MK5 GTI's, any good ?

Author
Discussion

JM

3,170 posts

205 months

Tuesday 4th July 2017
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My '07 just turned 66,000 today. So there are some lower mileage ones about, only mod on mine is the R alloys.
But under 60,000 might be a bit harder to find.

chrisb92

1,051 posts

123 months

Tuesday 4th July 2017
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JM said:
My '07 just turned 66,000 today. So there are some lower mileage ones about, only mod on mine is the R alloys.
But under 60,000 might be a bit harder to find.
Yours looks really nice!

60's is alright. For a 10 year old car I guess anything under 100k is quite low mileage!

J4CKO

Original Poster:

41,276 posts

199 months

Wednesday 5th July 2017
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My CLS isnt exactly flying away, down to six grand now for an 08, might have to pay someone to take it away at this rate.

Think I may just bite the bullet and get a decent sized loan and go for a Leon Cupra or similar.

Had a look at a local dealers as they had a MK6, was £12,500 but was a bit ropey, chunks missing from the tyres, loads of dents, interior was scuffed and had been painted on one quarter, but seemingly sanded with some Emery paper first, not a dog but getting there.

chrisb92

1,051 posts

123 months

Thursday 6th July 2017
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J4CKO said:
My CLS isnt exactly flying away, down to six grand now for an 08, might have to pay someone to take it away at this rate.

Think I may just bite the bullet and get a decent sized loan and go for a Leon Cupra or similar.

Had a look at a local dealers as they had a MK6, was £12,500 but was a bit ropey, chunks missing from the tyres, loads of dents, interior was scuffed and had been painted on one quarter, but seemingly sanded with some Emery paper first, not a dog but getting there.
Have you considered an ED30? £9k is about the going rate for a decent example!

BigMon

4,155 posts

128 months

Thursday 6th July 2017
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J4CKO said:
My CLS isnt exactly flying away, down to six grand now for an 08, might have to pay someone to take it away at this rate.

Think I may just bite the bullet and get a decent sized loan and go for a Leon Cupra or similar.

Had a look at a local dealers as they had a MK6, was £12,500 but was a bit ropey, chunks missing from the tyres, loads of dents, interior was scuffed and had been painted on one quarter, but seemingly sanded with some Emery paper first, not a dog but getting there.
We had a 57 plate Leon FR TDI and currently have a 12 plate Leon Cupra R, so have had Leons for over ten years now.

They've been great. I think the interior in a Golf GTI might be slightly plusher, but the Leon is still a very nice place to be.

A petrol Leon FR would be worth looking at.

J4CKO

Original Poster:

41,276 posts

199 months

Thursday 6th July 2017
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Discussed with the wife last night, she isnt keen on Golfs, boring apparently and prefers the TT idea, we have other cars that are more practical so a TT is viable, going to get a loan and get something as new as possible, maybe a TTS Coupe

Are the DSG's best avoided reliability wise ?

Mr Peel

478 posts

121 months

Monday 17th July 2017
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I see it's now fashionable to regard Mark5s as the best GTI of them all. Curent Autocar cover story being a case in point. I bought one at the weekend: 3-door manual with 18in rims and leather, 85k and masses of bills, £5k. So far so good.

It's a lot more practical than the TTs I have had, but perhaps you don't have to worry about that. All the reviews say manuals are way more reliable, but the two or three people I've known with older DGS cars haven't had any major dramas.

xjay1337

15,966 posts

117 months

Monday 17th July 2017
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J4CKO said:
Discussed with the wife last night, she isnt keen on Golfs, boring apparently and prefers the TT idea, we have other cars that are more practical so a TT is viable, going to get a loan and get something as new as possible, maybe a TTS Coupe

Are the DSG's best avoided reliability wise ?
Very late. But if you drop me an E-mail I'm happy to give you a full run down of the pros and cons of each type of engine / model common issues etc.
If local to Newbury then I will also happily come with you to inspect a vehicle. I know the Mk5 platform and TFSI engine very well.

