Common faults and what to look for

[Gazbarber1982 3]

As above, my mum is looking to buy something that won't "slip about in the snow". She'll keep it til it fails an mot but it will be looked after by me, vagcom and hopefully you lot!! Just want to know what I need to look at when viewing 4mo's and what 'known faults' I should look for or have been fixed by the previous owner or VW. I'm looking at 2001 51 or newer with service history, 100k or less, under 4k and leather interior. Any help would be appreciated!

[Reido 0]

Hi mate,

I would look at an X Reg or older to be honest. Y reg onwards have a higher (Emmisions) tax band.

check for the Usual Mk 4 golf stuff on these. Look out for the well documented Fan failure, ensure it has full service history including the haldex oil service every 40K miles. If you do get one I recommend to have a 4wheel laser alignment carried out to ensure everything is as it should be.

A Vagcom check is good before you buy too. Catalytic converters are expensive so worth checking for fault codes.

I run winter tyres on mine during the colder months and it behaves brilliantly in the snow ect. Good luck:-d

[craggsy 91]

Pre march 2001 tax £215

post march will either be £245 or £260.

Not sure on emmisions level on em to be honest but my '53 plate R32 is £260

[Gazbarber1982 3]

Tax is £260 a year for them but I'm more interested on common faults that I should look for when I go to view or buy. I've got vcds so I'll plug it in and check everything's ok but I don't know anything about mk4's really. Cheers for the input.

[bungy 2]

With the mkiv being heavier than the mk3 and the drivetrain being a little more complicated there are a few things to look for.

They tend to be a bit heavy on bushes and brakes so look for signs of wear on the discs and amount left on pads. Any knocks or clonks would need investigating with top mounts and drop links also common. The engines and gearboxes seem reliable enough and the bodies are galvanized. The Haldex should be serviced every 20k with the filter done every 40k. There are 4 lambda's so on an older car worth checking with VCDS aswell as the maf flow for an indication of power and condition.

The alternators are the more expensive 120 amp types and lowered cars can suffer from poor tyre wear if they haven't been set up properly. They should run smooth with a noticeable pickup when the intake swaps between short and long runners.

[legvw 0]

Check sills for rust.