New car..

[Ninja]

So, I'm thinking of buying a new (used) car and can't decide on what to go for.

I was going to put a deposit down on a Mustang V8 this week, but my senses got the better me when reality hit that I was about to commit to a 36,000 car - and I changed my mind.

I've currently got a Mazda 3 MPS which I love, but the next car needs to be close to the performance of it.
I spend most of my time driving a company vehicle which is a manual, so I quite fancy an automatic, too. I also want more luxury - heated seats etc. The mazda doesn't have this, and coming from my S3 I miss it. .

So far, I've whittled it down to the below options. My budget is somewhere in the region of £10,000 - £13,000 as I don't want to finance so am limited by the money I have and am able to lay down.

+ford focus ST3 2008/9 (no auto)
+polo GTI DSG (although I've read horror stories about oil consumption and DSG)
+mk6 GTI (tensioner issues)
+mk5 GTI ed30 (DSG worries as car is getting on)

I'm just wondering if anyone else has any input on this for me?

[Waspy]

The mk6 would have my money, not sure what you would get in your budget though.

The engine in the Polo was problematic, I did a lot of research into the engine when I was looking at a Scirocco. From my research I understand they ironed out most of the problems in 2010/11, in the Scirocco at least, so I would imagine anything late 2011 onwards would be fine for the Polo.

With those two in the list I probably wouldn't consider the others (Other that as a financial factor/cheaper), but that is personal preference.

[Ninja]

MK6 was top of my list, but I'd be losing 50BHP and have the dreaded tensioner issue looming over me. Audi S3 is also another possibility but higher mileage puts me off

[barrym381]

new focus st can be had for the top of your budget but does not have the 5 pot sound from previous models  try both see what 1 you prefer or a modified mk5 edition 30

[dTEA]

The ED30 and DSG aint really an issue...The talks of judders and such are, but an odd clunk is the supposedly sophisticated box playing catch up, so long as the change is smooth...check for DSG services...this is the main factor.  Remember to check for rust on wings, due to the inner arches in most cases.  The air con compressors can be a pain, and failure means around 3-400 to sort. 

The ED30's do drink a fair bit of oil, and anywhere up to 1l per 1000 miles is within VW tolerance 

I'm biased, but i prefer the build quality in my ED30 over my brothers MK6, just some little bits that niggle me in the mk6.  That said the standard mk6 makes more than the standard mk5.  ED30 can be had for reasonable money now, but are still that little more exclusive.  Polo never floated my boat in terms of size...too tight a cabin.  ST's are nice, a little obvious and lairy, but I do like em.

I reckon a 60,000 miler ED30 can be had between £8000-£10,000 meaning extra for mods and safety servicing on purchase. 

[Ninja]

It's looking very much like ED30 is the one now.

However I'm picky and have a problem.

I want a white, 3 door, DSG, sub 60,000 mile ED30 with heated seats, multifunction wheel and touch screen stereo. So, I'm afraid the wait might be a while. Would settle for black/red car but really want White.

Heated seats/multifunction wheel are non negotiable haha.

Oh well, let the search commence.

I'll put my mazda up next month on the old auto trader I reckon.

[Ninja]

Also - funny you should mention build Quality. I think any vag car leaves a lot to be desired in terms of build quality, but I just like them so much! The only thing that was swaying me towards a MK6 is the interior. I owned a mk5GTI DSG (not an ed30) and to be honest felt the cabin was lacking compared to my 2001 S3, which surprised me.

Regardless, you've sold me. It's going to be an ED30 as they map well and don't think I'd be happy with it in 230bhp guise, which makes me think I'd be less than thrilled with the MK6 210bhp. At least I can map
The 30 for easy gains.

Cheers dude

[Waspy]

Pretty sure heated seats and MF wheel can be retrofitted, so don't let that get in the way of a good car

[Ninja]

Pretty sure heated seats and MF wheel can be retrofitted, so don't let that get in the way of a good car

Yeah looked into it a while back but was pricey. The more I search with no luck the more a MK7 is seeming like a good idea, or a brand new polo GTI but the better half will kill me.