Looking at making the move to DSG
Discussion
I am currently the owner of a A3 2TDI (170) quattro 2009 and ive been looking at making the change to a DSG gearbox as oppose to manual. I am considering purchasing a A3 or a tt around the same age with a 2l engine petrol or diesel engine only with DSG as oppose to my current manual.
I am currently a student with a part time job so my funds arent very consistent aside from student loan at the moment.
I was mostly looking for advice in the area i.e.
Is there a bit of a cut off point on how many miles the car should have?
How expensive can it be on average if something does go wrong?
How much and how often would i need to maintain the gearbox and how much would that cost?
Other than that any other advice in general would be appreciated.
I am currently a student with a part time job so my funds arent very consistent aside from student loan at the moment.
I was mostly looking for advice in the area i.e.
Is there a bit of a cut off point on how many miles the car should have?
How expensive can it be on average if something does go wrong?
How much and how often would i need to maintain the gearbox and how much would that cost?
Other than that any other advice in general would be appreciated.
I'm not sure about the later 7-speed DSG, but I have the 6-speed in my Golf GTI and it needs an oil and filter change every 40k miles, at a cost of somewhere between £160 - £180 depending on where you have it done, with VW dealers predictably the more expensive.
I like the DSG, having been a committed manual 'box man, but the Golf was the right spec and condition when I bought it. The DSG can be left in "Drive" and used as an automatic, and in conjunction with the Auto-Hold makes life much easier in traffic, while the paddle shift makes for fun and Formula 1 delusions when things get twisty and interesting, along with the ability to easily move into Sport mode, and changes, either with the paddles or in auto mode are quick, and almost seamless.
My only gripe is that the gearbox can over-rule my inputs, particularly if I want to use the paddles in "normal" mode, and will sometimes take over in auto mode when I want to use the paddles, but it's not much of a hardship.
I like the DSG, having been a committed manual 'box man, but the Golf was the right spec and condition when I bought it. The DSG can be left in "Drive" and used as an automatic, and in conjunction with the Auto-Hold makes life much easier in traffic, while the paddle shift makes for fun and Formula 1 delusions when things get twisty and interesting, along with the ability to easily move into Sport mode, and changes, either with the paddles or in auto mode are quick, and almost seamless.
My only gripe is that the gearbox can over-rule my inputs, particularly if I want to use the paddles in "normal" mode, and will sometimes take over in auto mode when I want to use the paddles, but it's not much of a hardship.
My current car (2016 Leon 1.8tsi FR) is my first DSG\auto car (dry clutch 7spd) and I won't be going back to a manual, am currently waiting on a new Polo GTi to be delivered (wet clutch 6spd DSG), I do a lot of town\city driving and it is perfect for, esp when stuck in traffic, I don't miss swapping cogs myself at all even on long runs in the country (sport or manual mode with the paddles more than makes up for it for me).
As for reliability, I know a lot of people who have had DSG cars for years and apart from one person who bought a Golf GT TDi with one when they first came out which had a few issues when it was new (fixed under warranty), they on a whole have been reliable. My mate who had an 07 Passat TDi Sport 170 DSG had no issues with it taking the car from 40k to 140k, just had the DSG serviced when it should have been, the DSG was about the only thing that didn't cause him grief in that car once it got over 100k TBF, the car was remapped as well and he has a heavy right foot.
As for reliability, I know a lot of people who have had DSG cars for years and apart from one person who bought a Golf GT TDi with one when they first came out which had a few issues when it was new (fixed under warranty), they on a whole have been reliable. My mate who had an 07 Passat TDi Sport 170 DSG had no issues with it taking the car from 40k to 140k, just had the DSG serviced when it should have been, the DSG was about the only thing that didn't cause him grief in that car once it got over 100k TBF, the car was remapped as well and he has a heavy right foot.
I believe that early DSG's were problematic, maybe worsened by misinformation that they were sealed and didn't need servicing - but they do.
On my wife's SEAT Altea, we forgot and at about 60k, had to have a rebuild / new mechatronic unit - 3K from an indy. Car was only worth about 3K but had been reliable until then and was a good spec, hence we stumped up the cash.
I have an A6 with DSG and love it, it is only a year old mind but the issue with the SEAT didn't put me off.
If you get one, check for receipts to clarify it has been serviced at around 40k, its not part of the routine servicing and may have been missed. Check for any judder in lower gears.
One thing to note, in earlier DSG equipped VAG group cars, I dont think they had 'Auto Handbrake or Auto Hold' - so another killer of the DSG is coming to a stop with it in Drive and using the handbrake but taking foot off the footbrake - this causes the clutch to wear a little, just like riding the clutch. Possibly one of the reasons why ours went in the SEAT. The newer VAG DSG's have this feature, so when you come to a stop, the handbrake engages but keeps the revs lower and so the clutch isnt engaged.
On my wife's SEAT Altea, we forgot and at about 60k, had to have a rebuild / new mechatronic unit - 3K from an indy. Car was only worth about 3K but had been reliable until then and was a good spec, hence we stumped up the cash.
I have an A6 with DSG and love it, it is only a year old mind but the issue with the SEAT didn't put me off.
If you get one, check for receipts to clarify it has been serviced at around 40k, its not part of the routine servicing and may have been missed. Check for any judder in lower gears.
One thing to note, in earlier DSG equipped VAG group cars, I dont think they had 'Auto Handbrake or Auto Hold' - so another killer of the DSG is coming to a stop with it in Drive and using the handbrake but taking foot off the footbrake - this causes the clutch to wear a little, just like riding the clutch. Possibly one of the reasons why ours went in the SEAT. The newer VAG DSG's have this feature, so when you come to a stop, the handbrake engages but keeps the revs lower and so the clutch isnt engaged.
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