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HI all - first time poster here,
My OH is having his company car replaced soon and I am considering buying his current car, Golf GTD 2.0. It has almost 60K on the clock. Selling price is c11K but the leasing company slap on a 10% 'admin fee' bringing it to just over 12K.
I am currently driving an ancient and very reliable diesel golf but would like an upgrade. I know the history of the new car, it's pristine and it's lovely to drive.
BUT I don't do high mileage - maybe 7K a year. I also have this nagging guilt about buying another diesel car. If I buy this one I will almost certainly keep it for about 5 years. Should I buy petrol? Is this car worth it? (Doesn't help that I am Mrs Indecisive!)
I really like the car and I have the cash to buy it outright, just not 100% sure about it.
What do all you experts on here think?
Many thanks.
Edited by Cobbles on 09/11/2019 at 15:32
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7000 miles a year in a modern diesel with a dpf is pretty much a guaranteed money pit.
Buy a modern petrol turbo.
We liked the Golf but thought the virtually identical Leon a better buy.
Bought neither, got a Nissan Pulsar 1.6 turbo for peanuts brand new. 2nd hand they are total bargains. Brilliant car.
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First point is that the price for a GTD seems pretty good, even with the admin fee. The cheapest 2016 Golf GTD 2.0 on Autotrader is £12995. So from that point of view it seems like a pretty decent buy. However, it is now outwith its warranty which would have been 3 years unless extended (unlikely for a company car), so anything goes wrong, it is likely to cost big time. I'm not suggesting the car will be unreliable, but i'm not at all convinced that the reliability of VW's are as good as hype might have you believe. While the 2.0 diesel does seem to be stronger than the 1.6, i'm not sure how much faith i'd have of it getting to 8 years old without issue. You didn't say the age of your current car, but if it is a 1.9TDI, that engine has legendary reliability which the newer car just ain't gonna match!. Also, the main problems surrounding poor reliability on a modern diesel seem to be related to emmissions equipment, DPF's and such, and with the kind of mileage you will be doing, that likelyhood of problems will be much higher than if you were doing 15k plus per year.
Personally, if it had to be a Golf, i'd be going for a 1.4TSI petrol, preferably the 150bhp version.
Edited by badbusdriver on 09/11/2019 at 16:02
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Thanks - what you've said about the DPF is what I've been thinking. The car won't have any kind of warranty. There is a possibility I will be doing slightly higher mileage than 7K but it won't be >10K.
My old Golf is indeed a 1.9TDI. 52 plate. Never given me a moment's trouble in the 13 years I've had it.
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Personally I'd keep the old one
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Agreed. There's a strong case for keeping the one you've got until it becomes unreliable / expensive to maintain, in the meantime saving for a newer petrol or hybrid car which should come with some months' worth of guarantee.
The 1.4 TSI is a good engine if you'd like another Golf: you'll get a newer SEAT Leon or Skoda Octavia with the same engine for less money (or an Audi A3 for a bit more!). With any of these, avoid the DSG and stiuck to manual.
Alternatively, you should be able to afford a Kia, Hyundai or Toyota with some of the original warranty still running. But as said above, go for petrol.
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Ha. Well yes, that had been my original plan, to drive it until it falls apart. It passed its MOT this year with no advisories. But the brakes are not brilliant, it's a bit scruffy and has that very old-car smell :-).
A new car appeals for various trivial reasons such as folding wing mirrors (lots of narrow lanes around here where I've lost a number of wing mirrors), beepy things to tell you're about to reverse into something (though, hand on heart, I never have done in this Golf), and heated seats.
I appreciate these are not great reasons for wanting a new car. Mainly I am concerned that my old Golf will just sigh and expire one day.
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The killer for DPFs is short journeys but even if you're doing mostly longer ones 7k is some way below point where diesel would be recommended with modern engines.
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Maybe have a valet to clean the car up?
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Maybe have a valet to clean the car up?
