# Buying a high mileage mkV Golf



## AnalBeard (Dec 27, 2010)

Ok, so as the title implies i'm looking at buying relatively cheap MKV as i've changed my job and i'll be doing high mileage (22k a year commuting). The cars I'm looking at have around 100K on the clock, so I'm really after some advice from people with VW experience as to what to look out for when it comes to buying one? I know all the obvious stuff but as each car has it's own foibles I was wondering if there was anything MKV/VW specific I need to look out for? (I'm a BMW man myself)


----------



## Daffy (Dec 15, 2005)

Which engine are you looking at, diesel I assume, as there are several derv options.


----------



## EliteCarCare (Aug 25, 2006)

Most VW engines are only just run in at 80-100k, as long as it has a decent service history it should be fine. The additional mileage in commuting you'll be doing won't do much harm, it's lots of short journeys and town driving that can do more harm than good. :thumb:

Alex


----------



## AnalBeard (Dec 27, 2010)

Daffy said:


> Which engine are you looking at, diesel I assume, as there are several derv options.


Yup, 1.9tdi sport model. 


EliteCarCare said:


> Most VW engines are only just run in at 80-100k, as long as it has a decent service history it should be fine. The additional mileage in commuting you'll be doing won't do much harm, it's lots of short journeys and town driving that can do more harm than good. :thumb:
> 
> Alex


That's what I like to hear! 3/4 of my 90miles/day will be motorway or dual carriageway.


----------



## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Modern Motors major components are rated to minimum 300k and a good deal are upto 500k.

So as long as servicing been done as schedule you will be fine.

As you know what to look out for what you cant see i would get a £30/£45 diagnostic tool to plug into its port to check if any fault codes just to save on possible expenses and could make for a good haggling point as long as any codes are easy fix.

It will tend to be down to replacing a sensor majority of times.

Got one for our polo a while back as intermittent starting failure developed and the tinterweb was correct as the reader stated as the interweb that it was the coolant sensor.

Coolant sensor cost £17 and £6 pound bottle of red coolant to replace the 100ml lost in the change and all is fine again.


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

AnalBeard said:


> ...... 3/4 of my 90miles/day will be motorway or dual carriageway.


Easy living for a car, everything gets up to working temperatures, clutch and suspension have a very easy time and engine just sits at a reasonable speed.


----------



## AnalBeard (Dec 27, 2010)

james_death said:


> Modern Motors major components are rated to minimum 300k and a good deal are upto 500k.
> 
> So as long as servicing been done as schedule you will be fine.
> 
> ...


That's a smart move, that never occurred to me. How about diag software and a cable, rather than buying a code reader? I'm more than happy reading fault codes and coding options onto my BMW via my laptop so I'm not averse to doing it that way.


----------



## Glaschu (Sep 16, 2012)

EliteCarCare said:


> Most VW engines are only just run in at 80-100k, as long as it has a decent service history it should be fine. The additional mileage in commuting you'll be doing won't do much harm, it's lots of short journeys and town driving that can do more harm than good. :thumb:
> 
> Alex


I'll tell that to my neighbour, his one owner low mileage A4 suffered an oil pump failure (seemingly very common on the 140 tdi) that wrecked the engine landing him with a six grand repair bill.


----------



## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

1.9 you should be ok with the 2.0 ..... Hmmmm, injectors and dmf's would be my concern.


----------



## johnnyguitar (Mar 24, 2010)

Glaschu said:


> I'll tell that to my neighbour, his one owner low mileage A4 suffered an oil pump failure (seemingly very common on the 140 tdi) that wrecked the engine landing him with a six grand repair bill.


Was it the pump or the pickup pipe? There is apparently an issue with these on the 140.

My mrs has an agricultural 1.9 PD 105, which is very economical and goes along alright with about 87k on the clock now (57 plate, owned from about 11k miles IIRC).


----------



## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

make sure the timeing belt and water pump has been changed :thumb:


----------



## jgy6000 (May 15, 2007)

I was in exactly the same position as you, I'm commuting 100 miles a day with 95% of it motorway. I wanted something economical yet comfortable so opted for a saloon over a hatchback as I think there a better motorway cruiser and a bit more refined. Ended up getting a 2008 VW Passat 2.0 TDI (140 bhp) . It's got 100k on the clock and does between 50-55mpg every day. I opted to get a 2008 model as this is when they had the new common rail (CR) engine which is a more reliable and doesn't suffer from oil pump failures. Also a lot of people get worried about the DPF but, as I hardly ever do town driving and doing 500 miles a week on the open road it's pointless worrying as your doing the best type of driving for it! Bar needed a little bit of attention on things like suspension the main components of the car should be good for a few 100k more!


