E30 vs Golf GTI mk2 - Discuss!

[capri_rob]

most unreliable car i ever owned was a mk2 8v gti
every month it needed something doing and quite often it was another broken diff
E30 is a far better machine in every way

Totally agree - I'm sure that before they got to daily driver banger territory they were good cars but after my experiences with the turd I would never buy another Mk2 GTi.

[LowLevel]

Anyone here owned a Mk1 Cabriolet? I am thinking about buying one, but am a little worried about the quality.

[pacerpete]

Anyone here owned a Mk1 Cabriolet? I am thinking about buying one, but am a little worried about the quality.

The 'quality' of the owners, or rather the distinct lack of it should be what you are worried about !

[tomtomtom]

dont worry about the quality, my bro just bought a mk1 gti that had stood for 8 years, changing the battery, oil, fuel and filters, started it up and EVERYTHING worked, not even a bulb gone, the wipers squirted out and everything. just find a good one!

[suzie650]

Anyone here owned a Mk1 Cabriolet? I am thinking about buying one, but am a little worried about the quality.

It's like with all old cars. check it as best as you can. They do rust in the usual places (bottom wings, sills, rear top mounts) and neglected cars will cause you problems at some point. But well looked after, they are really solid cars! (my mk2 starter and alternator are starting to show signs of rebellion, but as they've both served 17 years, 383'000 km and are the only bits causing trouble, I can't complain!)
No more worries than with e30's. just a higher risk to have an irrespectable previous owner

[E30BeemerLad]

the cost of parts for them are buttons though, so as long as bodywork is good where's the beef?
£12 for a wishbone with bushes

[dann-p]

Whatever your preference, one things for certain.

Both cars are seriously cool and command respect. I had to choose between the two a few months ago and went for a stormin '88 320 coupe in white. Nice and standard with a crackin set of BBS on. I still can't believe the interest it gets when I drive it around town. Gives me far more plaesure to drive than any other car I've owned.

Whichever you own, you know about cars and deserve to feel good about yourself for evermore!!

[pugboy]

I've had a big bumper 16v. It looked the nuts lowered with 16" multispoke alloys. The problem was the car prior to that was a 205 GTi hence the Golf felt like barge in comparison. Handled nice enough and was a practical day to day car (when it worked).

I think the engine was quite similar to the iS engine in the way it sounds gruff and meaty which is most unlike a 16v engine.

80's hot hatches are great fun, but there are only a few that still look cool these days.