While the majority of Mk2 Golf lovers hanker after a nice GTi, the rarest and possibly more interesting cars from this era are the less sporty models – with autos being the scarcest of the bunch. You can imagine our excitement then when we stumbled on this one-owner Mk2 GL with just 19,664 miles on the clock for sale at a specialist in Lincolnshire…

The 1988 small bumper 1.8 auto belonged to a 91 year-old lady, who bought the car new but recently had to give up driving. It comes with a wad of receipts and lots of history, including paperwork from the Dockholme dealership in Long Eaton, Notts where it was originally supplied. Indeed, there’s still an original period looking Dockholme sticker in the rear windscreen…

She obviously looked after the car well because judging by the photos it’s in ‘as new’ condition and the shiny gold paintwork looks blemish free and devoid of rust. Even the seams on the rear valance below the bumper, a common Mk2 rust spot, look pristine…

The interior is equally spotless and there’s even a period Panasonic radio cassette player fitted – proof if any were needed that this car has been kept in a virtual time capsule for the past 26 years… The carpets hardly look as if they’ve been trodden on!

Lift the bonnet and not only is the underside sparkly clean with the original factory stickers still intact, but the engine itself looks mint – untampered with and free from oil spray. Not that we’d expect much different given the paltry mileage on the odometer! That said, to be honest, cars that get so little use often deteriorate more than daily drivers – which makes the overall condition of this one all the more remarkable.

A salesman at Louth Volks World Ltd who have the rare ‘80s gem in its showroom told us that they had been amazed at its condition. “Apart from a couple of small grazes on the bumper, it’s totally immaculate – in fact, all we’ve done is give it a quick wash and a Hoover.”

Now you’re probably wondering how much you would need to shell out for this ultra rare piece of VW nostalgia… Well, apparently, despite a trickle of interest, the price has just been reduced from £4,995 to £3,995. An absolute bargain we’d say. In fact, that’s a couple of grand cheaper than the base model Dacia Sandero (£5,995) – and unless your name’s James May, we’d put good money on which one you’d opt for….

Ian

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage