New Bora 4motion owner - what to look out for?

[djorkboy]

Been lurking here for a few months dreaming of getting a Bora 4motion and somehow I have completed negotiations on the purchase of one and should be picking up the car tomorrow morning.

I have wanted a Bora 4mo for a while but as it would never be big enough for a family car I had resigned myself to not being able to convince my wife to let me spend that much on a 10 year old second car. But times have changed with both my finances and the market for 4motion Boras.

This will be my first VW in about 20 years, I had a mildly beat-up Mk1 Golf back in the early 90s that was awesome fun. I seem to have always been around VWs without actually owning many.

The Bora is a white 2001 model with 167,000kms. I looked at a few other ones with lower kms (including one at a dealer in southern Sydney that has either been accidentally filled with mayonnaise instead of oil or has a head gasket problem) but this one has a 100% complete always-on-time service history done by either VW dealers or VW specialists. It has also had about $4000 spent so far this year on suspension, aircon and clutch. The car has been owned by a German couple who replaced it with a new BMW 3 series convertible. From the condition of the car and the attitudes of the owners I am pretty confident it has been looked after.

I'm sure there is a list of things I need to check once I take possession, like sunroof drains, clutch pedal welds etc, is there a definitive list somewhere?

Also, when it comes to wheels, am I realistic in thinking I could hang around forums like this and eBay for a couple of months and pick up a set of oettinger 17" or are they harder to get than that?

[anthony]

The Bora 4 motion is an awesome car,and I am sure you will love it as much as the previous owners obviously did.

Congratulations,and post pics up when you can...

[kapowww]

Just got my Bora 4mo recently and have a problem with the haldex. So does another member of this forum. Might just be coincidence but something to look out for.. Anyways have fun with the car! Aside from the haldex issue my wife and I LOVE it.

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/foru...sue-59186.html

[grtuned]

Congrats!!! I have a black 04 4motion which has given me no troubles. The 4 motion is one of the best Volkswagens produced during that time. Not much will go wrong if you continue with proper servicing as per schedule. Make sure haldex oil and filter is replaced when due and you will never have an issue. also other possible items that may need checking may be strut top mounts,sway bar bushes,cv joint
boots should also be checked may split over time. These things are the most basic items that may need to be done over time but apart
form that happy motoring....

[djorkboy]

I will take some photos tomorrow once I pick it up.

Question, what fuel do people run in their 4motion? Is e10 possible? I noticed the official line from VAG is that all VWs can run satisfactorily E10 but they don't recommend it.

[kapowww]

I currently use 98. I might try 95. My fuel economy sucks atm, with about 12L/100km with a mix of highway and peak hour traffic driving.

[maxrob200]

4-Mo is a great car. Things to watch out for would be coil packs, spark plugs, Haldex services, if manual- faulty pedal weld (went on mine). Use a timing chain so it will not need changing till 200,000 km - can be a bit rattly when cold start in the morning.
Love the heated seats and leather interior. Wimpy headlights so better globes will fix it.
4-Mo is great in the wet!

[djorkboy]

Picked it up this morning and I'm very happy. Here's a picture of it and my wife's Liberty (which we bought last week, it's car changeover time all round in my house)


VW Bora by djorkboy, on Flickr

It makes some rattly-tappetty sounds when started cold but once warm seems fine, is this something I should get checked?

I am after a comfortable commuter car with luxury and a bit of power so it definitely goes, handles and stops good enough for me.

[djorkboy]

OK, quick question...

How the hell do I change the multi-function readout on the cluster? It currently shows average Km/H and I want to change it to show average fuel use. Can't for the life of me figure out where the button is to adjust it?!?!?

[markc]

Right hand stalk (wiper stalk), there's a rocker switch on the end. Press up or down to change it! I regularly cycle through them, it's really useful.

Welcome to the Bora 4Mo club!