Opinions on buying 2002 Polo Classic for R30000?

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lukefrom zim

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Looking to get some thoughts on this car being sold by a friend who is going overseas (photo to show version of the Polo in question).index.jpg

I have been looking at more expensive options, but could certainly save some money with this choice. It is high mileage (180000 km) but has had a lot of work done on it this year e.g. new cam belt, fuel pump and break pads just replaced. My friend's grandfather would also apparently be happy to help with servicing and repairs, as he has done a lot of work on the car.

Anyone with experience of these who could say whether they are the kind of cars which could continue working around 200000 km without causing constant problems? Can't find too much info on fuel consumption either, so would be interested in hearing about that too. I believe it's the 1.6 petrol model, so worried it might be a bit heavy.

Edit: Changed the mileage and added some more details after speaking to the grandfather today
 
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thechamp said:
What lot of work was done on it?
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Just edited the post with this info too after speaking to the grandfather. He just did the cambelt and also replaced fuel pump and break pads. Does the servicing himself but seems pretty competent and the kind of person to take good care of the car, but it is old.
Got to go on a brief test drive and handbrake didn't feel too strong and a fair bit of play in the gearbox. I'd need to go on a longer drive to form more of an impression.
 
lukefrom zim said:
Just edited the post with this info too after speaking to the grandfather. He just did the cambelt and also replaced fuel pump and break pads. Does the servicing himself but seems pretty competent and the kind of person to take good care of the car, but it is old.
Got to go on a brief test drive and handbrake didn't feel too strong and a fair bit of play in the gearbox. I'd need to go on a longer drive to form more of an impression.
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To be honest, you won't get much for R30K, let alone a car that was driven and maintained by someone you know. As for mileage, in this category do not use it as a yardstick. You will need to assess the car on its mechanical condition and visuals only. The biggest challenge that you will find in this price range is getting it through the roadworthy test. You mentioned the hand brake, this is something that will be assessed during roadworthy, but provided that the brakes themselves are in reasonably good nick, it may just need a small adjustment to sharpen it up.

What exactly do you mean by "a fair bit of play in the gearbox"? Are you talking about shift lever play (cheap), or backlash from the diff (expensive)?

Are there any strange noises / smoke coming from the motor and/or the exhaust? Drive the car under compression on a downhill and look in the rear view mirror to check when accelerating. Also, look for leaking engine and / or gearbox oil, because the roadworthy inspector will do it. Check the CV joint boots for signs of tearing, and drive the car in a circle, steering at full lock under mild acceleration, if you hear a cluck-cluck sound, then the CV joints are gone and may need to be refurbished.

If you are in doubt and lack the knowledge / experience, why don't you take it to Dekra (who can do the roadworthy as well). For a small fee, they can give you a quick assessment on condition, and any upcoming major maintenance. The one in Midrand is good.
 
RonSwanson said:
To be honest, you won't get much for R30K, let alone a car that was driven and maintained by someone you know. As for mileage, in this category do not use it as a yardstick. You will need to assess the car on its mechanical condition and visuals only. The biggest challenge that you will find in this price range is getting it through the roadworthy test. You mentioned the hand brake, this is something that will be assessed during roadworthy, but provided that the brakes themselves are in reasonably good nick, it may just need a small adjustment to sharpen it up.

What exactly do you mean by "a fair bit of play in the gearbox"? Are you talking about shift lever play (cheap), or backlash from the diff (expensive)?

Are there any strange noises / smoke coming from the motor and/or the exhaust? Drive the car under compression on a downhill and look in the rear view mirror to check when accelerating. Also, look for leaking engine and / or gearbox oil, because the roadworthy inspector will do it. Check the CV joint boots for signs of tearing, and drive the car in a circle, steering at full lock under mild acceleration, if you hear a cluck-cluck sound, then the CV joints are gone and may need to be refurbished.

If you are in doubt and lack the knowledge / experience, why don't you take it to Dekra (who can do the roadworthy as well). For a small fee, they can give you a quick assessment on condition, and any upcoming major maintenance. The one in Midrand is good.
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Thanks lots of good advice there. The grandfather has said he could accompany to the roadworthy test and address any small issues there might be, though he does not expect any major hiccups.

I think I still need to do a more extensive test drive but I can at least say that oil leaks and smoking don't seem to be a problem. Shift lever play is what I meant. Guess it's not a major issue and can be sorted, but just tarnished the driving experience somewhat.

