Are these as reliable as other VW motors - have been asked by elderly relative who is looking for a good sound runabout for about 10k (she's looking at a 2007 polo)
intrade,
Feb 20, 4:57am
bluemotion diesel! also only buy vw that dont come from continental. Giltrap will be the best service agent for vw few others but if you got no clue your best off with giltrap.
geedubu,
Feb 20, 5:18am
no petrol engine 1400ccjazz do you have any info!
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 20, 5:29am
They are a fairly old car underneath, no where near the vehicle the MK5 Golf is. They compare well to the usual suspect's (Suzuki Swift etc) but that hardly sets the bar very high.
However for a runabout for an elderly relative, it may be O.K.
If its a nice low km well serviced example reliability will probably be O.K. I wouldn't be concerned about the motor only the automatic transmission, can't remember what version of transmission they run but it won't be DSG so that means it will need servicing now and then if you want it to last long term.
If it were me, I would suggest they get a MK5 Golf instead, its a vastly superior car and has all the much better stuff that the Polo didn't get until 2009 when the first properly good Polo's were made.
Don't worry about fuel consumption (It will be much the same, due to being more efficient) and don't worry about it being a couple of years older for your money. The Golf is also still not too big for older people in town IMO.
If you took your time and picked a really good one for around 10K, then did the big maintenance service (I can fill you in on what's needed and costs) you should get a good reliable and vastly superior car that is safe, comfortable and has good creature comforts for older people. Even better, consider a Golf Plus which has the high seats that old people love so much.
Best of luck with it.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 20, 5:32am
BTW, I should add, I know pretty much nothing about that engine, I didn't even know the 1.4 used in those was a 3 Cylinder. I have not heard bad things but a call to the likes of Qualitat might be an idea for confirmation on parts availability and any reliability or maintenance issues. I would be surprised if its a lemon though.
tmenz,
Feb 20, 5:37am
If it's mint , it will have a hole in it.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 20, 5:53am
Did a quick lookup, I am pretty sure the 3 cylinder thing will be incorrect. I know VW did a 1.2 3 Cylinder that you could get in a Polo of that vintage, which is a possibility but I suspect its more likely the 4 cylinder 1.4.
carstauranga001,
Feb 20, 5:56am
NOTE: It's 106,660 km --- NOT 10,666 km. See questions and answers as well as dash pic.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 20, 6:00am
Good spotting, I didn't look very hard at the advertisement, just noticed in passing. Given its Japanese. probably flag for your purpose OP, if going Grande Punto go for low km, NZ new, perfect condition. you can have all of this well within your budget.
carstauranga001,
Feb 20, 7:01am
Only $4100 at present though. Next 30 mins will be interesting. Spot the shill biding.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 20, 7:04am
It may well bea great buy for someone, just not confident to recommend a bargain with some risk for the OP's purposes. I bought ours on a bargain, it had a couple of minor issues that needed attention but its now turned out to be a great commuter for Mrs Jazz.
Wouldn't want to spend too much on that one though as 9K can buy you a really low km, one owner, NZ new one in top condition with a little patience.
llortmt,
Feb 20, 9:52am
The three cylinder Polos are 1.2 or if you??
robotnik,
Feb 20, 12:01pm
Was $6300 a good price the bidder paid for that Punto! It needs a cambelt so that is $1500+ if it is anything like an Alfa.
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 20, 7:23pm
Price was really good for one of those. Timing belts are easy on those, you don't have the added cost of variator replacement and balance belt + tensioners like you do on an Alfa 156 (which I assume is what you are referring to).
The majority of belt driven cars in that price range/km's are going to be due a timing belt, overall those Grande Punto's are exceptionally low maintenance and ultra economical. Service intervals are only every 30'000km/2 years but you want to do the service properly and by the book using the correct fluids etc.
I would still put aside $1500 (as with any car in that price range) so you can not only do the timing belt properly but also do the rest of the major service and get everything up to date, that would include something like: Timng belt and tensioners (obviously) Waterpump (Not part of book service but recommended) Accessory belt (I usually do the tensioner as well while I am in there) Brake fluid Oil filter Oil Fuel filter Cabin filter Spark Plugs Coolant Thermostat (Not part of book service but a good idea) Gearbox oil (Not part of book service but a good idea))
Then you should have a pretty well sorted vehicle ready for another 100'000km with just the occasional minor service.
