Sept 2007

My California Car

I now have an A3 (1997) GTI - current model is A4 (2004) and the A5 is coming out in Europe shortly... but it's 10 years newer than my A2. Both cars are fun (or at least my A2 was until it died). Below is a pic of my new GTI and my old GTI outside my VW repair shop (old GTI dead but not yet buried).

Dec 2006 - my car has a new stereo - see my review of the VR-3 VRCD500-SDU (and VR-3 VRCD400-SDU)

Problems with my new GTI

• Wobble on one of the wheels.
• Small air leak in sunroof seal causing wind whistle above 90mph
• Busted front grille (was broke when I bought it) - looks like somebody tried to remove the front GTI badge and ripped the grille in the process.
• Headlight switch dodgy (front foglights don't work at the moment)

Problems with my old GTI before it died completely:

• Air conditioning lost all fluid and pump complained loudly when A/C was run by mistake.
• Engine rattled (valves?) when hot (sub-optimal).
• Knobs had fallen off wing mirror adjusters.
• Locking petrol cap long lost.
• Various bits of the dash falling apart (heater controls tended to fall off if not treated very gently, radio surround broken).
• Front seat covers completely worn through to the foam.

My Car when I was in the UK

I had a Volkswagen Polo GL built in 1983 in Germany. It was registered in Buxton, England and has since travelled over 100,000 miles. The picture above is not actually of my car but hey, it's a MKII ok? Mine was metallic green/blue (depending on the light). It's been through a lot in it's humble life but still served me well - I commuted every work day from Reading to Camberley.