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lots of narrow lanes around here where I've lost a number of wing mirrors
TBH, this would persuade me that hanging on to the old car is the better option. First off, while the current Golf is, i think, the narrowest car in the class, it is still around 6cm wider than your old MK4. So, less chance of someone scraping it as they drove by, and, more importantly, much cheaper to replace the mirror on the MK4 (also, the mirrors on the MK4 do fold, just not electrically). As i live on a narrow street with double parking, the ever growing width of modern cars is a real thorn in my side. And is the reason we have a current shape Honda Jazz, as it offered all the accommodation we needed but is also pretty narrow. Point is, the thought of shelling out £12k+ on a nice car for it to then be scraped by a passing delivery van fills me with dread!.
As for your other points, brakes can be uprated fairly easily. It is also easy enough to get parking sensors fitted or even a reversing camera, which could be done in combination with upgrading the in car entertainment. As for heated seats, there are at least 3 options i can think of, 1, buy a set of 2nd hand seats off a higher spec MK4 Golf (on Ebay at the moment there is a complete set of heated leather Recaro seats from a 5 door MK4 Golf colour concept for £200), 2, you can buy aftermarket kits to convert your own seats (this would probably need to be done by a garage or auto-electrician though), 3, (the easiest) buy a set of heated car seat covers.
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I'd treat the current Golf to a birthday, get a little one man and his dog bodyshop to spruce the paint up where needed, a pro valetter to deep clean it (probably needs a new pollen filter), and a good service with a proper mechanic who'll sort those brakes out, and keep it.
My dear sis was in exactly the same quandry, her Golf 1.9 Diesel is totally reliable so she's (with my input) going to keep it going for as long as poss, it just received a parking ding courtesy of mr/ms anonymous which doesn't bother her one bit but would have been really upsetting had in been the nearly new Auris hybrid she was considering.
One other point about keeping these old decent Golfs going, they're worth next to nothing now, and it's anyone's guess what the future will bring re motoring issues, you're at near enough zero depreciation so just use your cars and bide your time, if the present mob (no fear or favour here they are all equally useless/pointless) decide they have to ban Diesels completely to win the green vote you'll still be able to flog a 1.9pdi to east europeans every day of the week who'll drive them home to the lands of common sense and flog them on.
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Agree with both these replies above and Golfs of this age are getting a bit of cult status (Too soon to be retro, but there's definitely a scene)
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I know my old Golf is worth virtually nothing - as you've suggested, there is great comfort in that. I can sling anything I like into the boot and take it to the tip. I can park it just about anywhere and never worry than anyone's going to want to nick it. It has a few small dings here and there, I don't even notice them. Driving my old Golf is like shrugging on an old comfy coat.
I wouldn't spend any money on it though, other than what's necessary to keep it on the road, I don't see the point.
Edited by Cobbles on 10/11/2019 at 11:12
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I wouldn't spend any money on it though, other than what's necessary to keep it on the road, I don't see the point.
Everything else you say makes good sense, except this last bit. The point is that you have faith in the car and feel comfortable in it. It may have little resale value, but spending modest amounts to solve simple problems like smelling a bit old, is perfectly reasonable and many times less than £11K. But if that money is burning a hole ....
Just remember that post-2008 diesels mostly have DPFs which can be a b****y expensive nuisance.
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Actually I agree about the deep clean / valet option, which for some reason has never occurred to me before. A few people on here have suggested it now and it does appeal.
I just meant I wouldn't spend money on extras such as parking sensors - I know where every inch of the car is and never hit things, except wing mirrors obviously.
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A note on the wing mirrors - they've all been smashed while on the move - narrow country lanes, and a village where there is barely space for cars to pass, always at night. A couple of times I've over-compensated, stayed over too far to the left and walloped the nearside mirror (women drivers, eh?).
When I say 'smash', it's only the glass, they cost very little to fix, it's just so inconvenient.
I've seen newer cars fold their wing mirrors while driving through that narrow village and it appeals.
I will be doing a different commute from January so those particular dangers will be gone. The car is totally safe when parked up.
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"I appreciate these are not great reasons for wanting a new car."
There don't have to be.
The head says 'follow the advice above and keep it'; the heart wants a new car and can afford a newer Golf or....tempting perhaps? for £12k a brand-new Kia Picanto 1.2 with a 7-year warranty. Smaller than a current Golf but maybe not so much smaller than a 2002 model, as each iteration of a model grows in size (wth a few exceptions which I think may include the forthcoming Mark 8 Golf).
