MK5 advice before purchase

[crashdesk]

Hi,

Seen this today and was wanting some advice. Is this a decent £11,499 price? Could I bargain them down and if so to what, considering the economic climate and your knowledge. I think they are stripping the tow bar off before sale. Is there a chance of this damaging the car?

Also, If the previous owner was dragging around a caravan or boat on the rear will this be detrimental?

...and also. Anything to look for when checking it out?

So many questions I know, but it's a lot of money.

http://www.charleshurstgroup.co.uk/used-car-sales/volkswagen-golf-20t_gti_5dr-manual-petrol/12513/

Many thanks,
C

[ub7rm]

Thats an import (I know all VW's are imports but I mean one that hasn't come in through the VW UK network).  A UK spec GTI would have dual one climate but that one doesn't - it has the cheaper 'climatic' system.  Personally that would bother me but if it doesn't bother you its certainly worth challenging the price on that basis.

I note the description says it has dual zone but the pictures clearly shows it doesn't.

[crashdesk]

Thanks for that. These are the types of things that I would miss.

"A UK spec GTI would have dual one climate but that one doesn't - it has the cheaper 'climatic' system."

What is the difference? I drive a MK3 basic CL and anything like that is lightyears ahead of what I'm used to. lol

[ub7rm]

Dual zone climate control looks like this

http://vwvortex.com/gallery/albums//Volkswagen/Golf%20-%20GTI%20-%20Rabbit/Golf%20V/GTI%20-%20US/045.jpg

and allows you to have a different temperature on each side of the car (in itself a pretty pointless feature) but it is a fully automatic climate control system that adjust fan speed, how much heat / cooling is pumped through, which ducts the air goes through etc based on various sensors in the car.  Its pretty much fire and forget.

Climatic looks like:

http://www.volkswagengrenada.com/vwcms/master_public/virtualmaster/en_gd/volkswagen_community/technology/technical_glossary/climatic.html

And the description there is better than mine!

[Phil1980]

Don't go for that car mate there are stacks of better spec'd GTI's around for less than that I will have a quick look and see if I can find anything.

[crashdesk]

Greatly appreciated. I do live in Northern Ireland though and would be looking to buy one within 40 miles of Belfast. I do limit myself that way, but it's just handy and if anything does go wrong with the car I won't have to travel far. Just thinking ahead lol.

Mileage would be a big thing. One more thing is that I would need finance as I can't afford to pay outright.

Thanks again for taking the time to point me in the right direction and hopefully I will end up with a car that I can enjoy for years to come.

Be good to get some advice on this...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201040370117919/sort/priceasc/usedcars/ni-only/on/maximum-mileage/up_to_40000_miles/make/volkswagen/postcode/bt69dx/keywords/gti/radius/40/page/1?logcodei

[Phil1980]

That edition 30 looks nice doesn't seem to be a great deal in your area up for sale at the moment.  May be worth looking a bit further away to get the right car. You have made a good choice going for the mk5 whichever one you end up with you will definately enjoy it.

[crashdesk]

What do you reckon would be a good price to offer for that particular car. Considering the current economic climate I think I will be in a good position to bargain.

Will look further afield also.

Just got a shock at insurance quotes. £800 a year.

Will the gti run okay on ordinary unleaded or do you put the good stuff in? Trying to get total running costs clear in my head.

Thanks again for all the help.

[Phil1980]

I would offer a grand less than asking price on that ed30, it doesn't have xenons and has the bog standard cd player.  Nice low mileage though.  I use shell v power fuel in my car all the time.  My insurance comes out at £450.00 for the year.

[crashdesk]

Good insurance price. I have 7 years no-claims and been driving 12 years with no accidents etc. Totally clean. Must be a Belfast thing.

Will bog standard unleaded be okay?

Cheers.

Also. Will the edition 30 hold it's price much if taken care of.