Hi guys, I know this is a BMW site but I also know there is mucho knowlodge on here about cars in General.

I am looking at a 03 Golf Gti for the missus. Its the 150bhp model. 5dr 35K mls.

Is there anything to look out for on these? Any info would be much appreciated.

Mick

Mick, take a look in the GTi forums on http://www.tyresmoke.net - www.tyresmoke.net - its an absolute mine of information on everything GTi related.

You may find a number of people try to put you off too though, because that model is generally accepted to be the poorest GTi they ever made - but they'll certainly give you all the advice you need.

I thought the MkIII 8v was the poorest?  

Yer man in Mondello has a MkIV GTi so they can't be úber-crap as a day-to-day ownership proposition.

I had a 01 GTI 150bhp and the coils went on it after only 40k. The same also happened a friend of mine's GTI after similiar miles.

Try to get one with the Recaro seats as many of the GTI's have 'sports' seats but they're not actually Recaro's.  The Recaro's have the name embroidered on them. Also with used car market in slump you shouldnt have to pay much of a premium for a leather interior. (which I had).

Best of Luck. 

The problem with the MkIV GTI is well known - they're slllloooow to a degree that its difficult to comprehend for a GTi.

I don't know why the MKIII GTI 8v is being referred to as perhaps one of the worst mind you - because they were a fantastic car, are the most sought after (after the MkI) and the 8v was the better engine in manys opinion.

I thought the MkIII Gti 8v wasn't even called a GTi in (mainland!) europe - only the UK for marketing reasons.

And I'm no GTi scholar so please set me straight if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a Mk II 8v be way more popular than the III, which was considered a bit soft and flabby?

A MkIV had 150bhp.. did they do a lower tune one?

Coasting the 1.8 Turbo Mk IV Golf was pretty quick. But in the UK you could have the 2.0 engine in a GTI which was crap. (about 118bhp I think) We didn't have that one here.

Mick, buy the 150bhp GT TDi Golf. Incredible car. All the GTI bits (Recaro's, 6 speed, climate, sunroof, etc etc) but with way more torque and 50mpg easy. And you can chip it to 180bhp.  

flyingalexf68 wrote: Coasting the 1.8 Turbo Mk IV Golf was pretty quick. But in the UK you could have the 2.0 engine in a GTI which was crap. (about 118bhp I think) We didn't have that one here.

See thats my point - I don't think it was remotely quick.  Not for what was meant to be a hot hatch.  Pretty much everything else that was available at the time....beat it....resoundingly.

When you look at the stats its not surprising.

It developed 148bhp (often quoted as 150bhp) but that was married to its fat 1,203 kgs in bodyweight!  That was for the 3 door version too.  That gave it 123bhp per ton.  The 5 door version went down to 119bhp per ton.

That gave it 0-60 times claimed of 7.9s - yet if you look at roadtests you'll find they had to be very special conditions to get anywhere near it.  Most places were quoting 8.2-8.5s. 

Thats not slow, I know, but its not really hot hatch stuff either is it?

The reason I say all this is that I know a lot of people who own MkV GTi's, or R32's, and many have had Golfs for over 10 years.  They all say the same - when they bought the MkIV GTi...they were gutted.  Once you got into gear and on motorways, the car could be tailed by pretty much any average 1.8 family saloon you could think of.  Many of them report a whole host of 'embarassing' attempts to pull away from cars - and not getting far!  An example is any 2.0 petrol Mondeo of the day - which would happily sit with a GTi all day long. 

The new GTi is a world apart of course, as is the new R32 (although the MkIV R32 was a superb car anyway).  Quick, nimble, very torquey and rightly very popular.

So if it was me, which its not, but if it was, I'd be buying an older MkII in pristine condition, or waiting a while longer and buying the best Golf GTi ever made - the new one.

Try http://www.vagdrivers.net - www.vagdrivers.net its the ultimate Irish VAG community.

MAF, Gearbox and Coil packs on the 1.8T were the only main problems, just check the sump on them aswell they get bashed as they are so low down.

You should try out the Mk4 Golf (Pump Duse 150) GTI Diesel 150bhp, I had a 2003 for 3 years put up 100k miles on it and had no problems except a new turbo intercooler my fault, herself let it run out of oil after hitting the sump, and towards the end the gearbox went on it.

My 2003 VW GOLF PD150 was putting out 172.5bhp/299.1lb ft when I put it up on the rollers in Westward and it was bog standard no tuning box or chip or even a air filter.

As TJ said earlier your man in Mondello has one, well thats my brother in law and his is a 2001 1.8T and he has never had one problem except for the coil pack which were done under warranty, although the PD150 is faster than the 1.8T and you get the serious economy even when you drive it hard.

Coasting wrote: [QUOTE=flyingalexf68] So if it was me, which its not, but if it was, I'd be buying an older MkII in pristine condition, or waiting a while longer and buying the best Golf GTi ever made - the new one.

Surely the best Golf GTi ever was the Mk2 16V

Thanks for the imput.

Well its on the drive. Bogo 150BHP 03 silver 1 owner and original.

Not paid for it yet but its going to be cheap.

I drove it yesterday and its plenty powerfull for the missus. Nice little whistle from turbo. (is that a problem?)

No recaro seats, just sport jobbies. No Aircon. Typical VW no extras....

Its better than her Mazda.... Now I have a choice at the weekend..

Mick

I had a 01 GTI 150bhp and the coils went on it after only 40k. The same also happened a friend of mine's GTI after similiar miles.

Same thing with my 01, coils went three times which drove me bananas!  Its a extremely common problem on that model

Geoff

Ravenelli69 wrote: [QUOTE=DanM] I had a 01 GTI 150bhp and the coils went on it after only 40k. The same also happened a friend of mine's GTI after similiar miles. Same thing with my 01, coils went three times which drove me bananas!  Its a extremely common problem on that model Geoff

Its common on most BMWs too.

Mick

Peter Fenwick wrote: Coasting wrote: [QUOTE=flyingalexf68] So if it was me, which its not, but if it was, I'd be buying an older MkII in pristine condition, or waiting a while longer and buying the best Golf GTi ever made - the new one. Surely the best Golf GTi ever was the Mk2 16V

No the Best was the Mk1 1.8GTI 8v, the original, I had two of them and drove plenty of Mk2's.

The Mk1 is an awful lot of fun.

Alex,

I know the house, (opp the Golden Ball) and I know the geezer who owns them. Strange bloke and I wouldnt buy a spare part off him let alone a whole car.

Really strange bloke.

Mick