Faults:

Fan stopped working.

Battery kept running flat.

Water leaked inside when it rained.

Lights stopped working due to a faulty switch.

Very expensive to fix.

General Comments:

This car has a great feel when you are up and running on the road.

Its quick to 100 km/h, around 8.3 seconds.

It's extremely unreliable.

I wouldn't suggest buying one if you are young or have a tight budget.

Faults:

Intermittent tappet noise.

Fuel pump fast idle stopped working.

Glowplugs failed.

Seat belt stopped retracting.

Heated rear window stopped working.

Rear wash wipe stopped working.

Gear linkage broke.

General Comments:

This car was family owned from new and had been impeccably serviced every 5,000 miles regardless of cost. Despite this, it was actually less reliable than the similar age and mileage Astra (petrol) that I had before. I'm not sure where VW get their reliability and build quality reputation from, but it's no better than you'd get with a Vauxhall in my experience.

This isn't a performance car, so I'm not going to criticise its painful lack of grunt. To be fair, the engine was very torquey and responsive so it wasn't actually too bad to drive. The 60 mpg it returned was very nice too, especially during the fuel crisis. 500 miles out of a £30 tankful was known regularly.

The rest of it was standard 80's small hatchback stuff. Cheap, creaky, angular interior, tidy front drive handling, so-so cloth seats and unbelievably heavy steering.

Although this was definitely a good economical banger, I felt a bit disappointed that having heard all the stories praising VW's bombproof build and engineering, and with the car having been so well looked after, it was all very creaky and tired inside, and there were quite a lot of problems. Parts from independents tended to be poor quality too, and those from dealers were extortionate.

As I say, this was a decent old runabout, but if I'm in the market for a similar car again, I'll save a few hundred quid and buy an old Astra or Escort, which are just as well made and reliable, as well as being more plentiful and cheaper to fix when they do go wrong.

Faults:

Brake pads crumbled as the car had been off the road for a while before I got it.

Alternator.

I replaced the clutch just after I got it. I knew it needed replacing when I bought it anyway.

General Comments:

This car is incredibly reliable. Handling isn't great though. It doesn't use up any oil at all! For a 15 year old car with 164k miles on the clock that is an incredible achievement.

Faults:

Exhaust failed at a rate of one section per week!

Water pump leaky.

Cambelt replaced (routine work).

Throttle linkage fell apart.

Poor handbrake.

New pads + discs (warped).

Seat runners broken.

Leaky damper.

Leaking sunroof (aftermarket crap).

Manifold gasket.

Rear brake flexi-hoses.

CV gaiter.

General Comments:

Such a boring car.

Pattern parts are dead cheap, but VW stuff is better quality. I find no great difference in the build compared to my old Sierras, this thing rattles and squeaks with the best of 'em.

Considering it's mere 45 bhp, a top speed of 111mph (bouncing off the limiter at 6,300 rpm) is not too bad at all. Fairly refined considering I threw all the sound deadening in the skip. Performance in all but first is embarrassing. Perhaps I expected too much. Might go for a 16 valve GTi next. Then again, perhaps not.