Should I buy a second hand Golf R?

[Gladbach]

Currently have a 2017 Tiguan 162TSI (R-Line), looking to replace my wife's 2012 Ford Fiesta with something a bit nicer (and spicier) as I'll be driving our second car more (baby on the way!).

I'm looking for something that's within 3 years old so that there's still some residual warranty left and don't want to spend more than $45k. I was looking at a GTI but there is not a lot of price difference between a GTI and an R in the second hand market.

Apart from the obvious performance gain that an R inherits, I'm leaning towards it as I want leather seats and much prefer the understated interior (and exterior) styling that the R has - I'm not into the tartan and aren't really into the whole red stitching and stuff that comes with a GTI. I've also got really used to 4motion having been driving the Tiguan for the last 3 1/2 years).

Anything I should look out for? Any common issues I should be aware of?

Appreciate your thoughts. I'm a lot more active in the Tiguan threads...

[Grugly]

I have both and love both, however have modified the golf as the fun car and my wife and bub in the Tig the rest of the time.

You should be able to pick up a low km '18 or '19 R for that amount and they should have the reminder of the 5 year warranty on them and bear in mind there was a batch sold in late '19's fully loaded for the low 50k's before the price returned to normal.

Not much to look out for other than the discover pro dead pixel line, but this was across tigs and golf's and is covered under warranty

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[Gladbach]

Cheers. You have two lovely looking cars. I'm hoping to pick up a grey Golf R like yours, the Tiggy is white.

[Grugly]

Cheers. You have two lovely looking cars. I'm hoping to pick up a grey Golf R like yours, the Tiggy is white.

Funny story, that was my first one and absolutely loved the colour but couldn't go past the tumeric yellow special edition.

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[Gladbach]

Nice. Is the special edition what you were referring to in terms of being fully optioned for low $50ks?

[Grugly]

Nice. Is the special edition what you were referring to in terms of being fully optioned for low $50ks?

Nope, far from it. The SE's were a limited run of 400 with the akrapovic exhaust, performance pack brakes etc.

Most were retailing for 63-70k


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[Gladbach]

Ah, gotcha. Must sound lovely with that akrapovic exhaust.

I'm also considering getting an S3. Some have popped up in that price bracket (2017 models, rather than say 2018 model Golfs). The golf sees slightly more practical though, and I do like the idea of having pretty much identical interiors (makes switching between vehicles seamless) but it's hard to ignore some of these S3 that are popping up.

[Dutch77]

Having swapped between both interiors.. err twice.. I'd say go the S3 sedan for the looks, or the Golf for better tech especially if you're thinking only an S3 hatch.

The Audi interior is put together well but is more dated now than the Golf, and having got used to the Golf screen on the Wolfsburg, it was a touch disappointing reverting to the (R)S3 interior again after.

[Grugly]

Ah, gotcha. Must sound lovely with that akrapovic exhaust.

I'm also considering getting an S3. Some have popped up in that price bracket (2017 models, rather than say 2018 model Golfs). The golf sees slightly more practical though, and I do like the idea of having pretty much identical interiors (makes switching between vehicles seamless) but it's hard to ignore some of these S3 that are popping up.

I considered the S3 as well..

For me it's either the mid tier Audi (vs rs3) or a top tier Golf. Also I found the MMi better in the Golf with it all being touch screen vs the wheel selector.

S3 exhaust note was better stock (due to no resonator) but that changed with the Akra (and yes it sounds great).

You'll also be seeing older audis so less warranty left.. but warranty isn't important to me, hence the mods [emoji16]

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[Gladbach]

Yep, I had the same observations as both of you in terms of the interior and tech. I use Android Auto a lot in my Tiguan and tried it out in the S3 but it' a but clumsy to use with the dial. The warranty is something that I am considering, I'd prefer to pick up a Golf with some warranty remaining just in case there are issues.

One thing I've really noticed though is that a lot of the R's are modded (Stage 1 tune min.), whereas the S3s tend not to be. I would prefer to get something that is stock - just need to wait for the right one.

[Dutch77]

They do tend to attract different buyers - especially post the first year or two of release when there was a massive waiting list on S3 sedans (mostly migrating from Mk6 GTIs and Rs).

At least be happy if an R seller discloses there is a tune on there, particularly if it is a simple stage 1. That should generally not have caused issues although will still be a warranty risk. It's the Rs out there that don't have tunes that would worry me, a lot of buyers have used plug ins and may hide the fact later, so you may end up with a bigger problem warranty wise should anything go wrong. If you can jag a car off someone you know or a regular forum member you should end up with a better buy.

[tigger73]

Just be aware that the 5 year warranty only came in as a permanent thing at the beginning of 2019. I'd personally go for the 7.5R with the 7 speed DSG. If you can stretch to a 2019 with the 5 year warranty then that would be my pick but it comes down to $. Also mk8 is just around the corner so if you can hold off then prices will come down when the new model hits (or be aware of that when buying now/factor it in).

[cloudblade]

But the mk8 R is not going to release for another year waiting I suppose, IMO 7.5R looks much better than MK8.

[Dutch77]

94% of Golf owners always claim the current model looks better than the next one.

Regardless, the fact it is/will be superseded is relevant to the price to pay for one now, which I believe is what @tigger73 was getting at.

[Gladbach]

I'm in a Golf R facebook group and have seen people posting who are considering buying something else wanting to sell their R now before the MK8 comes out as they know that they'll take a hit otherwise. Still a while off though.

Agree as well, not a big fan of the MK8 looks, no idea who signed off on it and thought it looked good. The interior is nice, with more tech once again, but I much prefer having physical buttons/dials for the aircon etc.