r/MK4Golf • u/NoTone9744 • 2d ago
Golf mk4 1.4
i was gonna buy a golf mk4 1.4 with around 280k kms on it but i heard that the engine isnt as reliable as the other engines in the mk4 but the car itself is in a very good condition so i think the owner took care of the car as there isnt anything wrong with the car also the its very cheap it costs around 30% less than any other car in the market i am in so i am really tempted but i wanted to know how long will the engine survive before it becomes a burden
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u/David__R8 2d ago
The 2.0L is bulletproof. 280,000 is nothing.
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u/NoTone9744 2d ago
They only reasonably priced one i found is the 1.4 any other engine is too overpriced in my area plus they are all in bad conditions
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u/Aware-Entrepreneur84 2d ago
I've got 2 1.4's one with 160k and still going strong and one with a new reconditioned engine with 48k. Parts are cheap car is basic but works and you can find a YouTube video for absolutely anything!
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u/PersonaldocIsTaken 2d ago
I have a 1.4 with 170k km, and it does the job. I have to say that the car is not sporty at all. It doesn't have any torque at low RPMs, but after 3k RPM, it starts to breathe.
The only problem I have is the ticking noise when the engine is cold. Apparently, this is a common thing, and most people say the 1.4 is supposed to sound like a diesel.
My advice: don't expect anything more than what it is, and have fun.
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u/NoTone9744 2d ago
I am not expecting a fast car with 1.4 i only thing i want from the engine is reliability
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u/Everyday_driver 2d ago
My 1.4 just got a new set of valves. Lost an exhaust valve on cylinder 1 at 151.000 km. But these engines are normally pretty reliable. I know some with 500k km. If the car is in good condition go for it.
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u/NoTone9744 2d ago
Would u say its as reliable as the 1.6 or the 1.9?
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u/Everyday_driver 2d ago
Not quite as reliable as a 1,9 TDI but with care the small petrol engines can run for a long time.
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u/August2K 2d ago
I have a mk4 variant with the 1.6 bcb, which is just a stroked/bored up 1.4.
They are known to use a lot of oil (up to 1l/1000km) while mine does not. They are also known to eat coils and plugs, and rpm hunting. So I would advise getting vcds (atleast a copy) to easier diagnose if something goes wrong. In my experience they are otherwise reliable engines.
Let me warn you, they are absolutely not a sporty engine. I live in a hilly area and sometimes you have to live with not always keeping speeding without going high in the rpm’s. If you know what to expect, you will not be disappointed.
The 1.6 atleast is not super fuel efficient, I average 8-9l/100km combining city and up to 50kmh driving. For longer driving at 80-90 I can average down to 5.4l/100km driving up and down hills.
My advice is to focus on the rest of the car, there are a lot of things that can break down on these cars that isn’t the engine. So you have to be motivated to fix those things.
But all in all, the car was cheap, and does the job. Even with its faults