Mk5 gti tartan seat bolster wear

[Gad-Westy]

Considering a mk5 Golf GTi. Definitely want fabric seats. I’ve noticed a lot have bolster wear on the drivers seat. Are there any established repair methods for this or would I just have to put up with it?

[England87]

A good car upholsterer would be able to repair, normally replacing the affected panel with a close match fabric. Good luck on your search, I also bought one a few weeks ago.

[Gad-Westy]

England87 said:

A good car upholsterer would be able to repair, normally replacing the affected panel with a close match fabric. Good luck on your search, I also bought one a few weeks ago.

Cheers. Are you enjoying it?

[England87]

I have hardly driven it so far as it’s having a cambelt and pump next week and 4 new Michelin PS4’s then I will be able to enjoy it. I’ve had a mk5 gt tdi before and that was a brilliant car even at >150k miles. Just make sure you know about the bits that need or could need doing and factor this in, buy on condition and history and you’ll be ok. Good ones are getting harder to find and prices will only go one way on them.

[Gad-Westy]

Cheers. Yeah, I'm up to speed on the on the major things to watch for. One of the appeals of the Golf is that they're at a point in their life where I'd be happy enough to do most of the work myself without being too concerned about the resale/history side of things.

I'm a bit picky about spec so I'm keeping an eye out rather than being ready to pounce on the first thing that comes up.

[p4cks]

I’m on to my third now, and each one has had bolster wear. The first two with the highest mileage had it right on the corner of the side bolster. The most recent one must have been owned by a chubs as it has almost zero side bolster wear but the thigh bolster has collapsed.

A full interior is only about £300 so a relatively cheap fix. Mine’s been run as a shed (rightly or wrongly) so spends like that are unnecessary.

Things to also consider on these are PCV valve, recirc valve, oil pick up pipe.

You can retro fit quite a lot of stuff to it too, I’ve added cruise and auto lights for almost pennies

[Dr G]

Last time I checked (which was a while ago) the cover was still available to buy new from VW.

[Gad-Westy]

Dr G said:

Last time I checked (which was a while ago) the cover was still available to buy new from VW.

I don't suppose you recall a rough cost?

[Gad-Westy]

p4cks said:

I’m on to my third now, and each one has had bolster wear. The first two with the highest mileage had it right on the corner of the side bolster. The most recent one must have been owned by a chubs as it has almost zero side bolster wear but the thigh bolster has collapsed.

A full interior is only about £300 so a relatively cheap fix. Mine’s been run as a shed (rightly or wrongly) so spends like that are unnecessary.

Things to also consider on these are PCV valve, recirc valve, oil pick up pipe.

You can retro fit quite a lot of stuff to it too, I’ve added cruise and auto lights for almost pennies

Cheers. I'm just a bit anal about stuff like that. Would rather spend more on a car that is near as practical, perfect but there aren't that many to choose from so just wanted to see what the possible fixes are.

If you're on your third, I'll take that as thumbs up

[p4cks]

Indeed. They do everything quite well. Nowt flash, nowt amazing, not too chavvy, not too loud and still look relatively modern

[Gad-Westy]

p4cks said:

Indeed. They do everything quite well. Nowt flash, nowt amazing, not too chavvy, not too loud and still look relatively modern

Yeah, that's the appeal in a nut shell.