1) DO NOT BUY AN OLD VW POLO WITH THE INTENTION OF HAVING A CHEAP CAR - the following is a list of breakages in 9 months, probably not exhaustive:
-Radiator
-Clutch
-2 clutch cables
-Brake pads, discs, cylinders
-Tracking, very temperamental
-Suspension components
-Wheel bearings
-Oil consumption and leaks EXCESSIVE DESPITE 140+ K
-Exhaust: full system (blowing already after a month)
-Fan belt
-Ignition leads (POOR SERVICING by previous round-the-corner-use owner)
-Latest: throttle cable spring, part-and-parcel of the carb - may need to replace carb if cheaper - was very scary as I was overtaking somebody and the revs shot well past maximum for about 10 secs before I could 'safely' turn off the engine to avoid seizure, then had to coast to a layby.
-Also, see 'polo running very strangely' for running probs (although please don't respond to that thread)
I'd guess that a better one, say G/H reg for about £1000, would be a more reliable, economical to maintain car, just wish I had taken this option as now its too late; I am a skint student and the car costs a lot to run yet is not worth what I need in order to upgrade.
2) ADVICE SOUGHT: new 'throttle butterfly spring' on carb, or is it better to get a scrap carb for £25? The spring will come from a scrap carb anyway, at a local garage.
THIS IS URGENT AS I NEED THE CAR REPAIRED ASAP
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Its a bit rash to critisie all older polos because you have bought a dog, I for one swear by them having bought one for the girlfried 3 years ago for £70 and run a couple of old MkII golfs. The market is flooded with old VWs so there is no reason to to buy a bad un if you had taken some time to look around you would save all the grief.
I get the impresion that you do not do any spannering yourself which is also not going to help your costs.
Also a full exhast system, did you get this second hand or was it new??
A second hand carb from a scrapper may be as worn as the one you are replacing. Check out Euro cars parts and German swedish & french for cheap parts. If you have room it might be an idea to buy another and become your own scrapper, providing of course you do not buy another dog.
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Yes, really it is important not to condemn an entire model of car becasue there are some old dogs out there. You could get an old dog BMW, Merc, Audi etc etc, but i am sure that for ever knackered one there are 30 that go just fine with some TLC.
If the car was serverly mistreated it will cause you grief until you get rid of it, unless you want to do some serious work on it yourself. I have had lots of old bangers and if things begin to look too bad, my advice (and the advice i have received from many different sources) is let it go, espeically for serious problems such as engine troubles, major rust etc.
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Yes, really it is important not to condemn an entire model of car becasue there are some old dogs out there. You could get an old dog BMW, Merc, Audi etc etc, but i am sure that for ever knackered one there are 30 that go just fine with some TLC.
If the car was serverly mistreated it will cause you grief until you get rid of it, unless you want to do some serious work on it yourself. I have had lots of old bangers and if things begin to look too bad, my advice (and the advice i have received from many different sources) is let it go, espeically for serious problems such as engine troubles, major rust etc.
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I purchased a 1984 Polo C in May 2000 and ran it for 15 months, and it's subsequently been sold and is still buzzing around after standing for 6 months! Never a hint of mechanical trouble, just the odd bulb going here and there and some simple tinkering here and there. I believe them to be extremely dependable. If you get a good one they're very good, looks like yours wasn't!
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Thanks to everyone for help so far - yes I have been a bit careless as regards prices paid (or, prices paid by family.) I like the car, mine just seems a bit unreliable even for its age! I'm not denouncing all Polos because I know they are good; the post was written soon after it had broken down! History wise, it has a fsh up til 95, 96ish, then has been in the family. I know that it was serviced regularly as a motorway car for my aunty, who was also a student at the time. Camshaft wore out at 100k or so and car was later sold to a friend, RAC mechanic, for £100 - I think at the start of '99. Since, I suspect its done little mileage and has been used for short runs only. I got it in May '01 for £250 and the faults described have occurred since.
However, I have put *about* 15000 on the clock since (the odo is worn so does not count every mile - its registered 10 thou) so maybe I can't have great expectations. Just frustrating that when I do, well, keep patching it up - its a case of, when to stop throwing money at it?
Getting to the point, re: the carb/throttle. I was told the spring would be difficult to get by the garage, plus the aa mechanic said that a scrap carb may be as economical and no real loss on account of the high mileage covered by the original - ie would be a simpe option.
Just seems that the engine and gearbox are bombproof yet everything else starts to break with high mileage!
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David,
It sounds to me as if most of your problems are not related to the fact that it is a Polo, but rather its history and from the sound of it, lack of maintenance.
The faults you mention would only worry me if they had all happened after it had been repaired/maintain/serviced competently & treated well. It sounds like not.
