Hi,
I'm new to the forum and straight away I need some buying-advice. I'm looking to buy a second-hand MK5 GTI with DSG, 12/2004 (five-doors) and only 6.500 miles.
That does sound a tad alarming to me! About 1,200 miles a year on average . . . . I know low mileage is generally seen as a good thing, but that does seem really extreme.
I already tested it for only 20 minutes and was well impressed by the immaculate state of the interior and the power (+ decent sound).
Well with only 6.5 k miles on the clock, it should be immaculate. But it will hardly be run in - most VAG cars generally don't make full power until about 8-10k miles has elapsed.
Can you give me some buying tips: the overall state of the car is really good on first sight, I'm just wondering what to check concerning the DSG-box (I'm new to the DSG driving experience) and the general way of driving.
My concern is the fact that it's already nearly 5 years old and did only 6.500 miles (in a way the low mileage os also positive I guess ...)
Any specific things to look out for ?
Yup, the DSG must have had a service at 4 years or 40k miles - now obviously your prospective purchase is a long way off 40k miles, but it has passed the 4 year period.
Secondly, the cam belt needs changing, again for the same reasons as the DSG (though timing belts are generally safe upto 5 years or 60k miles).
Finally, check the tyres - for 'age deterioration' of the rubber, and make sure a brake fluid change is also been done every 2 years.
And as just a general 'gut feeling' observation - I reckon there is a high possibility that that car might be an import - ie a not an official UK car - so two issues. You need to ensure that it has a full UK specification, including rear fog on the right, headlamps which dip to the left, speedo in mph rather than just kmh, and that it has the 2zone climate control. Secondly, a whole load of unsold imported cars stood for months and months at dock car park pounds, and many were known to suffer from corrosion - especially on the alloy components under the bonnet, and also the alloy wheels corroding onto the hubs.
If you want any independent confirmation of the vehicles status (is it an import, or is it a proper UK car - along with the full specification), then you can PM me the full VIN, and I can do a full on-line look up. Obviously, you'll need to stack up a minimum post count of 10 posts on this forum before PMs are activated - so you may need to pop over to the 'new members' section of the forum for some virtual 'meeting and greeting'.
HTH
