£5k mark - VW Golf Mk5 GTi - tempting

[maff 10]

E90s are great to drive, Msport handling is better that most current VWs even with upgrades.....but...

 

Run flat tyres are terrible and must be removed plus running costs are astronomical.

 

As an example, I owned a 2007 330i msport manual (280bhp petrol) was 4 years old with extended warrantee.

 

Pas hose burst - £360 (warrantee claim)

 

Pas hose kept leaking - £250 (warrantee claim)

 

Engine started rattling, cam and tappets damaged, £3000 bill and they tried their best to get out of it - warrantee claim but they charged me £400 for oil, coolant change that had to be done as part of the job anyway.

 

BMW make great cars but they rape you on the maintenance!

 

Sold it after just 1 year :(

 

On the flip side I've owned my trusty old e46 330d sport for four years now, 185,000 miles and not a thing has gone wrong with it! doesn't even burn any oil between services, best car I've owned to date, and it did help that a best mate was service manager at ryebrook bmw:-)

 

I keep toying with sellng up but sometimes I do 600 miles a week and blowing 5-10 grand on a newer model for it to depreciate with mileage is a no no. I can get 50mpg with 500nm so ill stick with the slightly better steering of my e46

One day ill just buy a 335d sport saloon and that will last me forever:-)

 

Oh went in one of these the other day as a friend is after sales manager at a local dealer, bit sluggish but picks it's feet up when asked:-D but erm slightly out of the 5k budget!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I've got a mk6 which is basically a mk5 with a facelift. It really is a lovely car to sit in and to drive. If it's your only car then the Corrado simply can't compete. I am disappointed about the build quality compared to my previous mk4 though. I've also had rust issues on the tailgate (fixed under warranty) which is disappointing for a 4 year old car. Lovely to drive though and quick.

 

Not surprised about the rust. When the new finance director bloke joined VW back in 2007ish and said a Golf (MK5) takes 10 hours to build compared to a Focus that takes 30 mins (IIRC), I knew then VW were heading for a decline in quality. It would seem at least one customer agrees :D

 

Seen it all too many times in the corporate world. Delusional managers thinking they can cut costs and deliver the same or better quality. They're just Morons with important sounding job titles. And then they get a very handsome severance 'package' when they f'ck things up. Then go off and do exactly the same thing somewhere else. These people get head hunted?

[coullstar 0]

Procurment is the new IT! Ive seen it so much in the past few years as they hold the purse strings, the problem is they drive our margins down so much that we almost dont want to do the work and cannot support it as good as we could have so they have more issues. Fecking bean counters.

[Brunty 10]

A bit of thread dilution here!

 

For the OP, I'm guessing you saw my ad on here? Golf GTi For Sale

 

They are great cars, yes, a simple stage 1 remap will give around 250bhp and you can get decent fuel economy. Unfortunately my commute is too short to make it that good, but it's into the low 30's. For me, the Mk5 GTi is like a grown up Corrado, the performance is similar, but it's much easier to drive fast. It is also very easy to live with on a daily basis, looks stylish and never seems to be out of fashion in the work car park etc. The GTi is also a more enthusiast owned car than most marques out there, so there's an excellent source of online forums for help and advise.

I'd keep mine if I didn't have 7 cars here already, and I'd got the VR to replace it...

 

My 2p :)

[Bullfinch 0]

As ever some great comments and suggestions. There are a couple of Mk5 GTi's for sale at dealers near me so I guess I'll take one for a drive and see what I think. Back in 2005 I was going to buy one brand new but instead bought a Mk1 TT 225hp Quattro that was 2 years old at the time. I still like my Corrado so I won't do anything rash as I've invested so much time and money. At least I need to enjoy one summer with 263 cams and a re-map:).

[Kevin Bacon 5]

A bit of thread dilution here!

 

For the OP, I'm guessing you saw my ad on here? Golf GTi For Sale

 

They are great cars, yes, a simple stage 1 remap will give around 250bhp and you can get decent fuel economy. Unfortunately my commute is too short to make it that good, but it's into the low 30's. For me, the Mk5 GTi is like a grown up Corrado, the performance is similar, but it's much easier to drive fast. It is also very easy to live with on a daily basis, looks stylish and never seems to be out of fashion in the work car park etc. The GTi is also a more enthusiast owned car than most marques out there, so there's an excellent source of online forums for help and advise.

I'd keep mine if I didn't have 7 cars here already, and I'd got the VR to replace it...

 

My 2p :)

 

Haha, you're new. You're not yet used to our conversations going off on wild tangents, usually instigated by me :lol:

 

"Easier to drive fast" sums up performance VWs newer than the Corrado very nicely. I remember driving a MK5 GTI way back in 2006ish when I was undecided about keeping the Corrado or not (for the 8th time). I specifically chose a beaten up old B road I know well and despite being on 18s, it glided over it like Aladdin's carpet compared to my Corrado, which even on premium coilovers with a sensible drop, crashed and banged it's way over it like a Walrus squirming up the beach.

 

Things I weren't so keen on were the lifeless steering (strong self centering though) and the sensation of turbo pull was over by 4000rpm.

 

Good cars overall but anything newer than a MK4 is an electronics pain in the arse, so I'm trying to remain old school.