If you are considering one OP, watch you don't pay too close to MK5 Golf money (The Golf is definitely the better car) and get a really nice example as you don't pay much more for a good one of these. They do have the occasional niggle but not usually anything catastrophic.
Good idea to get one scanned with the proper Fiat tool or Multiecuscan before purchase, you can tell a lot about any problems and how the car has been treated from that. (right down to how many km's its done in each gear, how worn the clutch is and all sorts of in depth information)
doug207,
Feb 21, 1:31am
^ doesn't cost that much to do one on my Volvo. Mind you, I do my own work.
Those 3 cyl VWs are rather lacking in poke, I'd happily own one of those wee bluemotion buggers though
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 21, 2:27am
Yeah, not really relevant. I was allowing $1500 for the cambelt AND all those other service items to be done by a garage. (although I am only taking an educated guess)
If it was not for Volvo parts being overpriced in NZ it would probably be fairly similar to a 5 Cylinder Volvo though, but I would expect the Fiat to be cheaper if sourcing parts in NZ. 5 Cylinder Volvo's are pretty straight forward (not sure which Volvo you are referring to).
Can't say I have checked the dollars exactly though, although I have done cambelts on similar Fiats and Volvo's.
Either way the Fiat is certainly at the cheaper end of timing belt prices for modern cars, if you take into account the very long service intervals I would say on an overall service cost per year basis it would be a fairly hard one to beat. Even when you stack it up against chain driven cars.
Oh and I agree about the lack of go from the 1.2 Polo, I am pretty lack luster about the car in general for that sort of money too. Given you could have a cracker MK5 Golf for similar coin they don't stack up that well as a secondhand buy. But in fairness neither do the other usual suspects like the Suzuki Swift, Vitz etc when you look at it like that.
Will likely be a different story in a couple of years when the next model Polo starts entering the price bracket.
doug207,
Feb 21, 2:53am
I would hope it wasn't $1500 for a cambelt on one. a Mitsi dealer charges around $1200 for a full job on a Legnum VR4 and they're a heinous thing to work on and take over twice as long to do (ciggie lighter will fix it)
The problem with the little 3 cyl, is well, it's a tiny wee motor that makes no torque whatsoever. I'd take the Golf for the same coin with a real manual
Volvo bits are pricey here, for absolutely no reason. I import my bits and they're insanely cheap even with shipping
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 21, 3:08am
I am the same with Volvo bits, FCP Groton is a favorite, its easy enough to plan ahead for jobs like the timing belt and it doesn't take long for stuff to arrive.
I find that some of the little ultra economical low torque Euro cars don't actually work out so economical for NZ conditions either. Our little 1.3 Fiat Grande Punto Multijet is a bit like that, if you were say doing a big motorway/autobahn commute it would give you an advantage. However on regular NZ highways and roads it has to jump on and off the turbo so much to keep pace, that it doesn't really do any better than the larger and much more powerful 1.9 does.
But I bought it cheap so I don't mind.
Oh and cambelt only cost, I havn't done one on a 1.4 but going on other similar Fiats I would expect fairly similar money to any basic little twin cam car, be it a Corolla or whatever as there shouldn't be anything slow in terms of time and parts are well priced. Actually. thinking about it the 1.4 non turbo as above here may only be single cam. I have a feeling they are usually 12 Valve not 16, the Turbo is 16. There will be an 8valve version too but they are usually U.K market mostly. I should look it up sometime.
The only catch is there is bound to be a special locking tool but plenty of independent garages should have those and its not hard to get a loan of one from the timing belt supplier if you do it yourself.
geedubu,
Feb 21, 3:17am
Useful discussion thanks all.I will keep an eye out for a good Golf or a Punto.Bit heretical but I don't mind the Nissan Tiida either.
wrong2,
Feb 21, 6:19am
for an elderly persons town trolley, it doesnt matter
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