What to look out for

[Mk4Luke]

Righty then peeps in january I am looking at getting a GTI. As i own a mk4 but i want something newer and with more power. They come really high spec'd and look really good.

Now i know to check that the pedal box recall work has been done, what other things should i look for?

Now onto the point of the alloys, i've seen the one's where the lacquer seems to have come up and i know that it's a common problem. How bad is this in reality? Will they need a refurb or is it a simple fix.

Thank you in advance

[bstardchild]

Now onto the point of the alloys, i've seen the one's where the lacquer seems to have come up and i know that it's a common problem. How bad is this in reality? Will they need a refurb or is it a simple fix.

Thank you in advance

http://www.tigerstyle.co.uk/poloforum/v ... php?t=7902

If you need any more info I'll happily tell you more but basically - kerbing as long as it's light is OK - major kerbing you'll be looking at new rims

Refurb is cheap - if you do the hard work yourself it shouldn't cost you more than a hundred quid

[Mk4Luke]

Cool, cheers for your help.

[Stevoraith]

I'm thinking about getting a GTI for the missus. Probably wont be till next summer though, but IMO you cant beat the spec and performance for the price.

Any chance of doing a beginners guide to Polo GTI's?

[Mk4Luke]

Thats exactly my point, i've done some looking around and i cant find anything better that is the same age and size which has equal spec and performance for the price. They have some good kit on them , i.e xenons, cd changer, fogs, climate control etc

I also remember someone saying something about the door handles on the inside peeling, so look out for those.

[Muz]

Glad someone mentioned the wheels-mine are crap!! I don't mean how they look i mean the fact that i'm not sure there even made of alloy anymore just the remains of them being eaten away at! So if you guys see a GTi n the laqure is peeling think about pricing in new wheels.

[ttaw2]

Another thing to watch out for.... When you rev the engine, as you let off, listen for a tappety rattle comming from the engine. It looks like the tell tale sign of cambelt tensioner failure (my topic of the moment)

My advice on buying anything now is to get an AA check, as you'll have some comeback if things start to go wrong.

Don't get me wrong though, even given the problems I've had, I still don't regret getting my GTi, when it's on song you can't beat it for fun behind the wheel at (roughly) legal speeds - just make sure you buy a sorted one, and test drive a few so you can make comparisons with feel of gearchange, engine note, clutch feel etc...

Good luck - I hope you find one you can enjoy!

[Mk4Luke]

Cheers for your help, however i keep looking at the lupo and thinking will it be that much more fun? Im kinda indicisive over the two, the lupo sounds more fun to drive but with the polo you get more kit and a boot.

Any opinions anyone?

[ttaw2]

Tough one - i'd go for the lupo personally, they didn't come with as much kit standard, but if you look around you'll get one with the spec you want..

It all depends whether you're going to need a boot to use and a back seat. If you're going to put ICE in it, then you'll almost definately lose the boot in the polo and the lupo anyway.

I just like the thought of a 6 speed 'box