GTI daily driver?

[siddleg 0]

I've not yet bought a 205 but I'll have around 5k to do so but I was just wondering if they are still reliable enough to use as a daily? I really want to use it all the time, I have access to another car if I do have a breakdown. I'm fairly handy on the spanner so  don't need to use a garage for everything and the mechanic I do use is a friend who is fairly cheap for cam belt changes, clutches etc. 

 

If I was to buy one and give it a really good service get the cam belt, water pump etc done and keep on top of maintenance is it do-able or am I just lining myself up for headaches wishing I'd kept my Citroen DS3?

 

thanks for you advice in advance.

Edited April 10, 2018 by siddleg

[Tom Fenton 1,524]

Go through it properly and keep on top of maintenance and there's no reason why you can't use it daily. People obviously did use them in the past as their only vehicle.

[Anthony 1,000]

As Tom says, no reason at all you can't daily drive one particularly if your annual mileage is broadly sensible - certainly it wasn't that long ago that I used one as my only car doing an 80 mile commute daily, and it was fuel costs more than upkeep on the car that stopped me doing so in the end.  Admittedly that was before the prices of cars went crazy and parts were easier/cheaper to obtain, but fundamentally it's still modern by classic standards and hence doesn't have the foibles that most pre-80's era cars have used daily in terms of carbs, points, rampant rust etc.

 

All the service and consumable parts are readily and cheaply available and £5k should be plenty to buy a car that's mechanically sound and been well cared for, even if it won't buy you a low mileage tidy example these days.

[siddleg 0]

This is great news to hear and I only do around 12 miles a day, admittedly its a lot of stop start driving but I'm after the 1.6 not to fussy on colour looking to purchase around September time.

 

I've ordered a copy of the Haynes buyers guide from ebay so its research time and maybe go and test drive one at a dealers somewhere as I've never actually driven one but love the way they look and the appeal of driving a modern classic and probably the best one.

 

if anyone is due to sell one at the end of summer please get in touch.

 

[Anthony 1,000]

10 minutes ago, siddleg said:

This is great news to hear and I only do around 12 miles a day, admittedly its a lot of stop start driving but I'm after the 1.6 not to fussy on colour looking to purchase around September time.

 

Only thing I'll warn you of is that 205 GTi's with Jetronic engine management (ie all 1.6's and 1.9's without CAT) can be a bit of a pain to drive in stop-start and slow moving traffic until you get the knack of riding the clutch more than you would ordinarily - the first few times you try it you'll almost certainly end up kangeroo'ing up the road like a learner driver, especially if like many it has tired engine mounts and the throttle switch isn't set properly.

 

If you've never driven one, then try to drive a few different examples so that you can get a feel for what a "good" car should drive like, and don't automatically assume a more expensive car is better - unfortunately, on the back of the recent rise in values of 205's there's a lot of people trying to make a quick buck attempting to flog cars for twice their worth.

[welshpug 1,621]

Have to agree with Anthony's comment, I have run mine on Motronic MP3.1 management from a ZX which works straight on a 1.9, a 1.6 would probably need a map, though a healthy well setup Jetronic can be just fine and you'll soon get the hang of it as Anthony said.

 

I did 11k a year when I last used mine as a daily, ran it on Michelin winter tyres and Bilstein Gravel dampers

[siddleg 0]

Some sound advice which I'll take. Time to search the usual places for ads for test drives. I've heard if you set them up right they will run just as well pottering around town or is this a myth? 

[DamirGTI 323]

Daily drive here , and it's been like so for the last 15 years .. and will be still in the future as it seems (it's like an virus this car ! .. just can't have enough of it and nothing else doesn't seems to "fit" as an replacement .. or i might be getting old and sentimental perhaps )

 

I go everywhere and anywhere with it , short journeys , long journeys , town , summer time , winter time ... .. and must say it never left me in a such way that i had to get it towed back home , there was some issue trough the years but really nothing major ... all was done/fixed on the spot and off you go ! (if you know which spares are must in the boot ! and few simple tools)

 

Most of the suspension and engine parts are still available and pretty cheap .. engine internal parts , can do an full engine rebuild for really sensible parts price !

 

As for the "kangarooing" and "temperamental idle" , it's the dizzy which makes it feel/perform badly most often (and the AFM which can be fixed also) .. tensioning the dizzy spring works like wonders ... afterwards the idle is rock stable just like an Motronic variant (i have both , Motronic and Jetronic 205's) .

