Buying a used Golf

Marakith

Marakith

Marakith

Associate
Joined
22 Nov 2004
Posts
423
Location
London
I've had a Polo since 2002, from new. It's been a pretty good car, but was recently hit by a builders van when parked outside my house and written off.

I need a new car, so I've had a look round what was out there. I also need something a bit bigger than a Polo now.

After looking around a bit, I decided to go for a Golf. I looked at Skodas, Hondas and Hyundai, but I think it's a Golf I want to go for. I'm not a crazy petrolhead type of guy: I like a comfortable ride (ooer) and don't mind spoiling myself a bit. I'm looking for something really comfortable with decent enough power that is really quiet at speed.

I'm going for an automatic petrol. I'd like the misssus to be able to drive it.

I am looking at going for one of the following:

1] Golf 1.4 TSI Match - Sep 2012 - 12k miles on the clock - Mark 6 - about £16k from a dealership
2] Golf 1.4 TSi SE - 2010 (59) - 13k miles on the clock - Mark 6 - About £11k from a supermarket
3] The outsider is a Mark 7 SE for £18.5k with 4k miles.

Does anyone know if there's a particular reason I should avoid going for option 2? To my uneducated eyes the interior looks a little like an old design in comparison to the newer mark 6, but that's it. Seems to be the same engine etc, just a different trim, but the cheaper one is a few years older - similar mileage. £5k is quite a difference, so what benefits are there in going for the newer mark 6. Are there any issues with the older Mark 6 over the newer one?

Or should I grit my teeth, shell out another £2.5k and go for the newer model?

Thanks all!
 
I really wouldn't be able to bring myself to spend that kind of money on a warm(?) Golf so if you really just want one i'd go all the way back to the Mk.5 and look there as it's a good car and coming up at a good price.

The Mk.5 still has the 1.4TSI choice if that's what you like, but I believe the 2.0 is about the same performance but a whole lot more reliable.
 
Are you getting confused between mk5 and mk6? The 5 and 6 are all but identical really whereas the mk7 is another step on again.

The 1.4 tsi with single turbo is pretty reliable but the 160/170 version is dubious....I don't trust dsg either for reliability but I'm guessing you'd be going warranty anyway
 
Thanks for the reply. Not confused between the mk5 and 6. The two mk6 cars I'm comparing are a few years apart, so all other things being equal, I was wondering if there was any disadvantage in going for the older car. In other words are there any bugs in later mk6 Golfs that have been ironed out?

What you say about the DSG is a little worrying. Warranty runs out, after all.

Happy to be recommended another marque, but I'm looking for Golf level refinement, similar form factor (e.g. not a Civic), and super reliability.

Thanks!!
 
Tute said:
I really wouldn't be able to bring myself to spend that kind of money on a warm(?) Golf
Click to expand...

What exactly makes a Golf match...warm?

OP, I wouldn't worry about DSG, most of the issues people state were from the first variation of the box in the mk5 Golfs years ago. As long as it is maintained properly/serviced/oil changed at the correct interval than I doubt you will encounter any issues, and if you do - then you are in warranty. :)
 
Last edited:
Jay Blizzay said:
Really would advise against getting a 1.4

I had one and spend 1000's in bills
Click to expand...

My Mum has one and has paid £0 in bills outside scheduled servicing.

Your point?

Back to the OP, there's very little difference that I'm aware of between Mk6s. The Mk6 is essentially a heavily facelifted Mk5 (which had been around for 5 years) that was more efficient to build. The silly new car bugs were pretty much non-existent as the mechanicals are all proven.
 
Last edited:
A big difference between the MK5 and the MK6 is the quality of the interior.

If I remember correctly, there really are few differences between the Match and the SE. I think there was the SE and the Twist which were then replaced by the Match. What differences are "concerning" you?

You'd have to go test drive to be honest. From what I've heard, the MK5 and MK6 are pretty similar in terms of the car's actual chassis/platform whereas the MK7 was a complete redesign.

What supermarket is the SE at?
 