SuperchargedVR6

3,138 posts

219 months

Monday 17th July 2017
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Belle427 said:
I think they all burn a little oil to a certain degree, some more than others. I think most people change the oil to a 5w 40 instead of a 5w 30 to help with the problem.
I bought a 2006 model a few months back as id always fancied one, its a very capable car. I do find the suspension a bit harsh on our roads but i did move over from a soft highline passat!
Quite difficult to find an unmolested example but not impossible, i too liked the edition 30 but didnt think it was worth the premium over a standard Gti.
Its still a fine drivers car but does look a little dated these days.
It's the dampers. The spring rates are surprisingly soft, but the dampers are valved for a 'sporty' (aka crashy on UK roads) response.

Switch them out for something less aggressively valved and it's a very compliant car. Very stiff body shell too.

The ED30 is totally worth 'a' premium over the GTI if you want a lot more power and torque, and better styling imo, but I agree.....some of the ED30s out there are way overpriced.

I was a similar boat to the OP 3 years ago. I was originally on the hunt for a TT240. Test drove one of those and an Edition 30 with a Revo map and I drove away in the Edition 30.

va1o

16,029 posts

206 months

Monday 17th July 2017
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I ran a MK5 GTI for a few months 3-years ago and loved it, great all round car. Mine was a 5dr DSG on 17s which seemed a solid spec. It was on 95k miles and still felt strong with no issues during my ownership, except the well documented AC compressor failure.

Having said that... for £7k today I would look to the Mk6 GTI. They feel a lot more modern whereas the MK5 is now looking a little dated. Scirocco with the same engine could also be worth a look as they've come down in price loads, and have the added benefit of still been a current model.

Good luck with whatever you decide thumbup

I-A

408 posts

156 months

Tuesday 18th July 2017
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I'm still running the GTI above!!

Now at 128k miles - I had to replace the AC condensor and repair the DSG mechatronics unit, aside from that it has been great.

I had the opportunity to watch the repair and if I had to buy an older DSG car, I think I would prefer to buy one that had the mechatronic unit repaired as it should have been fully inspected (i.e. the connectors should all be checked for breaks).

Belle427

8,856 posts

232 months

Wednesday 19th July 2017
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SuperchargedVR6 said:
It's the dampers. The spring rates are surprisingly soft, but the dampers are valved for a 'sporty' (aka crashy on UK roads) response.

Switch them out for something less aggressively valved and it's a very compliant car. Very stiff body shell too.

The ED30 is totally worth 'a' premium over the GTI if you want a lot more power and torque, and better styling imo, but I agree.....some of the ED30s out there are way overpriced.

I was a similar boat to the OP 3 years ago. I was originally on the hunt for a TT240. Test drove one of those and an Edition 30 with a Revo map and I drove away in the Edition 30.


Good info there, thanks.
What's the alternative for dampers, something like bilstein?

J4CKO

Original Poster:

41,276 posts

199 months

Wednesday 19th July 2017
quotequote all
Am deferring any change for a year, we are having an extension on the house so it changes my plans somewhat as mainly, need to budget for that and also, it frees my garage up so instead of spending lots (by my standards) on a daily, I think I will get a Lotus Seven type thing, and a smaller daily, which is again where the MK5 GTI comes in, Autocar did a very complimentary piece on them a couple of weeks back.

SuperchargedVR6

3,138 posts

219 months

Friday 21st July 2017
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Belle427 said:
SuperchargedVR6 said:
It's the dampers. The spring rates are surprisingly soft, but the dampers are valved for a 'sporty' (aka crashy on UK roads) response.

Switch them out for something less aggressively valved and it's a very compliant car. Very stiff body shell too.

The ED30 is totally worth 'a' premium over the GTI if you want a lot more power and torque, and better styling imo, but I agree.....some of the ED30s out there are way overpriced.

I was a similar boat to the OP 3 years ago. I was originally on the hunt for a TT240. Test drove one of those and an Edition 30 with a Revo map and I drove away in the Edition 30.


Good info there, thanks.
What's the alternative for dampers, something like bilstein?
If you mean the B12 kit, or the B14/B16 coilovers, God no! Those struts have ridiculously firm high speed compression valving (sharp bumps). I can't recommend them for daily road use. They are superb dampers for consistency and high speed stability, but you would be swerving around pot holes and bumps all the time.

