Looking to buy a Mk II Diesel Golf... Need advice.

[rimouski]

Hey everyone, so my current daily is basically dead and I'm in the market for another car. I've always been into the concept of a diesel engine and how versatile the older designs can be.

I've been doing some shopping, and recently came across a Mk II diesel golf. I was wondering if any of you guys could point me in the direction of some sort of buyer's guide or maybe tell me what to look for when considering the 1.6 NA? I spoke to the owner and he told me that the car's got a bit of a leaky head gasket and that he doesn't have any maintenance records. If memory serves, I think he said that he's owned the car for about a month. The car has (or at least is advertised to have) 88k miles.

Is there anything I should look out for in particular? I've been reading up on timing belt service in addition to head gasket changes, and it seems doable as long as you're careful and take your time... I consider myself pretty handy when it comes to maintenance on cars/motorcycles. But assuming I'd take this car to a shop, how much would it cost to bring things up to speed?

I plan on looking at the car within the next few days or so, so any advice is much appreciated!

Thanks.

[4spark]

Every time I drive by exit 4 in MA on I95, I look over at the spot where my Mk2 diesel Golf caught fire because of a leaky ring. Depends where the leak in the gasket is. could have the same result. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

So I'm driving down the road and fire blasts across my windshield. I managed to coast into a parking lot where I (think) I learned what a runaway diesel is. The motor ran as fast as it could until it burned through all the oil in the engine. There was a billow of black smoke 100 yards high. And the whole front caught on fire.

That was years ago, so I was still stupid enough to go back in the car to get something hidden under the back seat. Or be stuck with out anything to do for hours.

Anyway, I didn't have to call the tow truck. They could see my smoke signal.

[Rockerchick]

Rarely do I hear of a diesel catching fire. Diesel has a much higher point of ignition than gasoline so its just not common. I wouldn't worry about that in general.

Leaky head gaskets are decently common. Not too bad to replace either.

For what to look for on the car in general (body rust, etc) you would want to check out the Mk2 section here. For engine info, vwdiesel.net is the place: http://www.vwdiesel.net/forum/index.php?topic=30622.0

[rimouski]

Never heard that about diesels. I drive beetles (air cooled) in my spare time, and trust me, those things are prone to catching fire. It's funny how a lot of people who ride in my car think the fire extinguisher's a fashion statement. If they only knew.

Thanks for the tip about vwdiesel. I discovered that site last night, but it's nowhere nearly as chic and sophisticated as vortex...

[srgtlord]

I would jump on the 88k diesel. Mine has 330,000 miles on it and the only major problem, is rust. But yeah, maintainance is relatively cheap. Ive owned it for almost 4 years , and only was stranded once. Once you understand the theory behind what breaks on these cars, you can fix just about anything. Now granted, there were days when I would guess what was weong and still not fix the problem, and a simple test would have saved me time and money.



Two major issues that has been occuring in the past few years, is owners decide to delete the airconditioning and not get the proper pulley set causing v-belts to wear out in 1000 miles. Issue number 2 is the transmissions leak oil at about 100,000 miles, and if almost all the oil leaks out you wreck your transmission in short order.


Eventually all of the mechanical items need replacing, but fix one problem at a time or prepare to always have an empty wallet.

[Rockerchick]

Thanks for the tip about vwdiesel. I discovered that site last night, but it's nowhere nearly as chic and sophisticated as vortex...

May not be, but the information you get there is incredible. Its a concentrated group of people with a lot of knowledge. These old diesels, while pretty simple, are a different animal and need to be treated with care.