Pottster

Never fallen off mine, but yes its does not mean it has been towed, but I would be suspicious - probably a flat battery or something trivial but all the same slightly suspicious

Very nice example but I don't think examples like this should be getting such a premium price, perhaps in another 10 years or so when examples like this will be like rocking horse ****e to get hold of. Depends what you want - you can get just as good a Gti for half the price if you want to enjoy running one - but if you want a garage dweller then this perhaps is the one for you to keep and cherish but you are paying a daft price. Everything about the car would have to be flawless to get any sort of VFM at that price. Tow eye cover missing = its been towed - I'd be suspicious about how well its been looked after!

not sure if the problems are linked but it sounds like you indicator stalks are getting worn out (I needed to replace mine), Probably worthwhile taking you stalks out and cleaning them and see how you get on, but you will possibly need replacements sooner or later.

Halfords 3 for 2 is currently on for all cleaning products, just stocked up on Meguires stuff I assume this is a Nationwide thing. Does not include sponges, applicators and **** like that.

Your hinge or hinges could be worn out, if one or both is then you need to get them replaced,(I got a pair from Dale on here) they come un-sprayed so you will need to get them painted to match your car. I got my mate's garage to fit them and he only replaced the one hinge that had gone (bottom one I think) and didn't bother doing the other one as it was OK and apparently a real pig to replace. My driver side went - so purely down to wear and tear. When done it was like a new car again, really made a massive difference :-) Not your check straps (although they do fail after a while) but they are not load bearing so should not cause your door to drop.

Apparently it's the thing to apply to suspension bushes etc to remedy annoying creaks and groans and prolong the life of rubber components. Has anyone used it and was it any good or a waste of effort?

Nice one AJ for the heads up. I did spot this before your post and though it must be a heap due to the low price despite the waffle on the description. Is it me or are there a lot more duffer Gti's out there at the moment? - which makes it all the better for those who have good examples as long as the poor examples don't drag prices down. GTI's are at rock bottom price at the moment and have been for some time, is this the start of the crossover where the more neglected GTI's will end up scrapped, broken up and left to die and the good example become more valued?

Some handy insights on rust here http://forums.clublupo.co.uk/index.php?/topic/92840-rust-anyone/

Well I would put some pics up but it won't let me - they are in photobucket but when i try to insert its won't let me, when I post the img tag all I get is a broken icon and it says I'm not allowed to use that image extension on this community Just put them on via Flickr

I've had chance to do a full inspection and there is a very small amount of surface rust/bubbling on the top of the sill where it meets the wing (just where it's bolted together) - the annoying thing is that this could have been avoided if the previous owner had bothered to take the wheel arch cover off and clean out the drainage area (I should have done this myself when I got it but as the car was just about mint I assumed it would have been done, how wrong I was :-()- there was a load of crap inside the wheel arch and clearly it had accumulated and lodged between the two panels where it's bolted, I assume there must be a bit of movement here so the combination of friction/moisture and the stuck debris has damaged the paint here and caused the surface rust.Thankfully the wing is aluminium so no issues with that. Hopefully some rust treatment and a touch up will keep it sound - it's really not a big area approx a 2mm spot. So if you have never taken your arches off, do it asap and clean out. I've got a photo of what I found behind the wheel arch - I pop it up later. L1070021 by pottster, on Flickr L1070024 by pottster, on Flickr

Before I got mine I was aware of them as a quirky small VW,but I would never have dreamt I would get one. I was initially after a Corrado as a 3rd car, but the wife got a TT so it wasn't really necessary to get one and I was then after a MKII Golf, but realised that I could get better value and more fun form a Lupo Gti and less issues with maintaining one. I don't think they are cult classics in the huge way, but the GTi certainly has the potential

bet you could pick up a half decent ford escort for next to nothing in the early 1990's - wonder what you'd get for one these days? My point is every car hits an absolute rock bottom before they become something worth having (obviously some more that others) before the numbers gradually become scarcer - and selling prices tend to go up for good examples or they just disappear to the scarp-yard in the sky when you take into account running costs - cars are an expensive luxury, expensive but affordable/necessity or a must have for work purposes, its nice that folk can pick up a half decent run around for buttons :-)

