1996 Volkswagen Polo CLD from UK and Ireland - Comments

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.

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.

I have owned a 1995 1.9 cld now for just over a year and have found it to be a most practical and enjoyable to drive in all road conditions, I admit the price of parts can be a little higher than other vw's I've owned in the past, but this is duly repaid in the mpg return and ease of working on the vehicle. I have enjoyed the last year and am looking forward to restoring it to its former glory thanks to some cheap workmanship carried out on it in the past.

I have owned a 1996 Polo diesel for 6 years. Over that time there has not been anything major gone wrong, it has had usual maintenance - new battery, new glow plugs, brake shoes etc. but nothing which couldn`t be expected. The car is just coming up to 100k and I reckon there is a bit more life in it yet, it`s still running along pretty well. The car suits me, in fact I like the Polo and have just bought a newer model, and my son is taking the old one. On the motorway the 1.9 engine shifts along well enough, I would not say it is that slow.