Hi all

A friend of mine has a budget of about £2000 for an early 90's golf or 325i.

A few questions:

1. With regards to the golf. 8v or 16v?

2. Do you think he should even consider the golf, to me £1500 - £2000 for a 15 year old golf seems a lot?

I can understand £2000 for the 325i.

So which would you go for out of the two, golf or 325i?

cheers

brett

 

I'd go for the Golf (8v)

 

I'd go for either a mk2 GTi 16v (I had an 8v for three years) or a mk3 GTi 16v which isn't as chuckable but it's very comfy and pretty quick.

£2k won't get a lot of BMW.

 

E30 325I fantastic car, and very quick - Quicker than paper figures would suggest. But as said above they hold there value any bit as good as early golfs if not better and you won't get that much for 2K.

E30's suffer from rust on rear arches and the alloy heads can corrode which then needs a skim and gasket if your lucky or a new head. Check for milk in the oil.

I would love another E30 325I sport but you would pay good moneny for a nice kept example.

Get a MK1 golf GTI if he can find one - A real classic and still the best golf of them all. It likely to go up in value if he then looks after it.

 

Ageed! I've had 2 8v's and they've got more usable bottom end torque. 16v very quick though, but you have to rev it to get the best out of it. 16v quicker than 325 I think. Easier to find decent Golf for that money.

 

Thanks. I stand corrected, and there was me trying to talk him out of the golf and to go for the beemer! I'll direct him to the thread.

 

Old golf... quite classy in a way, esp a mkI. Old BMW 3 series? Rude boy car.

 

My little piece of 80's Nostalgia tell him to get a mark 1 golf!!

 

Nice they don't make E'm like they used to. Had a silver one myself and was at total joy to drive - owned it 6 months or so and sold it more than I paid for it.

 

very boring and bland inside mk2 golf i would opt for beemer looks more classier as said above watch out for rust on rear arches and theres a problem with manifolds cracking i think near cylinder 6 cant remember inlet or exhaust manifold.

and watch out for lowered ones which havent had the rear camber corrected as it costs a fortune to do on this car easy to spot if its not been done youl see the wheels tilting in at the top instead of being vertical.

i think the beemer is 1200kgs even though it looks a small car its heavy.
sound great with exhaust and induction with the straight 6.

the next best thing handling wise from the m3 is the old e30 318is has similar suspension to the m3 where as the 325i has different suspension.

iam just guessing but i think the 318is would outhandle the golf on the twisties but the golf would outhandle the 325i on the twisties.

also look out for lowered golfs as you tend to see them with the back end lower than the front which is a nono on a fwd car.

i honestly think the saxo vts would be quicker than the golf 16v i dont know about the 325i.

whatever u get make sure its in good nick as any problems u see with the car are onlky the tip of the iceberg.

 

Thanks guys.

Got me interested in a mk1 now

finchyboy - it's not for sale is it? You are just up the road from me.

 

800 kilo 1800cc Mk1 would out handle all of the above LOL

 

Unfortunately not Brett i've not long bought it to be honest after being mark 1 less for nearly ten years i had to get another they really are one of the best kept secret's around. Try WagenWheels - early GTI specialist... he normally has some descent example's of both mark 1's and 2's

Liam

 

Thanks for the link Liam.

I might have to pick your brains later about them!

 

Dad had one of the last made - and modded it from new.
Suspension, brakes, engine - it was a genuine Porsche worrier - wicked car!

 

Wow, nice ones are really holding their price aren't they???

 

In a straight line, providing they're both good examples, a 325i would beat both. On the bends I'd expect a VTS to be in the lead.

 

MK2 8 valve, MK1's are lovely but harder to live with unless stuff like the brakes have been upgrated and the left to right bell crank done away with, I have had seven GTI's, 2 * Mk1 and 5 mk2's, always preffered the 8 valve 90% of the time until you are at 5500 revs and you suddenly prefer the 16 valve for some reason !

The 325i is a nice car, but finding an original example is hard and minters will be expensive, get the right one it still looks classy and original, modded ones make you look like a mid 90's wide boy or down at heel Yardie.

Avoid the 5 door Golf unless very nice/cheap, they leak (the 3 doors do as well but 50% less doors is no bad thing) and the chassis is a bit wobbly at that age, plus they dont look a patch.

My own prefference would be a breathed on 8 valve, 3 door Mark 2, on the original steel wheels or BBS alloys, perhaps a little engine work, using the 2.0 block, perhaps an overbore, bit of porting, nice exhaust, say 150 bhp to match the 16 valve, plenty quick enough, I used to chase anything in my last black mk2.

 

MK2 8 valve, MK1's are lovely but harder to live with unless stuff like the brakes have been upgrated and the left to right bell crank done away with, I have had seven GTI's, 2 * Mk1 and 5 mk2's, always preffered the 8 valve 90% of the time until you are at 5500 revs and you suddenly prefer the 16 valve for some reason !