----------



## AnalBeard (Dec 27, 2010)

suspal said:


> make sure the timeing belt and water pump has been changed :thumb:


That's useful to know, are either of them pricey jobs if they haven't been done yet?



jgy6000 said:


> I was in exactly the same position as you, I'm commuting 100 miles a day with 95% of it motorway. I wanted something economical yet comfortable so opted for a saloon over a hatchback as I think there a better motorway cruiser and a bit more refined. Ended up getting a 2008 VW Passat 2.0 TDI (140 bhp) . It's got 100k on the clock and does between 50-55mpg every day. I opted to get a 2008 model as this is when they had the new common rail (CR) engine which is a more reliable and doesn't suffer from oil pump failures. Also a lot of people get worried about the DPF but, as I hardly ever do town driving and doing 500 miles a week on the open road it's pointless worrying as your doing the best type of driving for it! Bar needed a little bit of attention on things like suspension the main components of the car should be good for a few 100k more!


That's what I'd like to do to be honest, but I'm trying to keep the cost down as much as possible at the moment, I'm in limbo a bit until I sell my BMW, then I'll have more of an idea of what I've got to play with.


----------



## jgy6000 (May 15, 2007)

The cam belt and water pump I had done on mine was £350 at a VAG specialist, prices tend to range from about 350-500 give or take


----------



## Adrian Convery (May 27, 2010)

The engine is grand they will do more than twice that easily, its just silly things you have to worry about come MOT time like changing bushings etc so just wee small bills to keep it going!


----------



## Glaschu (Sep 16, 2012)

johnnyguitar said:


> Was it the pump or the pickup pipe? There is apparently an issue with these on the 140.
> 
> My mrs has an agricultural 1.9 PD 105, which is very economical and goes along alright with about 87k on the clock now (57 plate, owned from about 11k miles IIRC).


Pump - seemingly there is an issue with the splines in the driveshaft of the pump. They are so fine they wear and slip = bye bye engine. The 105 apparently has a different design so doesn't suffer from this.


----------



## AnalBeard (Dec 27, 2010)

After the 2L was mentioned I did some looking around and it would seem that they're cheaper than the 1.9 for a comparable example, and the insurance is cheaper too! Quite like the look of this one: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201211164264571

Edit: actually scratch that, the 2L develops 73bhp whereas the 1.9 develops 103?! :/


----------



## 11alan111 (Dec 29, 2011)

a mate of mine has a 51 plate 1.9 tdi he treats it like **** but changes oil regular and it now has 353,000 miles on the clock and never misses a beat


----------



## Culainn (Sep 2, 2009)

Great bits of information on this thread. Intrigued. :thumb:


----------



## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

Most of my cars have been audi and vw,audis are a bit more hardwearing than vw's but i've had two mkv golfs now and never had any major probs,the last one i had just needed ARB bushes changing which i did myself so i think it cost about 40,odd quid in 5 years constant use which you can't grumble about tbh,oh yeah and one wheel alignment for 50,as long as you have reg oil changes you should be ok i'd go for it,there good little cars.


----------



## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

AnalBeard said:


> After the 2L was mentioned I did some looking around and it would seem that they're cheaper than the 1.9 for a comparable example, and the insurance is cheaper too! Quite like the look of this one: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201211164264571
> 
> Edit: actually scratch that, the 2L develops 73bhp whereas the 1.9 develops 103?! :/


The Sdi is turbo less


----------



## AnalBeard (Dec 27, 2010)

SteveTDCi said:


> The Sdi is turbo less


That makes sense, the clue is in the acronym! Doh


----------



## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

AnalBeard said:


> That's a smart move, that never occurred to me. How about diag software and a cable, rather than buying a code reader? I'm more than happy reading fault codes and coding options onto my BMW via my laptop so I'm not averse to doing it that way.


The computer software would be more intensive and some could actually alter the setup if needed.

Our polo though is petrol and its cam chain....


----------



## AnalBeard (Dec 27, 2010)

james_death said:


> The computer software would be more intensive and some could actually alter the setup if needed.
> 
> Our polo though is petrol and its cam chain....


That's my plan once I've got it..


----------



## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

Diesel Golfs will go on forever.


