Discussion
folos said:
Can't think what I'll eventually replace it with, probably a C63 as there's not many cars that sound as good as the golf.
Great write-up. I also had mine detailed resulting in the best finish I have had on any car; the blue with gel coat comes up fantastic and it was like looking in to a deep pool of water. Edited by folos on Friday 28th February 12:31
Whilst I loved mine (the sound and quality were both impeccable), I found it just too slow; it is a heavy car after all. I also wondered what I would replace it with; eventually went for a 911 996 Turbo (also impeccable build; but obviously not so hot on the sound front!).
Sir_Dave said:
Just for reference, the Golf speedo overreads by at least 10%, so if you are cruising at 65-70 thats actually more like 59-64, hence your mpg is "ok", if you sit at 80-85 on the speedo, ie more normal speeds, it plummets quickly!!
Strange, my tyres are on 5/6mm and it only reads 3-4% out? You can have them corrected though.
Month Two
The car went back to my local garage again this Wednesday. I work from home on Wednesdays and it's just down the road, so it's no hassle to drop it in. They always seem to be full of VWs and talk knowingly about common Golf Mk5 issues, which makes me feel better about using them.
I haven't had the ESP / TPM lights come on since my last update, but I asked them to look at any codes as promised when I had the brakes done. There were no codes stored, so I'm waiting to see what happens next!
They also looked at the coolant issue and diagnosed a weak radiator (£250ish for a replacement). Apparently it would be fine for a while as long as I kept an eye on the coolant, but I've booked the car back in to get it done anyway.
I only did one 250-miler on work miles this week. I found an A8 3.0 TDI taking a liking to my R32's rear pipes on the way home, but I'm pleased to report that the Autobahn barge was not as much of a rocket ship as pub talk has us believe these days. :P
The car went back to my local garage again this Wednesday. I work from home on Wednesdays and it's just down the road, so it's no hassle to drop it in. They always seem to be full of VWs and talk knowingly about common Golf Mk5 issues, which makes me feel better about using them.
I haven't had the ESP / TPM lights come on since my last update, but I asked them to look at any codes as promised when I had the brakes done. There were no codes stored, so I'm waiting to see what happens next!
They also looked at the coolant issue and diagnosed a weak radiator (£250ish for a replacement). Apparently it would be fine for a while as long as I kept an eye on the coolant, but I've booked the car back in to get it done anyway.
I only did one 250-miler on work miles this week. I found an A8 3.0 TDI taking a liking to my R32's rear pipes on the way home, but I'm pleased to report that the Autobahn barge was not as much of a rocket ship as pub talk has us believe these days. :P
Edited by Basil Hume on Wednesday 16th April 12:15
Looks great! Am trying to find a good one but a lot appear molested or are over-priced. In fact, the prices are all over the place - anywhere from £7.5k up to £15k. Their cult following suggests their depreciation curve may have plateaued so it is potentially a good time to get in to one. A few questions from me:
What does the flapper mod do?
What are the must-have options?
What RON fuel is recommended?
Is there any cabin drone from the exhaust?
Is there a dealer that specialises in these nationally?
How hard is the ride?
What mods, other than flapper, are widely acknowledged as worth making?
Thanks in advance.
AD
What does the flapper mod do?
What are the must-have options?
What RON fuel is recommended?
Is there any cabin drone from the exhaust?
Is there a dealer that specialises in these nationally?
How hard is the ride?
What mods, other than flapper, are widely acknowledged as worth making?
Thanks in advance.
AD
Pricing of R32s can be strong. It's an iconic car to some people, perhaps representing their last chance to own a big-engined car in a package they want.
As you'll see from this thread, I took the option of buying a mid-price car and then catching-up with the mechanicals and cosmetics.
What does the flapper mod do? On some VW Group high performance cars, a mechanical flap opens a second exhaust tailpipe once a certain number of revs are passed. This makes the exhaust quieter around town and lower speeds, so some people disable the flap to keep the exhausts open at all times. I've been happy to keep this on my old A3 2.0T quattro, S3 and now R32.
What are the must-have options? For resale, I think you need leather interior. Most other options can be retro-fitted.
What RON fuel is recommended? The petrol flap sticker says 95 RON, which is what I run.
Is there any cabin drone from the exhaust? No - it's very quiet, unless you drop the windows.
Is there a dealer that specialises in these nationally? I don't think so.
How hard is the ride? Softer than an equivalent age S3.
What mods, other than flapper, are widely acknowledged as worth making? I don't think there are any essential mods, although I think the standard head unit is pretty pants. Beyond this, some people would say an exhaust, map and Haldex control. This is the only car I've had that I think is 100% right from the factory.
Because it's a big-engine NA car with its own unique model identity, there's not much you need or can do without major cost. As you'll know, some people have done forced induction etc - but that's going to cost £10k++.
As you'll see from this thread, I took the option of buying a mid-price car and then catching-up with the mechanicals and cosmetics.