The 325i is a nice car, but finding an original example is hard and minters will be expensive, get the right one it still looks classy and original, modded ones make you look like a mid 90's wide boy or down at heel Yardie.

Avoid the 5 door Golf unless very nice/cheap, they leak (the 3 doors do as well but 50% less doors is no bad thing) and the chassis is a bit wobbly at that age, plus they dont look a patch.

My own prefference would be a breathed on 8 valve, 3 door Mark 2, on the original steel wheels or BBS alloys, perhaps a little engine work, using the 2.0 block, perhaps an overbore, bit of porting, nice exhaust, say 150 bhp to match the 16 valve, plenty quick enough, I used to chase anything in my last black mk2.

 

Oops ?

 

COULD BE FOR SALE FOR THE RIGHT OFFER JUST PAST MOT 4MONTHS TAX GOT ORIGINAL WHEELS IF YOU PREFER

KIPS

 

True standard mark 1 brakes are truly awfull however a very popular conversion now is to fit 256mm mk 2 16v discs and 16v cavailier callipers (yes they are a perfect fit) and allow you to retain the original 14 inch pirelli alloys. Couple this with the obligitory mark 2 16v brake servo,master cylinder fresh fluid and braided hoses and it is possible to make the mark 1 stop very well with a very small outlay of cash especially if calipers, servo and master cylinder come from a breakers.

 

J4CKO, anything he should particularly look out for when buying his golf, above and beyond normal car checks?

 

I currently have a Jetta Mk2 16v and have previously owned a 325i and a M3 in E30 guise.

I like all of them equally really, they all had their pro's and con's. The 325i was a 4 door but had factory fit lsd - so I chucked on some eibach's and 15" sport wheels and it was quite a nice handling car and it sounded delightful. It is easier to drive than the jetta and the M3, very lazy engine but would wind up ok.

The M3 is excellent all round, you do need to rev it a bit but it had enough torque to potter in - but would come alive beyond the 5k rpm mark - lots quicker than the 325.

The jetta is a great car, feels very 80's German like the above 2 - solid and wedge like. It has no torque, the 8v would be easier to live with if you pottered a lot and even on the twisties the prospect of holding a 16 year old car on the red line for mile after mile just to keep it in the 'zone' is not that desirable, so again the 8v could be the better buy.

For those moments where you are constantly beyond 5k rpm in 3rd and 4th it does fly, and although not proven, would probably be quicker than the 8v?

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...4062007493.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...rs/BMWM3-2.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...ualprofile.jpg

 

Cheers Andy

I guess the 8v 3 door would be best for him. Fuel economy is also a factor but it is way down in the list of importance....personally I like your M3. Nice.

 

16v's are ok on fuel - I manage 29/30 and a lot more on a run:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y198/Andyvrs/38.jpg

The M3 was indeed a lovely car. I am sure I will have another

 

I've had an E21 323i, a Mk 2 Golf GTI 8v and a Mk 2 Jetta GTI 16v. The BMW felt the fastest and sounded great, but was an evil twitchy beast on the limit

The Jetta handled the best as standard, but you had to rev the nuts off it.

The Golf was probably the best overall. I fitted a Kent cam to it and that improved top end power to near enough the same as the Jetta without losing bottom end power. I also fitted it with Eibach front and rear replacement ARBs and put nice sticky A008 Yokos on it. Loved it.

Only downside for a modern wimpy driver is that PAS was on option on all three cars and the BMW especially had very heavy steering at low speed. Don't know about the E30 - probably standard by then.

 

I have had both 8v and 16v mk2's and they each have their own qualities. Either one can still impress, provided you get a good one. The 16v has the top end power and is definately the one to go for if it is being tracked. On a tight and twisty B road, despite only having 120 (standard - even though most are actually ~ 130ish) the 8v will still hold its own against modern hot hatchs.

If its being used daily, go for the mk2 over the mk1. More comfortable and less chance of rust.

If its been serviced reguarly, even 120,000 + is not a problem. Check for rust in the usual places. Front chassis legs, pedal box/bulkhead, sills and around the sunroof if it has one.

The mk1 in my garage weighs a lot less than 800 kgs and definately out handles all of the above!

 

Thats pretty good fuel economy Andy!

Do you now of any good buyers guides?

I just re-read my post and I sounded like The Fast Show's Jazz club

With all this praise of the golf I am really starting to get interested myself!

 

Matchmaker / Andy. Is the jetta effectively a golf but with a different shell or is there more to it than that?

Ali. Thanks mate, I think he is going to go for a mk2, he likes the mk1 but thinks he would have to hunt long and hard to find a nice one in his budget.