Gotchas for buying 2nd hand GTI?

[flyingcarhands]

I am a newb.

I am looking to buy either an MY06 or MY07 Golf GTI. Please enlighten me on:
- known issues and reliability
- things to look for when buying a 2nd hand Golf

I know there are usually fanboys in dedicated forums, but thought I would try ask for some (hopefully) balanced and honest views.

[gregozedobe]

If you manually look through the threads you may find some that have useful info eg:

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=5200

A search will probably be helpful if you have found a particular issue you want to look at in more depth.

If you can find one with some factory warranty (or extended factory warranty if the car is a bit older) that will give you some peace of mind.

Good luck in your search - a good piece of advice is if you have any misgivings about a particular car that you can't resolve, then walk away and keep on looking, there are plenty more out there

[flyingcarhands]

Thanks. Its a loooong thread. Seems first few posts are probs with squeaks and rattles. Will ready properly later.

I have heard there have been issues with the DSG. True or False?

I checked http://www.recalls.gov.au/ and there seems to be no recalls for MKV, so thats a good thing.

[POLARBEAR666]

I would rather buy a car that has higher mileage from a hoon who has obviously overinvested and over serviced the car, than some granny who hardly drove it and has not gone through any of the major services yet.

[flyingcarhands]

DSG issues - http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98619
Seems some faults and not perfect.

[Lima]

Thanks. Its a loooong thread. Seems first few posts are probs with squeaks and rattles. Will ready properly later.

I have heard there have been issues with the DSG. True or False?

I checked http://www.recalls.gov.au/ and there seems to be no recalls for MKV, so thats a good thing.

There have been a couple of voluntary recalls carried out by VW Aus. One is to reflash the ECU for some reason or other and, I can't remember what the other one was for. Anyway, they were nothing major and if the car has had the work done there should be two little silver stickers placed at the front of the drivers side door jamb, below the A-pillar.

[flyingcarhands]

Excellent. Thanks for the info.

[balkanac]

welcome mate. MK5s are generally very good but id stay away from the DSG. i think that its a new thing and it still hasnt been tested properly in the real world. I prefer the control that you get with a manual as well

[dodgey]

There have been a couple of voluntary recalls carried out by VW Aus. One is to reflash the ECU for some reason or other and, I can't remember what the other one was for.

I think the ECU one was for a CEL light issue, and the second one was for a fuel sender/pressure related thing. Not for all GTIs. It was related to certain cars only.

If you get the VIN, you can call up a VW service centre and ask if there's anything outstanding on that particular VIN (out of the 2 recalls)

If you are paranoid, you might want to get the cam follower checked out too. Otherwise, it's a fine car.

As for the DSG issue, yes, it is new but it is a strong box. I know of a few GTIs with DSG getting towards 90k kms and they are still running well. (both with GIAC, and 1 quite highly modded too) Far as I know, most of the issues with the DSG gearbox has been with the mechatronic part rather than the gearbox itself.

[gerhard]

welcome mate. MK5s are generally very good but id stay away from the DSG. i think that its a new thing and it still hasnt been tested properly in the real world. I prefer the control that you get with a manual as well

DSG is hardly a "new thing", having been used since around July 2004 in the Audi TT.

Hasn't been tested properly in the real world? What utter rubbish!

DSG has no serious flaws, it has had it's share of gremlins as have many of the VAG Manual Gearboxes over the years.

[Big Yellow]

i don't think the steering racks and numerous rattles were tested out in the real world either with so many complaints of these issues!

maybe steer clear of the mk5 altogether hehehee