What does the flapper mod do? On some VW Group high performance cars, a mechanical flap opens a second exhaust tailpipe once a certain number of revs are passed. This makes the exhaust quieter around town and lower speeds, so some people disable the flap to keep the exhausts open at all times. I've been happy to keep this on my old A3 2.0T quattro, S3 and now R32.
What are the must-have options? For resale, I think you need leather interior. Most other options can be retro-fitted.
What RON fuel is recommended? The petrol flap sticker says 95 RON, which is what I run.
Is there any cabin drone from the exhaust? No - it's very quiet, unless you drop the windows.
Is there a dealer that specialises in these nationally? I don't think so.
How hard is the ride? Softer than an equivalent age S3.
What mods, other than flapper, are widely acknowledged as worth making? I don't think there are any essential mods, although I think the standard head unit is pretty pants. Beyond this, some people would say an exhaust, map and Haldex control. This is the only car I've had that I think is 100% right from the factory.
Because it's a big-engine NA car with its own unique model identity, there's not much you need or can do without major cost. As you'll know, some people have done forced induction etc - but that's going to cost £10k++.
Edited by Basil Hume on Wednesday 16th April 13:44
Edited by Basil Hume on Wednesday 16th April 13:45
I don't think I've mentioned in this thread that I bought this car accidentally on a whim, having actually being on a journey to look at Mk6 1.4 TSI Golfs!
I had a change of heart as I was driving over to view a couple of cars and decided to view this R32 instead!
See here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I had a change of heart as I was driving over to view a couple of cars and decided to view this R32 instead!
See here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Month Two (...and a bit)
The coolant loss is about half a pint every few days now, so it's just as well that I've booked the R32 for a new radiator. You can see a patch under the bumper (on the nearside) in the photo below:
This is a pic outside my parents' house; where I grew up. You'll see it's wearing a roof rack for my bike and, during holiday season, a roof box too. Annoyingly, I managed to put two pinhead-sized dents into the roof while installing it - just something small to annoy me.
The Golf is a little smaller than my old A3 / S3 Sportbacks, but now that my son is 2 and girl 4.5 we don't have to carry so much around.
The coolant loss is about half a pint every few days now, so it's just as well that I've booked the R32 for a new radiator. You can see a patch under the bumper (on the nearside) in the photo below:
This is a pic outside my parents' house; where I grew up. You'll see it's wearing a roof rack for my bike and, during holiday season, a roof box too. Annoyingly, I managed to put two pinhead-sized dents into the roof while installing it - just something small to annoy me.
The Golf is a little smaller than my old A3 / S3 Sportbacks, but now that my son is 2 and girl 4.5 we don't have to carry so much around.
Week Ten
I spent last weekend driving a Type 2 VW Campervan! If you ever think your car feels slow or lacks a bit of joie de vivre, just try driving one of these bad boys. Even this 2011-vintage Mexican import made the R32 feel like a proper rocket!
Back to the R32... I drove it from home in Bristol to Wrexham and back in a day (340 work miles) the day after dropping the Campervan off. This is the longest single journey so far and it was just fine, although I definitely miss my old Volvo's seats and superior sound system. The journey average was 33mpg, including a few bursts along some A-road sections. The traction and initial acceleration from roundabouts are very good.
In less fortunate news, the radiator replacement cost a bit more than expected at £347.60 - and my wife has now kerbed the nearside wheels on one of the massive stone kerbs outside our house.
I've spent £1,284.44 on the car so far (on top of initial purchase), so I need to keep it a while.
It makes sense for me to have the wheels refurbed at the same time as having a patch of peeling lacquer sorted. I'd also like to get the wheels balanced (no weights to be seen on wheels) and a proper 4-wheel alignment done.
Is there such a thing as a comfortable set of coilovers? I'd consider getting some put on (by the same people who do tracking)...
I spent last weekend driving a Type 2 VW Campervan! If you ever think your car feels slow or lacks a bit of joie de vivre, just try driving one of these bad boys. Even this 2011-vintage Mexican import made the R32 feel like a proper rocket!
Back to the R32... I drove it from home in Bristol to Wrexham and back in a day (340 work miles) the day after dropping the Campervan off. This is the longest single journey so far and it was just fine, although I definitely miss my old Volvo's seats and superior sound system. The journey average was 33mpg, including a few bursts along some A-road sections. The traction and initial acceleration from roundabouts are very good.
In less fortunate news, the radiator replacement cost a bit more than expected at £347.60 - and my wife has now kerbed the nearside wheels on one of the massive stone kerbs outside our house.
I've spent £1,284.44 on the car so far (on top of initial purchase), so I need to keep it a while.
It makes sense for me to have the wheels refurbed at the same time as having a patch of peeling lacquer sorted. I'd also like to get the wheels balanced (no weights to be seen on wheels) and a proper 4-wheel alignment done.
Is there such a thing as a comfortable set of coilovers? I'd consider getting some put on (by the same people who do tracking)...
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff