Polo buying advice

N

Nuro

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Hi Guys. Need some advice on a Polo I would like to buy. 2003 model, 1.6 petrol, 180K on the clock (bit high I know), one owner, paint and interior in perfect condition, comes with a 2 year warranty. Any mechanical gotchas I should be looking out for?

EDIT: Price 80K, sedan (need the boot space).
 
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I'd say the price is a bit high?

A friend just picked up a 2007 1.4 Fiesta(AC) with 54000km on the clock for R84000. Not what you looking for but a hell of a lot newer for same price.
 
Yes Brawler, but we are comparing apples with pears again...the Fiesta is a totally different kettle of fish.

Agreed, however, I would try and knock that price down, simply due to mileage, but there is nothing wrong with buying a well maintained Polo with that sort of mileage on the clock.

A 2 year warranty will dispel any worries...just make sure the cam belt was changed on time, and that it does have a clean bill of health from some crowd like the AA and it should be fine.
 
Fazda said:
Yes Brawler, but we are comparing apples with pears again...the Fiesta is a totally different kettle of fish.

Agreed, however, I would try and knock that price down, simply due to mileage, but there is nothing wrong with buying a well maintained Polo with that sort of mileage on the clock.

A 2 year warranty will dispel any worries...just make sure the cam belt was changed on time, and that it does have a clean bill of health from some crowd like the AA and it should be fine.
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I did say it was not what he was looking for but the Fiesta and Polo are cars in the same class and price range so I don't see how I am comparing apples to pears. What would you compare a Polo to? Audi A3? The car is overpriced, probably due to this VW attitude, no offense of course.
 
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Nuro said:
Hi Guys. Need some advice on a Polo I would like to buy. 2003 model, 1.6 petrol, 180K on the clock (bit high I know), one owner, paint and interior in perfect condition, comes with a 2 year warranty. Any mechanical gotchas I should be looking out for?

EDIT: Price 80K, sedan (need the boot space).
Click to expand...


that seems pricey, am certain you can get a better deal than that... as for faults, had mine for 3 years, never had an issue....so cant help out there

Fazda said:
Yes Brawler, but we are comparing apples with pears again...the Fiesta is a totally different kettle of fish.

Agreed, however, I would try and knock that price down, simply due to mileage, but there is nothing wrong with buying a well maintained Polo with that sort of mileage on the clock.

A 2 year warranty will dispel any worries...just make sure the cam belt was changed on time, and that it does have a clean bill of health from some crowd like the AA and it should be fine.
Click to expand...

What? how are they different? they are in the same class? I have actually owned both, currently driving a polo, and can say I found the overall build quality and features on the fiesta slightly better. (aircon was better, steering wheel controls are a nice touch etc...). The polo is an easier drive, more relaxed....a little bit more boring though..
 
Thanks. It seems that the consensus is that it is a bit pricey. I don't know if it is the 2 year warranty pushing up the price. I'll consider carefully.
 
Oh well. Bought the car. Most other Polos I looked at did not include a warranty, or was not full house like this one is. Very happy so far!
 
Steering racks and pumps, those are your big problems, and they cost a fortune... Other then that I am happy with mine
 
Fazda said:
Well Done! mazeltov!! :D
Click to expand...

Thanks! Took a road trip today, what a smooth ride. Glad I went for the bells and whistles model, makes a nice difference. Also my first car with leather seats (they are in showroom condition, even with that mileage).

EDIT: My 2 1/2 year old daughter likes it too. He.
 
Sly21C said:
What about this? http://search.autotrader.co.za/www/cars_advert?id=201027186881031

Very cheap I think, but I have no idea how to go about buying a car privately. Maybe I can use AA and pay them to do everything for me?
Click to expand...

I cannot open that link, but really, buying a car is not rocket science, and don't think that everybody out there is out to rip you off. If you like the look of the car, by all means ask for it to have an AA test. If it's a private deal, you might have to fork out some money for that, but please don't throw money away asking somebody else to buy it for you.
 
Nuro said:
Hi Guys. Need some advice on a Polo I would like to buy. 2003 model, 1.6 petrol, 180K on the clock (bit high I know), one owner, paint and interior in perfect condition, comes with a 2 year warranty. Any mechanical gotchas I should be looking out for?

EDIT: Price 80K, sedan (need the boot space).
Click to expand...

Man, wish i saw this thread sooner, would have commented on the 80k price... just for interest sake, that car, with that mileage: Trade - R52500 retail R63200, dunno about the other R16800, guess that's warranty and such. Extras on that car probably dont have a major influence depending on what they are.

With regards to the mechanical gotchas...

Lupus said:
Steering racks and pumps, those are your big problems, and they cost a fortune... Other then that I am happy with mine
Click to expand...


Totally agree with Lupus... I had an 06 polo, so many words beginning with f come to mind when i think of it's steering rack and pump.

Overall thought, reasonably good famdamily car if boot space is what you're after.
 
Fazda said:
I cannot open that link, but really, buying a car is not rocket science, and don't think that everybody out there is out to rip you off. If you like the look of the car, by all means ask for it to have an AA test. If it's a private deal, you might have to fork out some money for that, but please don't throw money away asking somebody else to buy it for you.
Click to expand...

I can open that link still, I wonder what the problem is on your side. Anyway, there are a few people who are out there to rip other people off, but i think buying privately is a great idea, and i will most certainly do that.
 
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I can understand a pump, but how does a steering rack go? My old car was a 20 year old fox, and it never had a steering rack replacement. Grrr :( Not looking forward to that one.
 
Nuro said:
I can understand a pump, but how does a steering rack go? My old car was a 20 year old fox, and it never had a steering rack replacement. Grrr :( Not looking forward to that one.
Click to expand...

:)
Okay let me give you more info;
When I got mine (brand new early 2006 model) all was fine...
Two weeks after purchase I started feeling a weird shudder on the steering wheel, pedals, basically the whole front end of the car.
This happened only under VERY specific conditions; when making a hard turn (90 degrees or more) at a slight incline, especially on an uneven surface at a low speed (5 to 20km/h) and never when the car was cold.
Took it in immediately, was impossible to recreate the noise + shudder cos at the time it seemed intermittent and i also did not yet know the exact conditions as outlined above.

So I procrastinated till the first service...they found nothing, second service...nothing...by the time the third service rolled by, 18 months had passed and I knew exactly how to recreate the problem, so I showed the technician at Hatfield VW.

He investigated the problem and eventually concluded with the help of the factory data that it was a minor factory fault that affected some of the early 2006 models.
(The interesting bit was that he mentioned it was also present in the previous model polo classic).
It was related to some friction being created between the pump its attachments and the rack as far as he explained it, i don't know how accurate that information is.
I did a bit of research on the net about the issue, it wasn't exactly a widespread issue but the people who did talk about it on the net were quite satisfied after a steering rack replacement (or so it seemed) however my attempts to have it repaired under warranty were futile, others out there had more luck.

This is why I mentioned it on the thread before...

Anyhoo,
Because of the weird way that the sound + shudder is created you may never experience it even if the fault is present on your vehicle.



On a slightly more positive note; after that whole story I was nicely surprised one evening when a car thief did me the huge favour of collecting my vehicle from the roadside and not returning it, thanks Parkhurst car thief.
I owe you and the insurance company for giving me my new car without steering rack issues, actually no wait I owe you nothing.
 
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