Am I being too fussy

[Frenzy]

I know that patience is key to finding the right car but can you find the perfect car?

My situation:

Will look to go up to £11.5k, needs to be:
Golf GTI 5 door
FSH
Preferably Manual
06 plate or younger
BWA engine code
less than 60k miles
Cambelt replaced
Long life fully synth oil always used
Body work & interior in good condition including no rusting of brake disk or calipers

Bonus - 18" alloys with minimal white worming, preferably none

Am i being reasonable? I've viewed a couple of GTIs so far but neither have been up to scratch, probably decent but not ticking enough of our boxes. I'm trying not to rush buying but we've a baby due in 4 weeks and our 3 door 14 year old punto aint gonna cut the mustard anymore 

[jhono]

haha i rushed so dont do it,got an 06 plate from a prestige dealer in leicster 6 weeks ago,since 4 new tyers,1 rear wheel bearing,maf sensor,discovered yesterday rust in drivers side rear arch,gutted paid £8500 for it and wished i had walked away,so no your not being fussy

[CAPTAIN BRITAIN]

I was looking for almost two years for my GTI  , It took me that long because i was fussy about the options that i wanted, And i eventually got the car i wanted.
3 door, Reflex Silver, Leather, Xenons, Sat nav, DSG (with paddles) 18" Monzas, Folding mirrors, Parking sensors, i wanted an early Golf so it had the Blue tinted windows and 10 speaker Audio.
The car had to be unmodiefied and totally original, And in the end i got it.
I had to pay a little over what it was worth But it was in superb condition with only 20000 miles on the clock.

So i say keep looking and get the car you will be happy with, It's out there somewhere.

[P60MME]

That should be acheivable. I just paid 10K for exactly that for an 06 but 2 owners and 64K.

I must admit I didn't write a list like that but after viewing several I found the right one. Even got 12months tax and a reg transfer thrown in!

[Frenzy]

cheers for your thoughts and Jhono sorry to hear that mate. I need to be patient, the right one will turn up.

[SRC]

I reckon I travelled over 1000 miles looking at seven or eight cars plus dozens more on the net before I found one I was happy with.  I had a list of essentials (DSG,5 door etc) and a list of desirables (sunroof,xenons).  Most dealers will change cambelt and water pump if you haggle hard.   Take your time- it's worth it!

[mhurley]

I bought my 55 plate 5 door privately last Oct
2 owners from new
FSH
Cam belt changed
54,300 miles

Got it for £8950

Since discovered Air con compressor doesn't work, alarm siren broke, rust bubbling above off side front wheel arch...

[Beattie]

A newbie here, just wondering what exactly is this "white worm" thing ive seen a few folk mention.

[WhiteGTI]

A newbie here, just wondering what exactly is this "white worm" thing ive seen a few folk mention.

It's wheel corrosion.

See here - http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,726.0.html

[Beattie]

Ahh i see. Luckily i dont have chrome finished alloys lol

[robdf2]

i think you have every right to be fussy , you are going to spend a lot of your hard earned money so why settle for second best?

i know it can be a pain for the right car to come along at the right spec and price but i am sure it will.

if you do find one at a dealers haggle hard , they can only say no ,
i would make having the cambelt and water pump done as part of the deal if its a dealer car , or if its private knock them down to compensate the cost.
its still very much a buyers market just be patient.
i spent 6 months finding my car and had to travel to crewe from london just to view it , the deal breaker for me was having it delivered to london foc which they did so was happy.

just take your time and dont sttle for something just to buy 1 you may regret it in the end

[jhono]

Mmm haveing bourght this heap from a dealer in leicster who i had bourght a car from before audi a3 tdi with no probs,so maybe i was a little to trusting,amyway just had a quote of £225 to paint and correct the wheel arch and also coloure code the rear bumper and think thats good,also now the new maf is on it at least drives ok,lookin at gti inters at the end of this month for some new alloys

[LouCyffer]

I used several sources to find what I wanted. The VW car locator is very good, naturally they get new stock all the time. I would also be inclined to head to your local dealer with your hit list; once they see that you're serious, they will work hard to source what you want. Any VW dealer can source used stock across the dealer network. So if the car you want is 200 miles away & you're serious, they can get it to you.

In the end I used my cousin who has a lease business. I gave him the list & set him off. 2 months later I had the car I wanted. And It arrived 2 months before the wee man did. You'll find leather is good for easy wipe clean of baby barf!

Good luck, don't rush. It's worth waiting for what you want. And if you want my cousin's number, pm me

[TrickGTI]

Mine will be up for sale soon but only thing wrong is it's 3 door! 37000 miles 2006

[Frenzy]

Mine will be up for sale soon but only thing wrong is it's 3 door! 37000 miles 2006

yeah that's a shame, needs to be 5dr so the Mrs doesn't have to faff with getting Jnr in his seat  

Loucyffer - sound advice there, thanks very much hadn't thought of using the VW locator or the VW dealership route. Having had a look you obviously pay a premium - their prices are above market price but then as you say i can specify to them exactly what i'm looking for and in the meantime we can keep looking ourselves at other trade and private ads.