Golf diesel advice

And · 5 Jan 2017 at 21:51

Looking to shift my current car soon - Golf TSI (twin charge) 1.4 (2007). Want a diesel, 2-litre TDi Golf. Budget will stretch to about 15K, Match trim is fine (and can get a 15/16 Mk7 with <20K on the clock for that).

Anything I need to look out for on these?

skaif · 5 Jan 2017 at 22:46

I've got a Match Edition MK7 albeit the 1.6tdi DSG and they are very solid cars. If you are getting one a year or 2 old I can't imagine there being too much wrong with it.

Stringy · 6 Jan 2017 at 08:29

Why Diesel? I'd rather get a 1.4 TSI GT with active cylinder tech for that money rather than a diesel Match.

And · 6 Jan 2017 at 19:47

Cheers. How do you find the DSG?

skaif said:
I've got a Match Edition MK7 albeit the 1.6tdi DSG and they are very solid cars. If you are getting one a year or 2 old I can't imagine there being too much wrong with it.

skaif · 8 Jan 2017 at 16:20

And said:
Cheers. How do you find the DSG?

For my needs - perfect. Barely notice it changing gear and makes the car so easy to drive. Personally would go for it again in the future!

Duke · 8 Jan 2017 at 18:12

Stringy said:
Why Diesel? I'd rather get a 1.4 TSI GT with active cylinder tech for that money rather than a diesel Match.

This..

And · 8 Jan 2017 at 21:29

@skaif - thanks.

@Stringy/Duke - I'm up and down to Scotland (Mull, Highlands) at least a couple of times a year and out on the north Wales hills every weekend and a couple of times a week in summer (100 mile round trip). Appreciate the advice but I don't want another 1.4TSi

a1ex2001 · 8 Jan 2017 at 23:47

Avoid the 1.6tdi unless you like regular £600+bills for her valves these seem to be naff on all modern diesels so why VW made it a £300 water cooled part and the buried it on the back of the engine making it a 6hr job I have no idea!

Stringy · 9 Jan 2017 at 10:04

And said:
@skaif - thanks.

@Stringy/Duke - I'm up and down to Scotland (Mull, Highlands) at least a couple of times a year and out on the north Wales hills every weekend and a couple of times a week in summer (100 mile round trip). Appreciate the advice but I don't want another 1.4TSi

So, 2000 miles of Scotland trips, 52 x 100 miles Wales trips, plus 2000 of twice weekly trips in the summer. That gets you to 9200 being generous. How long is your commute? Unless you're going to get significantly over the 15k mark and run the numbers first to compare cost of ownership vs running costs I doubt there will be any significant fuel savings.

I've had a Mk6 Golf 160ps 1.4 TSi and I've currently got a F34 320D with Sports Automatic (if there's a 'better' 4-pot/2.0D experience I challenge you to find it*) and if it wasn't for the fact I did >20k miles a year I'd rather be driving the 1.4 TSi. But hey, if you want a diesel for diesel's sake then fill your boots, at least I feel like I've said my piece

*I understand that all 4 pot diesels are terrible, but at least the ZF box does a great job of masking it.

inflames · 9 Jan 2017 at 10:15

As others have already stated, you really need to know how many miles a year you are doing. If you are planning on spending 15k on a car, you need be doing 15k+ miles a year to seriously see any financial saving with a fuel. If you are under that figure go for a petrol.

skaif · 9 Jan 2017 at 11:50

a1ex2001 said:
Avoid the 1.6tdi unless you like regular £600+bills for her valves these seem to be naff on all modern diesels so why VW made it a £300 water cooled part and the buried it on the back of the engine making it a 6hr job I have no idea!

KWHAAT?!?!

Jokes aside, I drive mine like a monkey and have done over 7k in the 6 and a bit months I have had it and it seems fine. What exactly is the problem with the valves?

nas · 9 Jan 2017 at 12:09

a1ex2001 said:
Avoid the 1.6tdi unless you like regular £600+bills for her valves these seem to be naff on all modern diesels so why VW made it a £300 water cooled part and the buried it on the back of the engine making it a 6hr job I have no idea!

