Lupo GTI - How do they handle high mileage?!

[dan_mk1]

Hi!

I am currently in the market for a Lupo GTi, ive had many a hot hatch including Clio Williams, 106 GTI's etc so looking forward to Lupo ownership!

One I have seen has just over 90,000 with full service history and is (apparently) immaculate. Is there any known problems with the Lupo's at this kind of mileage? I know the 5 speed boxes out of the polo are a bit ropey but this one has the 6-speed.

Any help is much appreciated!

Ta

Dan

[Niche]

Someone just stripped down their GTI engine which had 88k on the clock (if my brain serves correctly) and there was no signs of any engine wear.

Their was however very minor rust to the cast iron block which is repairable. So all in all nothing to worry about providing the car has sufficient oil changes in the service history.

EDIT: Also just to let you know that early GTI's had a 5 speed box and later GTI's had a 6 speed box. 6 speed is quicker 30-50 etc and 5 speed is quicker 0-60

Edited December 2, 2008 by Niche

[bossjohnc]

Like any car though, it depends on how its been serviced and how its been driven (e.g. redlining it cold won't do it any favours).

I had to *replace* my engine at 67K, but I really think I had a bad egg from the start. That combined with a VW dealership that employed chimps to do the servicing.

If it is immaculate, well cared for etc as described, I doubt you'll have a problem.

[heartagram]

How its been treated is more important than mileage. Something thats done 100k on the motorway and serviced regularly is going to be better than something thats done 20k coming to and from the shops never getting properly warmed or taken through the rev range.

[simpo]

Got to think with a quick car people are going to buy them for a reason and enjoy them, so quite a-lot will be driven hard.

However obviously if they are well cared for, warmed up and down properly and serviced well, they should be able to handle it.

[heartagram]

Except the pedal boxes and 5 speed boxes

[Toi gulp]

The gti engine is very tough, the engines have probably only just bedded in at that millage. with a lot of cars you see a reduction in power at that miilage wheras the vw engine hasnt really lost any. there are no real concerns with the engine as a whole just make sure that the cambelt and tensioner has been done and its allways worth seeing if the water pump has been done while they were at it. i am aware of a problem with starter motor rear bushes perishing and running dry of oil as its its right next to the exhaust manifolfd and this manifests itself as a screech as the starter turns the engine over in cold weather.

As far as the gearbox is concerned you shouldnt have any problems, if the cars been looked after. I've got the 5spd and the synchro's arn't exactly solid 3rd especially is easilly munched if your being too enthusiastic with short changing. but you'll notice a huge difference between a french car and the lupo.

Other general wear and tear ive noticed is check the front damper stanchions as the dust gators are crap and grit can easilly get up there and help wear out the seals leading to a leaking damper. check the c.v. joints if you can they can leak around the clips so just typical basic wear and tear all things rubery is worth having a look at (typical high millage stuff regardless of make or model of car) mines passing 75k and it just sailed through its MOT with a blown number plate light thats all they could find and i make the most of the gti badge as everyone should. Although the dash is loose and ratling which is doing my head in but apparantly thats a VAG thing.

[gareth]

mine is on 72/73 k miles and is going perfect.

mine has got full vw history and i have contact with 2 previous owners an the other 2 are ladys.

no creaks

dont let mileage be a big issue

[CasperGTI]

I wouldnt worry about then engine and that sort of milage provided ita been looked after well and regularly serviced.

I have just taken my engine to bits for its rebuild. It is in very god condition, there is no wear at all on the crank, which i thought might have been an issue. Other than the paint giving up on the block, and rusting the block i cant see any real big things too look out for.

Main thing with a gti is, check its still got its original panels.

John

[mcbeal_88]

Hi!

I am currently in the market for a Lupo GTi, ive had many a hot hatch including Clio Williams, 106 GTI's etc so looking forward to Lupo ownership!

One I have seen has just over 90,000 with full service history and is (apparently) immaculate. Is there any known problems with the Lupo's at this kind of mileage? I know the 5 speed boxes out of the polo are a bit ropey but this one has the 6-speed.

Any help is much appreciated!

Ta

Dan

have you got a link to this car?

[VDub Lady]

mine is on 85k at the mo and runs as good as the day i got it. i do huge 600mile round trip every other weekend, and its fantastic.

[Unheard]

The GTI engines are most probably going to outlast the Sport. Generally speaking a Sport will get more of a thrashing

on an every day drive than the GTI. After having the car for almost 5 years i have finally figured out that the major failing

of the sport is lack of any Low down torque combined with horrendously bad weight distribution. Just shifting the battery from the

back to front has had a huge huge impact on how i can drive the car. I no longer have to floor the car off the line to get any pickup

as it pulls away smoothly now at a lower RPM.

