MK1 GTI 'specialist' in Guildford/ Surrey area

Hi, I am currently looking at buying a 1983 MK1 GTI in the Guildford area - the car won't come with a warranty and I'm terrified of making an expensive mistake!

I viewed the car yesterday but I am definitely no 'expert', especially on mechanical aspects.

What I need is to find a specialist (or someone who knows these early cars well) reasonably local to the car who might be able to give the GTI a good looking-over and let me know if I am going to make a big mistake, or not.

Obviously, I will be very happy to pay 'the going rate' for this, but I wonderd if anyone could point me in the right direction please?

I would be VERY VERY gratful for any pointers and you could save me from getting myself into big trouble!


Thanks very much

Simon
 

Welcome to the Club Simon.
I'm sure one of our Members will be able to help you in someway or other!  

I can't unfortunately as a live a little to far away but good luck!    

Oh and best not to advertise your email address and phone number openly on the Internet, no matter what website it is.
Once out there, it's out there for ever!  

So edit you entry and remove them if I were you.  

Welcome Simon

Equally I'm a little too far away from you but sure someone on here can help.

Have you got any details or photos that you can share of the car? It may be that it's a known car so we can easily comment, or just pass general judgement.

Are there any areas of the car that give you concern?

Cheers
Andy

The chap i bought my gti from down surrey was really clued up, and helpful, if he pipes up and offers it would be great but its not my place to make such offer, i know hes a busy guy.

As andy said, any info on it?

Cheers.

Here is a link to a web album with some photos I took.

https://picasaweb.google.com/101817078238343119417/1983GolfGTI02?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPSs2MLpqaa8qAE&feat=directlink

The car is very low miles and has been 'sat' for a long time (not professionally stored)

It is for sale via a dealer but no warranty is being given - it isn't cheap so I want to minimise my risk.

Hasn't been sent for MOT yet so don't know if it will pass/ any advisories

My observations were:

1. Shell looks very good - no visible signs of corrosion anywhere including the usual Mk1 places, whell well, filler neck etc etc.
2. Interior as new
3. But, suspension parts have corroded - my thoughts were wire brush and waxoyl would help, but is it more serious? I appreciate these can be changed - do they need to be or will they tidy up? Back of one of the drums is bad - but these look very cheap to replace?
4. Engine and ancilaries have coroded slightly - I imagine the cam cover could easily be powder coated and a couple of hours with WD40 and a rag would make a big difference…
5. When started from cold, car struggled to maintain its idle after a throttle blip - the engine would die and then be hard to re-start (hasnt been driven recently, proably started and stopped whilst static a lot) - also when load was put on electrics (eg main beam that would pull idle down to 800 or so - from 950-1000)
6. Was cold and a cold day (3 degrees) - a lot of condensation out of the exhaust - probably nothing, but you wouldnt want to find a cracked cylinder head…
7. Split in fuel pipe - I did tell the dealer about that!!

As you can tell, I have had a very good look, but really need someone with better knowledge than me to take a look if possible.

Any thoughts from my photos and words above would be very interesting to me, please.

Cheers and thanks again

Simon















 

Simon, some interesting photos indeed but what about the car?

We've not seen it yet, so I'll give you a call from Vienna, Austria, so you can hold it up to the phone and I can have a look please!  

Mate we need to see inside and out, from all angles.
What year?
Mileage?
History?
MOT?
Number of owners?
Extras if any?
What does the dealer say?
Need I go on…

By the way, unless the Law has changed in the last few years, the dealer has to give you a minimum of three months, 'Limited Warranty'.
Or he has to sell it as a "A collection of parts, no warranty given or implied etc…" and that attracts VAT on the invoice.

Well this was the Law in my day but it might have changed a lot, so we need to put meat on the bones before we can realistically be expected to comment!  

Thanks

Yeah, car delaer & trades are under no legal obligation to give any warranty, but are covered by Sale of Goods Act

Car must be -

Of a satisfactory quality - free from minor defects, safe and durable for a reasonable length of time. When assessing satisfactory quality you should take into account the price you paid for the vehicle, its age, mileage and condition at the time of sale.

- Fit for its intended purpose or a purpose that you made known to the trader - fit to be driven on the road.

- As described - the vehicle should correspond with any description applied to it. In some circumstances, the trader may be liable for any statement made by the manufacturer of the vehicle.

