Buying Question

[benni8]

Hello Gents..

I currently have a Fabia VRS with 122k on the clock. 15 months ago I made the decision to replace most of the major parts included turbo, and run it into the ground as its mix of "performance - remapped" and economy is cheap as chips to run and the car is generally hassle free.

Fast forward to yesterday and a local dealer of mine has recently received a Volkswagen Golf 2.0 TFSI GTI 5dr
 with 75k miles on the clock, one owner from new and FSH and leather seats and looks in v good condition, I am due to drive tomorrow morning. £6,495.

Being transparent, this is somewhat of an impulse purchase, I am 36 and going through a divorce, so my outlook on things have changed, i.e. life is short, I have always wanted a GTI, so nows the time to buy one.

The issue I have internally, is that although I can afford the car, I find currently find alot of comfort in my previous cars knowing that if something goes wrong it wont cost the earth, parts are cheap to replace, and its cheap enough to run... so basically Im not going to be suprised by anything that goes wrong and I am in control of the costs to a certain degree.

However, with potentially purchasing this car, with a turbo, and at 75k miles, and potentially expensive issues with DSG and other bits that I have read online, would from your experience advice it would be a wise purchase - or could it be a potential to spend alot more in the upkeep that I am obviously unaware of now. In essence I can afford the car as long as its not a money pit to maintain.

I understand it depends on alot of different factors but just your general feedback from owning ones yourself or being in contact with people that do would be appreciated.

Cheers in advance

[chimp400]

I don't see that parts are any more expensive than any other car to be honest.
I went manual as I didn't fancy the dsg, seems that it can be pretty reliable though if it's been maintained at the correct intervals.
You probably already know all the faults if your actively searching, the timing belt change is one of the biggest things to check out.
Mine is at 57000 miles and I'm starting to hear little suspension knocks etc, I think they get a hard life in that respect and would benefit from a refresh quite early on.

[Uncleben]

My advice would be to spend less money and buy a higher mileage golf with a full service history, ideally with a recent cambelt and w/pump and clutch as that is 2 big expensive jobs out the way, then when things go wrong or need replacing (which they will, regardless of whether you have a £7k example with 50k  or a £3k example with 150k) then you have money in the bank to maintain, although I'm not sure how dsg transmissions fare with higher mileage.
For the record, I have recently bought a gti with 160k for £2350 (recent cambelt, brakes all round, tyres all round, no knocks clunks or rattles) and other than a few stonechips and little rust scabs here and there, I'd be no better off if i'd spent another £3k on a lower mileage example.
There are plenty of really good examples for between £3-£5k, but at the end of the day though its your money, your choice!

[Craig Stanley]

I would keep an eye out on this forum for cars that are for sale from enthusiasts that have loved and cherished their cars as your more likely to get one that has had all major works done to it plus a lot have build threads so you can check the history in detail. I bought a low miler with fsh of ebay and it has cost me probably at least £2500 getting up to scratch and that is not including any mods.

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[chimp400]

The values for these do seem to be all over the place but i do think it is a buyers market. A good car can be had for less than £5k, dealers really mark them up.
There are and have been some nice ones for sale on here.

[Leco_GTI]

My advice would be: if you decide to buy and want peace of mind, get a VW extended warranty. It's only available for cars with less than 100k miles. It's expensive but you know if anything go wrong, it will be dealt by VW using genuine parts and covered by the warranty.

[mk1mad]

Mine was on 72k when I bought it, the only problem in 2 and half years was seized rear calipers and handbrake cables (serviced the calipers new cables). Mine is also DSG.