Hi all
Well, as from tomorrow I'll be a Mk4 owner again !
In case you hadn't already read about it, I'm buying my old Mk4 back again.
Why ? Well the Passat isn't giving me the economy I need (rarely exceeds 40mpg) and it's reached 144k miles, guess it won't last forever....plus we've never really used the space that I thought we'd need. Was originally planning on getting something newer, maybe an Altea TDI or an Ibiza Cupra TDI, but housebuild funds -or loack of - kind of knocked that idea on the head. So I'd put thoughts of a swap to the back of my mind....
...until Tom sent me a link to my old car for sale, asking if it was mine.....talk about timing.
A week or so on painful umming and ahhing and I went to test drive it.
I also got in touch with the guy I originally sold it to and got the run down on any faults with it.
Test drove it, seemed to drive fine, except for the annoying fuel-filter-intercooler-pipe vibration (checked under the bonnet and someone took my bit of foam off!) and a clunk from the RHS front suspension over potholes, which can't be anything too serious, thought maybe top mounts or ARB bushes.
Anyway, sat in the dealers office for quite some time talking prices, and eventually got it for the Passat plus £100 so long as he put 12 months MOT on the Ibiza. Dealer seems quite a sound down to earth bloke, I got the feeling he'd rather have a high miler Passat on his hands than a high mile Ibiza.
Got an email from him this week asking if it was on the standard Sport suspension (it is) because it needed a new spring for the MOT. I'm half expecting that will cure the clunk.
When I sold the car the whole front end was *badly* peppered with stonechips, well that's all been sprayed up to a reasonably good standard - looks a lot better than it did with the stonechips. Time will tell how durable the new paint is but it can't be much worse than the original stuff. And nobody even suggest the idea of a bonnet bra please, I'd rather it be covered in stonechips
A couple of the alloys are quite badly kerbed, and one of the centre caps has lost it's silver paint, but apart from that it's looking good.
Downside is going back to the cheap plastic rattly interior, it's several leagues below the interior quality of the Passat but hey ho sure I'll get used to it.
On the upside it's still got the 312mm brake conversion, cupra air intake and is chipped (not a great map though, might change it).
Plus the OE toys I originally got when I bought it in Holland - ESP, Xenon lights & headlamp washers, cruise control, rain sensing wipers, auto dimming mirror....which will make the transition from my highly specced Passat less painful.
Mixed feelings about getting it back. This time around it's purely to economise, and tbh I don't feel that excited about collecting it. First time round was a different matter - it was my new toy then.
This time, it's got 98k on the clock and no doubt the suspension is a bit tired, but it should make driving fun again compared to the Passat barge.
On the upside, I know I looked after it well. Up to 80k miles I changed the oil every 5k miles, and it's still got a full Seat service history. Might be a lot of miles but at 98k miles the gearchange is much better than the Passat's was at 92k.
Looking forward to 48-50mpg averages again too.
So, tomorrow I'll be driving to Kettering and doing the swap.
If anyone has got any Ibiza alloys (either Sport, FR or Cupra ones) I might be interested if they are reasonably cheap, they don't have to be perfect, but not completely mangled.
Also need at least one centre cap for the Sport wheels if anyone has one.
Might be after a strut brace and rear spacers too if anyone's looking to sell.
And...might also be after an FR rear valance so I can get a mufflerectomy done and stick the pipes out the back...
Anyway, thanks for reading, if you're still awake !
Well, as from tomorrow I'll be a Mk4 owner again !
In case you hadn't already read about it, I'm buying my old Mk4 back again.
Why ? Well the Passat isn't giving me the economy I need (rarely exceeds 40mpg) and it's reached 144k miles, guess it won't last forever....plus we've never really used the space that I thought we'd need. Was originally planning on getting something newer, maybe an Altea TDI or an Ibiza Cupra TDI, but housebuild funds -or loack of - kind of knocked that idea on the head. So I'd put thoughts of a swap to the back of my mind....
...until Tom sent me a link to my old car for sale, asking if it was mine.....talk about timing.
A week or so on painful umming and ahhing and I went to test drive it.
I also got in touch with the guy I originally sold it to and got the run down on any faults with it.
Test drove it, seemed to drive fine, except for the annoying fuel-filter-intercooler-pipe vibration (checked under the bonnet and someone took my bit of foam off!) and a clunk from the RHS front suspension over potholes, which can't be anything too serious, thought maybe top mounts or ARB bushes.
Anyway, sat in the dealers office for quite some time talking prices, and eventually got it for the Passat plus £100 so long as he put 12 months MOT on the Ibiza. Dealer seems quite a sound down to earth bloke, I got the feeling he'd rather have a high miler Passat on his hands than a high mile Ibiza.
Got an email from him this week asking if it was on the standard Sport suspension (it is) because it needed a new spring for the MOT. I'm half expecting that will cure the clunk.
When I sold the car the whole front end was *badly* peppered with stonechips, well that's all been sprayed up to a reasonably good standard - looks a lot better than it did with the stonechips. Time will tell how durable the new paint is but it can't be much worse than the original stuff. And nobody even suggest the idea of a bonnet bra please, I'd rather it be covered in stonechips
A couple of the alloys are quite badly kerbed, and one of the centre caps has lost it's silver paint, but apart from that it's looking good.
Downside is going back to the cheap plastic rattly interior, it's several leagues below the interior quality of the Passat but hey ho sure I'll get used to it.
On the upside it's still got the 312mm brake conversion, cupra air intake and is chipped (not a great map though, might change it).
Plus the OE toys I originally got when I bought it in Holland - ESP, Xenon lights & headlamp washers, cruise control, rain sensing wipers, auto dimming mirror....which will make the transition from my highly specced Passat less painful.
Mixed feelings about getting it back. This time around it's purely to economise, and tbh I don't feel that excited about collecting it. First time round was a different matter - it was my new toy then.
This time, it's got 98k on the clock and no doubt the suspension is a bit tired, but it should make driving fun again compared to the Passat barge.
On the upside, I know I looked after it well. Up to 80k miles I changed the oil every 5k miles, and it's still got a full Seat service history. Might be a lot of miles but at 98k miles the gearchange is much better than the Passat's was at 92k.
Looking forward to 48-50mpg averages again too.
So, tomorrow I'll be driving to Kettering and doing the swap.
If anyone has got any Ibiza alloys (either Sport, FR or Cupra ones) I might be interested if they are reasonably cheap, they don't have to be perfect, but not completely mangled.
Also need at least one centre cap for the Sport wheels if anyone has one.
Might be after a strut brace and rear spacers too if anyone's looking to sell.
And...might also be after an FR rear valance so I can get a mufflerectomy done and stick the pipes out the back...
Anyway, thanks for reading, if you're still awake !
