Afternoon All

Not been on here for a while but need the wisdom of scoobynet. Due to a new job my insignia sri has gone and I am now a van man but want a fun second car. The wife has a mk6 gtd so just looking for something for me.

Has to be 4 door, spacious and reliable so I have my heart set on a mk5 gti.

Read various things but interested in the views of those who own or have owned them.

Really want leather seats but not worried if its manual or dsg but dsg is sounding appealing now I am 36 this year.

So help me out, what should I look for?

 

oh it will be occassional use 2 or 3 times a week if that makes any difference.

 

I have an Octavia vRS.Same car,Great.But what the fuss is over dsg I will never know and I have it!

 

Go manual

 

A scooby ��

 

Brother has one, loves it. Cambelts are cheaper to replace than equivelant vw so cheaper (so my brother was told, paid £200 for cambelt). Masses of space, probably more room than my volvo estate.
Boss had a vrs td dsg, it was ok but it would still change down even in manual mode when I didn't want it to.

 

They suffer with rusty front arches, known a few people who have owned them and they have had to be replaced as they get quite bad, so look for signs of blistering paint!!!

 

rust on arches sills tailgate sold my edition 30 as it was rusting badly, poor build on volkswagens now shame too as drove nice

 

Rust on front arches and round the boot badge. Door locks fail. Check to see they all lock and unlock. Coil packs fail. Just replaced 4 on the Mrs gt. See if they have been changed in the history.

 

thanks guys. manual would be fine but like the sound of an auto for busy town. will get looking.

 

Hi,
Most obvious problem on that engine is the coil packs - one on top of each plug.
Will need to ensure these have been replaced and are in good working order - otherwise misfires under load and potential to damage catalytic converter.
Cheers
Steve

 

I am most familiar with that from my Scooby days. Proper ballache that.

 

Hi,
A bit easier to access than on the scooby!
I remember grazing my knuckles trying to change the plugs on my first scooby WRX!!
Cheers
Steve

 

I had one prior to my Porsche. The seats can lose their seams.

The rear wiper motor "ecu" can fail causing unwanted activity on turning the ignition key. There was an ecu swap for it.

Suspension can be a little wearing. 17" don't look as nice as the 18", but ride MUCH better.
The VW hubcaps can suffer from "white worm", as can the wheels.

If you've found one still with the VW bottle opener, well done!

Liked mine - had it for 4 yrs and it didn't skip a beat. Despite mine being modded, it was too slow. BUT it was totally reliable - when it came to selling, I'd kinda forgotten how long I had it.
Cr@p in the snow due to the wide tyres.
And the boggo RSN stereo is shocking.



Forgot to add - leather isn't as hard-wearing as you might have hoped.
DSG can be epic, but be mindful of the mechatronic stuff.
Other nice things? Winterpack, and Summer pack for example.

 

thanks scoobydoo555, some good advice there. really want the leather because of the heated seats but not to much of an issue.

am thinking 17" would be a nicer ride.

right i need to get shopping

 

Rust (wings should be replaced not repaired)
Central locking (fixable-just remove the scalextric type motor from locks and exercise off a battery)
TFSI engines can guzzle oil
Coil packs -do not touch unless you have to, removing and refitting them almost guarantees they'll fail a few thousand miles later.
Breather system issues causing engine light to come on
Broken Coil springs (rear hard to see unless wheels removed)
Rear calipers sticking and failing (make sure the handbrake arm on the calliper returns against the stop...if not new caliper or cables required).
Bushes get sloppy, especially front lower arms.
Shocks get a bit floaty with age
Electric steering motors can get noisy
DSG must have its oil and filter changed (every 40k)
Teves mk60 abs pumps can fail (internal pressure sensor fails).
Alloys corrode on the tyre bead causing air loss

Not trying to put you off: just well versed in the common issues

 

Luckily - a real cracking car when sorted!
Really miss my Mk5 golf!
Cheers
Steve

 

7 seconds to 60 ? slow

well I guess if youre comparing to impreza

 

Thought coil pack problem ages ago? Had them done on my old octavia 2001?

 

Hi,
Problem still exists today.
We had a 2012 Tiguan R line in Dubai, from new.
That has the Golf GTI engine and it needed two coil packs changed under warranty just before we sold the car - 2 years old and 50,000km on the clock.
Cheers
Steve

 

Bugger!