Golf Mk5 GTI- Buying after possibly driven hard?

[Bounga]

How do you avoid purchasing a car that has been 'flogged' so to speak? I would very much like to buy a used car that has been upgraded already but I'm extremely worried that if a driver upgrades his car (performance wise) then it means he must have likely driven harder and possibly shortened the car's life.

But I'm not too sure? How worried should I be about purchasing a car that has many upgrades and had the first APR stage 1 installed in 2006?

Is there a way I can tell? Obviously I wouldn't be buying a car that has been on a race track half a dozen times or more. I should probably mentioned also that I'll be going manual. Should I be worried about buying a GTI with 120,000km's and has had its whole life with an APR chip?

This is the one I'm currently interested in:

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=11111659&YearFromShort=1649&__Qpb=1&Cr=10&__Ns=pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&keywords=&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282%204294962677%204294962746%204294927728%201649%201622%20413&silo=1011&PriceTo=413&seot=1&__Nne=15&__No=0&trecs=23&__sid=131105F384F0

Does it look like a good deal? I like the mods. They're all high quality and the guy obviously went for quality. But it does show in one of the photo's that it was upgraded in its first year. Is there any signs of extra wear? Should I be this paranoid?

I guess I just see myself hanging onto my new GTI for many, many years to come and I'd like to enjoy those year's with minimal issues.

Appreciate any help.

[wai]

If someone has added "performance" options then there is a fair chance that those options have been used otherwise why buy them.

Look at service history, in particular things like how long the tyres and brakes have lasted. Ask to see service invoices as they will generally report on things like conditon and life of tyres and brakes. Be wary of invoices that have things altered.

Look at the gear shift mechanism and see if there has been wear that has affected markings, decals, etc. This will give you some idea as to how it has been used. In the same vein, look at the pedal rubbers and see how they have worn.

As for accident damage, look for wrinkles in panels and for overspray.

See if the driver is on P's when everything else says they should have gone off them.

[brimway]

A car that has had performance mods fitted doesn't automatically mean that it has been thrashed. I have done a few performance mods to my GTI but have never (and would never) flog it or mistreat it in any way.

I improved the performance of mine for flexibility gains and I wanted it to sound good aswell. Sure, not everybody would be the same but that is the point.

I would treat the potential purchase of any car on the individual circumstances regarding the car itself, its history and the person trying to sell it. You can learn much more from this than simply assuming that all modded cars have been driven hard.

It can be a good idea to have a third party check it out, not necessarily a mechanic, but someone who is car orientated and can give you an independent opinion. I know what its like, emotions can get in the way when you are looking to buy a car. Good luck.

How do you avoid purchasing a car that has been 'flogged' so to speak? I would very much like to buy a used car that has been upgraded already but I'm extremely worried that if a driver upgrades his car (performance wise) then it means he must have likely driven harder and possibly shortened the car's life.

But I'm not too sure? How worried should I be about purchasing a car that has many upgrades and had the first APR stage 1 installed in 2006?

Is there a way I can tell? Obviously I wouldn't be buying a car that has been on a race track half a dozen times or more. I should probably mentioned also that I'll be going manual. Should I be worried about buying a GTI with 120,000km's and has had its whole life with an APR chip?

This is the one I'm currently interested in:

2006 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI V MY07 Private Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au

Does it look like a good deal? I like the mods. They're all high quality and the guy obviously went for quality. But it does show in one of the photo's that it was upgraded in its first year. Is there any signs of extra wear? Should I be this paranoid?

I guess I just see myself hanging onto my new GTI for many, many years to come and I'd like to enjoy those year's with minimal issues.

Appreciate any help.

[Bounga]

Thanks for the replies guys. Some very useful information that I will most definitely use!

Sort of in relation to the car being mistreated, what does that actually mean for a Golf GTI? In money terms, engine/transmission life, etc?

I'm looking forward to learning but at present don't know the first thing mechanically. I'm very interested in the particular car I mentioned:

2006 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI V MY07 Private Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au

I also think that if it has done so many K's and driven hard that the engine will need a rebuild around 200,000K's. Is that true? Or is there every chance that even if it has been driven hard that it will last almost as long as any other GTI? Also because I'm going for a manual transmission, does that mean I'm more than likely to get away with it?

Basically I want to know how sturdy the MK5 Golf GTI is? And in general, what does a car that has been driven hard mean for my pocket? If you look at the photo's of that particular one you'll notice that the throttle pedal has hugely excessive wear.

