What to look for in a MK3 Golf GTi?

GlasgowTitan

GlasgowTitan

GlasgowTitan

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Hey folks, I'm seriously considering looking at getting one of these soon and was wondering what sort of things go wrong or need to be looked at before buying one. For example anyone know when things like cambelts should be changed, or particular areas that are prone to wear and I should take a closer look at?

I saw this one and it looks in good condition from the pics and seems to be parked outside a respectable looking house, so hopefully isn't owned by a Sainsbury's carpark thrashing lout.

Any tips would be much appreciated.
 
You do know that the 2.0 8v is an incredibly dull engine, slow, yet thirsty for petrol?

They look good enough, but they arent fast by any means, do not get taken in by the GTI badge!
 
Service history would be a good thing to have, they can go for many miles and it's not that hard to 'clock' them and it's even easier to cancel the service indicators.Golfs are prone to small elecrtic failure such as rear wash wipe and windows. Crash damage is always possible on a GTi
 
GlasgowTitan said:
No I didn't know that, but considering I have 60bhp in my 1.3 Fiesta, I reckon it will still be enough, I'm not after a pocket rocket...
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It will be a decent performance increase over a 1.3 fiesta, and as I said, I like the styling of then (now aging) MK3 GTI, and if you think that suits you then by all means go ahead, im not trying to stop you, merely voice my opinion that you may be disappointed if you do not know all the facts beforehand :)

The 8v engine also doesn't feel very refined when cruising along, so although your not after a "pocket rocket" i hope your not after a cruiser either!

In terms of figures, your 1.3 60HP fiesta should be seeing 0-60 in around 13.5 seconds, and returning around 42MPG. The 2.0 8v golf will be 115BHP (paltry figure for a 2.0 IMO), 0-60 in ~10 seconds, and will only return 32MPG.
 
Ahh ok thanks Para. I wasn't actually looking specifically for one of these, but I came accross it in AT and though "hmm, that could work". My main reason for wanting a bigger car is that I do a few motorway miles at the weekend, and the fiesta is horrible for 50-80mph and if the motorway starts to go uphill I'm screwed. But as you say if its not really a cruiser then maybe its not worth it....

I also had a mondeo in mind for this, but it's hard to find a decent specced one (Zetec or Ghia) in budget and not 350 miles away.
 
By all means go and try one, it should still be a world apart from your fiesta on the motorway :)

Mondeo would be a good buy for the motorway (as would most rep-mobiles), whats your budget?
 
paradigm said:
Mondeo would be a good buy for the motorway (as would most rep-mobiles), whats your budget?
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Around £2k mark, possibly couple hundred more depending on insurance (20 with 0NCB) I got a quote for the Golf for about £1200 I think it was, so really combining car and insurance about £3k ish.
 
GlasgowTitan said:
Around £2k mark, possibly couple hundred more depending on insurance (20 with 0NCB) I got a quote for the Golf for about £1200 I think it was, so really combining car and insurance about £3k ish.
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You should be able to find a mondeo ghia (or simular) for that price! :confused:
 
if its anything like buying llamas, you want good teath, nice clean coat, no out of place lumps/bumps, check the feet etc.

oh wait, we're talking about cars arn't we!
 
paradigm said:
You do know that the 2.0 8v is an incredibly dull engine, slow, yet thirsty for petrol?

They look good enough, but they arent fast by any means, do not get taken in by the GTI badge!
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Damn site better than the 2L Mark 4 Golf 'GTI'
 
Stonedofmoo said:
Damn site better than the 2L Mark 4 Golf 'GTI'
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Its the same engine is it not? I'd rather have the MK4 in that scenario because its a nicer place to be. the 1.8T is the GTI of choice in MK4 though.
 
I've been thinking, and you know what, screw it I want the Golf. Its still going to be miles better than my Fiesta, and the Fiesta is worth about a grand more than the golf, so I could keep that money for anything that goes wrong with the golf. Insurance is pretty much the same if I go third party only, and on a 1.5K car is there much point in going fully comp anyway? So its basically an upgrade that makes financial sense to me....

Please correct me if I'm wrong though.

So things to look out for are electrics, clocking...what else? When should cam belts and such be changed? Any other major things that need to be changed at regular intervals?

Although on that particular golf I mentioned in the OP doesn't have mileage stated, its likely to be high, should I be worried about that?

Cheers :D
 
Q. What to look for in a MK3 Golf GTi?

A. look for the power and performance it must have gone missing from the mk2 you might get lucky and find it somewhere, Look for some kind of handling preferably an upgrade to QE2 specifications struts you can then go around corners like an ocean cruiser and not just an oil tanker. Look for some kellog conrflakes packets and stickyback plastic to liven up the aufull dash and interior, i'm sure you will do a better job with cornflake packs and stickyback plastic than vw did. Look for a Kazoo strap it to your mouth, steal the badge of the back of the gti stuff it on ya ass and run around making engine noises, youll certainly be faster and take corners better than the mk3 gti,
Look for your nearest scrap yard and let it rot in hell its the best place for it :P
why o why did vw build such an awfull mk3 gti :(

sorry if i come across like that but tbh they are not 'that' bad, but they should've never put the gti badge on it. as said the 2l8v engine is sparten and agricultural and not out of place on a tractor and the handling is well. welcome to understeer heaven, dont pass go dont collect £200 and miss a turn (which you certainly will due to the understeer)
 
golf mk3

if you want a mk3 gti get the 16v version, as for the 8v engine being dull, put the same engine in a mk2 and get a much better result down to the mk3 being so lardy
 
Tbh i would go for a 'rado, either a 1.8 16v, 2.0 8v or a G60 depending on what ** situ is.

If you're in it the the mk3 golf look then the GTI is a decent car but dont expect anything special from it.
 
There isn't any 16v versions within 200miles of me. And besides, even the 8v has almost double the power of what I have just now, I reckon I'd be happy with it. I'm not wanting anything special, just better than what I have now, it just so happens the ones I'm looking at have "GTi" on them..

But it would be at least a 10 year old car, which slightly worries me.
 
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