Hello from Wales

[coachie]

Hi everyone, I've been lurking here for a few months so I thought I should introduce myself.  Firstly, I'd like to say what a friendly place this is and I think I'd like to stay around for a while if you let me!

As a family we've owned at least one VW for the last 34 years now and still have a few aircooled cars on the fleet, so when we started looking for a first car for my son (He turned 17 a few weeks ago) our focus turned to something small, cheap to insure and he could also personalise to some degree.  He liked the look of a Lupo, especially the clean lines of the GTi (he is obviously oblivious to the insurance implications) so the search began in October last year.

Lockdown has made it a bit tricky to view cars, and I realised that Lupos were not exactly easy to come by and missed two or three, but I was fortunate to see a car advertised here last December in the same town I work and promptly bought it on the spot.  You may all remember Helen who briefly turned up last year to sell it.

The car is a 2001 SDi 1.7S in Taffeta Green metallic with 171K on the clock.  Helen owned it from new and it has been serviced and MOTd at the same local VW dealer from new.  Helen loved the car (I believe it has been replaced with a newer Lupo) but she is not a car lover and it is in quite a poor state cosmetically. 

A (very poor) repair has been attempted to the passenger sill, the driver's side sill it getting scabby near the rear wheel arch as well as in the roof channels.  There are numerous parking dings and scuffs around, it also looks like the local youth have climbed over the car a few times with small dents on the roof and bonnet.  Both doors made a banging noise opening and closing, the upper door cards and grab handles were broken and there are several bits of trim missing.

 

Despite all this, we have fallen in love with the car, and the engine seems quite reliable and pulls strongly.  Having the complete service history is a bonus, many of the usual faults have been addressed over time (pedal box, electric windows).  It's never going to be a concourse car, but it looks OK from 20 yards and it will serve us as a learner car and a commuter car (I do about 60 miles a day) 

We weren't particularly looking for an SDi, but I can see they have quite a loyal following.  We have decided to run it on veggie oil and have been doing so for the last month without issue.

I must already say thanks to several members here, I have gleaned information to change the fuel filter, the roof aerial, remove and clean the headlining, fix one of the door check straps with an Oilite bearing and I also checked the air intake box (it was perfectly clean inside!)  Again, thanks to @mk2, @Skezza and @Rich for posting some very valuable information.  Apologies if I missed anyone.

Still lots to be done, some beyond our simple capabilities, but the front brakes need attention, one of the door hinges need replacing and I need quite a bit of interior trim.  There is also quite a loud whistling above 60mph.

I think we will attempt replacing the front disks and pads ourselves, the new door hinge may be a stretch.  I didn't bargain on it being so hard to find trim parts, could anyone help me with that here, or should I start a new thread?

Cheers

Mark

 

[latetodub]

Hi,🤘

[weslangdon]

TDI and GTI have a hydraulic clutch, so avoid the pedal box issues that plague the other models, TDI just as fuel efficient but much more powerful and remappable 

[Rich]

Technically speaking, the hydro boxes have their own failure, it's just less common.