If the vehicle is faulty , you are legally entitled to request one of the following remedies:

a full refund
compensation (damages)
repair or replacement
rescission or reduction in price


I am really looking for someone to view the car for me and any comments on the 'corrosion' issues in the photos (ie are they of any real concern or just 'cosmetic'?) - the rest of the car I am pretty happy with

Cheers again

Simon M said

Thanks

Yeah, car delaer & trades are under no legal obligation to give any warranty, but are covered by Sale of Goods Act

Car must be -

Of a satisfactory quality - free from minor defects, safe and durable for a reasonable length of time. When assessing satisfactory quality you should take into account the price you paid for the vehicle, its age, mileage and condition at the time of sale.

- Fit for its intended purpose or a purpose that you made known to the trader - fit to be driven on the road.

- As described - the vehicle should correspond with any description applied to it. In some circumstances, the trader may be liable for any statement made by the manufacturer of the vehicle.

If the vehicle is faulty , you are legally entitled to request one of the following remedies:

a full refund
compensation (damages)
repair or replacement
rescission or reduction in price


I am really looking for someone to view the car for me and any comments on the 'corrosion' issues in the photos (ie are they of any real concern or just 'cosmetic'?) - the rest of the car I am pretty happy with

Cheers again

Yep fair one as I've just been reading the Law myself out of interest.
Warranties – The Legal Requirements when Selling Second Hand Cars – Lawgistics

But do you have any photos at all of the car?
Extra pairs of eyes can make a big difference and may save you a lot of money, time and heartache?

Apart from my other questions (when answered) how much does the Dealer want for it?
We can't be sure there's a member close by that can go and have a look at it for you but I hope we have.  

I know it sounds like I'm a hard ass but I think they're reasonable questions, I'm ex trade including VW around the time the car your looking at was sold new.  

So I'll step aside now and let the experts to the stage!  

The detail doesn't look too bad. You can buy new wishbones with bushes already fitted for not a lot of money.

Looks like there's fluid on the gearbox and around one of the inner CV joints.

As Mike said, if you have pics of the car as a whole it would be a big help, and an idea of price as that's the important part for any car of any condition.

Even if the dealer is giving you no extra warranty, for peace of mind I would want to buy it with a fresh MOT and ideally a full service and cambelt change. Otherwise they're points for negotiation. The MOT would be the minimum for me, it may uncover things you wont find.

As it's been sat, emissions could be way out - the service would help sort that though

Sign in - Google Accounts

Here are all the photos

16k miles from new, one owner

Probably a one-off, but 5 figures dear - you wouldnt want to spend that kinda money out on a limb!!

I am looking to replace my new 1981 GTI, originality is important to me….but seems to carry a high price

You could easily catch a cold here I think!
 

Car had massive £3.5k service (recomissioning really) at VW dealer in 2012

I would expect new clean MOT as a minimum

Simon, I've no time now sadly but we do know this car.
As does about every VW website around the world most likely! 

Not in a 'good way'??

Infamous?

Simon M said

Not in a 'good way'??

Infamous?

No but it's been up for sale for a while now. 

Yes, was originally offered at £24k, now £22k - they want £20k or a bit more min  I think - which is a bit racy for a MK1 Golf!? (I do know you can by 4 GTIs for this money!)

Before I even consider the price, I just need to know

Is it actually a 'good' car?

What needs doing and at what approx cost?

Then I can work out what it would be 'worth' to me

Having looked at all your photos, I am amazed that this is the same car that we have all been looking at for the past year or so.  For the price they are asking I would be expecting perfection.

Whilst much Of the corrosion on parts is only surface, points to me at not being stored well, my car sat in my garage for 14 years and looked better.  Also scratches, stone chips on grille, swirl marks in paint, I would have expected to see this on a 50,000 miler Not one with 16,000.

Yes you will have a pretty unique mileage car - but then presuming you won't use it much as I think all the perceived value is in the mileage.

Some guys on here have bought some real nice cars for £8-10k, okay all will have had a repaint so not original but much better value in my opinion.

I still can't get away from the condition for the mileage, my paint, trim and interior are all original and have done nearly 100k and look a lot better than this one. Even the underside and suspension parts look about the same.  Granted the engine/ clutch/ gearbox will be a lot tighter, but a £2k mechanical overhaul at tops would all that would be needed on a high miler to bring back in line.

