Advantages: Quality and a refined driving experience. Disadvantages: Not the fastest car on the road by any means.
It took a while to locate a car with the specification I was looking for, (a VolkswagenGolf TDI SE 5 door hatch 90 bhp - in either silver or green, and within my budget of £10,500), even by using the VW website and doing whole country searches. I had already called in at all of my local dealers (Ipswich, Colchester, Stowmarket, Lowestoft) and was told that they are often sold even before they even appear on the garage forecourt or the VW website.
Hearing this was rather off-putting, but I continued my search and in April 2003 a suitable car appeared on the website at Simpson's Garage, Lowestoft. One phone call and an hour later I was on my way for a viewing and a test drive.
My car is in 'bright green' which was an option at extra cost. (I would describe it more accurately as dark green, rather like the British Racing Green ...
Advantages: Reliable, comfortable, great looks, a pleasure to drive Disadvantages: Do some homework before buying a second hand model
This was my first ever "brand new" car purchase in Autumn 2002, and 5 years 2 months down the line, I've had excellent reliability, with decent fuel economy.
No major mechanical problems at all, which suits me fine, as my priority with any car is that it works smoothly and is reliable.
It's really been a great car, with great distinctive exterior looks, and welcoming comfortable cabin (you have to love the blue dashboard lighting inside on the dials).
An article I read suggests it takes considerably longer to build a VWGolf MK4 than it does it's nearest rival. You feel safe in a VolkswagenGolf. It feels secure and well put together.
And, at 5 years of age, it's again just sailed through it's MOT with no problems at all.
It's also an enjoyable driving experience. Some purists might say the 1.4 has little power ...
Advantages: Spacious 3dr, drives like a dream Disadvantages: A few electronic teething problems
the car, even the boot which was unafffected (so that it was not a different shade after fading). They were truly excellent.
After this fault the CD player also began skipping every so often - though I think the two problems were related. Again VW were superb, replacing the enitre radio unit and being extremely helpful.
If you are considering buying a Golf I advise going at dusk and turning the sidelights on - the blue of the interior lihting looks very nice!
On my car I also have the "Protection Pack" fitted, which is an option. For this you get footmats, plastic covers over your headlights and also a boot liner, which is a thick rubber mat fitted to your boot. I hit a bird with my headlight the other week while doing about 80mph, and though the protecter chipped it was a 30 seconds job to replace it (free from VW), instead ...
![Wheeler Dealers - VW Golf [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78507888.jpg)