The sport Is nose heavy and every time you slow or stop the car it is having to pick up that heavy front end before it can get going again

the GTI by nature has far better weight distribution and more torque meaning on your average drive its not having to be thrashed of ever

set of lights just to get moving up to speed.

A 1.6 engine cant be getting huge amount of strain shifting such a small car i am convinced that on a road car a lot of wear comes from lower down the RPM range when your pulling away from a standstill as that is where a lot of strain is exerted. The more bottom end torque to combat the strain the less of an issue there is going to be on the longevity of an engine. I have long said that a constant higher RPM is better than lower stop start and this shows on all of my dads cars where he has been sitting at motorway speeds for a hours every day. His previous cars have covered 300,000 miles+ with the engines going strong despite the car falling apart around it.

Obviously one of the main factors is how the car was broken in in the first place and if the car is second hand thats out of your control. I read gently gently is not always the best approach on a modern engine. Many experts recommend hard and fast and swapping out the Synthetic on a VAG for mineral for the first 1000 or so miles for best results.

Edited December 6, 2008 by Unheard

[bithmeister]

some great threads in this topic

mines done 80k runs lovely,it gets used not abused -there is a difference!it also gets regular oil changes which i personally thinks helps

its a 16v engine they thrive on rev's,only problem Ive got is the noisy starter motor ,it does make a hideous noise on start up but once running its fine,

my engine still feels tight,i think the older it gets the better it gets

16v mk2 golfs were quicker once the engine had done over 100k-the 3 i had were anyway!!

[VDub Lady]

some great threads in this topic

mines done 80k runs lovely,it gets used not abused -there is a difference!it also gets regular oil changes which i personally thinks helps

its a 16v engine they thrive on rev's,only problem Ive got is the noisy starter motor ,it does make a hideous noise on start up but once running its fine,

my engine still feels tight,i think the older it gets the better it gets

16v mk2 golfs were quicker once the engine had done over 100k-the 3 i had were anyway!!

mine has the same AWFUL starter motor noise. makes me cringe

[Nicki]

How its been treated is more important than mileage. Something thats done 100k on the motorway and serviced regularly is going to be better than something thats done 20k coming to and from the shops never getting properly warmed or taken through the rev range.

Precisely. Its all down to how its been driven and how its been maintained.

My lupo is a 2001 X reg and is just coming up to 67k miles. Still running very well and mechanically very sound. I have mine serviced annually at very least and the 2 owners before me were both women with families. When I bought mine, the engine was still very tight.

mine has the same AWFUL starter motor noise. makes me cringe

Yep, mine does the same. Not going to pay for it to be fixed yet though - wait til it starts causing me problems rather than just making a noise. Stupid little spring.

[CasperGTI]

How can you tell that an engine is tight or not? without physically looking inside it...

John

[simpo]

Suppose you could drive a few and see how well they go, but im sure unless there's something very wrong they are all going to be so similar you won't notice.

[lupo_gaz]

mine is just about to hit the 139,000 mark and still runs like a dream (touching wood). serviced every time it needs it and money never spared on it and its done me prowd to be honest. runs really well but looked after. never about 2500 revs till about engine temp 70 and most of the milage is probably on the motorway. but as others have said. it all depends how you treat/look after them.

[Cliveski]

I know the 5 speed boxes out of the polo are a bit ropey but this one has the 6-speed.

The 5 speed gearbox in the Lupo GTI is not the same as the Polo one and doesn't suffer with the same problems thankfully.

[dub18]

Mines just gone over 80k, just done the cambelt and waterpump before it hit 80k,

service it every 4k with an oil and filter, its a 2001 car with a 5 speed that still feels

good, slight notch when going into first from standing. Got rolling roaded not long

ago and with a bmc it was making 125.38bhp and 114.81 talktalks at the wheels so

unless its been really abused high milers should be fine.

[lupogtiboy]

mines just hit 80k and is running really sweet! as everyone else has said, i think keeping it serviced, letting it warm up properly, plus letting the oil run around the engine a bit before turning it off, all help to lengthen any possible wear.

make sure you do the cambelt religously tho, as these ARE problematical. vw specify a 4 year timeframe for most of their cambelts now, regardless of the mileage covered, tho personally, 40k miles should also be taken into account.

[LupoGTiNAB]

When I went to pick my Lupo GTi up from the dealership it made that noise from the starter motor, so I refused to take it even though they said they'd checked it and they were confident that it wasn't going to fail in the near years. I still made them change it but this is a big problem on the Lupo GTi's. Also the cold start sensor on VW is still an issue, if it fails and your engine is too cold it just won't start for no-one!

Mines got 77k, it runs and sounds beautiful ... !!!