Sadly, if you have a dog there are two ways to look at it - everytime something goes wrong get it repaired properly and that will be one less thing to go wrong in the future. Alternatively, if that isn't going to happen, then you may need to sell it and buy again. It may be cheaper in the long run, but probably not in the short run.
If you have a holiday coming up, and you're a student !!, and if you have the competence and/or will, we can list all the things you need to go through and check. You could probably solve most of the problems in a week or two.
For something like a throttle spring, consider if a scrap one is sensible. It probably doesn't cost much, and you may be wiser to put a new one in, springs wear as I presume you have found out.
When you do use a scrappie, and god knows I used to live in the places, try not to use stuff which has been sitting around for a long time. And if you do, for example the carb, strip it right down, clean it, replace seals and gaskets and rebuild it carefully.
Often a car is in the scrappie because it had a mountain of faults, rather than a single bad one, and those faults were numerous enough to make fixing the car economical. This makes the chances of you getting misfiring leads, worn carb, worn bearings quite high.
I couldn't tell you how many times I put a scrappie item in only to have it fail because I didn't take the time or spend a few quid on gaskets and bearings.
Also, oil leaks are eminently fixable. Oil burning is not. However, if its leaking, it might not actually be burning as much as you think.
You need to start with what you want to do;
1) Carry on patching it
2) Try to go through everything and stop the problems
3) Patch it and sell it.
Once that is clear and decided, then the follwoing steps are obvious. But don't continue throwing money at it until you've thought about it a bit.
Mark.
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David,
Mark is spot on. Don't blame the Polo as a model, it's your particular Polo.
I think you paid too much for one with a great deal wrong. You have ended up with a rolling restoration.
As a comparison we've just bought an '89 Polo Ranger from a pensioner for a few hundred pounds. In the last six months it hs had new pads/discs/brake cyls/cambelt/water pump/plugs/air filter and fuel tank.
It is all about buying a car at the right time in the repair cycle. (Thats why it is often better to buy a Citroen Xantia, for example, at 80K than 65K)
Also getting the right person to look after it. If you're a student then a mate or your Dad is the best person to avoid labour charges. You mentioned a while back paying £200 for brake discs/pads/rear cylinders to be fitted. Carefully bought the parts for that lot would be less than £50. The fitting charge you paid is a great deal of beer money.
Good luck with it anyway.
David
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David,
I've been through all of this with my Polo. IIRC yours, like mine is a 1.3 86-90 vintage. It's all par for the course. Still incredibly cheap, reliable motoring. They do not take kindly to sub standard parts though. OE or German parts are essential. Local VW specialist/G&S/Euro Parts are less money than Halfords etc.
I've included VAT in what these cost me, DIY.
>-Radiator
£10 from scrappy. Golf and Passat rads fit too - mine wears an enormous 5cl Santana radiator which is a straight swap. Stupid or clever I don't know, but been fine for at least 25k.
>-Clutch
Inevitable on a 100k+ shopping trolley. Genuine Sachs less than £50
>-2 clutch cables
Less than £10. Buy quality parts only!
>-Brake pads, discs, cylinders
£10 + £20 + £16 + £5 for new fluid.
>-Tracking, very temperamental
Never, ever clip the kerb. Forget driving up kerbs, learn how to reverse park. Once set up, tracks in a dead straight line and can be steered with finger and thumb from 5 to 95 mph.
>-Suspension components
£20 a side for lower arms, £10 for strut tops, shocks £20 each. Drives much better for new bits.
>-Wheel bearings
Rears £10-20 and easy. Front parts are cheaper, job trickier (never done it)
>-Oil consumption and leaks EXCESSIVE DESPITE 140+ K
Clean out the breather system on back of engine. Change camshaft oil seal (£3). Check sump for leaks from rusting through, and reused sump plug washer. Oil filter leaks unless you're strong when screwing it on. Put washers under rocker cover bolts to clamp cover down harder. You'd have to put sand in this engine to wear it out (or follow recommended service schedules and use mineral oil)
>-Exhaust: full system (blowing already after a month)
Rear silencer £25, front £18 - for very thick and heavy Ernst german stuff. Rest is a few pence and was probably fine anyway. You went to a fast fit, didn't you?
>-Fan belt
£2.50. Don't overtighten, because alternator costs loads more.
-Ignition leads (POOR SERVICING by previous round-the-corner-use owner)
>£25 for OE ones. This is painful.
This all adds up to a few hundred quid. And once spent, the motor's infinitely better for it. Still, people buy cars on how they look, not the excellence of maintainence. Reading between the lines, I'd say you want to tart it up and sell it, and let someone else spend the cash.
As for your carb spring, go to the scrappy with screwdriver and pliers, take the necessary spring from a pierberg 2E3 (on 1.3 Polo, 1.8 Passat/ Santana) and offer the man at the gate 50p for it (and contents of your pockets). But are you sure your diagnosis is correct?
Regards,
Rob F
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