As one who got so bored with a Volvo last year that I changed it a year before I should sensibly have done, I do understand the feeling!
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As one who got so bored with a Volvo last year that I changed it a year before I should sensibly have done, I do understand the feeling!
As one who didn't, I don't.
This is because it doesn't make sense.
But of course its your money, and it'll be your car, so you must please yourself.
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Actually, on brief reflection, I realise I'm kidding myself.
While it's true that it doesn't appear to make sense for the OP to change her relatively simple machine for a shiny box of inappropriate technology, a lot of my motivation for never changing a car unless I have to is because I work on them, and become...er...involved.
So part of it is no more rational than shiny appeal is.
There's nowt so queer as folk.
Edited by edlithgow on 10/11/2019 at 02:51
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You can get a 67/18 plate Leon 1.4Tsi Fr Tech for the same price as the golf (same car).
Loads of torque, 0-60 in just under 8 secs, 50mpg is easily achievable and a hoot to drive.
You gat Nav, LED lights and auto everything. I’ve had 3 and only issue was a misted up headlight replaced under warranty.
You can see many towns following Bristol and banning diesel cars in the future. To me petrol is a safe bet for many years to come. Hybrids to me seem a complicated way of getting the same mpg as a standard petrol.
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Yes, I can see more cities going with diesel bans, though the Bristol one doesn't seem well thought through. Just ban all diesels regardless of emissions in more modern ones, and let in all the old filthy petrol cars?
Bristol is a city though that desperately needs its traffic situation sorting out. I can why they are trying to do something about it.
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Thanks for all the input. I agree with pretty much everything everyone has said and yet am still tempted to buy the diesel. Irrational I know - maybe because it's already sitting out on the driveway.
BUT I've asked myself - if I were going out with 12K to spend and the ex-lease car was not an option - would I be buying a 2 litre diesel Golf for my modest commuting - the answer is emphatically NO. I wouldn't be considering diesel at all.
I hate making decisions!
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I would go for the Gtd if my trips were long journeys. It will have have good fuel economy and and low road tax. If you keep it for a two years and sell it you won’t lose much . Nice car ..... and you know it’s history (assuming that it has lots of long journeys the dpf should be in good condition- buy and adaptor like Carly and check it’s condition) .
12k is a good price in two years you could probably sell privately for close to 9k
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Given you have the money available, might be worthwhile looking on some car brokers websites to see what you could get new for the same budget?. You might be surprised, and it isn't necessarily going to be some basic poverty spec model. Going down this route can net you some pretty hefty discounts, especially so if the car in question is due to replaced by a new model soon. But this could well see you in something with all the gizmo's you want, but with the safety net of a full manufacturers warranty.
However, as others have pointed out, ultimately this is your decision to make.
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I don’t trust the DPFs and regen process on Golf GTDs. I have one as a company car and in spite of >20k miles each year and plenty of long runs, it seems incapable of doing passive regens.
Always seems to do active regens and these often involve sitting at traffic lights with a very rough tickover. Feels like it’s going to shake itself to pieces. Lovely car, but I’m jolly glad the lease company will be footing the bill for anything that goes awry. Just doesn’t feel very well resolved from a DPF perspective and a low annual mileage will only exacerbate this.
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I've just gone through a similar decision pricess for my 2008 3 series diesel. I only do 8k mikes a year and would never even consider another diesel for all the reasons people have said. Petrols are just so good now too. Either keep it till it starts getting expensive or get something newer, but don't buy the Golf (or any other) diesel.
My other half went for. Hyundai i10, which has been amazingly good. Now 3 years old, but you could get a brand new one for the same money as that Golf. Just a thought.
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Definitely get the GTD, you know its past history, £30 road tax, more creature comforts and safety and you like it
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Decisions, decisions! I actually enjoy the car-buying process but it's still quite hard to make final decision.
Suggestion - while your old Golf is still going well, go out and test-drive some of the newer (petrol) alternatives we've suggested above, new Kia Picanto or Hyundai i10, or a newer SEAT Leon or Golf 1.4 TSI. Then you can see if you prefer any of them for your particular needs compared with the GTD.
