Restore or Sell?

[MKII 92' GTI]

Hey Guys,

Hoping some of you can provide some no bull shit advise on whether we should spend some cash on our MKII 1992 4dr GTI or sell up and buy something newer?

Who on the Gold Coast would you recommend to go to look over it for some advise?

A while back someone in a secure car park thought it would look good with deep key marks all over it. We got a quote the other day to have it re-sprayed, nothing special and it was more than the car would be worth!

Body is very straight, basically it needs some TLC.

Cheers in advance.

[Justin Fox]

I can understand the evil motive behind keying a Euro exotic, but vanadlising a MKII Golf? Seriously, that's just really sad.

Re-sprays are so expensive done right. It all depends on how much of you is in your car. Wish you all the best in any case.

[Mr Scruff]

How much were you quoted for the re-spray? What colour is it?

A good MK2 is worth anywhere between $5-$8000 depending on milage & condition. With keyed paint that value would drop to $2-3000. So you've got to look at which is the better option, cut your losses and sell up or repair it and make decent money back.

MK2's are rare cars with only 150 officially imported (about 250 in total) into the country, so in that respect it's worth keeping. Is it in good mecanical condition?

At the end of the day, they are cheap to run, relaible and quality cars but if it's gonna cost you too much to fix, cut your losses and move on.

[MKII 92' GTI]

The car is my fathers daily and he is very attached to it, understandably. My second car was a MK1 2dr GL, brought it for $350 + rego (it is in Sydney at the moment waiting to be sold through a friend of ours). Drove that for two years and loved ever Km in it. I then owned a Peugeot 205 GTI, gunmetal grey, very neat pocket rocket. Unfortunately I had to sell the Pug when I moved to the Tweed Coast due to lack of resources/contacts for parts and got into the new car market. Now my father has moved up this way to retire and we are investigating whether to keep the car and restore it or cut our losses and buy a new Golf. If that is the case he is pretty set on one of the new TDI range something like the 103 Comfortline. There is a pretty tidy 2007 GTI DSG down this way on one of the lots, but I think the insurance will kill us in the long run.

As for the current MKII. The re-spray was/is going to cost between 3 - 4k from first quote, currently silver. Milage - 325,321 Kms... 12mth rego from this month as it is being used on a daily basis. Mechanically I am told it is sound however I personally am not convinced. Needs new windscreen (couple of small chips), shocks, electrics could use some work. Cosmetically and comfort wise a new dash, drivers seat upholstering and the re-spray.

If we were to restore, I would like to see it done right! We can get the parts through my fathers friend who imports. I guess it's a matter of how much do we need put into the car and finding a mechanic on the coast that is willing and tustworthy. Due to space working on it at home is not an option.

Is there someone you would recommend on the coast to go and see, so we can weigh up our options?

[Mr Scruff]

Sounds like it's going take quite an investment to get the MK2 where you want it to be, the milage is on the high side too. A new dash is very hard to come by so you'll have to import it. The windscreen should be easier to replace and the seat bolster can be repaired relativley cheaply. Are the scratches on all the panels or can you just get the damaged panels resprayed?

For the mechanicals pay a visit to Adam at VA Garage in Southport http://www.vagarage.com.au/ he did all the work on my MK2 and used to own a very tidy example himself. He's a good bloke & a straight shooter who will tell you exactly what's what.

Sounds like you are a man of taste with your previous cars, i had a 205 GTI a few years back too, awesome little cars.

The biggest issue you will face if you sell your MK2 is there isn't much of a market for them up here. They can take a while to sell and you'll be looking at less than $3k for it in it's current condition. A silver example with lower milage, in good cosmetic condition and simmons wheels recently sold in Brisbane for $3500.

[MKII 92' GTI]

Thanks Mr Scruff,

We have called Adam and will go see him some time this week.

[Mr Scruff]

Thanks Mr Scruff,

We have called Adam and will go see him some time this week.

Happy to help. Let us know how you get on.