Alarm bells?

[Transporter]

I think that a full mechanical inspection by experienced mechanic before you pay any deposit, should give you a bit more peace of mind. You know what they say; "expect the best but get ready for the worst".

[robbie]

Hi bounga this is a friend of mine who owns this GTI for sale and i can assure you that it is immaculate and mint GTI on the market , i am sure you can get the car cheaper, personally i wouldn't buy a GTI Manual with that many kms that you have quoted in your first post it is just way too much and it has been heavily modified, my mates one is bone stock and you won't find better. 2006 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI V Cars For Sale in NSW - CarPoint Australia 1216 1246 1247 1252 1282 4294962677 4294962746 4294927728&silo=1011&seot=1&__Nne=15&__No=60&trecs =144&__sid=1322C428811A

[Tim]

Cars that are driven harder are genuinely better looked after by enthusiasts than your typical car used for a few years worth of shopping trolley duties.
Putting about town sedately is not necessarily good for a car.

[maca]

Cars that are driven harder are genuinely better looked after by enthusiasts than your typical car used for a few years worth of shopping trolley duties.
Putting about town sedately is not necessarily good for a car.

Not to mention that the 2.0T is a performance engine, so it's built to withstand someo "spirited" driving here and there.

I have the APR tune on my Jetta (2.0T), but people say it's a waste as not only do I barely drive the car, but because I don't get the full power out of it when I do

[DonJuan]

Not to mention that the 2.0T is a performance engine, so it's built to withstand someo "spirited" driving here and there.

I have the APR tune on my Jetta (2.0T), but people say it's a waste as not only do I barely drive the car, but because I don't get the full power out of it when I do

yes, more like spirited grandparents behind the wheel...

depends on the individual car, both mkv gtis i've had (appeared) bulletproof... i never had any issues with them, and i have given the current one some stick trying to keep up with the r's through the twisties...

[Preen59]

Cars that are driven harder are genuinely better looked after by enthusiasts than your typical car used for a few years worth of shopping trolley duties.
Putting about town sedately is not necessarily good for a car.

Tim makes a very good point here.

I'd much rather buy a car that's engine has been leaned on more often than not. Most cases of people complaining about oil consumption are people who baby their cars.

Take from that what you wish.

[Darth]

A car that has had performance mods fitted doesn't automatically mean that it has been thrashed.

The emphasis here must be on "automatically".

Chances must be higher that a modified GTI has been driven harder than an unmodified GTI.

But is there much wrong with a car being driven hard as long as it has not been thrashed or abused?

That said, GTIs from MkV onwards deliver their max torque from so low in the rev range that they don't really reward over-revving (and mine doesn't often see much about 3000 - 4000 revs).

As long as the upshift leaves you in the engine's wide sweet spot it seems pointless hanging on to lower gears for too long in regular on-road conditions.

Sso unless the vendor strikes you as a complete idiot or is very young then you probably are reasonably safe, but there is no way I would purchase a modified GTI unless it was a real bargain and cost less than the unmodified equivalent to allow for contingencies.

[Transporter]

Cars that are driven harder are genuinely better looked after by enthusiasts than your typical car used for a few years worth of shopping trolley duties.
Putting about town sedately is not necessarily good for a car.

Some of them, not necessarily all of them.
... and more kms they have done when sold secondhand, more worried I would be.

[gh172]

Touch choice this one. On one hand, you've got a car that's stock as a rock with half the mileage, that appears to be in immaculate condition. But 2 grand more.
On the other hand you've got a car that also appears to be in excellent condition, that's got just about all the performance mods you could want. If you add up the value of the modifications that have been added to this car it would surmount to a fair amount of cash.
I think the asking price is definitely fair and you can always start low.
Depends if you want a car that's already had the work done, or want to do it yourself .
Good luck with your decision and let us all know how it turns out.

[Tim]

Some of them, not necessarily all of them.
... and more kms they have done when sold secondhand, more worried I would be.

Not really. Every car needs to be evaluated on its own. There are no set rules.
Sometimes cars with low kms are a sign that they have been sitting in a workshop for a year which they get some serious panel damaged fixed on the cheap.
My biggest concern with these cars is oil usage. Thats something thats really difficult to gauge when buying on the second hand market.

[Ideo]

I would rather buy a secondhand car that was used on track and driven hard but serviced every 7500-10000kms as enthusiasts tend to do than shunted around an inner city area by someone who didn't give a crap about the mechanical aspects of a car.