[skb1811]

That is a wonderful transformation. Looks factory fresh now, and is ready to go for another good 13 years or more!

(P.s., the red colors are known to fade after a few years if kept under direct sunlight, so it's definitely a good thing it was completely repainted. It would have been very noticeable otherwise )

[Thad E Ginathom]

That is wonderful!

My GT TDI has had a big overhaul of suspension and steering this year, costing well over 1 lakh. However its looks have not been healed. There are probably dents and scratches on sufficient number of panels to justify the same treatment as you have given yours. But I ask myself... how many days of faultless beauty before the next bruise!

Wishing you and your lovely car many more years and km together

[poloman]

15 years..!! how many cars have come and gone or bitten dust. Still no car can match the timeless beauty of a well maintained red Polo.

This car is soothing for your eyes pained by modern contraptions like Curvv, 9E, 6E and the likes(personal opinion).

The depth in flash red paint is matchless even from several segments above.

[Neversaygbye]

Having seen your car in the flesh, there is no way to make out that it is 15 years old. it looks new now and I'm glad that you decided to give it a new lease of life. Old is gold and as someone who also believes in running and maintaining the golden oldies I love the fact that you chose to gave it a makeover as a 15th anniversary gift. You have also inspired me to do the same for my Vista - it's still about 600 kms shy of the 140,000 kms mark but once it hits that, I will get some work done on the body - the Vista like your Polo is also exposed to the elements all the time and there are some signs of rust (bubbling) that need to be addressed now, apart from fixing a few minor dents and scratches it has picked up over the years. HB Auto Needs seems to be the place to go based on Samba and your experience. Your car looks just wonderful. She's a keeper and I wish you many more years of joy with your red Polo.

[shiv11bhargava]

Red is one of the most beautiful colours indeed. Beauty!

[ronk]

Something about old Polo’s, especially the 1.6! One of those cars you really can’t replace, even with a car priced 3x higher! The build quality, linear NA engine, nice gearshit and that door thud!!!

I have had mine for 13 years now. Had booked a swift, and during the long wait period test drove the 1.6 and fell in love. I remember reading Sadnabrina’s original thread and being validated, especially his being the first documented 1.6 in my hometown.

I’ve had to rent out additional parking, just because I can’t let the polo go inspite of more cars being added to the garage! Mine’s done about 65k kms till now.

Suspension and other work has happened over time. In a burst of covid YOLO I got a full exhaust and intake done in 2021, only to remove the exhaust a month later! Left the conical bmc intake which gives a lovely subtle intake brrrrr. In 2023 I went ahead and upgraded the music system with 2 amps and a sub and it’s a joy to spend time in the car. So much that even my wife ever so often gives up the automatics for some refuge in the polo with a nice drive and loud music.

However, last year the starter motor gave up(1 of only 3 times in 12 years that anything gave up in the car!), and I decided it was time to do a midlife cosmetic refresh. However, I am a sucker for original paint and could only get myself to paint a dented driver door, all alloys and replace the bumpers. Alloys were repaired and repainted, and I took a chance with a different shade to make it look sportier. Not original, but I loveit.

This car is good to go for a few more decades i hope, as I have promised to hand it over to my daughter in 12 years when she goes to college(hopefully ��). She holds me to it and reminds my every time I let a friend or relative borrow the car!!!

[sadnabrina]

Originally Posted by ronk

Something about old Polo’s, especially the 1.6! One of those cars you really can’t replace, even with a car priced 3x higher! The build quality, linear NA engine, nice gearshit and that door thud!!!

However, I am a sucker for original paint and could only get myself to paint a dented driver door, all alloys and replace the bumpers. Alloys were repaired and repainted, and I took a chance with a different shade to make it look sportier. Not original, but I loveit.

Absolutely agree. The build quality of the early Polos were amazing. That keeps the car running for so long.

You car just looks fantastic on the original paint. I would have loved to retain it, but with the rusting on the doors and so many panels with dents and scratches, it made more sense to repaint it in whole.

[ronk]

Originally Posted by sadnabrina

Absolutely agree. The build quality of the early Polos were amazing. That keeps the car running for so long.

You car just looks fantastic on the original paint. I would have loved to retain it, but with the rusting on the doors and so many panels with dents and scratches, it made more sense to repaint it in whole.

Totally makes sense with Kolkata weather! It looks amazing after the paint.
Even I would have gone for a full paint job if I had to do 1-2 more panels. However, Bangalore weather that way is very helpful, and apart from hits and knocks, it was easy to keep the paint ok.

[kkashwin]

Originally Posted by sadnabrina

Hello Team-BHP,

After a long time some updates on the Polo 1.6 as it reaches it's 15th birthday in a few days time.

Came across this thread thanks to Google Discover and realized that it was your initial thread of ownership and reviews nearly 15 years ago that motivated me to go for the Polo 1.6. Mine too is nearing its 15 year mark and has been my (only) reliable transport all through these years.

Bangalore traffic hasn't been too kind to it with the rear boot door being replaced 6 times (also thanks to me agreeing to whatever the VW advisor recommends) but other than that the car has performed rock solid even with daily off-roading drives on Bangalore roads.

Just wanted to congratulate on your 15 year ownership and also thank you (delayed by almost 15 years) for having kept this thread active with all the updates and feedback and helping others decide on VW Polo!

P.S: All Polo 1.6 Owners: The 1.6L badge on the rear is unfortunately not available anywhere - so would recommend holding on to it at any cost when going to repaint or body work.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by sadnabrina

Absolutely agree. The build quality of the early Polos were amazing. That keeps the car running for so long.

I think 2014 was a peak point for some of the specs, like 4-window auto-up-down and remote control. Sadly, the overall build, though, had already been cheapened compare to my 2010 Polo. The damping difference was very noticeable: I am still taken aback by the noise of rain on the roof, which was not a problem with my previous car.

Might have done something about it, but I'm hesitant to trust anybody to remove and replace the roof liner, and rainy season in Chennai is limited. Too limited.

One of our members is selling a GTi. That is about the only thing that would really tempt me if I was rich enough. Half the number of doors: more than twice the number of horsepower!