UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi Guys,

Just wondered if you could help me, im going to look at a Polo GTi with a view to buying it and I know the following details:

2001 Reg
Black, 5 Door
47000 miles
Full VW Service History (one just done)
11 Months MOT and 6 Months Tax
HPI Clear
Also just had new front tyres, brake discs and pads.

I have been reading about pedal boxes and gearbox's going on these and just wondered if this was something that happened to most GTi's or just some? I know neither have been replaced on this car and I'm unsure whether they should of as yet.

Can anyone shed any light on the situation and also let me know of anything else to look out for when I go to look?

Thanks in advance!
Choward

Hi mate...firstly its a MK5!

The pedal box is a recall job so you can swing by to your local dealer and get that done. the g/box is a strange thing..some people have probs, others dont. My cars box gave in at 82k when the previous owner (d-dub) had it, and he had a new VW one put in...that cost 2k.

Just check for crunching etc. also there are lots of tips on this forum for problems to look out for.

cambelt is an issue, check it was changed recently

Of course it's a Mk5, schoolboy error

If the pedal box is recall issue then thats alright then. I shall be looking out for crunches changing gear, is it any particular gear thats the issue?

Ill browse the forum and see if I can find some common problems, I know those two were a couple of them.

£2k for a new gearbox! That's steep, crikey. Make sure that's not on the way out then.

I don't think the cam belt has been changed but will be taking this into account for the price if I buy. Shall peruse and see when this should be changed (know it's sooner rather than later) and how much it would cost!

Cheers
Choward

should be changed at 60k then every 40k from then on

my bad its at 47k didnt see the mileage

Ahhh ok thanks for that then. I do about 12,000 miles a year so probably get it done next service if I buy it.

Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated

Make sure the rear screen wash jet works, alongside the bootlock. Sometimes the jet stops working, or starts leaking thus f*****g the electrics of the booklock up

The cambelt change is now done on number of years (every 4 on the GTi) as well as mileage

Not sure about the gearboxes, mine has been a peach so far and I've done 86300 miles *touch wood*

Selling up soon for a NEW Polo GTI though, had my car four years...

Cheers

Agreed Cambelt, Tensioners, and Water Pump should all be done at the same time, once every 4 years. My car has done about 43K Miles, and is W reg, and since I only bought the car relatively recently I got mine done the other week, but I was incredibly lucky because the day before it was planned to be done the Idle Tensioner went, which means the Cambelt would probably have caused the engine to munch itself (interesting shaped Valves, etc) in up to a week LOL. Definitely worth doing.
Don't let this put you off getting one though, its just something that should be done.
They're lovely cars

After browsing the forums some more i'm now really worried that any Polo GTi I buy is going to need a new gearbox, cambelt, tensioner, water pump, pedal box and clutch haha. I know some of them are consumables which is fair enough but the gearbox's seem sooo prone and are sooo expensive!

Is making sure it doesn't whine the best I can do when going to look?

Cheers
Choward

crunching is something else to look out for, the gearbox is naturally notchy and sometimes a bit of a handfull but mine is still on its first, at 60k and had no major problems after a year of ownage..still love it to bits...dont regret turning down a new mini

I wouldn't let it bother you too much, if the cambelt/tensioners/water pump were done when they were due itt'll be fine.

Clucthes and pedal boxes are usually ok, the only thing that could go at any time is the gearbox.

I wouldn't let it bother you too much.

Don't worry about the gearbox. Remember, the forums are a small representative of the total number of Polo GTi owners, and as we are British we love to moan when things go wrong

Basically you can get an unbiased view of these "awful" gearboxes (I am using that term lightly!) when in fact amny of us have had no trouble at all.

Just give the prospective car a good going over, drive it, listen out for any wierd noises and make sure everything works as it should (test the electrics!)

Cheers

Just in case anybody wants to know, went to look at the Polo on Friday. It was really nice, odd things about it were that it didn't have a CD changer, passenger electric window wouldn't go down using the driver's side button, one alloy wheel was really knackered, others were fine.

Some of the strange things that really put me off it:
Although it had just had a service this September (can't remember date) the oil level looked low and was really black, there was a tick in the service book for something being repaired on the car but the guy 'couldn't remember' what was repaired and he didn't have the receipt/invoice for it. Also the guy thought it had a CD changer and was suprised when I said it was missing. He had previously told me that he'd had it for 3 years, surely in 3 years you would realise there was no changer, or if there was one you would know where it was. The V5 certificate didn't have him as the registered owner, it had a car sales place in Walsall on it (I looked at the car at his house near Bolton/Manchester).

So although the car was really nice, all that stuff just didn't add up and I thought it was a bit iffy so I left it. Shame really because I liked it! Gearbox was ok, clutch felt a little odd, when pressing the pedal in it didn't seem smooth, as if it was a little squeaky/creaky when you pressed it in, maybe it just needed mechanism oiling or something.

Anyway, shall continue looking and hope something comes up!

Thanks for your help guys
Chris