Sorry to be so negative, you could fix all the issues but at this price I would expect it done. If it was on at £15k then probably more realistic but only if it's the mileage that really makes you want it.

RichardHall said

Having looked at all your photos, I am amazed that this is the same car that we have all been looking at for the past year or so.  For the price they are asking I would be expecting perfection.

Whilst much Of the corrosion on parts is only surface, points to me at not being stored well, my car sat in my garage for 14 years and looked better.  Also scratches, stone chips on grille, swirl marks in paint, I would have expected to see this on a 50,000 miler Not one with 16,000.

Yes you will have a pretty unique mileage car - but then presuming you won't use it much as I think all the perceived value is in the mileage.

Some guys on here have bought some real nice cars for £8-10k, okay all will have had a repaint so not original but much better value in my opinion.

I still can't get away from the condition for the mileage, my paint, trim and interior are all original and have done nearly 100k and look a lot better than this one. Even the underside and suspension parts look about the same.  Granted the engine/ clutch/ gearbox will be a lot tighter, but a £2k mechanical overhaul at tops would all that would be needed on a high miler to bring back in line.

Sorry to be so negative, you could fix all the issues but at this price I would expect it done. If it was on at £15k then probably more realistic but only if it's the mileage that really makes you want it.

Agreed - £15k would be sensible given the work required. At £20k it should be fully up-together. The price is apparently being driven by the expectation of the owner (it's on SOR with the dealer) - the fact it has been hanging around so long makes you think that 'the market has spoken' value wise.
I also agree the car has not been carefully stored  - the 'value' (whatever that may be) here is all in the mileage, one owner status and 'originality' - at £20k you wouldnt want to then be spending money would you?

Just gone through your photos again, and noticed some questions you posted underneath a few.

. There won't be any Matt back tape around the rear window on black cars, it's body coloured.

. The front bumper looks like it's taken a knock on NEARSIDE, indicator is pushed in and cover seems distorted.

. Exhaust box as you say doesn't seem exactly as original, but not far off - and to be honest there can't be any original ones out there now.

I would see if you could find someone with a Paint Depth Guage to see how much paint is either left on for you to work with to sand/machine back or if it's had paint before.  Mine currently reads 105 to 115 microns all over, less than 90 and I would be careful about what can be restored. Interestingly my Sunroof panel is only 60 microns, so less paint put on at factory.

start to repair bits like the roof dent and you are moving away from 100% original paint as well.

Tickover shouldn't really drop with just putting lights on, I notice that in your dash pics the battery light is on - is the alternator faulty?

is there a cast iron provenance to the mileage as even the pedal rubbers look more worn than I would have expected.

one rear fog lamp was standard, many changed to two as all it needed was a bulb and a length of wire.

could import an early car with same history twice for that money.

personally, yes its got low miles but as said its not perfect, for that money id expect perfect!

RichardHall said

Just gone through your photos again, and noticed some questions you posted underneath a few.

. There won't be any Matt back tape around the rear window on black cars, it's body coloured.

. The front bumper looks like it's taken a knock on NEARSIDE, indicator is pushed in and cover seems distorted.

. Exhaust box as you say doesn't seem exactly as original, but not far off - and to be honest there can't be any original ones out there now.

I would see if you could find someone with a Paint Depth Guage to see how much paint is either left on for you to work with to sand/machine back or if it's had paint before.  Mine currently reads 105 to 115 microns all over, less than 90 and I would be careful about what can be restored. Interestingly my Sunroof panel is only 60 microns, so less paint put on at factory.

start to repair bits like the roof dent and you are moving away from 100% original paint as well.

Tickover shouldn't really drop with just putting lights on, I notice that in your dash pics the battery light is on - is the alternator faulty?

is there a cast iron provenance to the mileage as even the pedal rubbers look more worn than I would have expected.

one rear fog lamp was standard, many changed to two as all it needed was a bulb and a length of wire.

Charge light did go off, but I did wonder about the alternator possibly being on it's way out…the full beam may have been over burdening it, hence the drop in idle?

Seller is apparently prepared to warrant the mileage and I am told the MOTs etc support it, so at this stage am assuming it would check out - but I think the fact is, the car doesnt LOOK like a 16k mile car and nor does it look like a £20k car….

Am told the price is firm, so I think I wil need to keep looking!

If anyone knows of a really nice car for sale, I would be grateful to her about it

Thanks to everyone for views and thoughts

Cheers

Simon