Personally I've always found VWs to be generally reliable. I owned a mk4 Golf for 8 years and if I recall only a brake pedal sensor, clutch pedal and boot light switch broke in that time. My mk3 and mk2 were equally reliable and my 19 year old Corrado with around 145k on it has been fantastically reliable, much to my surprise.

However if it were me I would not be buying a 1.4 Golf. Either get an older but more powerful model or look at a cheaper marque. Something that the Corrado had taught me is not to be worried about age or mileage if the car has been looked after by someone who cares.
 
Last edited:
Is their loads of different horsepower variants of the Golf 1.4TSi?

The reason I ask is my partners mother has one (2010) and when I drove it I found it a bit underpowered. She borrowed our 1.9JTD and her reaction was, much nippier than the Golf.
To me it felt like a 80/90 bhp car. Hers is also a 5 speed version but I see a lot of them are 6 speed.

I must admit though I quite like it apart from that. Looks good, gorgeous massive alloys and decent interior. The interior does however feel 'cheaper' than previous Golf's I have been in.
 
I'm not aware of a 1.4 TSI with a 5 speed box. I'd bet on it being a non-TSI 1.4 with about 80bhp.

The TSI is anywhere from 120-180bhp depending on the VAG car. In the Golf Mk6 there was a 120bhp turbo and a 160bhp twincharged when Mum bought.

Mk6 interior is a big improvement over the Mk5. The Mk5 was a bit crummy compared to the Mk4, the Mk6 is back up there.
 
I bought my 1.4 TSI from a VW dealership that had a few extras added when new. 59 plate with around 19k miles. It was £9500 before bartering. That 11k sounds over priced.

Mines the 120bhp model and it's fast enough for town driving and over taking on the motorway etc so no complaints. Feels nice to sit in too.
 
MagicBoy said:
I'm not aware of a 1.4 TSI with a 5 speed box. I'd bet on it being a non-TSI 1.4 with about 80bhp.

The TSI is anywhere from 120-180bhp depending on the VAG car. In the Golf Mk6 there was a 120bhp turbo and a 160bhp twincharged when Mum bought.

Mk6 interior is a big improvement over the Mk5. The Mk5 was a bit crummy compared to the Mk4, the Mk6 is back up there.
Click to expand...


I asked her tonight it is 6 speed. I didn't really get a long enough road to try, when I first drove it I asked her is it 5 or 6 and she said 5 lol.

It is the 120bhp one apparently but it didn't feel like it. Saying that for what she uses it for it is perfect and very economical.

Like I said before I really liked it but it did feel underpowered. It is nothing to do with servicing either as it has just been in having an overhaul under warranty with a new water pump, something else and an extensive service.
 
Third Opinion said:
It is the 120bhp one apparently but it didn't feel like it. Saying that for what she uses it for it is perfect and very economical.
Click to expand...

Seriously? I would say there's gotta be something wrong with it, blown turbo perhaps?

The wife's just purchased a 10 plate 1.4 TSi S for a little over £8k from one of those motor supermarkets with 44k on the clock.
It's not a bad motor and feels fairly nippy considering it's only a 1.4, albeit fitted with a small turbo.
Don't get me wrong, they're no hot hatch, but they're certainly not slow - lukewarm verging on warm would be my description :p
The only problem is I wish she'd at least got the SE model.

I have a MK 6 bluemotion golf estate in SE trim and it gets you some half decent goodies. Over the standard S trim you get; arm rest, better stereo (with speakers in the back!),
rear electric windows, rubbish auto wipers, auto lights, cruise control, better trip computer, coming home lights, some other niceties regarding overall trim in the cockpit
and last but not least a reasonably good looking set of alloys. Why they didn't put alloys on the TSi regardless of trim level I'll never know?
 
Thanks all for the info. I'm a little worried about this whole DSG thing, to be honest. Perhaps I'm over-thinking it?

Also - will the prices of the cars drop significantly when the new plates come out in September?
 
I don't think DSG is as bad for reliability nowadays, and when it does go wrong there are specialists around to fix it much more cheaply than dealer prices.

I did avoid DSG myself when I bought my mk6, partly due to a possible extra future repair cost but mainly because I love manual driving. I don't regret my decision but if I had gone DSG then I doubt I'd be too worried about it,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom