Buying a used mk5 - What to look about for

[bobby_fodge]

Also the mk6 leather seats kill the mk7 ones.

leather seats are cold in winter and hot in summer and are slippy when you're pressing on. I purposely chose my GTI with cloth.

I love the dsg in my mk5 as I do a lot of motorway commuting in heavy traffic but when I get on some nice clear road you can stick it in sport and let it change itself higher up the rev range than in normal D mode or use the steering wheel paddles or the gearstick to change.

[pudding]

Agreed, I hate leather seats.

MK6 is more refined and smoother, otherwise they drive just like the MK5.  Avoid early MK6s unless you want potential timing chain bills.

[gstyle17009]

how much of a big issue is this rust?

[Chesto18]

how much of a big issue is this rust?

On the rear arch mate. Personally I’d walk away. Not like you can just slap on a new rear wing.

[gstyle17009]

Thanks man I really appreciate all the help you guys are giving!

Out of one of the other possible choices I have asked about the timing belt and they have told me it is now due aswell as the water pump - that they would be willing to knock some money off for it.

Finding this as quite a common occurrence sellers just remembering work needs doing and then offering to knock money off.

[pudding]

Plenty of people make the next service the next owners problem!

Water pump & cambelt change currently costs £549 at VW, so you should be looking for a discount around that when bartering.

[gstyle17009]

Plenty of people make the next service the next owners problem!

Water pump & cambelt change currently costs £549 at VW, so you should be looking for a discount around that when bartering.

I have a mate who runs a vw approved garage who would be able to do it for mates rates, however I am seriously considering the ed30's at the moment as they can be running at stage 1 at 300-310 bhp.

Just looking into if the brakes etc really need upgrading at that stage.

[DBXdarkangel]

Good luck getting the seller to allow you to read it's codes. I know I wouldn't let some nobody off the street plug vag-com into mine.

I suppose its prob taking it a bit too far. Will cut that step out.

No it isn't.  If the seller won't let you scan it for codes, walk away.  I've never had anyone object to it before, and neither would I object if selling my ED30.

If the seller wants a sale and has nothing to hide, he/she will be fine with you scanning it.  It's no more invasive than a HPI check.

It's very useful for cutting through the 'Never been mapped' bullsh1t.  Check the ECU flashcount.  If it's not zero, it's been mapped.

Hi Mate so it keeps that is a common problem with these that sellers claim the cars have never been mapped?

Some of the cars I am looking at already have been mapped is that much of an issue?

Have also seen some of the ED30's that I am interested in.

Totally is! I would never let some kid I've never met plug his laptop into my car. Would a used car dealer let you do it? I'm willing to say no. Just because you say no, doesn't mean your hiding something.

[PatchySan]

Totally is! I would never let some kid I've never met plug his laptop into my car. Would a used car dealer let you do it? I'm willing to say no. Just because you say no, doesn't mean your hiding something.

It depends really, I had a friend who wanted to buy a used MK7 GTD and asked me if I could tag along with my VAGCOM and laptop to inspect it. Went to this independent car supermarket which was 123 miles (2.5 hours one way drive) away from us and the sales guy was more than happy to let me do a diagnostic scan on my laptop using VCDS which reported no major faults as well as giving us a test drive alone round the B-Roads. Its the little things that instil confidence and needless to say my friend didn't hesitate buying the car straight after the test drive.

[gstyle17009]

Totally is! I would never let some kid I've never met plug his laptop into my car. Would a used car dealer let you do it? I'm willing to say no. Just because you say no, doesn't mean your hiding something.

It depends really, I had a friend who wanted to buy a used MK7 GTD and asked me if I could tag along with my VAGCOM and laptop to inspect it. Went to this independent car supermarket which was 123 miles (2.5 hours one way drive) away from us and the sales guy was more than happy to let me do a diagnostic scan on my laptop using VCDS which reported no major faults as well as giving us a test drive alone round the B-Roads. Its the little things that instil confidence and needless to say my friend didn't hesitate buying the car straight after the test drive.

How long did it take your friend to check it with the laptop?

[PatchySan]

How long did it take your friend to check it with the laptop?

I did the diagnostic scan for my friend but it doesn't take more than 5 minutes overall assuming everything is in order. Everything from Engine to Canbus Electronics were checked from the OBD port and his GTD came through with no major faults - clean bill of health essentially!

I kinda wish I had VAGCOM before I bought my GTI as I later found out it was hiding quite a number of faults that didn't appear till later such as my faulty EVAP Valve, bad door lock button (it was intermittant before it gave up completely!) and badly grounded circuits - mostly from the stereo which I presumed had some sort of subwoofer or amp installed at some point in its life. From this experience it pretty much taught me a lesson to try and bring some diagnostic tools with me or have at least a mechanic to do a proper checkover when buying a used car, especially with something like a GTI!

[gstyle17009]

That is great within 5 mins problems are identified. Did you ask before you arrived if you could use the diagnostics? How difficult is it for you to tell if a golf has been clocked back? I am looking at an 07 plate ED30 currently and it is showing that it has done 75k miles. The cloth seats are difficult to guage the wear (esp on the pictures).

[PatchySan]

That is great within 5 mins problems are identified. Did you ask before you arrived if you could use the diagnostics? How difficult is it for you to tell if a golf has been clocked back? I am looking at an 07 plate ED30 currently and it is showing that it has done 75k miles. The cloth seats are difficult to guage the wear (esp on the pictures).

Of course ask for permission first, though the sales guy we had was really cool about it and stood by us while we did the scan. It pretty much set the tone for the purchase of the car as we felt comfortable with it and at the end the sales guy bagged a sale so everyone was happy really!

For clocking I check the MOT History website which is free to use - https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history. It'll be obvious if the odometer reading is less than what it was a couple of years back! Also check the service book for receipts and invoices for any mechanical work done as they would also record mileage too and compare it to the data available. I wouldn't use interior condition as a guide for clocking, its easy to replace parts and swap out seats from the wreckers. Also take note of any advisories as it could mean repairs to budget out for in the future if not done beforehand.

And it would be wise to do a HPI check if it had been crashed, stolen or on finance including log book loans. If its a dealer ask for a HPI report/certificate and they should be able to give you one otherwise you may need to fork out for a report yourself. Alternatively if you know a family member or friend who works in the motor industry/dealer maybe ask them to get a HPI report for you as a favour (I was lucky enough to have this option for my GTI beforehand).

[trussingbog5]

That is great within 5 mins problems are identified. Did you ask before you arrived if you could use the diagnostics? How difficult is it for you to tell if a golf has been clocked back? I am looking at an 07 plate ED30 currently and it is showing that it has done 75k miles. The cloth seats are difficult to guage the wear (esp on the pictures).

If you can get Vagcom plugged into the car, it has a built-in application which allows you to read the stored mileage value from the ECU. This varies slightly from the odometer reading but shouldn't be out by a huge margin. Although, I have heard that apparently the ECU mileage can also be clocked, but unfortunately don't know any more about this.

I think the link in your original post is a pretty comprehensive guide and covers the common faults you'd expect to find in a gti.

[pudding]

Good luck getting the seller to allow you to read it's codes. I know I wouldn't let some nobody off the street plug vag-com into mine.

I suppose its prob taking it a bit too far. Will cut that step out.

No it isn't.  If the seller won't let you scan it for codes, walk away.  I've never had anyone object to it before, and neither would I object if selling my ED30.

If the seller wants a sale and has nothing to hide, he/she will be fine with you scanning it.  It's no more invasive than a HPI check.

It's very useful for cutting through the 'Never been mapped' bullsh1t.  Check the ECU flashcount.  If it's not zero, it's been mapped.

Hi Mate so it keeps that is a common problem with these that sellers claim the cars have never been mapped?

Some of the cars I am looking at already have been mapped is that much of an issue?

Have also seen some of the ED30's that I am interested in.

Totally is! I would never let some kid I've never met plug his laptop into my car. Would a used car dealer let you do it? I'm willing to say no. Just because you say no, doesn't mean your hiding something.

Depends on your attitude, approach and appearance.  Yes, a dealer let me scan my Ed30 before I bought.  It's quite simple really:  "Would you mind if I scan the ECU for fault codes, it's just that these cars are well known for X, Y & Z and I want to make sure there are no impending bills".  That is extremely reasonable.  If that puts someone's back up, then fine, there are plenty of other cars out there.  I don't see what the issue is.  It's like people who get hung up about visitors using their electricity to charge their phone. Jesus, get a real problem.

On the flip side, should the VCDS area subforum be met with: "Yeah I want 50 quid off you for scanning your car" when someone volunteers their services?  I don't think so.

And what about those old RAC 100 point vehicle checks? A stranger looking over your car for a potential buyer.  Do you have issues with people buying houses looking round it before making an offer?