HMC- Return of the Cheeky 500

[HMC]

I remember my dad came back without his company mk1 vectra one day but with a new b5 Passat. Small things but I remember the purple backlighting and how the door hinge had this engineered progressive opening feel. I suppose those little details (oh plus the air vents whose slats would close flush) had a certain appeal to some. I loved those details aged 16. Sad but true.

[Marm Toastsmith]

On 9/15/2020 at 7:48 PM, wuvvum said:

a Mk4 Golf is no better built or more reliable than the equivalent Focus

This kind of reminded me I really should own a mk1 focus before they all disappear. I've had a Mk4 Golf and it was good. Not perfect, and admittedly a bit dull in some respects, but for a cheap car, hard to complain, very well built, felt classy in spite of age and mileage, went well, and cheap to keep. It had a few silly issues but nothing major broke in my ownership. I absolutely loved my Ford Ka, but despite being a low mileage, well maintained car, in a brief period of ownership it fell apart in front of my eyes, and would have made for expensive motoring if I'd kept it long term.

Just had a look on eBay. Hardly any Mk1 Focusses for sale. Loads and loads of Mk4 Golfs. The Focus might have handled well and had nice plastic in it but in terms of long term ruggedness it's hard to beat old VAG shite. For me long term survival is really what defines build quality...

[wuvvum]

The Focus rusted worse than the Golf, but I think the other reason there are more Golfs around is that the residuals were higher because VAG so they're less likely to have been scrapped.

[HMC]

I did look at HML and from memory year 2000 models still around 11k foci and 12k golfs- I think they shifted about 130k foci that year in the uk and a lot less golfs, so the rate of attrition is certainly different.

edit- here are uk golf registrations doesn’t have year 2000 but presumably not much different than 2001 

[HMC]

Ps whilst I remember here’s a golf v5 I’ve just bought

[Asimo]

I've just binned a perfectly functional food mixer because it's "soft touch" plastic went all Golf mk4.

Isopropyl alcohol, petrol, thinners: nothing would get rid of the slime.

 V5 engine,.  Would like to try.  Did they ever do a 2 door Bora?

[sdkrc]

4 minutes ago, Asimo said:

Did they ever do a 2 door Bora?

I wish

[Marm Toastsmith]

1 hour ago, HMC said:

Ps whilst I remember here’s a golf v5 I’ve just bought

ooh nice. auto or manual?

[Jamie]

i had a passat V5 a few years back, ive had some juicy cars in my time (v8 M3 etc) etc, but my GOD that V5 was the worst car ive ever owned on fuel , sounded nice but  averaged about 13 mpg.

 

[dave j]

I had a V5 Bora, sounded lovely and went well enough for me, did like a drink though! 

[HMC]

We all know gumtree can be a dangerous place (spoiler alert). In and around broken x boxes and unwanted exercise equipment of course is the car section. It seems to bring out of the woodwork people only able to type numbers in response to adverts (offers of money? It’s never very clear) I managed to string a few sentences of actual words together and as a result I have another car.

I seem to have forgotten I already own a mk4 golf as I have bought another one. 

 

It’s a 2000 X 1.6 se manual in a tasteful black with tan velour. It drives “ok” as it is a golf mk4, I can’t really describe it as driving “well”. It’s just turned 20 years old and has no rust. Some minor touch parking but it’s pretty tidy. It is 20 after all. SE in y2k meant a choice of either a sunroof OR climate control. Our buyer decided on the latter and it still works. 
 

This was registered at a time where there was much hand wringing about cars being cheaper in Europe. It might be for that reason that it had its PDI in Belgium, yet is a uk, rhd spec with mph instrument pack etc, has a south west London registration but it’s first service in Barnstaple, north Devon (where I picked it up from) 

Anyway, where’s the fun in having a set of golfs when you don’t take pictures of them both together......

 

[HMC]

On 9/17/2020 at 9:48 PM, marm said:

ooh nice. auto or manual?

Manual. I’ve googled the engine code and it’s the 170 rather than 150 BHP (something to do with more valves apparently )

[hairnet]

On 9/17/2020 at 8:44 PM, Asimo said:

  Did they ever do a 2 door Bora?

On 9/17/2020 at 8:49 PM, sdkrc said:

I wish

no but people have made them

 

[hairnet]

ps audi wanker vag bummer german apologist etc

bit like me - no need for it but wanted one so did

sounds like you did too

not an airbag one is it?

[Jamie]

Do have a soft spot for a mk4. Had plenty pd diesels. Great cars well put together 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Nothing wrong with the Mk.4 Golfs, as long as you avoid the 1.4 16v. Gutless. Low-geared. Not a motorway car. Guess which one my sister had?

[Matty]

I had a mk3 golf gti up till last year. Weve just replaced a mk4 gti 20vt but I've kept the car. Going to be my winter beater. Bought with 150 thou on it now on 200 thou. Both cars were absolutly faultless but the mk4 especially drove like a new car and everything still works. Bearing in mind its on a 99 t plate. Say what you like about modern vag stuff cos that really is a bag of shite trading on past glories but the mk 4 golf/bora is a high water mark. Not that interesting ill grant you but just plain good

[HMC]

Just realised that yesterday marked 10 years of existing on the forum. That’s over 3650 days of probably checking in every day (!)

