Shall I spend money on my mk 5 gti

[amanda]

Oh I know 

[SANDEGTI]

As others have said if you love the car, spend money on the car. You will get problems with any car you buy, if you buy a car brand new things start wearing down eventually.

I've spent quite a bit on the car so she's up and running well, never 100% though I still need to get to the bottom of a few issues 

I have the exact same fault as you with the aircon, was thinking about doing it myself. Have you ever been hands on with the car? That might save you some £££. I understand some people don't have time to be pulling things off their car but with Youtube and other guides it's all out there with step by step tutorials.

Why do you like the MK6? I think it's a good car with better build quality but for the price of a good later example (without the major issues) they cost an absolute fortune! I personally think the MK6 was the last good looking GTI, after that all the personality was taken away. Although I definitely prefer the look of the MK5.

[amanda]

The mk6 imho is not a patch on the build quality of the 5 

[pudding]

It's me who likes the MK6, not Amanda 

When I draw comparisons between the build quality of 5 and 6, I suppose I am comparing a 54K mile old MK6 to a 175K mile old MK5 

We'll have to agree to disagree on that in general, but in all honesty, every comparable MK6 I've been in has been WAAAAAY better built.  MK5 1.4 TSI vs MK6, infinitely better, especially with the DynAudio pack offered on the 6. Zero rattles from the doors at full volume. Can't say that about a 5.  MK5 R32 v MK6 R, again, tinfoil vs granite. MK5 and MK6 GTI and Diesels, the 6 wins again, sorry 

[probedb]

Cars are money pits, well even vaguely high performing cars are money pits, but do people honestly buy these cars without knowing that? I'm happy with my MK5, despite it costing me far too much money, all my cars have really and I'll never get the money back, it's just one of those things. Recently passed 200K, the engine 100K and still going fine, in fact R Tech complimented me on the condition of it for it's age and mileage, even better now as I finally got some rust and the wheels done.

Each to their own. If you just need a car to get from A to B then buy something cheap and reliable. If you want some fun getting between A and B and don't want or can't afford a weekend car then get something sporty, just be prepared to accept the higher maintenance costs.

[DBXdarkangel]

I only use mine at weekends and use the wife's car as a daily drive. Only do 3 - 4k a year in the golf to go long journeys. Not Into spending thousands on repairs on a 16 year old car.

[Clarky]

Well I would have to guess from his/her silence that they have knocked that idea on the head or are outside fixing it already! I am prepared to spend money on mine, but went into the situation with eyes wide open to the fact it was built in 2006 and has had in the past, owners who were equally as committed as I am. There are better cars out there, but I wanted a mk5 gti in the end...I just found it the best fit for my needs. A2B...Fiesta! 

[SANDEGTI]

Well I would have to guess from his/her silence that they have knocked that idea on the head or are outside fixing it already! I am prepared to spend money on mine, but went into the situation with eyes wide open to the fact it was built in 2006 and has had in the past, owners who were equally as committed as I am. There are better cars out there, but I wanted a mk5 gti in the end...I just found it the best fit for my needs. A2B...Fiesta!

Hopefully they decided to keep and fix it! Like me too, I went in knowing it'll probably need a couple grand spent on it over the year of ownership (ended up needing a bit more, probably 3  ) I actually looked at cleaner examples prior to purchasing the one I own now, but the colour completely sold it to me. I think it was more looked after in the beginning, but the previous owner had fallen out of love with it but kept on with servicing. I honestly couldn't think of a better car for the money that would suit me best. It's not too fast to drive everyday, decent MPG, comfortable and the quality is good. Me and my partner travel about 32 miles a day, lots of B roads so it's lots of fun. I didn't want to drive an 02 polo 32 miles a day, it was so boring and slow.

[pudding]

Cars are money pits, well even vaguely high performing cars are money pits, but do people honestly buy these cars without knowing that?

You'd be surprised how many people do    I've known people in the past scrape just enough money together to buy an M3 (E36/E46 era), but ended up selling it again when the first maintenance bill cropped up   

You have to be realistic.  A £50K car new, still comes with £50K car maintenance costs, even if it only costs £10K to buy it 15 years later.  That is what people don't seem to understand.  Even a basic, by today's standards, E46 M3 needs expensive 10W60 oil (which it likes to drink), 6 x spark plugs, inspection 2 service (valve clearance adjustment) at £800 ish, 20mpg average if you're lucky....and that's before we mention road tax and insurance.

Compared to that, current Audi RS4s or whatever with the Bi-turbo V8 are just insane on maintenance.....two turbos, 8 plugs, 8 coilpacks and shed loads of known faults that are expensive to fix, because most of them are engine out jobs 

So yeah, no matter what car you buy, large sums of money leaves your bank regardless, unless you choose the cheap life of a 1.0 Fiesta.  Choose your money pit wisely 

[Oldie05]

Have resigned myself to the thought that continuely fixing my old girl is way cheaper than buying a newer vehicle. So far this year she's needed a new starter motor, alternator, belt tensioner, belt and is due for injector replacements (as 2 have effectively failed, so makes sense to replace all given the removal work required). Oil leak from the camchain cover and brake booster needs sorting as does countless amounts of interior trim and exterior corrosion. Stage 1 tuned and a daily driver for the wife and I. Will never get rid of it. Looking forward to seeing 200,000 miles (about 10k off ATM) 🙂

[probedb]

Choose your money pit wisely 

Perfect quote 

@Oldie05 I've decided I'm keeping mine for the foreseeable future. Just had cam chain, tensioner and vvt done, injectors cleaned and intake walnut blasted and that made a hell of a difference to how smooth the engine was after 100k. Chassis on 200k now, replaced most of the suspension. Think the starter is going to need replacing soon and then it's a case of rust really. Still like driving it and keep looking at new GTIs (well mk7/7.5, hate the way the 8s look for some reason) and then thinking, yeah but why do you want one and it just comes down to it being shinier and newer so it's still going to be cheaper to keep the MK5 going that buy a newer car.

[Jons1001]

Mine is just coming up to around 120k and it needs the following;

Chain and tensioner? (Never been done)
Front suspension refresh
Injector clean?
DSG service

What am i looking at for that? best part of 2 grand i imagine, which i haven't got 

[titchy]

before i got my tcr i looked a r8 and cayman after looking at running costs  i abandoned  the latter two unrealistic in the long term

[pudding]

Still like driving it and keep looking at new GTIs (well mk7/7.5, hate the way the 8s look for some reason)

Because they look awful    German cars are so homogenised now, VAG, BMW & Merc may as well just join forces and make standard issue cars for the masses.....and the irony of Hitler's Beetle wasn't lost on me with that comment    Life, as they say, goes round in circles.

Anyway, the MK5 still has a nod to the past in the way it looks and drives, which is probably why it's gaining in popularity.  Everyone with MK8s seem to report so many software bugs and build quality issues, they're just not worth the money.  They are the Barratt homes of the car world.  Shoddily made shat at premium prices.

[SANDEGTI]

Mine is just coming up to around 120k and it needs the following;

Chain and tensioner? (Never been done)
Front suspension refresh
Injector clean?
DSG service

What am i looking at for that? best part of 2 grand i imagine, which i haven't got 

Yeah, probably in the ballpark of that. If I were you, I'd get the important stuff done first then save up for the other stuff. Definitely do the chain and tensioner and DSG service (every 40k miles I think?) should set you back about £800 but at least that's the major stuff out of the way. Unfortunately my tensioner failed at 128k so I would definitely recommend getting it done as it can kill your engine!