I don't know about other countries but a small percentage of the 200 MK2's that VW brought to Australia in 1990 were factory autos. Every one I've seen has done way less k's than the manual cars and they've sold for less price but are usually in better condition. Most enthusiasts don't like them because of the auto box.
Well, you learn something everyday. This thread is one for me to showcase on our Facebook page later. Factory AC also?
They all had factory AC, power steering, electric mirrors but manual window winders on all 4 doors. No sunroof. Lots of anti pollution gear including steel sleeves on each sparkplug and a metal band around the dizzy to eliminate stray electrical emissions which could interfere with someones pacemaker. The Aussie MK2's were only available in a single batch of 200 cars back in 1991. There's a strong rumor they were supposed to go to Japan as the anti pollution gear matches what was selling there at the time and an overkill for Aussie regs. Luckily someone ticked the box marked Ozzy instead of Osaka but it took a few years to sell all the stock because you could buy a Falcon GT with 300hp for much less. Only available as a 4 door in red, white, black and silver with 95hp 1.8 8v motor running digi injection. Cheers Paul
Time for an update now that I've started using it as my daily. On the first day it took 5 litres of water to get to work which is slightly less than the 8 litres of petrol used. It had me stumped as to where the water was going. There were no leaks, no water in the oil and no steam coming out of the exhaust pipe. The temp gauge didn't go over half way but the water level light kept coming on every few k's. Whilst I was at work I remembered this happened to me a few years ago but I couldn't remember what I did to fix it. When I was putting in more water for the drive home the brain cells clicked and I checked the O ring on the overflow cap. Bingo, it wasn't seated correctly. Fixed it and on the way home it only needed filling once, probably because it had some air in the system and I haven't needed to add water until today, a week and 1200 k's later. Fuel consumption is slowly getting better as the car is getting used to the 200 k's round trip per day. It started at 8.2 litres and has been getting better every day. Today I averaged 6.8 coming home but I doubt it will get as good as my old MK2 which had a 5 speed manual box. Best I got with that car was 5.9 litres per 100 k. I don't know what shock/spring combo it has but someone did their homework and fitted ones that are stiff enough to have fun at roundabouts but soft enough to take speedbumps without slowing down much. When I've got some time I'll stick my head under the car and see what it's got. So far everything about the car is pretty good except the auto box - it has to go. Cheers Paul
How ironic that Mr anti red banter has ended up with a red Mk2 How bad are the autos? There seem to be more than a few low mileage lower spec automatics surfacing over here as there's enough potential profit to weld up the sills etc and claim they're immaculate. There might be a genuinely good shell amongst them one day.
When there's less than 150 MK2's in the whole country you have to accept what you can find, even a red one. The auto's are slow but knock it back into 2nd for the big hills and it will stick with granny driving her Kia SUV (but not if she puts her foot down). When I press the loud pedal it's almost as if the car sends a message to a committee to decide if I really need to go faster. If I didn't have a spare car with a 5 speed box and all the parts to convert from auto to manual I wouldn't have bought it. I didn't even bother checking for rust, we don't salt our roads and the climate here is nowhere as wet as yours so a rusty MK2 is rare.
In a way it's similar over here for different reasons. Price vs rust 4000 for a poverty spec 1.3 with an apparent rust free untouched shell (also red)
Here's why I didn't bother checking for rust when I bought it. Random pictures taken when I replaced the exhaust for rego. I'm surprised more of our MK2's don't find their way to England but there's probably not much call for 4 doors. The 16's I was going to use on the MK1 will go on the MK2. The MK1 will get these 15's which I think will look classier than the 16's. Audi wheels redrilled for 4 stud. Someone did a good job.
I found out where the water was going. The culprit. This may be a GTI but check out how small the exhaust is on the Aussie spec MK2's. Everything put back together and finally put the 16's on. It looks a bit high so I might drop it an inch. The rears have a 20mm spacer and just touch the guards on bumpy roads with the kids and groceries in the back so some work is needed to clear the tyres. Still on the agenda is the swap to the 2.0 and 5 speed and I'll swap the exhaust from the spares car.
Sold the MK2 to a good home. New owner is MK2 mad and has lots of plans for it. Here's it's replacement, 2002 Bora V6 4motion. Beautiful car to drive but needs some nice wheels and drop it a couple of inches.