Which Mk GTI - suggestions please on a postcard!

[Bear77]

Newbie here - been a BMW fan for many years but due to doing less miles now, looking at buying a GTI. What are people's thoughts on the one to go for? My preference is a Mk5 as I like the shape - but have no idea of the woes etc of Mk5 vs Mk6 vs Mk7 (although the latter is probably out of my price range).

Ideally looking to spend between 5 & 7k max. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Jons1001]

I think for the budget I would definitely be looking at a standard mk5. You should get a nice example whereas a mk6 would probably be ropey at 7k or super high miles. Pick a good mk5 and it should hold its value well. Also for a few hundred quid they easily remap to around 250 bhp which is plenty imo.

[chimp400]

Just buy wisely as they can be a bit of a money pit as they get on in miles.
There are some great cars out there so take your time and look for something that has had the all important jobs done.
I’ve just put my Edition 30 up in the for sale section which would just fit into your budget 

[pudding]

MK5, MK6 and MK7 all have their woes. They're all well documented, so do your research and choose wisely.

Probably the two major factors that will end a MK5's life are oil pump seizure/oil pickup blockages, and rust.  Aside from that, they're robust and reliable cars if the maintained well.

[adamvaughan]

Just buy wisely as they can be a bit of a money pit as they get on in miles.
There are some great cars out there so take your time and look for something that has had the all important jobs done.
I’ve just put my Edition 30 up in the for sale section which would just fit into your budget 

Sorry for the hijack, but out of interest, what would you consider high miles for a mk5?

[chimp400]

I’d say when they reach around 150000 miles but it all depends how they have been cared for.
Most enthusiasts care for them but there are some dogs out there too.

[pudding]

There's someone on here with a 280K miler, and a few others over 200K.  A local lad has a 200K+ ED30, but it sure looks it    Massive rust patches on it, even around the corners of the windscreen on the roof 

As I've said many times, it's rust that will kill these cars off.  The mechanicals are fine if looked after.

I've seen plenty of 08/09 MK6s that are absolutely rot free, so VW definitely dropped the ball with the MK5.