Twistee 480 Report post Posted yesterday at 08:36 AM Having given up on finding a reasonably priced EV / Hybrid that wasn't completely thrashed I changed tack and found this : A phone call on Saturday, a one way ticket to Wellington on Sunday and 8 hours later it was home. Please ignore the headlight fluid, I topped that up after finding the rubber boot lying in the engine bay. For the $4k I spent on this I'm very happy, other than needing a service and fixing some of the vacuum lines that have perished it's in great shape for a 19 year old car. Being a 2 door, it just feels stupidly small and with the remap that a previous owner had done it's plenty fast enough - according to my OBDlink it's turned up from 8psi to 25psi of peak boost. Best of all it's a manual, so I get to row through the gears. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1734 Report post Posted yesterday at 10:35 AM Had 2 of these common in recently for rear main seal failure/vacuum leak, not a cheap fix. I'd be changing the pcv if it hasn't been done. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twistee 480 Report post Posted yesterday at 10:55 AM Was told PCV had been done, I had planned on doing it anyway. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 992 Report post Posted yesterday at 11:40 AM Test drove a couple of these before settling for my Swift Sport. The GTI felt real nice and torquey, real fun to drive being a manual and would no doubt blow the Swift out the water performance wise. I absolutely loved the GTI Recaros too, incredibly comfortable but the rest of the interior was what did it for me. Whilst the Polos were seemingly the nicer places to be in, both examples I viewed were really ragged on the inside despite being otherwise quite well looked after - sagging headliners, scratched up and cracked bits of dash, buttons worn and peeling, sagging door card fabrics... All seemed like typical faults, the interiors just didn't appear to hold up to wear & tear all that well, which I felt like would have been too annoying to live with long term. Whilst the Swift was all bare bones & hard plastic on the inside, you could barely find any wear at all, apart from a worn seat bolster. Funnily enough, my Swift Sport also came with factory Recaros so at least it's even on the seat front. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twistee 480 Report post Posted yesterday at 02:00 PM Agree, the interiors don't hold up like jap cars - I can't think of a single 2006 era BMW that isn't a basket case either though and for the money it was worth every cent, plus I have a decent when it sh*ts itself fund because it cost next to nothing. With RE003's it can put "some" of the power down before just lighting up in first and second, so your Swift may still be in with a chance. The bucket seats are fantastic, they are better than the MK6 Golf GTI that my wife used to have. I have two broken vertebra and was half expecting to be in agony by the time I'd spent 8 hours behind the wheel, I've really taken to it and look for any excuse to go for a quick fang. This was a bit of a semi barn find car, the previous owner had it for almost a decade, did minimal miles, but had it maintained. Once the weather clears up I'll rip the seats out and wet and dry vac the interior. Other than the headliner sagging the rest of the interior is just dirty. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twistee 480 Report post Posted 18 hours ago 8 hours ago, Eagle said: Had 2 of these common in recently for rear main seal failure/vacuum leak, not a cheap fix. I'd be changing the pcv if it hasn't been done. @EagleThanks for reminding me, I went and did the basic pull the dipstick check idle speed vacuum test and nothing changed. Do you know if there is meant to be an o-ring seal on the dip stick tube where it attaches to the steel pipe coming out of the block? I checked the oil level when I was in Wellington and the orange plastic pipe came straight out with the dipstick. It was obviously newly installed judging by the condition of it. My guess is the PCV valve was not actually changed, or may have been changed years ago. I had forgotten what a pain the VAG parts breakdown can be when so many cars share the same short block with different packaging. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1734 Report post Posted 14 hours ago Pretty sure they are just a press fit last time I did one, maybe not pushed on enough. Smoke tester is a requirement for VAG products when looking for vacuum leaks. Yeah VAG make way too variations. Should be able to get the vin number and plug it into a catelogue some where. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
