2003 VW Golf Servicing etc Costs?

We're looking at replacing our current 2nd car with a medium sized station wagon of some sort.I was keen on a Subaru Outback 3L, but my wife less keen because of the fuel consumption and apparent attractiveness to thieves - whatever car it is, it'll be parked at the train station for a significant part of the day, and I do want it to still be there when I get off the train!
A VW Golf is also on my 'being-considered' list - something like this - 559122415 or this - 559642503.
Can any VW experts/owners comment on what these are like; i.e. are they reliable, are they expensive to service and run (in comparison to a Japanese car of the same vintage), and are parts readily available at a reasonable price (again, in comparison to a Japanese car), and is the 2000cc better than the 1600cc, or vice-versa!
Lots of questions sorry - but your help is very much appreciated. Thank you :-)

The golf is a lot smaller than the Subaru, The Subaru is a better car all round, will use more gas depending on how you drive it, it sits higher on the road so is capable of more off road /paddock stuff if interested. You could also look at Mazda 6 they are great cars or the trusty Camry hard to beat. The Golf is a nice car as well, the 2ltre is much better. The trans on any older golf needs to be checked, also when buying any car do change the engine coolant, that is a must to save your engine from corrosion in the head. Good luck.

the 2000cc one is a bit better i find the 1600 a bit gutless. they are ok cars but be prepared for lots of little niggly issues ie door locks malfunctioning, glove box catch braking, suspension parts wearing prematurelyetc etcThe actual servicing costs aren't too much more than a standard carbut if you require replacement of actual parts they can be a little more than the average car but most parts a readily available genuine and aftermarket. Have you had a look at the toyota corolla of a similar yearthey are looking quite smart these days

Thanks for the replies. We had a Land Rover Discovery for a while, so I'm sort of used to lots of niggly issues. Doesn't mean I want to repeat the experience!
Yes, both the Mazda and Corolla are under consideration, but the asking price seems to typically be a couple of thousand more for a car of the same vintage and higher mileage. The suggestions are helpful though.

Golf is a really nice car, the Corolla is a poor joke by comparison especially at the premium price. (and I say that having owned several of both).

The Golf is good and reliable and VW parts are easily available and cheap. The 2.0 is about as simple as engines get of that age and things like the timing belt will actually be cheaper than some of the Japanese competitors if you go about it right.

Qualitat in Auckland is a great place to order genuine parts at a good price.

With regard to finding a good one, like most automatic cars of the age its all about the transmission. The auto's last just fine if serviced regularly but are just about guaranteed to give trouble if not.

Buying a low km one like you are looking at is a good way around this as you can service it straight away and you should likely get a good run. Just remember to use the proper fluid and change the transmission filter

The Golf is much nicer to travel in and drive than the Mazda/Corolla option, especially the Corolla which feels cheap by comparison.

Don't get too worried about niggly problems, if you maintain it there should be very few.VW Golfs are great in that they are internationally so popular and very well designed so if you have a problem someone on the net has likely had the same problem and posted a detailed guide to fixing it properly without costing a fortune.

yes VW's are expensive to maintain and repair

Hmm Golf is good but we were putting in the cheap petrol (91) when apprently it requires 96. Something we were ignorant of.