[Speed.Demon]

Glad to hear that the problem has been fixed, and that it was nothing major.

The clicks keep getting better mate, and don't forget to share the pics of your upcoming trip to Jebel Hafeet!!

I did the trip in an Altima V6 and had fun, imagine how much fun you would have in this!!

[voyageur]

Originally Posted by Speed.Demon

Glad to hear that the problem has been fixed, and that it was nothing major.

The clicks keep getting better mate, and don't forget to share the pics of your upcoming trip to Jebel Hafeet!!

I did the trip in an Altima V6 and had fun, imagine how much fun you would have in this!!

Not quite fixed, but a temporary fix.

I went very close to Jebel Hafeet but had to forfeit the trip for some reason. I will share the details of the same sometime.

Cheers.

[voyageur]

And just when I thought that there is nothing to get better than this, I got this gift from my fellow bhp-ians. Thank you guys for the fantastic gift.

There is no better key chain that suits THE GTI than this one. A perfect icing on the cake.







My gratitude to Abhijit (mistakenguy) and Romy (BigBrad).

[chetanhanda]

[quote=voyageur;3364359]Ride, Handling and Stability:

This is the section where the golf really excels. Ride is out of the world. Handling is mind blowing and stability of the car is awesome.

Key the ignition and the Vr5 Engine comes to life with a sweet roar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V5_engine
If you love the handling now -try removing the hydraulic assist from the steering and go full manual (you can still retain the AC), get rid of the rubber bushes in the entire steering assembly.. you will love it even more. You will love the feedback from the front tyres.
I love these older Mk4s , plain simple interiors.

[voyageur]

Originally Posted by chetanhanda

If you love the handling now -try removing the hydraulic assist from the steering and go full manual (you can still retain the AC), get rid of the rubber bushes in the entire steering assembly.. you will love it even more. You will love the feedback from the front tyres.
I love these older Mk4s , plain simple interiors.

Hello Chetan,

Thanks for the heads up. Something that I need to ask my garage and get done in the future.

I also love the Mk4's though I contemplate on driving the latest Golf's too. The Mk4's are really simple with just the necessary electronics, making the car more reliable.

Thanks again for the info mate.

Cheers.

[chetanhanda]

Originally Posted by voyageur

Hello Chetan,

Thanks for the heads up. Something that I need to ask my garage and get done in the future.

I also love the Mk4's though I contemplate on driving the latest Golf's too. The Mk4's are really simple with just the necessary electronics, making the car more reliable.

Thanks again for the info mate.

Cheers.

The newer gen GTI's are like a mini SUV in terms of size , they come with all the new fancy stuff.
If you like old school Mk4 you may not like the feel of the newer ones.

In my case I'd go back in reverse to older golfs if I could find one in decent shape. Something like a Mk4/Mk3/Mk2.
A "back to basics" 8 valve sohc 2.0 "non turbo" , wind up windows, drive by cable, power steering delete,light flywheel,sequential box,ITBs,low end torque cams ,refreshed/stiffened up suspension would be ultimate..

[voyageur]

Originally Posted by chetanhanda

The newer gen GTI's are like a mini SUV in terms of size , they come with all the new fancy stuff.
If you like old school Mk4 you may not like the feel of the newer ones.

In my case I'd go back in reverse to older golfs if I could find one in decent shape. Something like a Mk4/Mk3/Mk2.
A "back to basics" 8 valve sohc 2.0 "non turbo" , wind up windows, drive by cable, power steering delete,light flywheel,sequential box,ITBs,low end torque cams ,refreshed/stiffened up suspension would be ultimate..

Since you live in the west, you have higher chances of finding a decent old Golf. My current golf took around 3 months and some days of search to reach me. The downside would be that it would require a lot of your attention. By the time you realize that you have spent enough on the car, except the engine, gearbox and chassis everything else would be new.

[chetanhanda]

Originally Posted by voyageur

Since you live in the west, you have higher chances of finding a decent old Golf.

Unfortunately - we have nearly 6 months of snow, you should see the rust damage from all the salt used on the roads..

Originally Posted by voyageur

My current golf took around 3 months and some days of search to reach me. The downside would be that it would require a lot of your attention. By the time you realize that you have spent enough on the car, except the engine, gearbox and chassis everything else would be new.

If time and money were my primary concerns I'd have bought a new generation "off the shelf " car like a mustang/brz/gti/jcw etc.. and called it a day.
Building up an older car which costs the same as a new one is not a "downside" .. I thought you would understand since you bought an older Mk4 because of the old school simplicity/styling etc. ?

[voyageur]

Originally Posted by chetanhanda

If time and money were my primary concerns I'd have bought a new generation "off the shelf " car like a mustang/brz/gti/jcw etc.. and called it a day.
Building up an older car which costs the same as a new one is not a "downside" .. I thought you would understand since you bought an older Mk4 because of the old school simplicity/styling etc. ?

Primarily my car should have been a BRZ / GT86 which I was so close to buying, but later realized that I was in no position to pay for it. I was very very close to getting a loan for the BRZ. So Golf was not my first choice, the BRZ / GT86 was.

