I've been offered a 2nd+ hand Golf mk3 VR6 (I think it's something like 172 bhp if I remember well), in exchange for: my current car which is a Golf mk2 1.8 8v (the 112 bhp 900 kg GTi) + money.

I would very much appreciate any comments, specially on engine reliability (can anything on earth beat my current car on that??), also on things I'd like to check when I go to see it, and finally on tuning potential of the engine.

Thanks a lot, motoring gurus!

[Edited on 14/2/06 by Alez]

I had one for two years. liked it a lot. it had 112,000 miles on the clock.

what went wrong?

1. Deadlocks decided to deadlock, and wouldnt open

2. intermittent sudden engine death was eventually traced to faulty coil pack... only after three sudden deaths in the middle of nowhere

3. sun roof was tempramental!!

so, would i have one again? yep! great sound, pulled well, if all a bit heavy and cumbersome.

Sisters boyfriend has one (after having a Polo G40...)

He seems to like it, but continually complains about how much petrol it drinks.

They are heavy as well (understeer a lot too from what I understand), and not incredibly fast.

Silly cars IMO. Just get a GTI if you want a VW hot hatch.

David

i like them. The sound it makes when you stick a cone filter on it is awesome! Only driven a friends though, so i cant comment on what they're like to live with.

mk2 is infinitely sexier

the old mk 2 any day. if you want more power drop in a 1.8t engine from a mk 4 can be chipped to 225bhp easy enough.

ditch

very expensive to tune effectively as well I believe. Personally I prefer the MKII shape anyway and as mentioned it's much more open to tuning/engine swaps

I used to have a MK3 golf GTI (I know, not quite the same)
It was a nice car, but the reliability and build quality were not as good as they were supposed to be :
Sagging seats
poor gear-lever trim (gets tatty - same as on my Audi A6)
Central locking pump failure
Badges and trim falling off (or getting nicked)
Unreliable sunroof

Thank you guys.. I'm keeping my old car.. I can always put the money for the exchange to make a decent car from it