I would dare to say that currently there is no more iconic model than the Volkswagen Golf. The compact is already living history in the world of motors due to its worldwide popularity and being a best-seller with more than 37 million units sold since its launch. Precisely 50 years have passed since the first Golf left the assembly line at the Wolfsburg plant (Germany) and it is a good time to review this compact that everyone has had in mind in one way or another in their lives.
Taking an x-ray in Spain, the presence of the Volkswagen Golf draws a lot of attention, but also the state of those that populate our roads. Because a Carfax report claims they have on average 15.7 years and 195,000 kilometers. A quite illuminating fact that reveals the aging vehicle fleet that we have in our country. In fact, the Golf is a year and a half above the age of the park and reflects the golden age of this model, and that is no longer so. No one is surprised that now instead of topping the lists for new vehicles it does so in used ones.
Among the Volkswagen Golfs that remain in Spain, only the 37% belong to the original owner who bought it, while the national average is 47%. That leaves us with the remaining 63% having had two or more owners and that in 2023 no less than 61,883 second-hand units. In this market it is curious that the vehicles sold are younger than the rest, being below average with an average age of 9 years and a mileage of 140,000 km. And one problem is that there are many that are not very well preserved.
24% of Spanish Volkswagen Golfs presented some risk, a figure that is above 18% of the national average. The most widespread is that 10% are imports and that always raises some doubt, followed by 6% of specimens that have suffered accidents or damage of some kind. Also 6% have mileage inconsistencies, 5% of Golfs have been previously rented and 2% failed their previous inspection. An interesting vision of Golf for its half century of life.