When I realized that it's not financially feasible, I directly went in search of an Mk4 / Mk3 Golf. When I didn't find a good one I started looking for alternative autobox cars, which I never wanted to drive in wildest of my dreams. Then this car happened to me.To be honest now, I enjoy driving this car so much that I want to keep this car forever. I brag around about the car and feel proud that I own the GTI. I appreciate it's old school styling, simplicity and most of all reliability.

Don't get me wrong I just mentioned that, owning an old car, requires a lot of attention financially I am one of those people who don't like to see duplicate parts in the car. Hence it can be a downside sometimes if you are financially in a tight situation.

Cheers

[voyageur]

6 MONTHS OWNERSHIP REPORT:

Contrary to the other ownership reports, I would prefer to publish a time based ownership report. , so I officially spent a blissful 6 month period with my car. It has taken me everywhere I wanted to go without any complaints.



Some facts and figures:

Kms driven: 9100 kms
No of hiccups / break downs: Nothing major / No break downs
Current reading on odometer: 145,200
Approx FE: 10 kmpl (avg) (7.5-8 kmpl with a heavy right foot and 12.5-13 kmpl in economy mode)

I have lived with GTI for the past 6 months and the experience was a learning one. The car has never made me feel lose interest in it.

Modifications: None of those done.

Visit to garage:

During this time, I had to take my car twice to the garage and both being lube service, apart from taking it in the beginning which I mentioned before. The oil and oil filter change, I get done in every 4500 – 5000 kms.

The cost of that service is somewhere between 160-180 aed (2500 – 3000 INR).

Mechanically the car is fit and fine. Both of the times I have used ELF semi synthetic oil for the car, or rather the garage guys used that and I confirmed it later from them. I think this time when I go for lube service, I will try and change the brand to see how it gets along.

Pictures of the car will follow, please bear with me for I have none right now.

[voyageur]

Some pics of the car as promised.

















Cheers!

[voyageur]

I haven't bothered updating this thread with small things like lower arm, boot shockers or other small things. It was not worth it, a 11 year old German.

But today I need to update because my GTI tested +ve for DNA test. Very fortunate for the car and very unfortunate for me.

I am sure everyone has noticed, the cars with number plates being transported on a flat bed recovery vehicle. A flat bed recovery vehicle is used to transport cars, small trucks which have broken down or can’t be driven on road due to other reasons to some intended location.

In UAE, a recovery vehicle carrying a car will be mostly German. I dare say that 70% of the time it is. Sometimes it’s British cars; Landrover’s or Jag’s, and some other times it’s American. But the sight of a recovery truck carrying Merc, BMW, Audi or Porsche is a common. Yet to see a Jap to be taken on a flat bed recovery vehicle. In India too, the Germans occupy the recovery vehicle 95% of the time.

I was returning from work on a weekday, and I am at a 120 at 80 road which was entering a 120 kmph road, but empty of any traffic and mainly speed cams There is a right turn (45 degree approx), and the great thing about the GTI is that there is no need to slow down for turns, the little one would deal with it rather without any fuss. The turn lasts for like half a kilometer, and while I was exiting the turn the car starts misfiring. I hear some bursting sounds, and smell smoke. I take my foot off the throttle, then again put it down. The car is fine, it runs.

Again the next day, same place and almost the same time. This time it misfires bad. It slows down and I shift down. In 2 seconds it’s fine and I rev it again to glory. But I sense it, the car isn’t well. I call the doctors, who are working in some local hospital (read mechanics and garage). I share the symptoms.

‘I think it’s probably the spark plugs.’


I haven’t changed the sparks in ages. So the next day I have to take it 50 kms away from my place to get it repaired. Apparently Germans put in too many sensors that normal mechanics will mess it up.

Next day at 9 in the morning, I fire the engine and after the usual warm up, I head towards them. The speed as less as 60. Now, the engine misfires and the cars dead, right in the middle of the road. I push the keys and fire it again. It starts, but after moving 6 feet, it dies. I aim to move it outside the road and I succeed. I let it rest for 5 mins, then fire it again. It idles and is fine. I once again start off, again it dies…. again I move it out of the way. I call the mechanic, tell him the case. He says, don’t risk it… put it on a recovery and bring it across.

I again wait for a bit, fire the engine. It’s fine and idling. I start again, this time revving hard so that it doesn’t stop. Naaa, that doesn't help much either. I end up parking near a basic garage. I blew up something in that revving process, unfortunately (guessing). I ask the garage guy if he has a clue. He opens the engine cover and shows me the condition of the plug. I go to a nearest flat bed recovery guy and we fix the price and GTI goes to the doctor, but this time as a true German car!






I am not going to take away the reliability thing completely from the VW. The cars service in my terms includes oil and filter change but in reality an authorized service center would do much more than that. They check the brakes, all the fluids of the car, the belt and other essentials.This car has not underwent any of those in 56,000 kms along with changing the faulty parts. I haven’t checked the spark plug, nor for clogged injectors. So concluding that, the car is on flat bed recovery just because I was pushing the spark plug change to next month due to cramped finances. I will be paying up much more than the intended. My bad!

Potential repairs in the first look : Ignition coils electrically short, Spark plug replacement, fuel pump damage, clogged injectors.

Expected amount : I don’t even want to go there. It should be 20-25k Inr easily. VW knows how to suck my bank account dry.

Golf is like having a glorified super model gf. She is a gold digger and if she goes for a spin with your credit card, you end up selling your kidney next month. But again you love her so much that you can’t let go.

I am pretty much in the same situation. The Golf stays, I am not selling it

I am yet to receive a proper feedback from the garage. Speaking of garage, that is another pain. German garages are thugs everywhere I think. They charge you out of the world, for a temporary fix. God save my soul! Amen!

[voyageur]

The previous garage visit was due to lack of fuel, and I never knew that there was no fuel since the fuel meter was stuck at 40% showing 40% reading throughout. The good thing is that I got all the coils replaced for my car then and there.

It's been a while that I have not updated this thread. Reason being that since it's an old car there were lot of wear and tear replacements to be done, I didn't want to post in smaller things. I was also keeping away from the bhpians here, cos they would go ahead and shoot me on the forehead for not treating my car properly. I'll blame it all on the circumstances.

This is a DIY report on how to change the gear shifter Knob (for a Manual transmission) for a mk4 VW Golf GTI. My old gear lever had leather coming off and had started to look dull. I ordered one from Amazon US and shipped it here for more price than the product itself (smart move) and I changed it by myself.

Things that you require for this :
1. Cutting Plier (something like shown below) with ends that can pull out nail or something like a clipper end.
2. A normal screw driver.


courtesy: Google

The method for replacing the gear shift lever is shown in the below video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a0KyG5UoSs

The only thing I did different from this video was to use a screwdriver to push out the old lever instead of the thumb like the guy in the video does it, cos it is quite difficult to do that in my car. The video is fairly simply and it took me 10 mins to get it done and it was a very easy thing to do.

Some pics of the work before and after,








Chrome broken by the screw-driver. My gear cabinet was a bit loose, so had to push it down with my leg and apply a bit of force to get the old one out.







Next in the list is : O2 Sensors, tires...
Hope the goddess of wealth showers her blessings upon me.

[voyageur]

31st Jan 2014:
I transferred the money to the car owners name yesterday. 5500 aed three days back and another 8000 aed yesterday. I transferred all the money without getting a transfer letter. Indeed stupid of me. This was out of sheer excitement, first car in my life...my family has never owned one. The guy transferred the car in my name and in the evening I went in my then car Mitsubishi Galant to collect the transfer letter. He handed over the letter, two keys and advised me never to transfer money unless the sale was done. The car didn't have number plates hence I couldn't drive it back home right away. I had to leave the car there.

1st Feb 2014:
I went in the Galant straight to RTA. Got the car registered in my name and picked up the number plates and came back to where my car was parked. How do I put a hole in those number plates? Tried for sometime and I messed up the plates. Then walked around to find a Honda service centre. The service advisor was a Keralite. Job done. I had to drive back all the way to Dubai, I had to get a comprehensive insurance for which they had to see my car. I got myself a third party insurance to get the ownership transfer done. The drive was suicidal. I didn't know how to adjust the mirror, I didn't know how to switch on the AC, I didn't know the button for opening the fuel lid, heck I didn't even know how to adjust my seats. Without getting killed or getting anyone killed, somehow I went back and paid unnecessary money and got a comprehensive insurance and again changed the car registration card. The whole process took half day and now time to go to office. Drove straight back to my office. I was not well versed with manual transmissions. There were a bunch of speed breakers near my office. The car stalled at least a couple of times, if not more. Every time I shifted gears and engaged the clutch, there was a slight shudder. I was not releasing the clutch slowly and the clutch being heavy didn't help.

Thus into my boring Gulf life, Golf came.

31st July 2016:
I started my car and drove to the place that I dread to go; Office. No other option. The drive reminded me of how everything was fixed. The Engine was butter smooth as usual, gear shift was slick and felt nice. By 4 pm, I left office and got back home. Today was the last day with my car. In an hour or so, I will be transferring the car to someone else. As much as I hated to do this, I had no other option. Last ride in the GTI was just as good as every other rides. More than 2.5 years, I had never got bored with this car for a second. Equal amount of power in every gear, good handling with some understeer when pushed hard at the turns, low to the ground, pleasing engine noise; overall a fun car. After reaching there, I waited to get my car tested so that it is transferable. I stayed there for another 2 hours doing all the formalities. After everything was done, I got paid for the car as pre-agreed. I waited for the guy to drive past me and the car disappeared in a few seconds. I came back home.

1st Aug 2016:
I walked out of my building and looked at the parking lot. It was just heartbreaking to see some white car parked instead of my car. But as they say, life goes on. Sigh! Got a taxi and continued with my boring life.

Thus from my boring Gulf life, Golf left.

[Jomz]

what next?? Why sold??