Prins:Hi.
hmm........ I'm personally not convinced that the "DSG issues with Golfs" are a real thing!
Don't get me wrong - I'm sure that some (even a few) Golfs have suffered DSG problems - but the trouble with "reading from the internet" is that you ONLY hear about the bad-side of stuff. Very few folk write posts on the web when stuff goes right!! So yes, DSG problems have arisen - but how many actually go pear-shape in the total number of Golfs sold? I don't know!!
Anyway, ultimately it's a gamble no matter what used-car your son purchases - as is the chance of any other component in the car failing!!
My advice (for what it's worth) is forget about what has happened to other cars on the net and have your son focus on what IS happening to the actual car that he is intending to buy! By this I mean -I suggest that you ask the car, itself to tell you its health!!
As you may be aware, this Golf constantly monitors its own health and it stores a fulsome report of it's finding in computer memory. I've never understood why so many 2nd-hand car-buyers ignore this valuable resource when it's just sitting in the car waiting to be accessed!
This health report is far better than service reports and it's far more reliable than the seller's hyperbole because it's up-to-date, its complete and it does NOT tell porkies!!
Of course even with a good health report (meaning a SCAN with no errors)- there still can be no guarantees about bad stuff happening in the future. But at least a SCAN can draw a line in the sand and provide a snap-shot of how the car is feeling when the report is taken.
The bad part of getting a health report from the Golf is that a diagnostic device is needed to pull the data from the computer network in the car. The actual process isn't difficult - but you will need to find someone with a tool to extract the information.
I note that you live in Melbourne. Because this is your first post - maybe send me a PM and we can arrange something (I own a few diagnostic devices- so you can choose which tool you prefer)
Don
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