 

Only thing which i dislike is - fuel consumption and current fuel prices !! .. and the fact that it must be 97RON petrol as minimum for Jetronic one (does run on 95 too but not so good .. ignition timing needs to be retarded quite a bit ..) .. over here we have 95 or 100 RON petrol only .. obviously 100 is the most expensive .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Thijs_Rallye 86 4 Cars]

17 hours ago, Anthony said:

 

Only thing I'll warn you of is that 205 GTi's with Jetronic engine management (ie all 1.6's and 1.9's without CAT) can be a bit of a pain to drive in stop-start and slow moving traffic until you get the knack of riding the clutch more than you would ordinarily - the first few times you try it you'll almost certainly end up kangeroo'ing up the road like a learner driver, especially if like many it has tired engine mounts and the throttle switch isn't set properly.

 

Can agree 100%. If it has to be a daily pick a cat version with Motronic managment.

[MrStock 5]

Daily since 2 years without any problems

[SootySport 23]

I've had mine for 2 months now and use it almost every day, seems to suffer from the above maladies but always starts and runs ok.   Will be rebuilding it in the new future, just getting used to it to find out what needs rebuilding and buying parts in advance.   

[siddleg 0]

Ok so a quick update I've been to see a phase 2 1.6 gti which seemed pretty good apart from a fair bit of white smoke out the exhaust which didn't clear when it got warm. 

They was mayo inside the oil filler but a breather was split next to it. 

Rusty exhaust tip inside and then it started to boiler over. 

The guy selling it was shocked as this had never happened before but he's only had it 1yr and don't use it much.

his mechanic has now looked at it and advised to change expansion tank lid and that when changing the cam belt/water pump didn't notice a bleed valve on the thermostat? 

 

Said it's running fine now what's your thoughts? 

 

[Anthony 1,000]

Mayo in the oil filler isn't in itself anything to worry about, especially on a car that doesn't get used for many long journeys - unless you regularly get the oil hot enough to "burn off" the moisture in the breather system, you'll get mayo.

 

Persistent white smoke out of the exhaust even when it's up to temperature isn't right though unless it's been sat for a long time in damp conditions - did you drive it or just leave it idling on the drive?  Certainly if you'd driven it and it was still smoking, I would be concerned, but it's possible leaving it idling up to temperature wouldn't have been enough to rid the exhaust of moisture if there was enough of it built up over time.

 

A faulty expansion tank cap, particularly if the slow-speed fan isn't working (not too uncommon) would explain the boiling over when left idling so the story you've been told is plausible.  Equally, could be the head gasket has failed which would also explain the excessive white smoke.

 

If the rest of the car was good and the owner reckons that it's now sorted, go back and take a good look with someone knowledgeable, take it for a decent length drive and leave it idling long enough for the fans to cycle a few times.

[Telf 222 2 Cars]

mines a daily- fine if you look after them- 200miles a week I do

 

[siddleg 0]

Well after speaking to the chap again it's no longer smoking after a good drive out and the cooling system has been properly bleed so now doesn't boiler over. I sent him a deposit and going to compression test it to be 100%. All been well I'll be in the 205 club soon. I've wanted one forever will be a dream come true. Shame it's taken so long but that's life. 

 

[siddleg 0]

15 hours ago, Telf said:

mines a daily- fine if you look after them- 200miles a week I do

 

Great to hear thank you 

[jackherer 543]

1 hour ago, siddleg said:

the cooling system has been properly bleed so now doesn't boiler over

205 GTIs don't tend to have problems with airlocks in the coolant, they basically bleed themselves via a small pipe from the top of the rad that runs back to the expansion tank.

 

A compression test is definitely a good idea but you should really try what Anthony suggested above:

On 04/05/2018 at 9:34 AM, Anthony said:

take it for a decent length drive and leave it idling long enough for the fans to cycle a few times.

If it can cool itself down with the electric fan when the car is not moving after a proper drive then it is probably OK.

[AlexRS2782 136 1 Cars]

As a couple of comments above have mentioned you can easily use the car daily - just make sure you keep up with any required maintenance and it should be reliable - I did with mine when I bought it in late '08 and used it pretty much 4 / 5 days a week until mid 2015. 

