recently bought a 1.4 16v...

f_u_r_b_y · Post by **f_u_r_b_y** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 12:51 am

...and I love it to bits. This is my second car, previosuly owned a 1.4 Clio RT, and I still cannot get over how much better the Polo feels in terms of quality. Everythings made so much better! I've been having a lot of fun with it, it's a lot faster than my Clio!

I am new to the world of Polos, my mum owns a Mk3 Golf VR6, but thats about the only contact I've ever had with a VW, so inevitably I have a few questions. I've always wanted an original Mk1 Golf GTi, and I love the way most cars are modded in such a way which doesn't look over the top, but most of all I love the Ronal Turbo's I keep seeing!

Anyway, on to my car, I will be posting pics up soon, but I'll give a short description beforehand. I bought it for Â£3750, it's indigo blue, T-reg, it has the BBS Solitudes (I think thats what they are called), air con, but best of all it had only done 29k when i bought it! Insurance is a tad on the rediculous side at Â£2700, but well worth it in my opinion.

I'll start with the newbie questions, I apologise in advance!

I'm going to lower it 50mm with springs to start with, I felt 40mm might not look enough, and 50mm seems to be ok, at the moment I have found them for around Â£90, but does anyone know where they may be cheaper?

I have looked for a guide to lowering the 1.4 16v, but couldn't find much, was wondering if there was any guides with pics online specific to the Polo, or any info at all?

The Haynes Manual, does it not exist, Halfords were unhelpful, as always. I found 94-99 (not inc. 1.4 16v), then 00-02, (16v inc), it stops at S reg, then starts at V??

Did the 16v come with an alarm and immobiliser as standard

I apologise for the long post! Any replies will be greatly appreciated. If it was me I would have seen the extra long post and would have pressed the back button a long time ago, so thanks for your time!

david burton · Post by **david burton** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 6:57 pm

yeah, the 98 onwards revamp had the immobiliser as standard. you can still get the haynes - most of the bits are the same! It won't cover the engine though, obviously.

2700 is a lot! I guess you are the policy holder, it is a group 10 after all, wow - you must love the car!

Lowering is easy for the rear springs, less so for the fronts. It's not a difficult job but a garage will charge you about 1 1/2 or 2 hours labour. the haynes will explain it thoroughly! spring compressors are a must.

hope you enjoy the car - as a guide, I paid 4400 for mine 20 months ago with the same mileage as yours, and it's a V plate. sounds like you got a good deal.

sony · Post by **sony** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 8:24 pm

Wow Â£2700?? I'd change insurer asap!!!!!!! Congrats on seeing sense and getting into the world of VW!!

f_u_r_b_y · Post by **f_u_r_b_y** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 10:57 am

thanks for the welcome!

My insurance is with Tesco, and it really was the cheapest quote I could get. I'm 19, but this is the first time I've had my own policy, as I've previosuly been a named driver on parents policy, also had an incident so it bumped up because of that!

The car's definitely worth it though, I'm loving every time I drive it!

I've just ordered Eibach Sportline Springs for my 16V to lower it 50mm, but I got them from Awesome-gti.co.uk so I can't really tell you where you can get them any cheaper. What springs are you after?

Any springs really, I was going to buy the ones from gsf car parts, but they were only 40mm so decided to look for some 50mm ones. As long as they are cheap I'm not too bothered about ride quality, my Clio was lowered quite a lot so I'm used to a harsh ride!

yeah, the 98 onwards revamp had the immobiliser as standard. you can still get the haynes - most of the bits are the same! It won't cover the engine though, obviously.

So would you recommend buying the 94-99 one, up to S reg? Also is it going to be completely different changing the springs on gas shocks compared to the ones that come with the 8v models? I lowered my last car, but the back was easy because of the torsion bar! And as for the front I bought Max Power Haynes Manual

it did help a lot though!

Thankyou for the replies people, and the warm welcome!

][=][anson · Post by **][=][anson** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 11:20 am

ouch!! that insurance is very high, i'm only 20 and this is my first policy on my own, been on parents since i passed my test 2 years ago and on my 16v i'm only paying Â£1200!! which is still too much if you ask me but its the cheapest i found! and next to your Â£2700 its dirt cheap!!

f_u_r_b_y · Post by **f_u_r_b_y** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 11:51 pm

Yup think they were supposed to, did give them a try. I probably phoned around 20 different companies! In the end Tesco were the cheapest so decided to go with them. Quotes ranged from 2700 up to around 5 grand from some, where as some refused altogether. It may be because I live in London, possibly higher premiums, but I might be wrong on that?

][=][anson · Post by **][=][anson** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:21 am

could be but still its very high, especially when mine is Â£1200 with all mods declared and only a Â£175 excess

][=][anson · Post by **][=][anson** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 9:25 am

i'm not lowered (yet) and my alloys are VW ones so no need to declare them

but i told them about Window Tints, Exhaust, Badgeless grill, Induction kit and black rear lights. dont know how much extra it was as i told them straight away at the start of the policy! shouldn't be much though. a frined of mine rang her insurance company to tell them about tints and all they charged her was a Â£15 admin charge!

Hope this helps in some way!!

mysteryboy · Post by **mysteryboy** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 9:29 am

www.confused.com

admiral always comes on top.... dont pay over 2k thats the actual value of the car

david burton · Post by **david burton** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 9:28 am

mysteryboy wrote:www.confused.com

admiral always comes on top.... dont pay over 2k thats the actual value of the car

the insurance will rarely have anything to do with the price of your car. so you can't use the value of your motor as a "max" guide to insurance costs.

some companies will sting you for mods (tesco for one) whereas other ones are a lot better (highway). so it really depends on your company.

and as for comparing insurance between people - that's almost impossible to do! unless you live at the same postcode, are the same age, sex, have the same people on the policy etc etc.

I moved 1/4 mile in Birmingham and the insurance went up 20%. Reading is 50% less than Birmingham etc etc, I wouldn't worry about anyone else's policy costs, just ring around a lot and you know you're getting the best deal. try different people in addition to the policy (mum is a good one) and these things can also help to bring the price down. A limited mileage may help too.

mysteryboy · Post by **mysteryboy** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 10:42 am

I know what you're saying. But if the car is valued at 3.000 for example you shouldn't pay 3k for insurance aswell.
Like you said it all depends on age, location etc etc but either way the quote he got is way too high. When I started driving i was quoted around 3k for a 1.8. Shop around in my opinion, change some details (ie drop the vehicle value) make sure you tell them if you have an alarm etc etc...