Surely warranty would cover most issues with models this age?

And · 9 Jan 2017 at 22:03

A compelling case you put forward. 12-15k annually, commute is a half mile walk

Twincharge has been great, sounds great, goes well but starting to feel a little fragile @87.5k (serviced regularly, timing chain done at @60k, cam sensor @70k) when really I'd like to keep it longer.

We'll see eh, I'll have a good think and see what's out there.

Stringy said:
So, 2000 miles of Scotland trips, 52 x 100 miles Wales trips, plus 2000 of twice weekly trips in the summer. That gets you to 9200 being generous. How long is your commute? Unless you're going to get significantly over the 15k mark and run the numbers first to compare cost of ownership vs running costs I doubt there will be any significant fuel savings.

I've had a Mk6 Golf 160ps 1.4 TSi and I've currently got a F34 320D with Sports Automatic (if there's a 'better' 4-pot/2.0D experience I challenge you to find it*) and if it wasn't for the fact I did >20k miles a year I'd rather be driving the 1.4 TSi. But hey, if you want a diesel for diesel's sake then fill your boots, at least I feel like I've said my piece

*I understand that all 4 pot diesels are terrible, but at least the ZF box does a great job of masking it.

Nasher · 10 Jan 2017 at 08:36

The 1.6 diesels are pretty terrible from what I hear. Better with a small turbo petrol these days anyway.

chanjy · 10 Jan 2017 at 09:32

And said:
A compelling case you put forward. 12-15k annually, commute is a half mile walk

Twincharge has been great, sounds great, goes well but starting to feel a little fragile @87.5k (serviced regularly, timing chain done at @60k, cam sensor @70k) when really I'd like to keep it longer.

We'll see eh, I'll have a good think and see what's out there.

The new 1.4 (turbo only) TSI is a much more modern and reliable unit than the old twincharge which was notoriously flaky.

Having said that, and after owning one for 18 months the fuel economy was nowhere near advertised (getting 40mpg although I accept I don't have the lightest right foot in the world)

skaif · 10 Jan 2017 at 09:33

Nasher said:
The 1.6 diesels are pretty terrible from what I hear. Better with a small turbo petrol these days anyway.

In what way are they terrible?

paradigm · 10 Jan 2017 at 10:13

skaif said:
In what way are they terrible?

When I had a loaner 1.6TDI A3 (few years ago now) I found that it was notably less economical than my 2.0TDIe A4, yet slower and with far worse throttle response.

Wasn't what I was expecting at all.

skaif · 10 Jan 2017 at 18:02

paradigm said:
When I had a loaner 1.6TDI A3 (few years ago now) I found that it was notably less economical than my 2.0TDIe A4, yet slower and with far worse throttle response.

Wasn't what I was expecting at all.

I get the throttle response bit, mines a bit slow on the uptake unless its in sport mode but the economy is great, I can easily average upwards of 60mpg on a 75mph run or more if I want to be slower.

paradigm · 10 Jan 2017 at 18:12

skaif said:
I get the throttle response bit, mines a bit slow on the uptake unless its in sport mode but the economy is great, I can easily average upwards of 60mpg on a 75mph run or more if I want to be slower.

You've unwittingly backed up my point.

On a typical motorway run my heavier, comfier, larger A4 2.0TDIe would easily get upwards of 70MPG.

The lifetime of the car (whereby I did a lot of urban and combined cycle) averaged 57MPG over 36000 miles.

skaif · 10 Jan 2017 at 18:38

paradigm said:
You've unwittingly backed up my point.

On a typical motorway run my heavier, comfier, larger A4 2.0TDIe would easily get upwards of 70MPG.

The lifetime of the car (whereby I did a lot of urban and combined cycle) averaged 57MPG over 36000 miles.

Fair play.