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Ismurdergus: Hi.
hmm....... MY13 Golf? You don't say if the seller is a LMCT, or a private seller - but my advice is to take advantage of the car's own self-generated health report. It's an often overlooked facility when buying a car - I'm not sure why because there ain't no better way than asking the car, itself if it's well!
My apology if you already know this stuff - but ALL MQB platform cars like this mk7 Golf (in fact, ALL VW models) are designed to constantly monitor the health of internal components. And importantly for your exercise, to store any actual/potential faults in the car's computer memory. Depending on how this fault memory has been treated in the past, it may even be possible to disclose historic faults that have occurred!
On a 10 year old car, this information is very likely sitting there in the car - just waiting to be accessed by a potential buyer (like you)!!
So - how to get access this data? Well........ if you are dealing with a LMCT, it would be reasonable IMO to ask the seller for a copy of the health report (often called a "SCAN"). If a LMCT says that he can't provide a SCAN, be very cautious!
When you get the SCAN - look particularly for the VIN on the report - which must match the number in the cut-out on the front window. And of course, look for words like "no faults" - which should be reported for each control module that's installed in the car (there should be several modules recorded in the SCAN report).
Now, you might consider a "clean" SCAN report to be the best outcome - but it's unlikely for a car of this age/mileage to be completely error free. Not all reported errors are created equal - they vary in severity, priority and impact on the value of the car! And personally, my view is that the presence of errors in a SCAN report can be a valuable negotiating tool.
In any event and IMO of course, the true value of the words in a SCAN report is that it INFORMS your buying choice - before you commit to a decision! Clearly even with the SCAN data, there can be no guarantee of future performance - but it's a very good starting point for peace-of-mind, again in my opinion.
So- if you are dealing with a private seller (i.e. not a LMCT), stuff gets a tad more problematic. To get this information in these cases, you will need access to a diagnostic device. I assume that you don't own such a device - but this equipment is not uncommon amongst forum members.
Importantly for your purpose, this forum has a "pimping" facility that connects local members that own this equipment with those that have a need for this service - see VAG-COM scanning, who can help. Creating a SCAN on a car doesn't affect the vehicle in any way - it simply reads fault memory (nothing more)! If a private seller refuses your request to access this data from the car - again, be very cautious!!
It's your choice if you use the forum "pimping" service - but even if it costs you a small fee, my view is that it's well worth the value that the data will provide to making an informed decision!!
Don
PS: Remember, buying a used car is ostensibly a situation of "information asymmetry" - with the buyer being at the disadvantage-end of the negotiating spectrum. BEFORE making a decision, your principal objective should be to address this fundamental weakness.
Access to SCAN data moves the buyer's negotiating position closer to that of the seller !!
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