VW Polo advice pls

Hi, I'm thinking of buying my first VW, its a 1997 polo 1.4CL 5 door. Does anyone have one of these and/or know of any common faults I should be looking out for?

Thanks

Sam

Reply to
Sam
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not bad cars, weak water pumps since the blades are nylon, and weak thermostat housings which can break internaly and cause the thermostat to stay closed........resulting in overheating...but hey, all cars have theyre weak spots, the polo is a great small car.

Reply to
steve

The Electric windows have weak clips so make sure they go up properly and don't slam the door with the windows down. '97 saw a facelift to the polo it got a different dash (changed the layout of the clocks and fuse box) small lip on the boot. The ignition switches are known to cause some problems.

Reply to
Depresion

I had a 3 door CL, they're pretty tough nuts. Look out for water leaks near the alternator and smokey neglected engines. Three door models have really heavy doors. I think the 1.4 engine is a good choice, it revs better than the 1.6/1.8 of that era and you get the benefit of cheaper road tax. Performance is fine considering the weight of the car but fuel economy is only average - the pay off is in reliability. Try and get one that's been looked after and you should be fine.

--Steve

Reply to
Tunafish

We never got a 1.8 polo, the 1.4 8v is a little sluggish the 1.6 8v drinks like a fish (30mpg from a small car isn't good) and the 1.4 16v is quite insurance heavy. The only other thing to say is the 1.4 and below didn't have anti roll bars as standard the 1.6 and 16v did (I think the diesels got them as well).

Reply to
Depresion

Your right there isn't a 1.8 Polo I was speaking generally about the two engine designs. The 1.4 runs out of steam but for tazzing around locally I think it's fine, it's quite torquey. I agree about the 1.6 it has a drink problem - especially considering it's paltry power output of 75BHP. The 1.4

16v works well in the Lupo- never tried it in a Polo.

--Steve

Reply to
Tunafish

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