised specification. There can be differences in seat belt colours etc depending on the time it was built. Other rare extras include side airbags and automatic wipers.

Other common problems are paint cracks on the tailgate and corroding roof rack clips. Other than that you should have no problems with rust. Also make sure the rear washer is functioning properly as if it isn't, this may mean it's leaking

Apparently ESP was an option in the manual. Don't know of any cars with it

thanks guys really good info,now the search begins,will be a bit tricky as i live in Northern Ireland and have only ever seen one over here

steve p wrote:thanks guys really good info,now the search begins,will be a bit tricky as i live in Northern Ireland and have only ever seen one over here

Good luck!

Be patient as it can take a while and there are times you consider getting something else. Worth the wait in my opinion though

will have to keep an eye out in your part of the world easy jet do really cheap flights to scotland from belfast

At last have found a polo 2000 sliver 26600 miles , 1 owner full vag history going to pick it up in a couple of weeks, deposit paid, getting a years warrenty to boot

A lot of the polo GTis are running the standard wheels BBS RXII - and like mine, they are often in need of a refurb. Most normal (1 piece) alloy wheels can be refurbished/powder coated for around £100, but the BBS RXII is a two piece split rim.

If you're buying one and it's got rough wheels, use it as a haggling point and expect to pay £200-£300 to get them professionally refurbished.

steve p wrote:At last have found a polo 2000 sliver 26600 miles , 1 owner full vag history going to pick it up in a couple of weeks, deposit paid, getting a years warrenty to boot

Great news. Low mileage too! I'd get the cambelt done though if it hasn't been done in the last 2 years

yes heard they have probs with the tensioner, will see if i can get the dealer to change it

yes been after one or a while, wanted leather but this was to good a car to turn down really,what with the low miles, bit of a pain having to go to scotland to get it but easy jet fly from belfast, have only ever seen 2 other polo gti's over here, so will have something a bit different from a tdi golf, keep the advice coming guys as knowlage is the bomb

congrats on the purchase mate.


Also check the rear washer works for the rear wiper, as these easily disconnect.