1996 Volkswagen Polo CLD review from UK and Ireland
"Nice cars to drive if a little slow, until they go wrong"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Immobilizer reader coil failed at about 61,000 miles - cost £160 to replace at a Volkswagen dealer.
Front top suspension mounts replaced at 80,000 miles.
Clutch and Flywheel replaced at 90,000 miles. Special "dual-mass flywheel" is supposed to be replaced along with the clutch. Total cost of clutch and flywheel was an insanely expensive £500 + VAT.
Wear on gearbox first motion shaft caused another clutch failure at 110,000 miles.
Rear wheel bearings seem to need replacing at every MOT test! Front wheel bearings not fairing much better.
General comments?
This car is dog slow in anything above 2nd gear.
Eats front brake disks and pads for breakfast.
Excellent, reliable engine - 122,000 miles and still going strong without smoking at all. This is only let down by suspect build quality of the rest of the car.
Stupid insurance costs (group 6) for a car that does 0-60 in however long it takes you to find a steep hill to go down... with the wind behind you... (just kidding, it's probably something like 16 seconds).
They still look fairly cool even after 7 years and 2 newer shapes.
High residual values. Make no mistake about it, these cars are overvalued.
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| Expected far better |
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| Awesome car and performance |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 1996 |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.9 diesel Manual |
| Performance marks | 4 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 5 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 6 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 0 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 4 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 57000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 122000 miles |
| Date of Entry | 12th August, 2003 |