Mk 5 GT 1.4 TSI?? Buyer Advice

[Soup Nazi]

Hi Guys
i am looking to upgrade my Mk 3 Golf Tdi in the near future. Was looking at a Mk 5 GT 1.4 TSI. Im a little worried about the complexity with the Turbo and supercharger. Also Ive heard there may be or have been an issue with the CAM chain. Nice looking car though.

Anyone had any experience with this model, all advice appreciated.

[Passat my07]

They are complex and do have timing chain issues. Maybe a gti would be a better option. More power and less to go wrong.

[pseudofusion]

I had one from new for 150k km and it didn't miss a beat. Top little car and didn't have any engine complexity issues. GTI for a handful of $ more may be a better option in the second/third hand market unless you can find a mint example.

[Soup Nazi]

Thanks
The one I'm looking at is a one owner and has 77K on the clock. Owner only wants around 10K for it. Seems reasonable value against the GT Tdi and GTI.

[blower]

Thanks
The one I'm looking at is a one owner and has 77K on the clock. Owner only wants around 10K for it. Seems reasonable value against the GT Tdi and GTI.

The earlier revision of the twincharger that's found in the mk5 is far more reliable than the one in the mk6 (despite them being nearly identical). Piston failures on the mk6 CAVD twincharger are common, but you almost never hear of them on the mk5 varient.

The only thing is if its a manual, NEVER leave it parked in gear - a lot of chain issues occur when the car is restarted and usually this is after it was left in gear on some form of incline (even a slight incline like a driveway) - if it rolls back just a bit in gear with the engine off the chain can slip a tooth or 2 as there is only light tension on the chain when there is no oil pressure. So on startup the engine is out of timing and the valves smash into the pistons.

The way the chain is tensioned in terms of where the tensioner applies pressure to the chain means if the crankshaft turns in reverse without full tension it can easily loosen completely and slip a tooth. Unlike most of 2.0 TSI's there is no ratchet mechanism on the tensioner, so with no oil pressure only the spring is applying pressure and this spring can weaken with age.

[Mattlock]

I bought my GT Sport in 2013 with 92k on the clock. I was the 3rd owner. I loved it.

I had a couple of issues with mine mostly related to the valves that control the switch between S/C and Turbo. During its lifetime they were re-designed and upgraded by VW but mine had never failed during warranty so they were still the original parts. Once they failed and were replaced the car was fantastic.

The only other issue I had was an A/C compressor failure and the intake valves had a clean.

I loved it, put 30k on the clock and sold it late last year when I bought a new R.

It's quick, not much slower than a Mk5 GTI, lighter nose (smaller engine) and makes a great noise. I still miss the S/C whine.


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[brad]

Hi Guys
i am looking to upgrade my Mk 3 Golf Tdi in the near future. Was looking at a Mk 5 GT 1.4 TSI. Im a little worried about the complexity with the Turbo and supercharger. Also Ive heard there may be or have been an issue with the CAM chain. Nice looking car though.

Anyone had any experience with this model, all advice appreciated.

They are a good car but a better alternative is the GTI or the Skoda Octavia 1.8tsi. I cross-shopped all 3 plus the GT diesel back in 2008 and ended up with the Skoda because of the size of the boot and the overall features per dollar spent.

$10k doesn't sound that cheap. My 2007 Octavia with 170,000km is worth about $5k. A Golf is worth a few $k more.

[Mattlock]

$10k doesn't sound that cheap. My 2007 Octavia with 170,000km is worth about $5k. A Golf is worth a few $k more.

When I bought mine (MY0 in mid 2013, I paid $17,500 for it. When I sold it at the end of last year, Carsales had them at between $9k and $11k. I got $10k with the dealer on a trade-in against the R - a bloody good reason why I took the deal!



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[Soup Nazi]

MMM
Thanks guys, this will be my daily hack flog to death machine and I'm looking for a good 8 years out of it. It is replacing one seriously reliable Mk 3 Tdi so I think at this stage ill rethink it due to possible reliability (cost) issues. At this point the 103 Tdi in a Pacific or Sportline looks the goods since it has no DPF and accepts a tune nicely. GTI is nice but expensive and the fuel consumption well, if you pour the fuel in you get more power, its pretty much that simple.

10K is the limit on price. I only looked at this one GT Tsi because its a really nice looker and one owner but the last thing I need is a bottomless pit!

Cheers

[brad]

I average 6.3L/100km on my normal Hurstville - Campbelltown commute. Average 7.6L/100km around the suburbs. That's with tune and other minor mods.

Doing 25,000km/year it's only $2500 of 98ron. I wish depreciation was only 2500/year...