Julessy's Golf MK5 GTI

[Julessy]

Hello everyone I'm a bit of a newbie here but I thought I'd make my first thread due to now having what I deem to be a somewhat PH worthy car. It's a 2005 Golf MK5 GTI with a few extras such as the 18" Monza II alloys, and an electric sunroof. Now this is my second car after driving a 1.25 Fiesta MK7 9 months I wanted an upgrade and some man maths meant I could upgrade to this. I've only owned it for a couple of days so I'm getting used to the big difference in power but, so far I'm in love. Being 21 means insurance isn't too astronomical. For as long as I can remember I've always loved Golfs due to growing up in a family that has owned countless different Golfs including two MK5 GTIs. For me the MK5 is the second best looking of all 8 Golfs coming second only to the MK2.

Now getting back to my exact car the condition is really good for a 14 year old car, it's suffered some scuffs here and there, some curbing on the wheels and just general age related marks. I took a 2 hour drive from Devon to look at it in Wales and bought it there and then. It has stacks of history and the previous owner I'm told was an enthusiast so I'm confident it's been well maintained. So far these are the only pictures I've taken of the car due to the weather being crap but I'll be sure to take more when I get out more in it.

20191025_103737 by Julian Hale, on Flickr

20191025_103728 by Julian Hale, on Flickr

My first event in it will probably be Re-Fuel in Dunkeswell, Honiton for anyone who might be near my area who's going and is interested in seeing it. Anyway thanks for reading and I'll be sure to keep this thread updated with any new photos or things that happen with the car as time goes on.

Edited by Julessy on Friday 8th November 22:41

[Trollied]

Looks lovely!
Thinking of getting either a MK5 GTI, or an FN2 as my next car, so will be interesting, hearing how you get on with it.

Edited by Trollied on Saturday 26th October 15:55

[Julessy]

Trollied said:

Looks lovely!
Thinking of getting either a MK5 GTI, or an FN2 as my next car, so will be interesting, hearing how you get on with it.

Edited by Trollied on Saturday 26th October 15:55

Thank you! So far it's really good but we'll see how it does in the long run as I feel an FN2 would probably be cheaper to run in the long run due to cheaper parts and Japanese reliability. When I was looking around for my next car I did consider an EP3 but ruled it out due to the fact I find the Golf's interior a much nicer place to be and I liked the thought of having a turbo so I didn't need to rev the car out to really get going.

[Roboticarm]

I had an 08 plate GT diesel when they were brand new (company car) which was excellent. Always fancied a proper GTi but not got round to it.
It's defo the right colour, I spent ages looking at the options and went for silver too.

[Julessy]

Roboticarm said:

I had an 08 plate GT diesel when they were brand new (company car) which was excellent. Always fancied a proper GTi but not got round to it.
It's defo the right colour, I spent ages looking at the options and went for silver too.

I wasn't sure on the Silver at first because i thought it might be a bit boring but with the 18" alloys it's definitely growing on me. I would've got the Candy White I think it's called but there seems to be a big premium to pay for that colour.

[AI1694]

Great choice, a superb all rounder. Love the blue tinted glass, I think only early models had them.

[kharma45]

If you’re looking to upgrade the stereo at any point and want to keep the OEM look, have a look at the RCD330.

Bar no RDS on the FM radio they’re a good unit for getting android auto and CarPlay into the mk5. Usually requires a new canbus module too (definitely will on an ‘05 car), and steering wheel controls won’t work without an adapter.

[thecremeegg]

Great cars these, we have an 07 reg one with a remap and it's been great!

[Paul S4]

Looks very good.

A pal had one of these new in Scotland ; I drove it from St Andrews up to Avimore and it was amazing...almost 200 BHP IIRC, the acceleration was so addictive.

It it were mine, I would change the wheels...! I have never really liked those but it is all personal choice !
There are plenty of alloys to choose from but you may be happy with the Monzas !

There will be others on here that know these cars well, there are loads of upgrades etc,
A nice stainless exhaust would make a good addition.

Keep the photos and updates !

[Julessy]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, definitely looking to upgrade some things soon, but got to sort out a couple issues that have come up first. The tyre pressure warning light has come up and I've checked all the tyres are up to the recommended pressure so I'm thinking it's a faulty sensor. Then about 10 minutes ago I had a warning light saying 'Front left parking light defective' so I checked all the lights and they seem fine, will check again either when it's darker or tomorrow evening when I finish work.

Edit: So after about 20 minutes I went out again and looked at it, this time no bulb warning light came on so I'm thinking it could be because I'd just given the car a quick wash and it doesn't like water for whatever reason.

Also thought I'd include a quick picture of the interior since I haven't done that yet

20191027_142922 by Julian Hale, on Flickr

It has the original GTI mats in it and what I'm guessing is a non standard half Alcantara steering wheel.

Edited by Julessy on Sunday 27th October 14:42

[kharma45]

Yeah wheel has been retrimmed.

