My very expensive mistake.

[ukdub 0]

I have had my highline for the last 4 years, and about 1 year ago with 110k on the clock I felt it was time for a change.

I bought a leon cupra which is a nice looking car and goes quite well and only had 29k on the clock. I had it apr tuned by awesome gti because I needed more power. Yes it was a fast car but very boring as well. The power delivery wasn't to my liking and I didn't like the drive by wire system. Plus the engine sounded like a hairdryer.

Sold the car and bought a 2004 wrx impreza. What can I say, great car I will never forget 1st gear. The inside was well made but looked cheap, not up to vw standards. In the dry it was amazing but in the wet the understeer was very bad and not as good as the highline. I sold the car 4 months later because I got fed up with people in the back garden and following me home at night.

Bought myself a 4motion golf. I have to say in the six months I have had the car it has been the most unreliable out of all the cars I have ever owned. First the air mass meter failed, then the cd changer, then the temp sensor, then the esp sensor along with the creaks from the dashboard and the anti roll bar bushes.

The engine is fantastic alot better than the highline. The six speed box is not suited to the car and what really spoils it is the drive by wire system again.

I have reinsured the highline again and I can not be much happier. These mk3's are so much better made than the mk4 and they drive so much better than the vw group cars with the drive by wire system. I will let you lot guess how much all this car swopping has cost me, I could have had the engine rebuilt and turbo fitted for the money I have lost. Never mind live and learn.

The vr6 golf is a very good car it just took me 9k to find out.

My advise to anyone thinking of selling their car is don't.

Just spend the money on you vr6 and enjoy the last PROPER drivers car vw made.

[antera309 3]

Totally agree with what you've said. Last year, I sold my VR6 5-door (4 years of reliable motoring) and bought a Scooby WRX. Yes, it's great car to drive, but has a SERIOUS image problem. I soon got fed up with all the "chav" references and the attention from the wrong sort of people. And the running costs are CRAZY. Car was sold after three months (at a loss of over

[Eat this 2]

i thought mk2s were more bullit proof than the mk3 its a shame that build quality has been dropping since the late 90s

[Nerih 0]

my charger abuses my pistons nightly hehe. but i really enjoyed reading these posts. i found my mk2 which was 10 years old when we got it leaked like a bitch and creaked groaned and had rust patches. my mk3 hit 10 years old last month and 80000 miles too, it has a little bit of bubbling under the window sill, nothing too bad, it doesnt groan or leak, which is great. the production process for the mk3's seem to be good, with the advent of anodisation and what not.

[jonvr6highline 0]

Totally agree here on reliability! Now the car has clocked 62,000.

If I kept my car standard, I wouldn't have spent any money on it apart from the usual running costs, ie. insurance, petrol, T&T, tyres, servicing.

I've had it over 3 years and it has been so reliable! Touch wood. 8)

[mk3anni 0]

with the advent of anodisation and what not.

Yeah cos all cars come fully anodised from the factory, they anodise it in pink, then paint over it. Well worth the effort.......or do you mean galvanised???

[VRmonster 1]

ha ha, was gonna say something about that too, lol. the galvanising is such a good thing though, i had a 93 vr and it was rusting all over the shop fpr no apparent reason either (no scratches/dents). they started galvanising in 95 , my cab being a 95 seems to have no rust whatsoever, 2 little patches in the door close, but theyre from scratches that havent been seen to. so vw's are definately worth the money, and should hold value pretty well, especially with 1 vr6 a day at least, dissapeering into the fog, lol.

[fritzenberg 3]

here here!!just backs up my decision to keep a hold of mine for a long long time

[fritzenberg 3]

vr monster,you say they started galving the mk3`s in `95,mine was built in may`95,will it have been galved then?

[badboyV6 4]

got to agree with eat this here- mk2 was defnitely VW's defining moment - that car was like a tank! And a great drivers car too... ans its true of the mk3 as well- i drive a brank new ford mundano everyday and when i take the VR out it still feels a step up in engineering and how old are the cars?.... :-)

[Nerih 0]

i thought anodising forms oxidises the surface of the metal where paint cant be used?

i understand galvanising has been a process used on golfs from the mk1?

[mk3anni 0]

i thought anodising forms oxidises the surface of the metal where paint cant be used?

Nope

i understand galvanising has been a process used on golfs from the mk1?

Yeah, right, have u owned a mk1?????

[Nerih 0]

alright m8, but

A layer of aluminium oxide is created on the surface of the aluminium from the action of the current being passed through the part, which is bathed in an acid solution. The conditions are controlled to prevent the phenomenon of passivation from occuring, allowing the formation of an oxide layer many times thicker than would otherwise form. This oxide layer increases both the hardness and the corrosion resistance of the aluminium. The oxide forms as microscopic hexagonal "pipe" crystals of corundum, each having a central hexagonal pore (which is also the reason that an anodized part can take on color in the dyeing process).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anodizing

so although i was incorrect in saying it was anodizing, i was correct on the oxidization.

[antera309 3]

I can't take it away from the Mk2. I still see 1985/86 registered Mk2s going strong out there, and these are daily drivers. I wonder how many Mk4s & Mk5s we'll see on the road in 20 years time....

[Nerih 0]

my old mk2 89 was still cracking on at 142k, brilliant little car, rusted like hell in places no one would ever look, i remembered how good the mk2 can be when i saw valvers car at work, really nice, they looks great on those fat borbets.

[binliner 0]

the mk2s secret was they absolutely pumped the cavaties in the panels full of waxoyl type stuff to prevent rust

[Guy 1]

I'm sorry to hear your woes but I came to a similar conclusion and now the only thing I'd replace my highline with is an M3 evo, it would have to die and become unrepairable for this to happen though.

They dont make em like they used to ! lol

[Nerih 0]

i remember the way running out of the tailgate seam's on hot days.

[bazz780 0]

i regret selling my VR6 too, i modded it nice and subtle then sold it to pay off debts (wise choice at the time), then i bought a mk4 gti - got bored within a few months so sold it at no loss, then got a mk4 turbo and got fed up of balancing the accelerator on the shite drive (no such thing as smooth cruising), then bought another VR6 M reg which was no way comparable to my late 95N reg in terms of drive and response ohh and the noise of the BMC growling >>>droooolllll, then i sold the M reg vr6 as i never liked it to start with compared to my N reg one, and now i have a W reg V5 golf, which i will be honest with y'all - it drives well but compared to the VR its a pile of shite"!!!!!

now im just bored of constantly changing cars at an overall loss of

[apd 0]

s/c is the way to go ,trust me yer wont get bored,but scared!

[ukdub 0]

That is the plan to get it s/c, but i can't decide weather to get the engine rebuild first as it has 110k on the thing.

[harris2182 0]

i had a modded g60 corrado with 2 stage nos. no problems at all for three years. sold that and got a 420 ish bhp twin turbo rx7. got bored of either stalling or wheel spinning at every junction and of needing to plan trip`s by fuel stops ( 120miles to 65 quid of fuel). sold that and got a standard rx7 thinking it will be more fun. nope. still less than 15 mpg. now i`ve got a vr6 highline. love the handling and the noise. will get the charger off ultimate tune next year i hope. except for an r34 gtr skyline. im keeping the vr