1986 Volkswagen Polo Coupe S 1.3

Summary:

Paid for itself in every possible way

Faults:

Persistent electrical problem.

Dreadful under-steer in the wet.

General Comments:

Absolutely the best thing I have ever bought.

This car just suited me down to the ground. I firmed up the suspension and had a servo fitted to the brakes and it was just brilliant, fun motoring.

Golf owners always laugh at the Polo, but having owned both I can confirm the Golf is inferior! I mean what is it with the ventilation on the Golf - what a joke!

Very hard wearing interior/fittings - later cars not so good.

Fitting the servo and firmer suspension totally transformed the cars capabilities.

At 103k miles the engine was at it's best and used no oil.

Poor front wheel grip (camber wrong - not adjustable) was a real problem, but at least it calmed down my driving in the wet.

The electrical problem had all the mechanics stumped. Turn the key some mornings and absolutely nothing happened. Next morning - fine. It was this that made me sell the car in the end (and I cried). Recently it has been suggested it was the back of the dash at fault.

It's been 3 years now and I miss it loads.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd October, 2002

30th Apr 2006, 10:45

I own a mk2 polo coupe s and it is by far the most reliable car I've owned, had a small problem with it starting, but this was all caused by a lose wire behind the key hole. great motoring!

1986 Volkswagen Polo C 1.0

Summary:

Good quality, but expensive parts

Faults:

I've had a new water pump because the coolant cap exploded off (including the coolant). But then realised it was the head gasket.

My head gasket blew at about 91,000.

I have had a second hand carburetor (because the automatic choke wasn't working properly).

I have had a new petrol tank because it was leaking.

Rear wiper motor seized-up.

I had new gaiters.

General Comments:

No problems at all for the last 6,000 miles. Will sell it soon!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 28th October, 2001

1986 Volkswagen Polo Coupe S 1.3 petrol

Summary:

Superb first car with easy DIY servicing

Faults:

General wear and tear, wheel bearings all round, brakes all round (replaced with MKI Golf GTi brakes), new shocks all round, starter motor, CV boot split. Not very many things considering I drive it very hard and it is a car with lots of miles.

General Comments:

After fitting lowering springs, new shocks and Audi Coupé alloys it handle much better. Golf GTi brakes are a straight swap and help to slow the thing down.

The 4+E gearbox give the car a cruising speed of 80mph+, and still pretty good fuel consumption.

Sticking to a steady 60mph I had nearly 50mpg out of it.

Interior is a bit basic, on the other hand though there is less to go wrong.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 31st July, 2001

1986 Volkswagen Polo C 1.0

Summary:

Buy it, thrash it, sell it, buy a Renault 5 Monaco

Faults:

The rear wiper has decided just to not bother working as well as the two small headlight spots.

Wheel trims don't stay on for very long.

General Comments:

I've only had it a few weeks, but it's been an impressive few weeks.

It's a nippy little machine but lacks acceleration, especially uphill.

Comfortable to drive with good handling.

Mine is in really good condition (14 years service history, one owner from new), a bit of rust on the doors but nothing that cannot be sorted.

An ideal first car for the budding boy racer to thrash around and then sell back to an old granny.

I'm looking for a set of alloy wheels and possibly a big bore back box to improve the look and sound.

Mine had a really good stereo set up in it (Kenwood head unit with CD controls and Pioneer rear speakers).

Overall, more fun than a Fiesta.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th January, 2001

1986 Volkswagen Polo C 1.0

Summary:

Cheap to run good old runner

Faults:

Main problems were it cutting out at junctions, not staying at stable rev's etc. Had a manual choke. New battery fixed the problem. Standard brakes is the main unfixable problem, but you get used to them.

General Comments:

Good car for its age, not as refined as the Golf, but cheap to run and fairly reliable. Cheap on insurance and tax. Light car so 1.0 isn't too sluggish. Fun to drive. This is an ideal first car for a learner.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th July, 2000

15th Jul 2005, 02:08

My name is Kal and I got 6 points before I got my licence, which is why getting a 1986 polo 1.0 litre was a great idea, it was cheap to run and everything for it cost pennies, apart from the fuel, I could get 46 mpg out of it and could manage 100mph with ease, but the best thing for me about my little car is its so light so corners are not a problem and the acceleration is not what any of my mates expected, offcourse I modded it, its got golf mk1 brakes and shocks in it, 15" alloys from a mk3 golf and a personalized exhaust system. TIP: I put black tights over the back lights to tint them, swapped the polo sign with a mk4 polo sign (it looks a lot better)

BAD: spark plugs and points have to be changed every 6000 miles, exhaust blew 4 times before I got a stainless steal one fited, air filter gets to dirty to quickly, it produces a staling problem if the battery isn't charged, manual choke is just annoying, especially in the winter.

GOOD: its so cheap you could own 2 at the same time. it just won't roll over and die, no power steering so you can feel the tires on the road. not much electrical gizmo's to go wrong, it's a nice comfortable affordable quick small persons car, perfect for learners or for a first car.

1986 Volkswagen Polo C 1.0 petrol

Summary:

Probably the best value budget banger

Faults:

In nearly four thousand miles only one headlight bulb and had also to replace the HT leads, one was knackered and caused the car to run on three cylinders for 50 miles.

The hand brake cable snapped an offside drum which wasn't working properly and so on replacing this, had to replace the drum as well, also the rear windscreen wiper motor blew.

Other than that, a replaced cambelt and fan belt, filters, distributor cap on purchase just for piece of mind. Will need a new exhaust in the next couple of months and possibly a clutch.

General Comments:

Quite good but needs another gear, a rev counter would also be good and I am thinking of fitting one. Returns between 35 and 42 MPG so not bad. Quite a bit of surface rust which requires spraying but nothing structural. Not in the league of the Subaru Justy but will tide me over until I've got some no claims and the new tax band puts the Justy in the cheap band.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th June, 2000