2013/2014 1.4 TSI Golf..... Problems?
2013/2014 1.4 TSI Golf..... Problems?
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Discussion

oldaudi

Original Poster:

1,549 posts

181 months

Tuesday 10th February
quotequote all
Morning,

Im shopping for an upgrade for my daughter, we wish to move on from a 2009 1.4 Polo. Im looking at early mk7 petrol Golfs, mainly the 1.4 TSI Version. Are there any major issues I should be aware of? Im aware of the boot leaking but anything mechanical ? Im looking at cars between 80K and 100K miles

Is it possible that I would even have the same engine in the Polo ?

Thank you


catso

15,880 posts

290 months

Tuesday 10th February
quotequote all
My Son has one with around 90k miles.

Been pretty good over the 10 years he's had it though it's getting tired now and starting to show it's age and is likely to need some big expense soon. e.g. the driver's side sill is quite rusty so will need sorting out, doesn't help that it has always lived outside and he doesn't really look after it too well. frown

Mechanically though, a few issues over the years but nothing terminal (yet), from memory we fitted; new throttle pedal, fuel pump controller, filler flap motor, ABS sensor, 2 batteries, a couple of rear springs plus the usual consumables but still goes well enough and it's a nicely spec'd 'Match' model.

I wouldn't be keen on buying his at this stage (nearing the end) of it's life, unless it was very cheap but a better cared for, garaged model might be worth a look.

oldaudi

Original Poster:

1,549 posts

181 months

Tuesday 10th February
quotequote all
Thank you. We looked at 3 today, local to Bristol. None of them prepared.

All 3 had water in the spare wheel area.
One had an oil leak , very low coolant and crystallised coolant around some jubilee clips.
Another looked like someone had emptied a bag of dry cement all over the engine bay and then slammed it shut about 6 years ago.

We will keep looking. We looked at a few others in this size , A3, Astra, Focus and some 1 series. I think we have our heart set on a Golf but I m going to have to increase my budget I think. We found a very well specified 1.4, tinted rear windows, heated front screen, rear camera but when I looked under the bonnet, that s where I saw the grey powder cement looking material.

It s been there for ages so no idea why they ve not prepared them. Very disappointed!

I’m set on a petrol due to the way she will use the car, and the CAZ but if I do widen my search criteria there are many diesels. I’ll have to do some more research and check the CAZ for the reg plates.



Edited by oldaudi on Tuesday 10th February 18:48

catso

15,880 posts

290 months

Wednesday 11th February
quotequote all
Sounds like they've been neglected which, I suppose is not uncommon of a car that age.

My Son's has also been neglected body/cosmetics wise because he isn't careful with it: his dog has badly scratched the rear end in jumping in/out plus it has many minor 'battle scars' and the start of corrosion (especially the driver's sill) - no water in the spare wheel well though AFAIK

But it drives me mad that he doesn't seem to care or even wash it however, I know it is mechanically very good because I've been servicing/looking after it for him.

So, finding one that's both mechanically and cosmetically good is the quest, good luck. thumbup

Glosphil

4,782 posts

257 months

Saturday 14th February
quotequote all
I have a 2018 Seat Leon. Same 1.4TSi engine & suspension as the equivalent Golf but cheaper to buy. Internal trim maybe not quite as good, but stalks, switches, infotainment, etc. is identical.

Deep Thought

38,863 posts

220 months

Saturday 14th February
quotequote all
oldaudi said:
Thank you. We looked at 3 today, local to Bristol. None of them prepared.

All 3 had water in the spare wheel area.
One had an oil leak , very low coolant and crystallised coolant around some jubilee clips.
Another looked like someone had emptied a bag of dry cement all over the engine bay and then slammed it shut about 6 years ago.

We will keep looking. We looked at a few others in this size , A3, Astra, Focus and some 1 series. I think we have our heart set on a Golf but I m going to have to increase my budget I think. We found a very well specified 1.4, tinted rear windows, heated front screen, rear camera but when I looked under the bonnet, that s where I saw the grey powder cement looking material.

It s been there for ages so no idea why they ve not prepared them. Very disappointed!

I m set on a petrol due to the way she will use the car, and the CAZ but if I do widen my search criteria there are many diesels. I ll have to do some more research and check the CAZ for the reg plates.



Edited by oldaudi on Tuesday 10th February 18:48
I ran a 2014 Golf 1.6 TDI for two years.

Boot well water is a common thing. I tackled it on mine several times, not sure i totally resolved it, but the last thing i did was seal aroun the indicator units as apparently water runs down and in there (i'd already tried the top 5 other things).

Heater matrix went. Wasnt cheap to fix. Best to do it with a quality replacement, cheap ebay ones can leak at the joints (they clip / lock on).

Window switch went. Easy fix.

Drivers seat had worn through. I opted to upgrade to a "Match" set of seats rather than try to fix the rather poor 'S' ones in the car.

Timing belt? Make sure its been done recently. Wasnt cheap on the TDI once you factor in the water pump and labour.

Try to get an SE or Match if you can. S models are quite spartan.

At that age, they're 12-13 year old cars. Dealers may give them a £50 valet and coat of polish but they're rarely bothering to fix any issues. Definitely hard to get a good one

oldaudi

Original Poster:

1,549 posts

181 months

Monday 16th February
quotequote all
Thanks all, we have extended the search to Ford Focus and Audi A3 with an increased budget. Genuinely surprised at the cost of 10 year old cars with 100K miles!

Deep Thought

38,863 posts

220 months

Monday 16th February
quotequote all
oldaudi said:
Thanks all, we have extended the search to Ford Focus and Audi A3 with an increased budget. Genuinely surprised at the cost of 10 year old cars with 100K miles!
If you want VFM have a look at Astras. Really good cars for the money.

oldaudi

Original Poster:

1,549 posts

181 months

Tuesday 17th February
quotequote all
Bought a 2016 A3 1.4 Sportback. Plenty of them available and hope Ive picked a good one.

Glosphil

4,782 posts

257 months

Tuesday 17th February
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I have a 2018 Leon FR with the 1.4TSi (150) engine. A friend has a 2019 A3 S-Line with the 1.5TSi (150) engine.

Our joint opinion of the 2 cars is:
Leon engine smoother
A3 interior higher quality
Audi rides better & is quieter
Leon slightly shorter but boot capacity & interior legroom the same
Leon air-con buttons better than A3 touch sensitive
A3 door stays stronger than Leon (don't stop doors closing on a gentle slope)
Leon seems to have slightly better fuel enonomy on same journeys as A3 (journey done in both cars a number of times