----------



## AnalBeard (Dec 27, 2010)

Definitely settled on a Golf then methinks. What about turbos, what sort of mileage would you expect to see before they need work?


----------



## GJM (Jul 19, 2009)

Depends on how it's been treated. people can rag the **** off them from cold, skip servicing, and never allow to cool....obviously never going to last as long as someone who understands mechanical sympathy


----------



## Ian-83 (Mar 28, 2011)

Try to stick to 10k servicing over the longlife regime. As for turbo life depends how the car has been treated in the past anything from 40k to over 100k easily, possibly more if looked after.

Main items that wear out are rear springs snap at the bottom. The rear bush on the front suspension arms start to split over time, easy to replace though. Ocassional dual mass flywheels give up, get a rattle at idle that disappears when you put the clutch pedal down. Rear door locks fail and you can't open the doors. Radiators rot out and leak due to the design of the rad, ac condesor and intercooler all being jammed together leaves get stuck in there and trap damp and rot. Also check the engine codes seen a few with BXE code throw a rod destroying the block and head.

Apart from that fairly bullet proof. I can't think of anything else we see regualry at work.


----------



## Jace (Oct 26, 2005)

My mum runs my old PD150 mk4 & that's got about 160k on it now & still goes like a steam train & returns 55mpg easily .

It's been running a jabba map since 58k

& it's also still on the original turbo & maf


----------



## RedUntilDead (Feb 10, 2009)

GJM said:


> Depends on how it's been treated. people can rag the **** off them from cold, skip servicing, and never allow to cool....obviously never going to last as long as someone who understands mechanical sympathy


True.
I had 1.9PD engine in an old a4. Its was my mates from new which only ever seen motorway miles upto 100K. It was serviced at correct intervals by a non franchised dealer.
I bought it with a known problem which turned out to be a very worn turbo. I reckon that using the wrong grade oil had shortened its life. The garage had not been using the engine specific oil.


----------



## Glaschu (Sep 16, 2012)

Ian-83 said:


> Also check the engine codes seen a few with BXE code throw a rod destroying the block and head.
> 
> Apart from that fairly bullet proof.


:lol:


----------



## woodys (Dec 20, 2010)

Just sold a 180,000 mile golf diesel normal wear and tear items over life span did service myself every 10k using good oil and filters never missed a beat. Only problem if call it that was using cheap tyres on motorway was false economy after 20k on budgets they were useless. Paid little more on premium brand and got closer to 35k. Car was a gem.


----------



## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

The water pump (not sure if its on every engine but its been on the several I've looked at) has a plastic impellor and over time they become very brittle, if left unchanged they can get so brittle that the impellor would all but crumble if you squeezed it and you end up with the pump drive shaft spinning freely in a rapidly overheating engine !

Easy fix though as a new pump will have a metal impellor which obviously begs the question why didn’t they fit the metal ones from new ?


----------



## GJM (Jul 19, 2009)

VAG genuine pumps still do NOT have a metal impellor, other aftermarket ones do.


----------



## AnalBeard (Dec 27, 2010)

Some really useful information here guys, thanks


----------



## Ian-83 (Mar 28, 2011)

uruk hai said:


> The water pump (not sure if its on every engine but its been on the several I've looked at) has a plastic impellor and over time they become very brittle, if left unchanged they can get so brittle that the impellor would all but crumble if you squeezed it and you end up with the pump drive shaft spinning freely in a rapidly overheating engine !
> 
> Easy fix though as a new pump will have a metal impellor which obviously begs the question why didn't they fit the metal ones from new ?


The reason the OEM ones are plastic is that if the bearings fail and get play in them then the plastic impellar will simply wear away if it rubs in the block. If an aftermarket pattern one with metal impellar fails in the same way you need a new block as it chews it up! :thumb:

OEM ones are always plastic never metal.


----------



## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

Appreciate what your saying and to be completely honest its not something I had considered simply because until I read your reply it was something I had never heard of happening ? While I do see the logic it strikes me as ironic that in trying to avoid one problem that could result in engine failure they've created another that could equally end in engine failure !


----------



## Ian-83 (Mar 28, 2011)

To be honest I have only ever seen one vw plastic impeller pump fail causing the car temp to rise and this was only at idle. But never got hot enough to cause any engine damage. I have change hundreds on pumps when doing cambelts as they do suffer from play at higher mileage or are leaking from the tell tale hole. The only time they tend to fail is if wrong coolant has been used.


----------

