VW Golf GT TDI 130 / Astra H 1.7 CDTI...?
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I'm looking at these two. I'm not totally closed minded but for the purpose of this thread i want to just keep it at these two for now.
Just looking for some views on either really. My budget will be about the £2000 mark. I may stretch to £2,500 but that extra £500 would only be if the deal is very good. I don't particularly want to stretch to that if i don't have to.
My brother in law had the GT TDI 130 and it served him well. Even drove it to Belgium. A work colleague has the Astra H & that has done him well too.
Overall i've heard better things about the Golf. My concern there is that it seems to be picked up by the 'dat car iz well [bleep] qwik innit bruv' crowd because it's a Golf & it's now affordable. It gives a good balance of performance and economy, especially with a remap, so that type of crowd appear to be snapping them up (i'm purely going off the mods i see used in some adverts) whereas if they're wanting an Astra they seem uninterested in the 1.7 as the 1.9 is much quicker (though i've read that that has a chocolate gearbox?).
My plan would be to pick one of these up, run it for 12 months to see if any niggles appear & if everything is seeming fine then just get a remap on it & that's it. I'm not heavy footed by any means but it's just nice to have some power there if & when you need it.
So just why should i get one over the other really? What to look out for on one?
I note the GT TDI sometimes comes with clima control and sometimes doesn't - just regular A/C. Any reason to get one over the other?
Just looking for some views on either really. My budget will be about the £2000 mark. I may stretch to £2,500 but that extra £500 would only be if the deal is very good. I don't particularly want to stretch to that if i don't have to.
My brother in law had the GT TDI 130 and it served him well. Even drove it to Belgium. A work colleague has the Astra H & that has done him well too.
Overall i've heard better things about the Golf. My concern there is that it seems to be picked up by the 'dat car iz well [bleep] qwik innit bruv' crowd because it's a Golf & it's now affordable. It gives a good balance of performance and economy, especially with a remap, so that type of crowd appear to be snapping them up (i'm purely going off the mods i see used in some adverts) whereas if they're wanting an Astra they seem uninterested in the 1.7 as the 1.9 is much quicker (though i've read that that has a chocolate gearbox?).
My plan would be to pick one of these up, run it for 12 months to see if any niggles appear & if everything is seeming fine then just get a remap on it & that's it. I'm not heavy footed by any means but it's just nice to have some power there if & when you need it.
So just why should i get one over the other really? What to look out for on one?
I note the GT TDI sometimes comes with clima control and sometimes doesn't - just regular A/C. Any reason to get one over the other?
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Comments
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Dunno, but driving anything to Belgium is no big deal, could be under 1 mile of driving.0
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I had the 150 bhp diesel GTi. That was an excellent car. If the 130 is anything like as good then it will be considerably better than the Astra.0
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At that price point i'd buy on condition of the individual car, rather than on what badge is on the car0
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Overall i've heard better things about the Golf. My concern there is that it seems to be picked up by the 'dat car iz well [bleep] qwik innit bruv' crowd because it's a Golf & it's now affordable. It gives a good balance of performance and economy, especially with a remap, so that type of crowd appear to be snapping them up (i'm purely going off the mods i see used in some adverts) whereas if they're wanting an Astra they seem uninterested in the 1.7 as the 1.9 is much quicker (though i've read that that has a chocolate gearbox?).
The chocolate gearbox thing was probably me and it refers only to the gearbox on the 1.8 petrol, as I had it fail twice, first at 70k miles, the second time writing off the then 12 year old car at 120k miles, but in total its rock solid reliability meant that the cost of the gearbox paled in comparison to potential combined repair bills of other brands.
As for VW Golf, the problem is exactly as you describe, too much positive hearsay based on zero evidence. They a have reputation that was only true in the mid 1980's, yet people still perpetuate this myth, even if they own one, because they tell themselves "imagine how bad it would have been on a different car".
In truth they are no better and no worse, so ignore the reliability stuff you hear from friends/family and focus on what the car has and what you need.“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
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Do you really think i'd reference it if it was only 1 mile of driving or any other figure like that?Dunno, but driving anything to Belgium is no big deal, could be under 1 mile of driving.
But then don't answer that as I didn't think the first response would've had no interest in helping & only interested in trying to pick a hole in the post, but that's what ended up happening. Suppose we never know what we're going to get eh?
Strider: it was certainly the 1.9. I remember reading it some time ago on a Vauxhall/Astra forum that seems to no longer exist. I can't remember if it was specific to the 150 (& 16v 120) or whether it covered ever 1.9 diesel.
I'll have to see if I can get one with reasonable service history. I'm a bit weary about buying from a garage. Half the ones around here seem to be con artists.
When I see the fat exhausts, big painted wheels etc, I know it's stereotyping but I'm put off. They could very well be the most well looked after car ever but I'm not comfortable taking the chance as I just think traffic light racer.0 -
When I see the fat exhausts, big painted wheels etc, I know it's stereotyping but I'm put off. They could very well be the most well looked after car ever but I'm not comfortable taking the chance as I just think traffic light racer.
In all honesty a tastefully done and looked after "boy racer" car has probable been better looked after than most you'll find, as most non-enthusiast car owners don't give a damn about their car, leaving everything to the dealerships or crapfit (both can be pretty awful).
But that said, even I would struggle to actually buy one, because of the perception of how it's been treated.“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
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Yeah I agree totally. My partner has done some subtle mods to his car, just as I described - bigger stainless exhaust although no painted wheels. The look is very subtle. The tail pipe for example isn't huge, only a 3" one. He services every 6 months & keeps all paperwork and while he has moments where he puts his foot down, he doesn't rag it everywhere.
Though if I saw it in an advert i'd steer clear just from the mods.0 -
You've picked 2 of the most popular cars out there - given the budget and desire why not look a bit leftfield
Mazda 3
Alfa 147 JTDm
Citroen C4 VTR+
Renault Megane (175BHP)
Plenty of fun to be had without resorting to a Golf/Astra0 -
I would go for the Golf but at that price and age you need to judge each car on its own condition and history.0
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I am actually looking at others also, however...You've picked 2 of the most popular cars out there - given the budget and desire why not look a bit leftfield
Mazda 3
Alfa 147 JTDm
Citroen C4 VTR+
Renault Megane (175BHP)
Plenty of fun to be had without resorting to a Golf/AstraI'm not totally closed minded but for the purpose of this thread i want to just keep it at these two for now.
My partner has VCDS & OPCOM. Not that this is swaying the decision any, it doesn't, but if someone turned up to your car with intentions to purchase (i'm throwing this out to anyone reading btw) and just asked on the spot if they could plug in their diagnostics to test for faults, would you let them?0
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