Car was delivered with missing dashboard trim.
Standard dash mounted 6CD changer was very unreliable and has been replaced.
Engine makes some very strange noises during gear changes and when decelerating - dealer cannot determine the cause.
The car was delivered with all these problems.
The engine has a bit of a dual personality. Sometimes its really smooth and others like a sack of spanners.
Performance is good although I think the optional sports suspension (only £150) is a must with this engine - car still rides well in normal driving, but doesn't suffer from the same extent of sloppy handling which characterises Golfs.
Fuel economy is improving all the time and is quite respectable for an engine of this size.
As a fleet manager for a company running 64 cars, my own experience is that the fabled "German build quality" is actually quite misleading. Of our current fleet (comprising among others, 8 Golfs/Boras and 10 Focuses with between 40k and 85k on each car), I can report that the Golfs have proven no more reliable or "better built" than the Focuses. Granted, the residual values are better on the German cars, but this is almost cancelled out over the term of ownership by the higher servicing and maintenance costs. I don't think it's so much that German quality is slipping, but that the competition has drastically improved. I also think our high expectations of German cars are partly to blame. VW's and the like are not perfect, despite what certain sections of the motoring press would have you believe.
VW build quality.
Have read postings related to above on this site reference Golf. I bought a new Right Hand Drive Golf GT TDI PD Diesel (115PS) in Jan 01. I sourced it from a German VW Main Dealer, as a personal import to UK.
Build quality was/is superb. I believe the Pre Delivery Inspection was thoroughly carried out, it took 3 days!!. I believe that UK dealers will not be as thorough, and this is a common issue in the UK.
Only one fault so far. (I do all servicing / maintenance myself) Trip computer went intermittent exactly as the 12 months warranty expired. Has now failed permanently. Annoying, but it is a processor fault within the Instrument cluster. Replacement Cluster £175 + VAT, but I will need access to VW data base for secret key code to install new one. Am cultivating local dealer with this in mind.
I've found out that all of vw gearboxes made from the first mk 1 golf through to the mk 4 have been made faulty! by volkswagen. what seems to happen is that the pinion shaft on the diff should be located by 2 cir-clips, but vw never used theses clips instead they used big headed rivets on the crown wheen to hold the pinion shaft in place, but theses don't work and the pinion shaft wears a hole in the gearbox letting oil all over the clutch... and vw isn't bothered! this problem is also called self machining syndrome and affects all gearboxes made from 1984 and some mk 1 golfs were affected! so yes I do think vw's standards afe long gone! I own a mk 2 golf gti and having known this problem accurs on the mk 3 and 4th golf I will not be buying vw not to end up paying out £600 for another gearbox when the other box was perfect until the pinion shaft came out!!! get on to vw and complain about this problem!
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