anybody know much about mk2's?

Just wondering if theres anyone on here that knows much about these and wat to look for where buying a mk2 cuz hopefully in the not ao distant future im gonna be buying a mk2 golf and wondering wat sorta things to look out for and wat sorta price ranges thwy are?

Im kinda gonna be looking for either a diesel or a 1.6 driver as it will be my daily, i know i cud just go onto the mk2 forum but really i cant be bothered to setup an account lol

Cheers dan

Same as a mk1 really dan. 

They suffer from rust on the bonnet hinges inside the inner wings, but you don't go stripping wings off when veiwing a car 

The driver is the carb right? Is first off put a weber carb on that for sure as the pooberg is cack. 

They suffer from same sort of issues body wise as a mk1 bit as all older cars just lookout more on the rust side of things.  Fuel flap, sills, boot floor and sunroof of appropriate. 

I've had a Mk2 16v for a long time and it's tended to rust where it had been repaired years ago. A real place for corrosion and where it's also hard to see, is the base of the A-post.
Overall, it's been a great car and still feels quite modern.

I ran a MK2 Driver as a daily driver back in the early 90s when they were still current and brother had a 1300 and then 1600 Umwelt Turbo Diesel as family cars.

20 years on and you'll be lucky to find a decent Diesel, they were over priced when new and not many about. The non turbos painfully slow. Same for 1300 petrols.

The Drivers suffer from E2E carb issues, yes put on a webber but do you want to spend £250 on it?

As youngest are 20+ old rust and lack of servicing is going to be the biggest problem in finding a decent survivor.

The best bet would be to find a well maintained rust free GTI, ideally with PAS. 40+MPG, fast as any modern and still DIY friendly with cheap and widely available parts, why bother with a Driver or over priced Diesel?   

Well i just dnt want a mk2 that will be c**p of fuel, hence the deisel option, dunno why i sed driver really, just thought a 1.6 wud be half decent on fuel and still have a bit of poke, 

Yeah a few musts are PAS
elecy windows if possible
And prefeably a 5 door as with a little one it wudbe a lot easier 

Which engine does anyone reckon wud be the best runner and cheap excluding a 16v as i already have a mk1 16v and want summat a bit better on fuel

Depending on type of journey and how you drive it I think a 8v GTI would be best on fuel, high 30s same as 1300 and 1600 carbs but twice as fast and no flaming auto chokes playing up.

The K-Jets up to about 1988 are simple-ish, the later Digipants less so but either compared to modern stuff are pretty simple and reliable. A later GTI is much more likely to have PAS, sun roof and 'leccy windows that most Diesels and petrol carbs won't have

If mpgs your issue find a MK3 90hp TDI or 75hp IDI 1.9 Turbo Diesel. The MK3s are 'unloved' and prob much cheaper than a MK2 and much more plentiful.  

my 1800 driver on pierburg was great on fuel. Pierburg carbs were decent as long as they were looked after and not fiddled with. Finding that though will be very scarce and a new one is an eye watering price. Mainly going to be a gti that will come with the extras your after. Id say an 1800 8v digi 4door will be fine and you will probably find one in much better condition.
As said a mk3 tdi is a great option just watch for rusted sills arches and doors on mk3's as they suffered too.

Yeah i understand the option of a mk3 but id rather stick with a mk2 if i had the choice, so wat sorta years we looking at with PAS and electric windows? Also wat ya me by 8v digi?

Post '88 GTI used electronic 'Digifant' fuel injection. Earlier cars more basic non electronic 'analogue' K-Jet.

Early cars with PAS very rare it was a £500 option, prob about £1500 in todays money, even a basic £7K Korean car comes with more kit than fully loaded MK2 GTI.

Would think most '89-91 GTIs would have PAS, you just need to hunt one down that's not be run into the ground

So were lookin at 89 onwards and a 1.8 8v,

Did they do a 1.6 pertol with the the mod cons? Or wud it be just as to go for a 1.8?

Don't think 1300s ever came with PAS. Might have been standard on later GTIs (and poss CL/GL autos?) but expensive option on all others.

In fact my Driver was bought of a colleague at work who was having to sell as his wife couldn't drive it due to her medical condition and its lack of PAS.

You see the occasional Driver with PAS but I'd say only approx. 10%(?) of MK2 came with PAS and most of those where later GTIs.

I'd just keep looking to the right spec in good condition comes up but be prepared that others are alos looking…..  If you want a cheap car a nice MK2 probably not going to be it.

Well wen.u say cheap? Wat sorta price u mean? My budjet wud probly be 1000-1500 as id sell my bora to get one

Would think a nice late GTI would be double that +, unless you got lucky.

For that £ prob looking at earlier poverty spec mid 80s GTIs or a rougher late GTI or a later tidy Driver/CL/GL.  Look on autotrader and 'bay etc

You would need to be a keen enthusiast as they are 30 years old and will have potentially been to the moon and back.

On the plus side they are about the right size (not too big, not too small), pretty rust resistant, pretty conventional mechanicals and electrics that are DIY fixable and available with just enough mod-cons with out being festooned in electronics that take a main dealer with a laptop to fix at £75+VAT an hour.

Like a tidy MK1 if looked after cheap to run and won't depreciate.