Around that time I had a £120 Volvo 240 glt estate and a £250 e34 525 amongst others. I think whilst the cars at the bottom end back then are now bona fide classics (with similarly larger price tags) My interest in cheap cars is still just as keen. Actually there is a bit of a pattern as they were about 20 years old and so are my current cars!

10 years on what will you be driving? what cheap stuff now will be more pricey in 10 years? Over to you

[DoctorRetro]

35 minutes ago, HMC said:

Just realised that yesterday marked 10 years of existing on the forum. That’s over 3650 days of probably checking in every day (!)

Around that time I had a £120 Volvo 240 glt estate and a £250 e34 525 amongst others. I think whilst the cars at the bottom end back then are now bona fide classics (with similarly larger price tags) My interest in cheap cars is still just as keen. Actually there is a bit of a pattern as they were about 20 years old and so are my current cars!

10 years on what will you be driving? what cheap stuff now will be more pricey in 10 years? Over to you

I reckon we'll all* be drooling over Hyundai I30 estates and that you won't be able to get a mk3 Fiesta for less than 3k.

*well, Autoshite members 

[Marm Toastsmith]

10 years ago I had an e28 520i which I paid £400 for and a Golf mk1 convertible which I got for nothing and sold for about £800. Actually the e28 was one of the few cars I kept for long enough to see the value rise, if only by a few hundred quid. Not quite as cheap as HMC's motors but still very affordable, and now bona fide classics. Both were relatively hassle free and cheap to run. I owned them at the right time.

Generally speaking, if we kept them for long enough to see values rise we'd miss out on owning loads of other great cars at the bottom of the curve... plus often the older they get the harder they become to maintain. Parts are cheaper for bangers than they are for classics!

In ten years time I'm looking forward to cheap hybrid and electric vehicles. Imagine a Tesla for less than a grand... I wonder what it would be like? Or a Nissan e-NV200 as a cheap DIY camper/day van? Plus there are a few fun and interesting designs amid the mainstream dross. The Citroen Cactus springs to mind. A BMW 1 series (saloon or cab) or an Audi A1 would also appeal for a bit of cute compact class on the cheap. And Audi A7s have a presence about them that would be hard to resist for, say, £500.

The future looks bright to me...

[SiC]

2 hours ago, HMC said:

what cheap stuff now will be more pricey in 10 years? Over to you

Anything with a decent engine - i.e. 6cyl or 8cyl. Also powerful n/a vehicles. 

Almost certain the Clio 172/182, Civic type-R and the like will be at price levels of Renault 5 GT Turbo, 205 GTi and other revered 80s hot hatches are now. Just see current liability levels at the moment on them! They'll carry on being stripped + smashed on the track and broken for parts. 

RX8 will do alright as quirky styling like nothing else and quirky engine. 

[SiC]

2 hours ago, HMC said:

10 years on what will you be driving?

There really isn't much that I find interesting which is 10yrs old now and will be interesting at 20yrs old? Everything is direct injection petrol but rare as everyone went common rail diesel. These have DPF and the like. Petrols will just be carbon up and lacking performance. Especially against electric cars in 10yrs. 

Even worse is 20yrs time will just be a this SUV shit, with tiny petrols strapped to turbos that is so popular now. 

[HMC]

10 years hence perhaps these will be highly prized as a precursor to a new breed? 

[HMC]

4 hours ago, SiC said:

There really isn't much that I find interesting which is 10yrs old now and will be interesting at 20yrs old? Everything is direct injection petrol but rare as everyone went common rail diesel. These have DPF and the like. Petrols will just be carbon up and lacking performance. Especially against electric cars in 10yrs. 

Even worse is 20yrs time will just be a this SUV shit, with tiny petrols strapped to turbos that is so popular now. 

Agreed. With new internal combustion sales outlawed soon after 2030 perhaps the shiters choice is simply to own a car powered by internal combustion? How old skool.

[HMC]

Life with the a forum favourite* the mk4 golf has been uneventful. The v5 is fun and quite noisy. I think it has a sports exhaust as the 5 cylinder throb seems quite loud. When not in such a mood there is the 1.6 SE. It’s a bit tired and wallowy- wether the v5 is set up differently I don’t know, or perhaps a bit of age related wear and tear on the 1.6? Probably a bit of both. It’s generally pretty smart for a 20 year old, even if the door handles have gone a bit VAG.

Does anyone know if the radio cassette is standard? It looks period correct, although it may have been chopped about a bit as the rear shelf has pretty impressive holes cut for a long since departed ICE set up. Still, it gives something for the kids to entertain themselves with.....

[Floatylight]

Would have had the Gamma radio originally I think.

[Jamie]

Nope that's aftermarket that mate 

[Ghosty]

Yeah, it would have had a VW branded Beta/Gamma set. 

 

[bunglebus]

Yep, the original from my Passat now lives in my friend's MK4 TDI Golf after his developed a fault

[Split_Pin]

When I joined the forum 12 years ago I was driving a 5 year old Astra Coupe.

Now I have a 20 year old Audi, 20 year old Corsa, 16 year old Rover and 13 year old Mini.

Enabling bastards, the lot of you.