Finding a rare Polo 1f GT on the scrapyard

On Saturday, February 15, 2008 I see an advertisement on Marktplaats of a polo 1f GT that is for sale in the Eindhoven area (unfortunately no copy of the advertisement). The car was offered by a dealer. After a negotiation with my wife, I got approval to buy another Polo. Half an hour before the opening of the company, I took a big gamble. I offered by voicemail to purchase the car unseen for the full asking price. By the way, not something I would advise anyone else with a car that was 28 years old at the time……

That same afternoon I went by. After a conversation, it turned out that there were several candidates. Because of my enthusiastic voicemail, he made everyone wait for a while. Truth? No idea. But it sounded fun because I ended up winning in the end.

What did I find?
A polo GT in complete condition. That is: original steering wheel, original upholstery and original rims. Even the parcel shelf was still intact. The polo did suffer from rust but at first glance it seemed to be hard in the familiar places (battery box, front wings, rear wheel edges). The inside was a different story. There was a layer of water of 2 cm in the polo. Water came in somewhere. Rust, rubber or an open window. Not really clear.

History according to the car dealer:
The first owner known to him bought the polo when the polo was 1.5 years old. The polo was then maintained by VW for a long time. (car included maintenance plan booklets). Somewhere during that period the polo had damage at the front left (it turned out later when disassembled). The front wing on the driver’s side had been replaced and the front repainted. After that, the polo was mainly kept indoors. The owner is said to have died two years earlier. His son then put the polo outside in the garden. (The places where it rusts support this story, but more on that later). After this, the car dealer picked up the polo.

Unfortunately, the polo does have rust. Or should I say: of course?
– passenger door. probably clogged so water remains. Rust only under the striping.
– front fender on the passenger side at the bottom. I don’t think both are through, but I do have a few layers of metal showing so it was not promising. Both no higher than the black piping at the bottom. When cleaning, it turned out that there were a lot of leaves between the screen and the beam. After checking, the rust was limited to the screen.
– front at the windshield (bottom) on the parafan.
– light rust at under the fuel filler flap. can still be eliminated I think.
– slight rust on the edge of the tailgate. but completely tight. The well-known ‘wear spot’ rust on the roof near the gutter on the passenger side.

The engine was still working. It didn’t seem to be running quite on time, but that could also be due to something else.