I agree that for R30k I probably can't find anything much better, but I was initially looking for cars more in the 50-70k bracket (e.g. Getz, Yaris, Fiesta and the occassional high mileage Jazz). This just came up as a potentially good deal which could save a lot of money. Would be great to save a fair bit of money, but not at the cost of a troublesome car, and hopefully not on which will be a bit more of a fuel guzzler.
 
lukefrom zim said:
Thanks lots of good advice there. The grandfather has said he could accompany to the roadworthy test and address any small issues there might be, though he does not expect any major hiccups.

I think I still need to do a more extensive test drive but I can at least say that oil leaks and smoking don't seem to be a problem. Shift lever play is what I meant. Guess it's not a major issue and can be sorted, but just tarnished the driving experience somewhat.

I agree that for R30k I probably can't find anything much better, but I was initially looking for cars more in the 50-70k bracket (e.g. Getz, Yaris, Fiesta and the occassional high mileage Jazz). This just came up as a potentially good deal which could save a lot of money. Would be great to save a fair bit of money, but not at the cost of a troublesome car, and hopefully not on which will be a bit more of a fuel guzzler.
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Then it sounds like a reasonable deal to me. The ones in the 50-70K price range won't come with any warranty either, and it sounds like the grandfather actually cares enough to walk the extra mile with you. Take it to Dekra, they have a four tier suite of services, ranging from a safety check (minimal) to a full technical inspection.
 
RonSwanson said:
Then it sounds like a reasonable deal to me. The ones in the 50-70K price range won't come with any warranty either, and it sounds like the grandfather actually cares enough to walk the extra mile with you. Take it to Dekra, they have a four tier suite of services, ranging from a safety check (minimal) to a full technical inspection.
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Yeah it is a plus that I would have contact and recourse to the person who has overseen the fixing of the car for some years and seems honest and trustworthy in what he's told me. Will look into going to Dekra
 
Just another thought, I have seen talk of Polos being more expensive to insure due to theft risk. If this is true, is it likely to affect the cost of insurance of this model? I wonder if the fact that it's a less common model reduces the hijakcing risk, but also whether insurers would realise or take note of this?
 
lukefrom zim said:
Just another thought, I have seen talk of Polos being more expensive to insure due to theft risk. If this is true, is it likely to affect the cost of insurance of this model? I wonder if the fact that it's a less common model reduces the hijakcing risk, but also whether insurers would realise or take note of this?
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Any old car is a theft risk. A polo even more so and yes it will be a bit more to insure. Check out the Beamee tracking system with the insurer's and Cartrack as they offer sub R100pm devices which should assist your premiums unless your insurance Co dictates the device in which case change insurer. Also maybe a voluntary higher theft/hijack excess over and above the standard on would reduce the excess.

Oh and the car if it goes through roadworthy it's a bargain as they are bulletproof little run arounds.
 
Hemi300c said:
Any old car is a theft risk. A polo even more so and yes it will be a bit more to insure. Check out the Beamee tracking system with the insurer's and Cartrack as they offer sub R100pm devices which should assist your premiums unless your insurance Co dictates the device in which case change insurer. Also maybe a voluntary higher theft/hijack excess over and above the standard on would reduce the excess.
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On a car that age and that price, the tracker price will almost be the price of the insurance. The discount the insurance will give won't be worth it.
 
Hemi300c said:
Any old car is a theft risk. A polo even more so and yes it will be a bit more to insure. Check out the Beamee tracking system with the insurer's and Cartrack as they offer sub R100pm devices which should assist your premiums unless your insurance Co dictates the device in which case change insurer. Also maybe a voluntary higher theft/hijack excess over and above the standard on would reduce the excess.

Oh and the car if it goes through roadworthy it's a bargain as they are bulletproof little run arounds.
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Agreed that when well maintained and looked after they are pretty bulletproof.

On insurance, thieves are not big on the sedan versions, they prefer hatchbacks. Then again the colour is red, the worst colour to insure. Given the retail value, I am inclined to agree with @Lupus, but the OP can check by asking for a quote with and without some sort of tracker. I find that age and location have a far greater bearing on insurance premiums, my own 2005 1.6 Polo hatch with a 23 year old main driver (family member) is comprehensively insured for retail value (R48500) at R304 pm, R4900 excess. 3rd party fire and theft was only R219, and 3rd party only is another option, so there are many alternatives to explore in addition to playing with the excess as you have mentioned.
 
