15th May 2001, 05:49
I made the first comment above about my '96 Golf, I stand by that comment, but must add that I too have noticed rust on my car, it's the five door version, and on the rear doors (which have clearly had very little use in the past) there has been water collecting around the rubber seal that surrounds the door arm (the bit that stops the door opening too far). I've had this cleaned up and resprayed and now I've put plenty of grease on the problem area to try to prevent water getting back into the metal. The problem is very minor and has no impact on the structural integrity of the car, but I too was surprised to find rust on this car, and was under the impression the Golf was fully galvanised, this is not the case on the Mk3. VW has a 6year anti perforation warranty which as with other manufacturers means nothing at all, since it only covers rust which penetrates the surface of the metal from behind a panel (I.e. virtually impossible since they wax coat them from behind). What I am getting at is that although the Golf uses thicker metal than Italian and French cars if the paint is scratched or water gets into the metal it's going to rust just like any other steel bodied car would.
24th Aug 2001, 09:36
1994 'Golf Match' 1.4L (unleaded petrol), 42,000 miles.
This limited edition to the Volkswagen range unfortunately is, in my opinion, poor in terms of performance. My 'Golf Match' runs lumpy, jerky, occasionally misfires inspite of regular Volkswagen services to find a fault. This symptom is predominately when decelerating. Dealers say it's "a lean-burn engine" and it's normal! Have any other VW 'Golf' drivers experienced this problem? The only other fault to date, the clutch needed replacing after 21,000 miles.
28th Aug 2001, 08:51
It's the Golf SE owner, from above, again. I can't say I have had problems with lumpy running of the engine, though just as the car was due to go in for its 40,000 (36,000 miles in fact) service it started to run a little rough, and did splutter on rare occasions at motorway speeds, and previous to this while accelerating.
Now I have a front engine mount needs replacing. I am currently considering an alternative mode of transport, since even the almighty VW don't seem to be able to build cars to last these days!
23rd Jan 2002, 11:14
Golf SE owner returns. Over 12months of ownership, and pretty happy with the car, something of a rarity for me, I'm very fussy! Anyway, the engine mount cost £60 in total, and fixed the problem though the old one wasn't broken it may well have been loose. Since that though I have not had any problems. Through the freezing weather we've had this winter the car ran without any trouble. Can't beat it. Looks good, drives decently, and best of all dependable, more than can be said for the Vauxhalls, Citroens and Rovers I've owned!
26th Jan 2002, 16:01
A quick word about rusty tailgates. Apparently due to the aerodynamics of the golfs, all water and dirt is 'sucked' onto the tailgate which without regular cleaning causes rusting, mainly behind the no. plate and the light rail for the plate. I've had my mk3 1.4cl for 5 years now and at 92000 miles its a bit noisy but never lets me down. Any ideas on getting more power?
29th Mar 2006, 02:54
I have recently bought a vw golf 1.8ltr apparently the same engine that goes in the gti.It's a 1994 model (L plate) and so far the following problems have occured.
1) drivers seat has broken so if I turn sharply the seat lifts from the floor pannel (very dangerous)
2) when I touch the brake pedal the indicators stop indicating.
3) it constantly over heats quickly in traffic even on wet days though the fan does come on. Any suggestions?
10th May 2001, 08:56
I bought my 1.4 cl '93 about 2 weeks ago and I am very pleased with it. Having owned an Ibiza 1.5 glx I find the golf more than matches it for pace and I don not find it under-powered at all. Strangely for a golf mk3 there is a little bit of rust on the boot.