2000 Volkswagen Golf TDI 110 bhp review from Malta

Faulty front suspension at 0km.

Faulty air conditioning plumbing after 15000km.

Headlamp on warning buzzer malfunctioned at 25000km.

Cheap electric window mechanism - repeat faults.

Currently being checked for faulty

engine mountings (35000km)

Rattles and squeaks seem to increase every day.

I’ve been wanting a Golf since I was a boy, but when I finally bought one two years ago I was very disappointed.

It looks good, it feels good, and gives the impression of solidity. It looks well screwed together… on the brochure.

The problem started a few days after I bought it when I noticed a strange noise after going over small road bumps. It turned out to be faulty suspensions That VW took almost a year to replace.

In the mean time, a hose that takes care of the water condensation from the air-conditioner got detached and disposed off the water into the car instead of out. It ruined the carpets, and VW only accepted to repair the faulty hose connection, and not the carpets.

After 25000km, the headlamps-on-warning –buzzer stopped working, and it was too expensive to repair, so I stayed without it. Two months later, the driver’s side window fell. Apparently, the plastic clips that keeps it attached to the winder and rails, are of poor quality because I heard it is a common problem. I replaced it and reinforced it with a modified metal clip to give it more strength for £195. Another few thousand kilometres and the passenger side window fell.

At the moment my Golf is the VW maintenance garage because it developed a new problem this time with the engine mountings.

Good looking, but built quality and reliability are a far cry from top notch that Volkswagen led me to believe.