I can recommend the VW Racingline Spring and damper kit. It improves the ride quality quite significantly, whilst also improving cornering and reducing wallowing on B roads once the speed gets up. It's spot on for a daily driver and retaining refinement. Good value at £500 too.

The VWR dampers have a 'tri-valve' setup, which I think incorporates a 'blow off valve' for high speed damper movements, which is common practice these days, a bit like Koni's FSD and Ohlins DFV (dual flow valve). It really works!



Edited by SuperchargedVR6 on Friday 21st July 10:59

nottyash

4,670 posts

194 months

Friday 21st July 2017
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the-photographer said:
1.Buy on condition
2. Consider:

a. TT
b Seat Leon
c Skoda VRS
d Audi A3 2.0T (pretty rare)
I just sold my A3 2.T Quattro S line as it was dull despite the remap which it really needed. Ive got a Mk6 GTI now, and its a lot better apart from traction obviously.

Belle427

8,856 posts

232 months

Friday 21st July 2017
quotequote all
SuperchargedVR6 said:
If you mean the B12 kit, or the B14/B16 coilovers, God no! Those struts have ridiculously firm high speed compression valving (sharp bumps). I can't recommend them for daily road use. They are superb dampers for consistency and high speed stability, but you would be swerving around pot holes and bumps all the time.

I can recommend the VW Racingline Spring and damper kit. It improves the ride quality quite significantly, whilst also improving cornering and reducing wallowing on B roads once the speed gets up. It's spot on for a daily driver and retaining refinement. Good value at £500 too.

The VWR dampers have a 'tri-valve' setup, which I think incorporates a 'blow off valve' for high speed damper movements, which is common practice these days, a bit like Koni's FSD and Ohlins DFV (dual flow valve). It really works!



Edited by SuperchargedVR6 on Friday 21st July 10:59
Thanks.

xjay1337

15,966 posts

117 months

Friday 21st July 2017
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I have B16 fitted recently. I'm also fully polybushed on semi slick tyres and solid top mounts.
I run 7/7. They are stiff but not unliveable.

They are certainly better at higher speed. For handling they are amazing.

aka_kerrly

12,415 posts

209 months

Friday 21st July 2017
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J4CKO said:
, Autocar did a very complimentary piece on them a couple of weeks back.
They did indeed but then the writer went on to say that the mk2 wasn't all that an reckons a 16v is worse than an 8v which is utter tosh.

I've driven a few mk5 GTIs, (1 standard low mileage very clean, one above average mileage an a remap and a hybrid KO4 equipped one) an i prefer the drive on 17inch wheels with 225/45 than the 18s or worse 19s. Not a fan of leather interior especially grey either and would much rather heated cloth as a GTI needs some tartan!

I'm seriously considering a mk5 GTI as my next daily and am looking at 05-07. Im not all hat bothered by mileage and rather buy my cars on condition and evidence of servicing/maintenance. The front wings and boot lids seem to be the problem areas on the bodywork, luckily the red ones don't fade like the 80s Tornado red Golfs.

In terms of additional service items the fuel pump cam drive is essential, i'd also want to whip the sump off and check the oil pick up pipe an oil chain drive.

VW still have the original brochures on the net which is useful for checking specification as nearly every golf i see advertised is either listed as hardly any details or apparently "full spec/top spec/every extra" an doesn't have winter pack, convenience.. That said it is relatively easy to add on nearly any factory optional extra.


www.volkswagen.co.uk/assets/common/.../brochures/....


davepen

1,460 posts

269 months

Saturday 22nd July 2017
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aka_kerrly said:
looking at 05-07. ...
and doesn't have winter pack, convenience..
The (run out) 2008 model had all those as standard, and leather. My only specified extra option was the central arm rest & iPod connection.
So 83K from new, now doing more mile on the commute.

The issue is what to replace it with?
The Mk7.0 was similar, added Nav, but cheapened in some areas and a soundakator!
So run it for another winter and then look for something different.

JM

3,170 posts

205 months

Saturday 22nd July 2017
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aka_kerrly said:
Link not working.