Hi guys

I've looked at a 2004 Octy VRS today. The car drove really well, was in reasonable shape cosmetically for its age and had impeccable service history and evidence of every repair.

The only thing the current owner didn't know was whether the clutch has ever been changed. It's got 151k on the clock so should I assume that at some point it's had a new clutch ? Or can clutches last longer?

I just don't want to buy it and need a new clutch in 5k. Any help appreciated.

How long has he owned it?

 

Clutches depend on the driver, really. 150k is pretty much the limit of what you'd expect though, the average car seems to last about 90k-140k miles, from my experience.

 

Pretty sure Mk1 Octys have a Dual Mass Flywheel too, which is another consideration.

Deffo dual mass. Mine went at just over 100k good excuse for g60 setup

He's had it about 11 months and has done about 5-7k in it I think.

I bought my one owner 2001 VRS about 5 years ago, with 70k on the clock. The owner said it was still on it's original clutch and DMF.

 

It now has 170,000 miles on the clock, with no sign of any clutch or DMF problems. Then again, I am quite sensitive to the drivetrain - I try to change gear with some mechanical sympathy, and never ride the clutch.

 

In fact in 25 years of driving cars and taking many of them to near 200,000 miles - I've never once had to have a clutch in any of them....

If treated well they should be good for 150k. However most start to go before that.

Only clutch I've ever had let go was on a Honda at 55k...

think my car had hit 150,000 miles when a remap caused clutch slippage.... now has the G60/VR6 setup   166,000 miles and counting! (I also believe its still on original turbo and gearbox (and engine of course)) most other things have been replaced! lol..

I'm going to test drive it again tomorrow to look more closely for any slippage and see where it bites as I can't remember from driving it Friday. I'm thinking though unless it's bad I'm buying the car. If the clutch goes in a few thousand it goes, so be it. It's up for £1395 which seems fair. Had the 2 rear tyres as advisories on the MOT so might try and knock him down 100quid.

How much did the g60 set you back?

I'm going to test drive it again tomorrow to look more closely for any slippage and see where it bites as I can't remember from driving it Friday. I'm thinking though unless it's bad I'm buying the car. If the clutch goes in a few thousand it goes, so be it. It's up for £1395 which seems fair. Had the 2 rear tyres as advisories on the MOT so might try and knock him down 100quid.

always try and knock them down not too expensive though, I paid £1k , but mine had boost and suspension issues....

kits are not too expensive £175 here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-VOLKSWAGEN-GOLF-1-8T-VR6-LUK-CLUTCH-KIT-AND-G60-FLYWHEEL-WITH-BOLTS-/262567889851?hash=item3d22440bbb:m:mQDiaqAYjeO_6ca48oH9kOw

 

mine was done by previous owner, they can handle decent power and torque...

No to pricey at all then. Has it made much difference?

Tested it again. No signs of slippage at all and a reasonably low bite about half way up the travel. So I got it for 1250!

good job hope it goes well, after sorting my original issues, mine has run well for about 10k now.... going to Germany in it next month!

I just need it to go well for 10-15k. If not I face an i told you so from the wife who was not entirely up for me going from a Mondeo which is economical and reliable to a VRS which is less economical, more expensive to insure, and unquantified in terms of reliability. I'm. Kind of hoping it.does go wrong then so I can upgrade the clutch lol.

£1250 is a good deal.  Overall condition good with evidence of cambelt etc?

Yea. Cam changed 28k ago so should have plenty of life left in it.

Needs some TLC - carpets and seats need deep cleaning, some chips on the bonnet need seeing too. Tiny bit of emerging rust on a rear arch, badges are faded but all very doable cosmetic stuff.

change the badges for the later stuff here's mine...

 

 

I was wondering how that night look and I like that a lot. Really suits it in black.

Wheel caps too?

Edited 16 August, 20169 yr by jonwarr

yup....

 

kits are not too expensive £175 here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-VOLKSWAGEN-GOLF-1-8T-VR6-LUK-CLUTCH-KIT-AND-G60-FLYWHEEL-WITH-BOLTS-/262567889851?hash=item3d22440bbb:m:mQDiaqAYjeO_6ca48oH9kOw

 

mine was done by previous owner, they can handle decent power and torque...

For the love of god do NOT buy a kit from Techniclutch.

lol... just picked an e-bay link mate, no idea who they are, there are several from different people on there

 

edit, just read the negative feedback for fun !

Edited 17 August, 20169 yr by sharkrider

So here she is. Plus some pics of some bits that need some TLC.  PIcs of the car are from the FB sale page so are a bit cr4p.  The interior pics are from my phone so are a lot better quality.

 

 

 

 

A couple of chips will need some attention. Would love to get the whole bonnet sprayed but costs and family budgets etc will likley prevent.

 

 

 

 

Centre console pattern is chipped, may find new or spray.  Middle buttons sit a bit funny too, dunno if anyone else has seen that before.  Tempted to keep the old school stereo but there's a tape jammed in it.

 

Edited 17 August, 20169 yr by jonwarr

looking good maybe you should start a build thread

 

I replaced the stereo in mine with a streaming head unit... cheap enough, adds hands free, streaming, and 32gig cards etc... a couple of wires need switching to retain memory etc, but not too hard

Misaligned buttons look like they may be a casualty of the "fake carbon" treatment since the console panel must have come out to do that.

 

As for the jammed cassette, be persistent with the eject button, and try to get hold of the cassette and "help it" out by pulling (easier to do than to describe).