Prospective owner from Oxfordshire

Hi everyone, I've been lurking on the outskirts of the forum for a long time now, but have finally plucked up the courage to make my first post. Same old story about wanting a mk1 cab since I first saw one when they were new, but was never in a position to own one until now. I've so many questions as I don't want to jump into ownership with rose tinted spectacles. Maybe some of you could share your thoughts with some of my questions.. 1 are they a viable everyday transport car? 2. would I be better buying one to restore or one that that is pretty much done, I would have a budget of about 4 grand, either to buy one that is done or restore one. I have the skills to do all the mechanical work and any electrical but wouldn't be able to replace any panels myself or paint it if I bought one which needed bodywork doing? 3. Also is there model/year  of cab which I would be better of getting or any to avoid? Well thanks in anticipation of any replies. Great forum you've got going on here.. Cheers Lomi

Hi Lomi

You are in a similar position to me when I first started here around 2009, and I lurked around the forum before committing to my first clipper cabriolet from 2009-2012 and now my Sportline I have had since 2012.

I have personally never used my cabby as a daily but have used it for a few days in a row over summers and have done some 3+ hour journeys in it, but I know plenty that have used them as dailys. I would say YES perfectly usable as a daily  , depends on what driving you would be doing but I would suggest sticking to standard suspension or good quality replacement suspension rather than cheap coilovers, as if you wanted to go lower, cheap coilovers can be pretty bumpy and hard and not great for every day use and lots of miles.

I would suggest for your first one, 4K is a reasonable budget for a standard cabby (not special edition such as Rivage or Sportline) you could potentially pick one up for around 3K then use the other £1000 to consider a PAS conversion (if you felt that would make it nicer to use as a daily), and have some money for finishing touches or what ever the car might need.

If you bought a tired cabby for £500-£1000 restoring one is so addictive, you then start looking at what others have done, and the potential to re new nearly everything, and could soon easily sink 3K + into a car and it could take a long time.

I don't think there are any particular models or years you should avoid, I had the 1.8 8v carb engine in my clipper and noticed the power difference moving to the fuel injected GTI, so I would personally say go for a GTI cabby, as many buy a clipper then ask how they can get more power out of them, but the reality is, its easier to get a GTI to begin with.

I am not sure on the exact year think it was around 1989/1990 F / G plate, the cabriolet changed from small bumpers to the larger bumpers know as a "clipper" kit. So if you prefer that look I would say go post 1989.

Obviously its all about what you want but I would say print the cabby buying guide on here, which is invaluable, and then go see some cars. There are still some gems out there with FSH low owners and sub 100K miles which has gota be worth a punt for your first Mk1 experience.

Be assured one thing , you will get the bug very quickly and it wont be the only Mk1 you will then own :-)

Good luck with your search and keep your eye on the for sale section here.

Cheers

Rich

Hi Rich, Thanks for your reply, certainly food for thought. What I don't want to do is rush into it and buy the first one I see. I was guilty of that when I bought my first beetle and it ended up costing thousands  Having given it a bit more thought I reckon i'm going to look for one that needs a substantial amount of work doing too it, it doesn't really matter how long it takes me to finish it so time is not an issue. Then at least all the work done on it is mine and I know what it has done. Just as a bit of an after thought can anyone recommend a body shop in the Oxfordshire area that I could use? I have only lived down here for a few months and am really not all that familiar with the area. Thanks again

Lomi

Welcome along to the forum Lomi

Which end of Oxfordshire?

Welcome BTW!

Hi Yomp, i'm in Chilton near Abingdon..

Welcome to the Club first of all.

I pretty much agree with everything Richy said.
But if you want a car that doesn't really need much doing to it and you're not necessarily in a hurry for it, have a word with Andy.
Aka our Club Secretary Hairyarse , he's been at this Club since it was formed in 2004 and runs a business.

He's had two cracking (to die for) Cabrio's for sale this year in and around your price range.
Now he's as straight as an arrow and not a bad bloke either   so if he could find you one you can be sure of what you're spending your money on!

Check out his posts or look through the cars for sale section over the past few months and you should be able to find the cars in question.
Which needless to say have both sold!

Good luck with your search and do keep us posted on how it's going.
If you see something and you're not 100% sure please do ask us first before parting with your hard earned money of course!  

This one for example!  

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=classifieds%2Fcars-for-sale_2%2Fsold-mk1-golf-cabrio-gl  

Thanks for the kind words Mike golfcabrio  

lomi  - We don't have any Cabbys in stock at the moment (link in my sig) but if there's anything that we can help with, or simply advice then please do not hesitate to call me