Well heres the crack, my brother has decided he'd like a 2000 Bora s 1.6 - does anybody have any info on these cars or any opinions on them? seems pretty tidy car but whats important with them service wise?

 

Bora TDI yes Bora petrol NO

I had a 04 plate 130 6 speed dirty diesel and loved it, one of the cars i regret selling even though they suffer very creaky dashboards lol, rear legroom isnt the best though but the boot is impressive

Honestly, i know vag petrols can do the miles but they aint for me in the slightest

 

the one he wants is the 16v 1.6 petrol, any particular issues or just personal preference?

edit: i know what you mean by the boot lol my dad has the last model skoda octavia which is the same car

 

Just personal preference with that

id imagine the 1.6 to be very very slow as they are heavy cars so will probs be a bit juicy aswell

 

to be fair he's coming from a 4 speed 1.0 polo so i dont think he'll be too bothered, he just wants something comfortable cheap to insure and will sit on a dual carriageway for an hour on his commute. VW says it'll do 46mpg and top end of 120 lol

 

Mate bora boots are not on the same planet as a octavia and as above try get a tdi mine is a bora sport 6 speed and the girl is on 195k and still going strong

 

I used to have 1.6 SE before my Passat great little car.
Things to look for; make sure the gearbox feels smooth and tight if you struggle to get any gears walk away it probably means a new box.
The water pumps can fail pretty horribly taking the cam belt and valves with it. If it hasn't been done recently get the cambelt and water pump done asap.
Radiators do rot in the bottom corners but they are also cheap at £58 for new one from Car Spares
Bottom arms tend to be a yearly change but at £16 each hardly expensive plus are dead easy to do
And make sure you only run the engine on 5w30.
Rich

 

ive got one as a daily driver at the moment. bought it of my dad as i needed something for work.
Really good cars,comfy,quite economical if u drive it normaly as its pulling weight and very reliable.
ive done 20,000 miles in 11 months apart from the original water pump failing at 98.000 miles
its been a great car.
They arent the quickest cars in the world but if he looks after it and services it regular he should be good.

 

The one he's found was serviced 500 miles ago, full service history, cambelt done 30K ago at 66k so i'll find out if the water pump has been done etc

so the list to look out for is:
Gearbox
Water Pump
Bottom arms
Radiator

anything else?

 

oh yeah in typical mk4 golf/bora fashion the plastic clips that hold the window to the runner break with age and your window will drop into the door like mine did .not sure if the clips can still be bought as i bought a complete window runner unit with the clips on second hand instead.

 

i had a 130bhp diesel and i loved it only got rid due to having another child. the window on mine broke and that was the only issue i had in 7 years apart from servicing. one other thing the headlight adjustment broke but managed to sort it without to much problem they were oem zenon and quite expensive. tell him get one he will love. no experience of the petrol though.

 

Window regulators often break, brake light switches can fail, ignition coils can fail, clutch pedals break where the master cylinder pushrod fits causing the pedal to fall to the floor, the plate behind the door cards which the window regulator attach to have a habit of allowing water to enter the car, main alternator to battery fusebox cables can breakdown causing the battery fuse box to melt (often diagnosed as a faulty alternator due to low voltage at battery) and on some cars, there is a 2 pin multiplug right next to the starter motor which can suffer with broken wires causing the alternator to stop working (again often diagnosed as a faulty alternator).

Just a few common things to be aware of!!

 

To be honest hew would do better with the TDi version as it has more grunt to it and will almost certainly be cheaper to insure. I had a 1600 A4 before my current one and it wasn't just slow it was painfully slow and I spent my whole life ragging it to within an inch of its life just to make progress. Watch for water pumps, window regulators and front suspension arms as it's all multi linked and expensive to put right. Pattern parts are available and cheaply so but all, I have found the hard way, are total crap