But also have a read of Radam87's tale of woe with a 4-year-old Golf in another current thread. I'm a VW Group fan, and we currently have two Audis, BUT I've been lucky enough not to have kept any of them for more than 3 years from new.
Edited by Avant on 10/11/2019 at 20:04
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Another point for the OP to consider is the wheels. The GTD has 18 inch or possibly even 19 inch wheels with very expensive elastic bands stretched round them. The 2002 Golf will have 15 or 16 inch wheels and much more practical tyres.
The narrow lanes the OP drives down smashing wing mirrors are probably also full of potholes which will damage the GTDs wheels.and tyres much nore easily than the old Golf. A new tyre will probably be about £150 which isn't too bad. A replacement wheel on GTD, as a more unusual model may involve buying a new one, which could be over £500.
I also wouldn't recommend folding in mirrors when moving. My uncle used to do this when meeting traffic on narrow cornish lanes, until the time he kept a bit too far to the left and needed a new front wheel, and repairs to both doors and the front wing. The noise of the wing mirror brushing against the hedge is a useful last chance warning you are getting a but too close!!
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The lanes are indeed full of potholes. I knew the tyres would be more expensive but never thought about replacing wheels.
I know what you're saying about folding in the wing mirrors but it was mainly for driving through that awkward village, which I currently do twice a day. New job in January means that I will only be driving through there occasionally. I know a lot of people who refuse to drive through that village at all, it's a terrible bottleneck.
You're right though - the wing mirror noise is a good indication I'm almost in the hedge. A couple of times though it's whacked against a strong branch which broke the glass. Seems to me that after the first glass replacement, the glass shatters much more easily after that.
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You're right though - the wing mirror noise is a good indication I'm almost in the hedge. A couple of times though it's whacked against a strong branch which broke the glass. Seems to me that after the first glass replacement, the glass shatters much more easily after that.
I'd have thought it might be possible to arrange some more expendable "whisker" that told you when contact was imminent.
Here (in Taiwan) you see cars with little spring loaded "masts" on the corners to tell the driver where they are. Maybe a horizontal version of those, optionally with a buzzer?
Would obviously have to be very flimsy to avoid pedestrian hazard.
Or toy ballons?
Drinking water bottles projecting from the bumpers? (not sparkling, too strong)
But perhaps festooning your car with junk might detract from the appeal.
Maybe one of those aftermarket (microwave?) proximity alert things could be arranged to point sideways?
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Ha ha, very amusing.
You'd think after 13 years of driving the same car along the same lanes I would have learned where the hedge is but it seems not. In fairness, it is often avoidance of other drivers in the middle of the road (those not from round 'ere you see).
Similarly, after umpteen years of parking cars I am still incapable of parking a car straight between the white lines of a parking spot. It's always slightly crooked. I've just accepted it now as a failing I will never overcome :-).
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You'd think after 13 years of driving the same car along the same lanes I would have learned where the hedge is but it seems not.
Probably because a hedge changes shape with time while your car does not. Unless it is hit so often it has learnt to stop growing just there :-)
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A job for with "Boudicea" wheel covers.
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Ha ha, very amusing.
Thanks.
Though I wasn't necessarily/exclusively joking.
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Hi all - thought you might like to know my decision.
I decided NOT to buy the GTD. It's a lovely car but too much for my needs. I wouldn't normally spend 12K on a car, it's just that this one was on offer. I would prefer to spend less than 10K and will aim to get a car that still has some kind of warranty on it and isn't a diesel.
I am going to hang onto the old Golf for the winter, will book it in for a service and spruce-up. MOT is at the end of January - I'll have to see how that goes but my feeling now is to keep the car for as long as it's economical to do so.
I do feel bad about spewing out the diesel toxins though, so much so that I am considering how to commute by (push)bike rather than car in the spring/summer. It's almost all rural driving but still.
Thanks all for your advice, it was interesting and definitely helped to resolve my dithering :-).
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Good thinking, Cobbles, and thank you for coming back to us. I'm glad we've been of some help to you.
Let's hope that the Golf at least sees you through the winter.
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