RE: VW Golf GTI (Mk6): PH Used Buying Guide

RE: VW Golf GTI (Mk6): PH Used Buying Guide

Author
Discussion

g7jhp

6,958 posts

237 months

Saturday 15th June 2019
quotequote all
JimmyConwayNW said:
On the list of cars we no longer buy in our car sales business particularly 09/59/10 plates due to timing chain issues.

Article is completely wrong different engine.

MK5 was a much better car overall with the exception of the MK6 edition 35 which is a very sweet engine in the MK6 package.
Insightful.

On modern GTI's the best choice is well looked after Mk5 or Mk7/7.5 IMO.

spreadsheet monkey

4,544 posts

226 months

Monday 17th June 2019
quotequote all
g7jhp said:
JimmyConwayNW said:
On the list of cars we no longer buy in our car sales business particularly 09/59/10 plates due to timing chain issues.

Article is completely wrong different engine.

MK5 was a much better car overall with the exception of the MK6 edition 35 which is a very sweet engine in the MK6 package.
Insightful.
yes I'd be interested to know what else is on this list!

Ronnie_B

1 posts

51 months

Friday 20th December 2019
quotequote all
Reading these types of posts always cracks me up, especially when a handful of people that have never owned a certain type of car claim to know all about it. laugh
I've owned (daily driven and tracked) a 2013 mk6 GTI for the better part of 6 years, and the reality is that these are great cars. As with most cars there are a few things to be mindful of when purchasing one, and I'll list a few:

Timing chain tensioner: The '09-'12 TSI engines timing chain tensioner was prone to failure. This design was updated in late production '12, and all '13-'14 production TSI engines. You can check if you have the updated revision through an inspection port on the timing cover. This is a well documented issue that VW issued a warranty extension for. I knew about this issue back in 2014 when I specifically purchased a 2013 GTI to avoid it.

Intake manifold runner flaps: Early production TSI engines can experience issues with the runner flaps on the intake manifold, which causes the engine to throw to idle rough and through a code. There is a revised runner flap design on the updated intake on 2012+ TSI engines.

Waterpump failure: By in the large this is the most frequent issue with the ea888 TSI engine. The original design waterpump had a composite impeller assembly, which was prone to warping and eventual coolant leakage. VW released a revised waterpump with an aluminum impeller assembly and issued an extended warranty on the waterpump to install the revised design if the oem unit failed. GRAF aftermarket has taken it a step further and released an entirely aluminum waterpump (both impeller assembly and the complete housing) as another option. I have been running the VW revised design for roughly 4 years / 75k miles.

Carbon Build up: As with most DI engines, carbon buildup can be an issue. I walnut blasted mine at 75k miles, and they weren't horrible and I probably could have gotten by another 25k miles until I ran into cold start misfire issues.

For context, here are a few mods that I'm currently running:
APR Stage 2 tune, APR cast downpipe, Unitronic intercooler, Audi TT-RS clutch, Peloquin Helical LSD, Koni yellow dampers, VW DG springs, H&R F/R swaybars, Superpro endlinks, Superpro ALK bushes, Superpro balljoints, Tyrolsport subframe collars, Tyrolsport caliper bushings, Dieselgeek shifter, Oil pressure/temp guages, Nitto NT01 r-comps on 17x8.5 Motegi MR133 wheels (track), Michelin A/S3+ on 17x7.5 O-Z Omnias (street), G-Loc R12 brake pads, Motul RBF600 brake fluid, Stoptech SS brake lines, Audi RS3 cooling ducts...and maybe a few other odds and ends.

I've not experienced any of the other issues mentioned in this thread; especially door rust, poor paint issues, wheel corrosion, etc.

Anyway, that's my experience and sorry for bumping an old post. smile



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