Good to hear the model has a reputation for being solid, as I wasn't too sure how it stacks up against pricier alternatives in that respect.

My post was a bit misleading but the car is in fact dark blue, I just don't have a picture of the particular car to show. Those insurance premiums don't sound too bad though. I guess I could expect to pay a lot more though with the car in my name (24 year old male).
 
So I went out on a longer drive with motorway driving (as a passenger though). I was surprised at how high the car was revving at 120 km/h, went to 3500rpm or even slightly more. Didn't really expect that from a 1.6 engine, but maybe the engine is geared differently to what I'm used to. It did also leave me wondering how much fuel the car is using at that speed.

My friend also filled the car along the way. It had only done 200 km since the last fueling, but she put in 30 litres today. She did say she didn't top up fully last time, but even if it was 10l short of full that's still 20l for 200 km which could get quite pricey. She didn't seem to be a particularly uneconomical driver either.

So overall has given me some reason to pause and think.
 
It's an old NA 1.6, it's normal for it to be doing 3500rpm at 120km/h. I also doubt it uses that much fuel, there shouldn't be any reason why it should be a gas guzzler.
 
lukefrom zim said:
Good to hear the model has a reputation for being solid, as I wasn't too sure how it stacks up against pricier alternatives in that respect.

My post was a bit misleading but the car is in fact dark blue, I just don't have a picture of the particular car to show. Those insurance premiums don't sound too bad though. I guess I could expect to pay a lot more though with the car in my name (24 year old male).
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No, I don't think that your post was misleading, I just wasn't paying attention, my apologies.

The main driver In my insurance quote is 23, and this is the factor that they use, not the owner. This vehicle will also "retail" for slightly more, so you should not be paying more for insurance, unless it is kept in a bad area (overnight and during the day). Make sure that you get a number of quotes, and get them yourself, don't do any of the Hippo rubbish. Also, don't opt for any extras other than roadside assistance. The "cash-back bonuses", car hire and other frills all serve to confuse people and make quotes difficult to compare.

3500 RPM @120Km/h is quite normal for these cars, also quite similar for the later model Polos. Fuel consumption should be around 7.0 to 8.5 litres per 100km, depending on urban vs country driving. Whilst this is not great, it's not exactly poor either.
 
Good value for money though I personally prefer lower mileage used cars. I don't like to go above 60k when I buy.
 
Daruk said:
Good value for money though I personally prefer lower mileage used cars. I don't like to go above 60k when I buy.
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That's great if you can afford it. Also good when you actually know or can make contact with the previous owner, otherwise there is a pretty good chance that it has had a "haircut".
 
Guess it's just a higher revving car that what I'm used to so good to hear that's not really an issue.
 
Good luck. Those cars are pretty much bulletproof if it passes the Dekra.

Only hassle is hijack risk and the insurance on it.
 
RonSwanson said:
No, I don't think that your post was misleading, I just wasn't paying attention, my apologies.

The main driver In my insurance quote is 23, and this is the factor that they use, not the owner. This vehicle will also "retail" for slightly more, so you should not be paying more for insurance, unless it is kept in a bad area (overnight and during the day). Make sure that you get a number of quotes, and get them yourself, don't do any of the Hippo rubbish. Also, don't opt for any extras other than roadside assistance. The "cash-back bonuses", car hire and other frills all serve to confuse people and make quotes difficult to compare.

3500 RPM @120Km/h is quite normal for these cars, also quite similar for the later model Polos. Fuel consumption should be around 7.0 to 8.5 litres per 100km, depending on urban vs country driving. Whilst this is not great, it's not exactly poor either.
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Thanks for the detail on the insurance, it does seem I could get a low deal too if your son can.

I am still wondering if this particular car is consuming more fuel than it should. My friend reckons she can get 400-500 km out of a tank, which is about 10km/l (urban) which doesn't seem great and worse than might be expected (and as said, she doesn't seem to be a particularly uneconomical driver). I know I seem to be harping on a bit about the fuel but it is one of my key considerations, as I will be on a pretty low salary and a 40 km round trip daily commute.

I still reckon it is a good buy for R30k as people here have suggested. However If my dad is willing to put a little more in to the initial outlay I would still be tempted to go for something a little more fuel efficient but still hopefully solid (e.g. Yaris or Jazz). I am aware this is more in the R60k bracket though so it is a big difference in cost.
 
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