2nd hand polo purchase - what to watch out for

[daz32]

Hi team,

the missus is looking for a small 2nd car so we've shortlisted the Polo 81tsi DSG.. looking at 2015 to 2017

Wondering if people on here would have some advice for what to look out for? I am a VW owner so I think i know what I'm signing up for!

Thanks in advance!

Daz

[Lucas_R]

They are pretty good little cars in general. Good little engine. Only thing I would advise you to be very wary of is the 7 speed DSG as these are very very very well known for all the wrong reasons. Burning clutches, failed mechatronics, shuddering at takeoff and low speeds.

If this car will be spending much of its life in busy Sydney traffic I would heavily suggest avoiding the 7 speed DSG as stop/start traffic is their #1 killer.

[daz32]

They are pretty good little cars in general. Good little engine. Only thing I would advise you to be very wary of is the 7 speed DSG as these are very very very well known for all the wrong reasons. Burning clutches, failed mechatronics, shuddering at takeoff and low speeds.

If this car will be spending much of its life in busy Sydney traffic I would heavily suggest avoiding the 7 speed DSG as stop/start traffic is their #1 killer.

Cheers for the feedback Lucas. Would you still consider this an issue regardless of the service history?

You are right... it's going to be used as the daily for the wife to get to work and back so peak hour traffic is going to be it's life

[Sharkie]

Cheers for the feedback Lucas. Would you still consider this an issue regardless of the service history?

You are right... it's going to be used as the daily for the wife to get to work and back so peak hour traffic is going to be it's life

These have a definite lifespan (which is very very short BTW) and affects all of them regardless of the service history. Best you could if you do decide to do it is to have the DSG tuned. This will, contrary to common views, actually prolong the life of the clutches. Mechatronic is still a gamble though and can fail at any time. Expect at least 1 (very expensive) failure within 5 years.

[daz32]

These have a definite lifespan (which is very very short BTW) and affects all of them regardless of the service history. Best you could if you do decide to do it is to have the DSG tuned. This will, contrary to common views, actually prolong the life of the clutches. Mechatronic is still a gamble though and can fail at any time. Expect at least 1 (very expensive) failure within 5 years.

very interesting...cheers for the advice

I'm looking at 2 cars (2015 and 16) with less than 50k kms however noticing that DSG servicing may not have been completed yet (no test drives yet but will take note of the DSG symptoms)

any other gotcha's to consider? water pumps famous on these as well?

[Sharkie]

very interesting...cheers for the advice

I'm looking at 2 cars (2015 and 16) with less than 50k kms however noticing that DSG servicing may not have been completed yet (no test drives yet but will take note of the DSG symptoms)

any other gotcha's to consider? water pumps famous on these as well?

Note that this is the 7spd dry clutch unit which will definitely fail, unlike the wet DSGs in the R32 and Tiguan ....

[Lucas_R]

very interesting...cheers for the advice

I'm looking at 2 cars (2015 and 16) with less than 50k kms however noticing that DSG servicing may not have been completed yet (no test drives yet but will take note of the DSG symptoms)

any other gotcha's to consider? water pumps famous on these as well?

Another problem with the 7 speed DSG is that they do not have a servicing schedule like the much more robust 6 speed's do. They are considered filled for life (although they are actually serviceable, it's not in the service schedule).

Water pump failures are common across all VW/Audi/Skoda models.

[daz32]

you guys arent helping with the confidence levels haha

maybe i should stick to a Mazda2!

appreciate the insights

[Hillbilly]

Well we have had the opposite 10years with a Polo and apart from recalls no problems until a month ago where we had a brake light warning that wouldnt go away.. All fixed now and perfect. Only 29000km and due to be sold in a couple of months when new Kamiq arrives.

Just dont creep in traffic with foot lightly on brake and all will be good.

[Brissie_Mick]

Hi team,

the missus is looking for a small 2nd car so we've shortlisted the Polo 81tsi DSG.. looking at 2015 to 2017

Wondering if people on here would have some advice for what to look out for? I am a VW owner so I think i know what I'm signing up for!

Thanks in advance!

Daz

I just bought a 2016 Comfortline manual one-owner with 37K on the clock. As others have said here, the DSG is something to be very careful with. One thing I didn't check is the stereo and now I have noticed the passenger door speaker has no sound. So perhaps do a front to back fader and left to right balance with some music on to check you have sound from all speakers.

Good luck.