"N8N" <njnagel@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:cdf788cd-24bd-4ca3-8ae8-510dd160f946@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Jul 23, 2:34 pm, E Meyer <epmeye...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On 7/23/08 10:46 AM, in article
> b3596bce-7a72-4a44-aa19-3516ca9d1...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"N8N"
I've had quite a few 80's era watercooled VWs over the years and I can
honestly say that only two were in any way finicky - my '89 GTI 16V,
because it was a resurrected "barn car" (once I replaced pretty much
any accessory with bearings, it was quite reliable - I eventually sold
it to a friend who drove it daily until a year or two ago when she
sold it) and SWMBO's '90 Corrado G60, because it's a Corrado and those
aren't up to normal VW standards.
My cars were not pampered - sat outside 24/7, expected to start on a
moment's notice after sitting for a week or more, be able to drive up
and down the east coast without any preparation, etc. and they never
let me down.
====
I had two VW Golfs (1.8 petrol - a 1988 Mark II and a 1993 Mark III). I
was
generally very pleased with them, though they were fairly expensive to
maintain because of the high cost of parts, even in the UK which is not as
far from Germany as, for example, the USA is.
The first car (which had a carburettor) had a problem with its automatic
choke which occasionally in hot weather made the engine race - very
embarrassingly once when I got stuck in a traffic jam on the infamous M25
motorway ("London's orbital car-park"!) and I had to turn off the engine
every time I came to a stand-still and then slip the clutch like mad to
crawl forward a few feet. But that was fixed fairly quickly and under
warranty.
The second one developed an annoying problem where the engine kept losing
power or hesitating. It kept going back to the garage and they could never
find anything. Eventually they decided to keep it for a week and loan me
another car in the meantime so they could give it a good test. On the last
day the mechanic rang up in a state of considerable elation and yelled
"It's
just gone wrong! I know what it is! I've fixed it!" - it was the throttle
sensor which detects the position of the throttle pedal and feeds the info
to the engine management unit: this had developed a fault. The component
cost a few quid but the labour was going to be several hundred pounds...
until I was able to produce a garage receipt showing that the car was
still
within the mileage limit for the warranty when I first re****ted the fault,
so VW head office eventually agreed to pay up.
The first car was lovely - much more lively than the other one though the
power and torque were very similar. Only slight design flaw: the sill at
the
base of the windscreen had tiny drain holes into the wheel arches and
these
easily got blocked. Once day after torrential rain overnight I got into
the
car and found I was paddling in six inches of water! Having got the
majority
of the water out with buckets and mopped up with towels, I then spent one
weekend removing the seats and then the carpet so I could wash the carpets
(which had started to smell - especially the underlay). It was weird
driving
around with bare metal floor and only my seat ;-)
Fuel economy was not brilliant - about 30-35 mpg (UK) which is about 24-28
mpg (US).
I now have a Peugeot 306 diesel which has just done 129,000 miles and is
still going strong after nine years. 50-55 mpg, bullet-proof, starts first
time every time whatever the weather. But it's getting to the age when
expensive things are starting to need attention: new catalytic converter,
replacement cambelt (scheduled), two new fanbelts (unplanned - second one
was because garage that fitted first one didn't notice that a pulley was
wobbly so it took out the belt after about a month - GRRRRR!).
I'm not sure what I'd replace it with because I don't like the Peugeot 307
or 308, and the VW Golf is very expensive for what it is and, like so many
modern cars, has one of these not-fit-for-purpose spacesaver spare wheels.
Also the rear seats don't remove so I wouldn't be able to carry my bicycle
as easily. The Honda Civic (new shape) and the Citroen C4 are gimmicky
(digital instruments in the centre of the dashboard).
Ford and Vauxhall - boring!
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