2002 Volkswagen Golf GTi 2.0

Summary:

A lousy car with many problems

Faults:

Brake discs warped

Clutch cable stuck

Electrical faults (numerous)

Rattle from drivers door

Rain water leaks from doors

Central locking failed

Rear screen washer came off inside boot & filled boot with water

Knocking from suspension

Permanent flat spot never properly cured

Interior trim broke off under footwell

Seat seams split

Electric windows burnt out twice

Air con had to be fixed twice

Excessive oil consumption.

General Comments:

GTI handling OK, but 2.0 115 bhp is a joke in a GTI. Has to be worked really hard to go at the expense of fuel consumption (35mpg at best)

Front wheels lose grip easily pulling away from a stand. Handling is very sloppy for a "sports" car.

Terrible reliability. Dealers were friendly, but never actually managed to fix very much. Sometimes the car came back worse than it went to them.

Dealer courtesy car was a 1.2 Polo and it spent months in the dealer. I paid £18000 to drive a GTI not a Polo!

Drank oil like it was going out of fashion. Almost 10 litres between services! Dealer said this was within "acceptable limits".

Several faults were never cured until I traded it in (for another Ford. I never had these problems with my old Ford Focus).

Bad car, badly made, bad dealers, bad experience.

No more VWs for me.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 14th July, 2006

28th Nov 2006, 16:09

Welcome to the VW "I've been conned" club.

I too had one like this. It was broke more than it ran.

Dealers did £4500 worth of warranty work on the car in 2.5 years before I sold it and took the cash hit.

Dealer offered peanuts trade in so I now have an Astra which is wonderful and doesn't break down (at least not yet).

19th Mar 2011, 18:34

VWs are terrible, have been for a while in fact. Bought a Golf new back in 1993, and was shocked continually how poor it was; rust along the bottoms of the doors at 18 months old, constant electrical failures, trim falling off everywhere, cheap brittle plastics and countless examples of poor design (e.g thin flimsy door winders that bent and eventually fell to pieces (that had to be fixed 3 times by a dealer) gearbox bearings failing after 18k miles, fuses and bulbs blowing constantly, juddering clutch and a throttle that seemed to be either on or off, with no control or smoothness...)

I've owned 3 VWs since then (yes, I'm a fool!) and they have all disappointed me... Japanese from now on!

2002 Volkswagen Golf GT TDi 1.9 130bhp

Summary:

A excellent car - highly recommended

Faults:

CD player jammed disc first month.

Door courtesy light holder.

... and that is all in +60000 miles.

General Comments:

The mark IV Golf GT TDi 130 is an outstanding car. It is seriously fast yet amazingly economical (53 mpg over +60000 miles). Motorway driving is great 90mph at approx. 2500rpm!

Very comfortable, but the handling could be a little more involving - easily fixed though with a non-VW handling kit.

Furthermore it has the best sound system I have even had - 8 quality speakers and crystal clear quality. Comfort is further enhanced by an excellent climate control system (although when air con is used it noticeably effects mpg, but not performance)

I look forward to the next 60000 miles with hopefully the same standard of reliability.

(PS No oil consumption problems as reported by other owners. If fact I have never had to add any oil between services.)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th January, 2006

31st Jan 2006, 15:06

Hard to believe this could have come off the same production line as my old one. Same year, same model, same engine. Eleven faults in the first year, including two on delivery, oil consumption problems, electrical faults, build problems and water leaks inside.

Drove the car to the dealer, parked it up outside, rang the finance company from the sales manager's desk and cancelled the agreement (just past the half way point so perfectly legal). Turned around and walked out, that being the last time I ever saw the car or the dealer.

Would never touch a VW (or Audi, Skoda, Seat) again.