USED Volkswagen Golf Hatchback (97 - 06)

My car

I have had this car since June 2005.All i can say it's the best car I have ever driven and owned.

I bought it on 53,000 miles its now on 97,000 (I do alot of mileage per year).

The mpg is exellent - I have never dropped below 38mpg and I have had it as high as 59mpg. The engine is so quiet and smooth, which is surprising considering it's a diesel and its not a slow car. I believe it's one of the fastest diesels on the road and also one of the most economical. I service it twice a year due to my mileage. I have only ever put oil in once between servicing due to low oil.

I have had the problem with the plastic clip on the window which is a design problem. It has been sorted out with a metal clip. Also, the tail lights keep going, which is a bit of a pain.

Apart from this, there are no other problems with this car. I did have a gearbox changed in the car due to previous work not being done before i owned it. It only failed because a mechanic didn't put enought gearbox oil in.

I wasn't aware of the problem to fix it, so it just got worse, hence the new gearbox.

I've hit 97,000 miles so far and the engine sounds as good now as when I first bought it.

Great car.

My car

I love this car, its fast, handles well, insurance is reasonable (at my age), BUT I have had to replace injector heads TWICE now in 18 months! My local VW dealership want £1000+ labour + VAT for this but I have managed to find a local diesel engine specialist company who have charged me around £300. Because of this I will not be replacing this car with another VW, the fords I had in my younger day were more reliable (and cheaper to repair if anything did go wrong)!

My car

Fantastically strong diesel engine, fun to drive but economical. The car is spoilt by its stodgy handling when pushed into roundabouts and corners.

A quality and comfortable cabin, with a high spec and good build quality.

The worst thing about owning this car is VW main dealers lack of customer service and there expense.

My car

What can I say? The Golf has been a great little drive, sharp handling and good dynamics. The running costs are high, too high for a car that costs this much to start with!! The cabin feels very dark and dull, very unimaginative and some of the materials are poor in comparison to class rivals. Buy for the badge if you must, otherwise choose Ford