New member saying Hi

[Funkykong]

Hi, hope everyone is well,

Just joined as a member and as I have a buyer for my Z4 (E85) I will be looking for a Mk7 TFSI.

Loved the fact I can dive straight into the Buy/Sell section and see whats available, as on various other owners sites they make you jump through soooo many hoops to access the market place! 

Will be checking in regularly to say Hi and ask the questions all newbies asks, but if there is already a stock answer to 'dos & donts' when looking for a car, please direct me to the link.

Thanks everyone.

[Exonian]

Welcome Funkykong!

Fire away with the questions, we don’t bite too often!
What sort of TFSI are you looking for? Age? Model?
There’s a wealth of experience on here so you’re in good hands

[baka]

Welcome!

[Funkykong]

Thanks for the welcome guys!

I am looking at the 2.0TFSI with a budget of around 12k.

This is an itch which went back a long time ago, when I was in my early 20s I had a choice between a Golf GTI or a Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9, I chose the latter because the pug was more 'raw' and sporty and the Golf came across as an old man's car. Now that I'm older and wiser I can see the appeal of the Golf as an understated sports car.

Are there any desirable options I should maybe look out for when searching? I can see theres a divided opinion for the leather or tartan seats... Personally I would go for the tartan for the nostalgic factor.

[rwleigh]

Hi... 

[Yusee]

Thanks for the welcome guys!

I am looking at the 2.0TFSI with a budget of around 12k.

This is an itch which went back a long time ago, when I was in my early 20s I had a choice between a Golf GTI or a Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9, I chose the latter because the pug was more 'raw' and sporty and the Golf came across as an old man's car. Now that I'm older and wiser I can see the appeal of the Golf as an understated sports car.

Are there any desirable options I should maybe look out for when searching? I can see theres a divided opinion for the leather or tartan seats... Personally I would go for the tartan for the nostalgic factor.

Welcome. Interesting username!

The 205 gti was the first car I really hankered to own- I ran one in my early 20s and last year bought another to use alongside my 7.5 golf.

Your views on "what makes a good car" do change as you get older. You tend to ignore the "adjustability on the limit" nonsense that journalists spout- totally irrelevant for a road car.
I sometimes try and provoke a little lift off oversteer in my pug on roundabouts- just for the fun of it, not because it's the best way to drive!

The mk7/7.5 golf is a brilliant car. It's as much fun as my Peugeot, though you have to be driving very fast in the golf to appreciate it- opportunities to do that are few. If I lived in north Wales or near the snake pass, things may be different!
I'm just about to do the weekend supermarket shop in the pug- it's 9 miles of tight B road. Great fun to hustle the pug down this road- the golf on this stretch wouldn't be as much fun.

The golf is very well equipped as standard. There are no " must have" options. They just add complexity and cost to what should be a simple car. Buy on quality.
And definitely go for tartan seats and manual box!

[baka]

I got dragged on a boring family holiday just down the road from Snake Pass when I had a 205 gti, good times.

I think finding a PP is worthwhile, for the diff and brakes.

[Yusee]

I lived in Manchester when i had my first 205, had a couple of memorable drives on the snake pass. I suspect it’s packed with traffic these days.

[Funkykong]

Still remember those days fondly when every manufacturer had their version of Hot Hatches.

Debates on which was the Daddy would go on for hours and there'll still be no clear winner.

Main contenders were Golf Gti vs 205 Gti (1.9) vs Renault 5 Turbo vs Escort Rs Turbo, plus a handful of 'outsiders' like the Astra GTE and also the Japanese contenders too. I remember having a soft spot for the Lancia Intergrale as it ruled the Rally scene and it was in many ways a thinking man's Golf Gti.

From the above, only the Golf is still available to this day and after a few dodgy reincarnations, the Mk 7 really caught my imagination again. I guess now that I'm older and settled down with a family, the Golf is ticking all the boxes in terms of fun and practicality, so why is it then when I showed it to the missus, she would say 'It's just another hatchback...'

[Exonian]

I had a 205 GTI back in 1991, huge fun and quite quick in its day but an absolute bag of crap in the reliability stakes. I sold it to a guy who had an even bigger bag of crap XR2 that smoked like a shot down Messerschmitt in a 1970’s war film.
The 205 GTI followed a hideously unreliable and heavily tuned mk1 GTI so was at least an improvement on that in all areas except solidity of construction.

A string of old man’s mk2 GTIs followed when I was in my 20’s and they were all built like tanks and never put a foot wrong in the reliability stakes. Maybe old men know a thing or two?

In fact back then there was a big following of old man’s mk2 GTIs from young guys, with GTI International seeing 10000 visitors some years, Worthersee even more again.


Is a mk7 GTI an old man’s car? Being as I’m old now and like them then maybe they are 
In fact I wonder what I’d drive if I was young now?


As Yusee says, just buy on condition.
GTI’s don’t need to be loaded with options, old men’s cars are for creature comforts and golf trollies, GTIs should be kept fairly simple.
An older GTI on a 12k budget loaded with options is just begging for stuff to start going wrong.

Forget options, forget colour, buy the best condition car you can find and it should look after you and your wallet.