 

Ironically once I started using mine much less (long drive every 2 or 3 weeks) it started causing me more running issues than when I used it daily

[siddleg 0]

Well I,ve taken the plunge and bought a cherry red, phase 2, 1.6 with 1900 alloys and it's done 113k. 

 

Bloody love  it already. 

 

Did compression test before I bought it which was all good readings of 13 bar per cylinder. So head gasket, piston rings, valves should be fine. Getting very hot in traffic mind think the fan switch needs replacing then it's the usual oil, filter, gear oil, plugs, magnecor leads, dizzy cap, arm, fuel and air filters before I use it regularly. 

 

P.s decided to keep my DS3 too  

 

Thanks for everyone's advice 

Edited May 22, 2018 by siddleg

[Anthony 1,000]

11 hours ago, siddleg said:

Getting very hot in traffic mind think the fan switch needs replacing

 

Glad that you've found one you're happy with

 

What do you call very hot?  Rising to somewhere around 2/3 - 3/4 on the gauge is normal in traffic depending on which thermoswitch is fitted - GTi's as standard have the higher temperature red-banded switch, which from memory switches the slow speed fan on at 97 degrees and high speed at 102 degrees.  If it needs replacing, I tend to fit the purple-banded switch fitted to diesel models from memory - that's a little cooler at 92/97 for low/high speed.

 

Check that the slow speed fan speed is working as well - the resistor that it runs through can fail, and if that happens, the fan doesn't do anything until it's hot enough for the high-speed to kick in.

 

Also, if you're used to modern cars, it's worth noting that the temperature gauges in 205's aren't centre weighted like most moderns and will actually show you small changes in temperature - you'll see the needle moving as the fan cycles on and off for example - rather than rigidly sitting central until a surprisingly large threshold is overcome and the engine is bordering on meltdown as per many moderns...

[SootySport 23]

16 hours ago, siddleg said:

Well I,ve taken the plunge and bought a cherry red, phase 2, 1.6 with 1900 alloys and it's done 113k. 

 

Bloody love  it already. 

 

Did compression test before I bought it which was all good readings of 13 bar per cylinder. So head gasket, piston rings, valves should be fine. Getting very hot in traffic mind think the fan switch needs replacing then it's the usual oil, filter, gear oil, plugs, magnecor leads, dizzy cap, arm, fuel and air filters before I use it regularly. 

 

P.s decided to keep my DS3 too  

 

Thanks for everyone's advice 

Early September then   Same model as I just bought although I have the proper 1.6 wheels.    Happy motoring pal.

[siddleg 0]

I know not September but you know what it's like looking for something when you actually want it lol. 

[siddleg 0]

8 hours ago, Anthony said:

 

Glad that you've found one you're happy with

 

What do you call very hot?  Rising to somewhere around 2/3 - 3/4 on the gauge is normal in traffic depending on which thermoswitch is fitted - GTi's as standard have the higher temperature red-banded switch, which from memory switches the slow speed fan on at 97 degrees and high speed at 102 degrees.  If it needs replacing, I tend to fit the purple-banded switch fitted to diesel models from memory - that's a little cooler at 92/97 for low/high speed.

 

Check that the slow speed fan speed is working as well - the resistor that it runs through can fail, and if that happens, the fan doesn't do anything until it's hot enough for the high-speed to kick in.

 

Also, if you're used to modern cars, it's worth noting that the temperature gauges in 205's aren't centre weighted like most moderns and will actually show you small changes in temperature - you'll see the needle moving as the fan cycles on and off for example - rather than rigidly sitting central until a surprisingly large threshold is overcome and the engine is bordering on meltdown as per many moderns...

Well I'm thinking fan switch as they don't even come on and the pressure relief valve opens on the header tank and starts spewing coolant out. Was fine on the motorway on way home and I just popped the heater on if I got stuck in traffic which helped for a while at least. 

[Anthony 1,000]

If the fan doesn't come on at all, then yes, the thermoswitch is suspect.  Easy enough to prove - if you unplug the 3-pin connector from the switch, shorting two of the pins together will make the fan run slowly, and two other pins will make it run on high speed.  If both of those work, then replace the switch, and if not, check the earth (between headlight and radiator) and that there's a positive supply from the shuntbox.

 

Is this the same car that you talked about above that was apparently fixed?  If so, did you do as I suggested and leave it idling after taking it for a drive, as that should have shown up this issue?