To DSG or not to Dsg?

To DSG or not to Dsg?

Author
Discussion

NordicCrankShaft

Original Poster:

1,859 posts

130 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
quotequote all
I'm in the process of looking at a new motor, I'm fancying a mk6 Golf GTI. There a few around and two in particular have really got my attention. There are some minor differences but both are specc'd with the options I desire, the main difference is one is manual and one is DSG, the other issue I have is being in Norway they're located a flight/very long drive away.

What are people's experiences with DSG? Especially first timers as I've always had manual but the I feel the dsg holds a certain appeal to me I'm just not entirely sure and it's a long way to go to hate it.

Edited by NordicCrankShaft on Saturday 4th February 15:08

Flooble

5,600 posts

115 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
quotequote all
What's the warranty situation like where you are?

Unless you can get a copper-bottomed gold-plated cast-iron rock-solid guarantee, you need to consider the consequences of a breakdown.

NordicCrankShaft

Original Poster:

1,859 posts

130 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
quotequote all
No warranty as they're both private sales. Could possibly get a 3rd party warranty, haven't checked though.

NDNDNDND

2,434 posts

198 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
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Do you like driving? If you don't like driving you'll prefer the DSG. If you enjoy driving, the DSG transforms the car into a very boring appliance. That's my experience anyway.

Cudd Wudd

1,106 posts

140 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
quotequote all
NDNDNDND said:
Do you like driving? If you don't like driving you'll prefer the DSG. If you enjoy driving, the DSG transforms the car into a very boring appliance. That's my experience anyway.
I assume your username doesn't stand for, 'neutral, drive, neutral, drive...' then? smile

NordicCrankShaft

Original Poster:

1,859 posts

130 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
quotequote all
I do enjoy driving it's just that sometimes I'm lazy and to be fair the last time I truly enjoyed it I got banned for 5 months.

a4cabrio

924 posts

174 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
quotequote all
1st time DSG user here's in a MK7 GTD, although it's not my 1st auto (2 x E9x BMWs) it's the best I've had, gear changes are very quick, I have read of various problems with the DSG box but if they've been serviced at the 40k miles service intervals then they are supposed to be ok, but I still wouldn't run one out of warranty personally.

angels95

3,252 posts

145 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
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Not a fan of DSGs myself. Very hesitant and jerky at low speeds.

Green1man

556 posts

103 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
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I had one in Octavia VRS, currently got PDK in Porsche, they have loads of advantages and I had no issues with jerkiness. There's still plenty of driving enjoyment to be had in manual mode, after all almost no modern supercars now have manual gearboxes.

steve-5snwi

9,485 posts

108 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
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Not a fan of dsg either, if you want an auto look for something with a zf 8 speed.

NordicCrankShaft

Original Poster:

1,859 posts

130 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
quotequote all
I know the earlier DSG's had issues but are the problems now not mostly fixed?

AClownsPocket

899 posts

174 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
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I'd buy a MK7 second hand with DSG, but anything earlier I wouldn't touch unless as stated above, the warranty was cast iron.

NordicCrankShaft

Original Poster:

1,859 posts

130 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
quotequote all
I wish a mk7 was an option but the difference in cost is around the £10k mark. Got to love Norwegian car prices.

Yipper

5,964 posts

105 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
quotequote all
Manual cars are dying away because modern flappy-paddles are so good. Much faster and smoother. All the best supercars now are flappy-paddle.

Having said that, older flappy-paddles are slow and jerky. So, try before you buy. Or get an aftermarket DSG remap to smooth it out and speed it up.

AClownsPocket

899 posts

174 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
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Ouch. Then advice is, buy a manual.

hal 1

409 posts

264 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
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Have owned autos for a long time and experienced a lot of makes, currently have a ford a Vauxhall and a Volkswagen dsg, I just don't like the vw one, jerks a bit on take off, rolls back on slight inclines and I can't see where it's any improvement on the others
I doubt whether I'd have another.

Unclegerry

138 posts

109 months

Saturday 4th February 2017
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Don't buy the DSG without a test drive, if you can't get the manual.

NordicCrankShaft

Original Poster:

1,859 posts

130 months

Sunday 5th February 2017
quotequote all
Ok so the owner of the DSG has assured me that it's been serviced twice even though it's only on 66,000km and aren't the service intervals like 40k miles? Either way I've asked for a picture of each stamped page in the service booklet.

NordicCrankShaft

Original Poster:

1,859 posts

130 months

Monday 6th February 2017
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Spoke to the garage that own the manual GTI yesterday. He said it had some front end damage that required a new light, front bumper, radiator and also said they had it on a jig. He said he's got all the correct paperwork to prove everything is all good. From what I can gather the guys stated g it runs a body shop as it's on their company Facebook page for sale also?

What would people's opinion be? Should I still be interested or just walk away. To be fair from the pictures it looks a beauty.


MorganP104

2,605 posts

145 months

Monday 6th February 2017
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I had a DSG-equipped MkV Golf GT TDi, and absolutely loved it. Unlike a "traditional" torque converter automatic, there's no slushiness or slurring during acceleration or when changing gear.

Some would call this jerkiness, though I always felt it was just "positive". You get the impression there is some mechanical work going on during gearchanges, rather than the mushy feeling one gets when a regular automatic changes gear.

Personally, I thought it was fabulous, and would have another in a heartbeat.

Usual caveats apply around regular servicing, etc.