1991 Volkswagen Golf GTi

The vendor has owned the car since April 2022.

The car is mechanically sound and sorted.

It drives well and largely belies its odometer reading of 146,432 miles.

As we have observed before, it’s really only in the UK that cars with mileages north of 100,000 are treated with such a high degree of largely misplaced mistrust.

Certainly, our friends in Europe or the USA, where continental scale means people have to drive further to get anywhere, don’t regard mileages like this with the same irrational suspicion as we do in the UK.

And, in any case, this is a Volkswagen, which means it’s been properly screwed together and built to last by the Meister Technikers of Wolfsburg.

No, it’s not perfect and there are a few cosmetic issues to contend with, but we’re happy that it’s got many years of dutiful service yet to offer.

The bodywork is pretty straight and there are no dints, dents or creases of any significance that we can see.

There are a few patches of bubbling and rust in evidence on the bodywork immediately beneath the windscreen, around the fuel filler cap, and just below the driver’s door window.

The shut-lines and panel gaps are mostly in accordance with strict Teutonic tolerances, but the o/s/r door doesn’t close quite as satisfactorily as the others and may need just a tad of adjustment.

Three of the cars BBS alloys are in very decent order, but the o/s/f wheel has some missing lacquer and the odd bubble and blister here and there.

The front tyres look to be in rather better condition that their counterparts at the rear, which have some cracking to the sidewalls.

The ‘Alpine White’ paintwork has lost its shine and lustre in quite a few places and is also wearing a few stone chips, scuffs and scratches here and there.

There are sizeable patches of missing lacquer on the roof, where there also seems to be something of a colour mismatch between the (working) sunroof and the surrounding bodywork.

Some of the top layer of plastic on the rather scuffed and faded rear bumper is cracked and peeling, and the bumper feels somewhat loose at the nearside corner.

The lowest part of the front valance is scuffed, faded and looking a bit bashed about.

We also noticed that some paint has rubbed away from the door handles and there are some cracks to the rubber trim around the windows.
 

The interior of this car is largely in pretty much time-warp condition and doesn’t remotely look as if it belongs to a car with 146,000 miles on the clock.

The chief exception to that rule is the headlining, which is hanging down at the rear and fairly baggy elsewhere.

The rest of it is really very good indeed.

The grey and blue patterned cloth upholstery has resisted the passage of time with commendable stoicism and pluck.

The seats themselves are supportive and comfortable, front and back.

The door cards are in fine fettle, as are the carpets and mats.

The dashboard plastics are shiny and free of any cracking or fading.

As far as we’re aware, all knobs, switches, dials and instruments do what they’re asked to do without delay or complaint.

There’s a crack across the clear plastic top of the gear lever.

The luggage bay is as good as the rest of the interior.
 

The engine and engine bay are clean, dry and everything appears to be in its right and proper place.

The undersides of the car haven’t given us any reason to tut or shake our heads.

It all looks to have a decent amount of structural integrity. 
 

This car comes with a thick file of bills, invoices and receipts detailing a lifetime of conscientious servicing, repair and on-going maintenance.

It has an MoT certificate that’s valid until 1st April 2026.

A quick perusal of the car’s MoT history reveals that it has evidently been used sparingly in recent years, with the mileage recorded as being 144,443 in 2019, when the timing belts were changed.

Further scrutiny shows that the car has covered just 50,000 miles in the last 20 years.

Recent work includes having the fuel injectors rebuilt in October 2024.
 

We would advise against the temptation to put too much emphasis on the mileage.

We don’t think it matters that much when the car has been well looked-after mechanically and is happily going about its business without any major issues to report.

We think it will be good for many years to come.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £5,000 - £7,000.

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