Funnily enough I was in Halfords today and they were just starting marking down the price of Turtle Wax products - I do like the Interior 1 Upholstery/Carpet cleaner and it was down to £3.99 (normally £5.99 I think) and the Zipwax range was similarly reduced as well as the Gloss Detailer @ £3.99 (normally £5.99)

I've got a reasonable amount of cleaning products, typically bought when on special as I'm loath to spend lots of money on things like this, but I do appreciate you need to spend a bit to get decent products, but I do get the feeling the product makers are ripping folk off... I don't really want to start a debate on the best products but more along the line of... this was cheap and did the job well etc...better than I thought for the price...why spend ££££ on this when this cheapo version is just as good etc ...so with this is mind please feel free to share your budget busting products, I've not got much to offer up hence this is why I'm posting this but I do find that Maguires products do the job well and you can get a decent deal when Halfords do a 3 for 2 offer.

To my knowledge I've never used them, how do you activate them? I have a funny feeling my bumper has been replaced in the past and they have been taken out. I'll need to investigate!

Do all GTIs have headlight washers as standard?

I normally would not be too bothered, as a bit of sanding, prep and spray up should eliminate the rust problem - I'm not after a perfect paint finish on my DIY efforts on these small areas and especially the sill, main priority is to eliminate the rust before it does some real damage to the metal. But where its bubbling up is right where it meets the wing panel so a bit more tricky. Ideally I would like to have bash at this and any other small bits - I suppose what I'm doing is a preventative measure before I eventually cave in and get a respray but the rest of the paintwork is fantastic so I'm reluctant to do this just yet (plus my wallet could not take it at the moment) - after all the car is 12 years old so a bit of TLC should see it through a good few years yet, I'd like to see it though to at least 15-20 years and then re-evaluate. I just don't want any small problems becoming a big issue.

Just a quick update on how things have been - still absolutely love this car, Here is how the wheel arch issue was resolved http://forums.clublupo.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=91471&hl= No real major issue's although the driver side door had dropped, turns out the door bracket had worn, so this has been replaced and has made a huge difference as I hadn't noticed how badly the door had been shutting! No plans for any other changes, I have promised myself to drive it a bit more that I did last year and want to take it on a few long drives and enjoy it! Oh I nearly forgot, I also got some new indicator and wiper stalks put on and as well making it feel like a new car again, it solved the issue with the wiper fuse blowing and the issue I had with the boot lock has resolved itself, I think it just got out of sync.

This post give an insight into a slight issue affecting some real wheel arches http://forums.clublupo.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=91471&hl= I've just spotted something very similar happening to the driver side sill where it meets the wing. I'm gonna have to take the wheel and arch cover off and do full investigation when the weather improves. If I had a windfall, I'd love to get a full re-spray but for now I'm happy monitoring and dealing with any small issues myself.

It's like wacky racers on that bit of the A1, folks cutting across lanes all the time. The main thing is that your Ok, hope they catch up with the other driver. Suppose you will have a touch of whiplash mind

Yes it probably was me, I saw a black lupo with some purple flowers on it near the hospital roundabout near Akley Heads, that you? didn't get chance to flash as passed before I realised.

Stalks replaced, problem is no more

Hope everyone is ok, Lupo had took some collateral to the front and was on hard-shoulder with another 4 vehicles A1 heading south, just before Chester-le-Street slip road about 5.00pm today.

Cheers :-)

If anyone has a link or can describe in simple terms the exact modification process I would be very appreciative, I've heard people say 'just a bit of grinding' and that's all I know - grinding of what? the seat frames? the rails/runners?