VW Golf mark 4 1.9 Tdi

My name is Jess Wood. I have been driving for nearly 2 years now and have always wanted a mark 4 golf. However, as you will all know insurance for young drivers is very expensive. I wanted a nice quick one which I could do up, girl racer you see. I looked on ebay, autotrader and anywhere I could find a golf for sale but I just couldn’t afford to buy one as they hold their money really well.

I started working at Autospares and salvage July 2006 as my first full time job. We are a scrap yard but also a salvage yard and have lots of insurance write-offs in with very little damage, which can be repaired and put back on the road. This was like a dream come true for me-said I know. I started advertising some of them and realised what a great price they were going for compared to a non-accident damaged car.

Then the day came after months of waiting. A mark 4 golf arrived…. Then another….and another, it was like it was meant to be! Of course I had to wait until they came clear through the insurance company. I did my background research too, best engines, insurance quotes etc. I found out that the fastest one I could insure with an excellent engine was a 1.9 Tdi with 90BHP.

It looked a bit boring and poorly to start with, however I could see the potential it had.

It needed a n/s rear quarter panel, n/s rear door and some suspension repair only. My dad knocked the rear quarter out as best he could and also repaired the suspension with a new wishbone. I then sent the car off to the repairers, a friend of ours in Wellingborough. He continued to repair the quarter panel and fill it until it looked as good as new (didn’t need a new one in the end!) They also put a new rear door on which I also got from work. The car was completely rubbed down once repaired. Then re-sprayed in its original colour- jazz blue. I also had all the plastics colour coded whilst they had the spray gun out!

When I picked it up around 10 days later it looked gorgeous! Bright blue and very shiny! It looked like new already. I had purchased some little extras to go on…. It had a mark 4 golf gti roof spoiler which they painted too, a set of 18” Audi RS4 alloy wheels, a standard front valance, a silver aerial, some projecter headlights and some funky VW number plates and finally a new intercooler. It now looked better than any golf I had seen when I was looking around and cost me half the price. To get the car and make it look like it does now cost me just over £2,000! Anyone who is a VW lover, like me, will know that this is a real bargain.

It was this simple.

• Buy car
• Apply for logbook
• Get repaired or repair
• Add your bits if you wish to
• Insure
• Tax
• Drive!!!!

I’m only 19 (and a girl) and managed to get an accident damaged car to look like this…

If you would like to show us your recent car repair project please email details to jesswood@autospares-salvage.com, with all of the images we use, please can you disguise the reg numbers whereever they might appear.