my mk4's off to the big carpark in the sky! what next?

the gearbox spat its dummy out today on the way to work! Seems that its a common fault on the 1.4 mk4's so good refurbed gear boxes are EXPENSIVE with alot of cowboys trying to flog welded boxes for a premium. The best price I can get for a box and fitting is over ?800 and with the car only being worth about that it seems silly to repair it.

Were moving in 2 weeks so spending money isnt really that freely available and i need a car to do the 30 mile daily commute. Any ideas on what i should go for to tide me over for the next 12 months? ive only got about ?900 to spend.

Didn't last long? I'm going to be the first to suggest a Mk1 Golf.

paul_c said

Didn't last long? I'm going to be the first to suggest a Mk1 Golf.

?900 - to keep going for 12 months…

mk1 wouldnt be the best choice……


But ihave to agree, i know where's a tidy(ish) 5dr going cheap.. lol

TBH tho Dave


if you want something cheap and reliable, thats going to last you a year, try looking for a B3/4 passat

i've got one and love it!!! its so much car for so little money - and cheap to run too!!

Seen a few of these 1.4 Mk4 models on Ebay [spares / repairs] now i no why !  Can't you fit the box and save money ? Would have thought it would be worth repairing .  :dontknow:

how much have you been offered for scrap dave?

Do you want cheap or do you want a car with at least something interesting or exciting?

http://www.clubgti.com…m/showthread.php?t=195405

Notice that all the uber-cheap ones, are also uber-boring:

Renault 19 diesel
Vauxhall Nova
Peugeot 205 diesel
Citroen AX diesel
Ford Fiesta
Mk2 Jetta
Mk2 Golf Driver
Mk3 Golf
Vauxhall Astra van
Rover 414
Mk2 Polo
VW Beetle (original)
Nissan Micra
Fiat Bravo

Out of that list of forgettable tosh - only one is interesting enough to contemplate - VW Beetle.

why dont you strip some of the bits and sell for spares.

Just trying to think of some bits i need as i have a 1.4 mk4 aswel hehe.

Weve been offered ?815 throu webuyanycar.com which is how we will finance another car.

millfischk69 start saving for your new gear box! its a common fault and with a recon'ed box costing ?500 + fitting its an expensive job! lol

i'm sure gearboxes could be found for far less than ?500, and it's only a 3 hour job, tops. easily manageable on a saturday afternoon.

ive got a maestro tax and mot till end november 1.3 tidy enough ?180
but its a maestro  :?
Bert

needs to be the same size (or bigger) than the golf was due to all the tat a 10 month old baby needs everywhere we go!

The gearboxes are expensive because this fault is so common! anyone selling a 1.4 box cheap is probably selling one thats been welded up to look good.

common fault on the o2k gearboxes on the smaller engined mk4s and a3s my mates did it and he had it rebuilt and welded up
i have a 1.6 16v that has done it at some point in its life as it has a recon gbox on it

good luck mate hope you get something good

got a mk4 GTI TnT FSH 5door ?1700

Lee_dub said

got a mk4 GTI TnT FSH 5door ?1700

Unfortunately thats about ?800 more than weve got to spend.  

Sounds like you're stuck between a rock and a hard place? I'm afraid buying anything secondhand is a risk, well even buying new is a risk due to exposing teething troubles etc. I can't remember the details but your Mk4 1.4 would have been 7-8 years old? Everything wears out eventually, so it looks like you've been caught out by an (apparently common) breakage, like many others. Spending ?900 on another car is no guarantee it won't need ?400-?500 more parts, even if its just servicing items, tyres, dampers, little things etc.

The most economical way to own a car is to buy it new and keep it for about 12 years. The next most economical way is to be lucky (see CGTI thread). Then the normal way to make it economical is to fix whatever comes up, big or small, and keep running that same car for years and years. For example, you spend ?600 on the gearbox and it lasts another 6 years trouble free. So that's +?100/year as the cost spreads out. Or you buy a car, spend ?250 over and above what you expected, then something serious breaks, or you sell at the same price and buy another, then another car for another 2 years and another ?250 extra, etc. could work out at +?750 over budget over the same time period (+?125/year).

Going back to the new car argument, have you considered leasing?

Thats where things get really hard! Our credit score is so poor that noone would touch us for a lease or finance. Repairing isnt an option because we dont have any spare money at the moment and the money were looking to spend on a replacement is what ever we sell the golf for.

Im thinking that the way to go is perhaps a ford (late escort early focus?) as I know what ever we buy is likely to need some work over the next 12 months and 2nd hand ford parts are cheap and easy to come by.

On a side note, ive got a pair of front discs and pads for a mk4 1.4, to sell. all boxed up un-used. all offers considered.  or will swap for a mk4 1.4 gearbox

Having said im thinking *spit* ford *spit*, Ive just seen these:

go for the TDI mate, stay away from the 20v N/A's if you want trouble free motoring!

Lee

Well, weve ended up with ?650 for the mk4 and Im going to look at an Escort 1.6 LX tomorrow. would have preferred a mk2 golf or summet but there doesn't seem to be anything like that around here.