Other small interior mod I can spot is that it has MK6 switches for the windows and lights. I’d assume mirrors too if they’ve done those ones. If the mirror switch has a silver finish around it, it’s been changed. It’ll be all black if it wasn’t changed.

[Julessy]

kharma45 said:

Yeah wheel has been retrimmed.

Other small interior mod I can spot is that it has MK6 switches for the windows and lights. I’d assume mirrors too if they’ve done those ones. If the mirror switch has a silver finish around it, it’s been changed. It’ll be all black if it wasn’t changed.

Interesting you mention that as I didn't realise and when I move the right mirror it also for some reason moves the left mirror but not vice versa which is an odd quirk lol. Will have to look at the mirror switches when I go out in it again and see if they've been changed.

[Julessy]

So after about two weeks of ownership I'm starting to love the car more and more the more I drive it, it's absolutely brilliant in nearly every way. It feels very quick in a straight line arguably quicker than the 197bhp claimed, it's possible it's been remapped since my mate think it's faster than his Fiesta ST MK7 which has a Mountune kit and very noisy Cobra exhaust on it. I'm learning really just how capable it is around corners as well, it really just holds on, it does roll slightly but definitely nowhere near as much as the MK7 Fiesta I owned before which seamed to almost lean around corners . I definitely want a slightly more throaty exhaust in the future though as I want just a bit more of that 5 cylinder soundtrack in my cabin. Anyway here's a quick picture of it after I'd just arrived home from work.

20191108_191217 by Julian Hale, on Flickr

The picture makes the lights look really blue but they're not, the sidelights are a non standard blue the main lights are standard. It does need a good clean but considering how cold it is and how little motivation I have after being at work all week (boo hoo I know lol) I'll probably wait until next weekend to clean it so it's somewhat clean before Re-Fuel on the 17th. Also quick edit I've bought a PH sticker which will go on after it's been cleaned.

Edited by Julessy on Friday 8th November 22:42

[TheDukeGTi]

Julessy said:

bit more of that 5 cylinder soundtrack

I really like these mk5's; ever since they were launched, I always thought they were a step-above the rest.

Pretty sure it's a 4 cylinder though. I think the Audi's at the time were the ones with the 5 cylinder TFSI engines.

[Julessy]

TheDukeGTi said:

I really like these mk5's; ever since they were launched, I always thought they were a step-above the rest.

Pretty sure it's a 4 cylinder though. I think the Audi's at the time were the ones with the 5 cylinder TFSI engines.

Looking it up you're correct, for some reason I always thought the MK5 was the only 5 cylinder GTI that was made, no idea where I got that from lol. Still sounds different than every other generation of GTI though which is good.

[thebraketester]

Julessy said:

kharma45 said:

Yeah wheel has been retrimmed.

Other small interior mod I can spot is that it has MK6 switches for the windows and lights. I’d assume mirrors too if they’ve done those ones. If the mirror switch has a silver finish around it, it’s been changed. It’ll be all black if it wasn’t changed.

Interesting you mention that as I didn't realise and when I move the right mirror it also for some reason moves the left mirror but not vice versa which is an odd quirk lol. Will have to look at the mirror switches when I go out in it again and see if they've been changed.

That’s normal operation.

[anonymous-user]

Looks nice, enjoy! Always wished I purchased the one I sat in 5 years ago. A black Mk5 manual GTI with heated leather seats. Was lovely! Only real regret I have in terms of cars. I reckon I would of kept it until now as they just seem to nail the balance of comfort and enagement for an affordable daily car.

I've got a FN2 Type R facelift at the moment and while it's good when you're on it and it looks nice, the NVH is awful for daily driving and if you're not feeling up to it then it becomes tiresome. I'm torn between getting a MK6 GTI or a shed again.

Anywho ignore my reminising over here

[rickygolf83]

Nice looking mk5 there!

The tyre pressure system works via the abs pick up on the rear of the hubs.

Listen for excessive "tapping" coming from the passenger side end of the engine. There will be noise from the secondary fuel pump, but metalic noise will be cam chain slapping the rocker cover due to a knackered tensioner.

Also as a precautionary measure, get a garage to drop the sump and check the condition of the oil pump sprocket, bolt and chain.

My mates 05 gti's sprocket bolt sheared, then engine had consumed the swarf leading up to the snap and required new turbo and engine rebuild.

[Court_S]

Looks a nice car. Like the steering wheel retrim.

I nearly bought a well spec’d Mk 5 GTI with the DSG a while back. It was a nice car to drive but had signs of rust on the front wings which I believe is fairly common and upon digging through the history the DSG service had been missed. Missed out on an Ed30 after that which was lovely.

[Julessy]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'm going to get the car looked over probably by the end of this year by a local VAG specialist. It's probably going to need a new battery before it gets really cold because the car seems to struggle slightly to start sometimes (it starts first time but takes longer than it should if that makes sense).