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How are MK6 Golfs holding up?

5K views 38 replies 31 participants last post by  zukiphile 
#1 ·
I found a cheap, stick 2 door Golf for sale locally and it got me thinking this could be a really nice, sorta short term, city run around/daily driver that costs me nothing, type car. Anyone have a long history with one? I know the 5 pot is quite robust, and always loved the way it drove with a 5 speed. The seats are more than likely heated and super supportive. The turning ratius is great. Its more than peppy. Just seems like a perfect package.

What am I missing? Anything in particular to look out for? Anyone just get one that is starting to fall apart?



 
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#2 ·
No manual crank windows no care. And where are the back doors? This is going to make a terrible taxi.
 
#3 ·
For basic transportation, I don't think you can go wrong with a manual 2.5 Golf.
 
#4 ·
AFAIK there's no major problems with those, drivetrain is pretty simple and straight forward. Parts should be readily available and scheduled maintenance should be inexpensive. It won't be a costs-you-nothing car though; expect to get nickel and dimed by little things, like ABS sensors and oil leaks and the like. Depending on the model year, the headliner might be about to drop as well.

Oh, and the head on that motor is more or less 1 outta 2 on your R8; which is why those 07K motors can be built to crazy horsepower. Could come in handy, you know, in case you need a valve spring in an emergency or something. :laugh:
 
#5 ·
I owned a 2011 Golf 2.5 (identical to the one you're looking at) from about 10 miles up to about 90,000 miles and only did oil changes, filters and tire rotations. I believe that CR even scored these better than the same year Civic if I recall correctly.

Over time, I ditched the plastic steering wheel for the leather one (without multi-function buttons, looks like this one has that already), added both the front and rear fog lights, color matched the ugly amber front reflectors, added aspherical mirrors and upgraded the wheels to the 17" Porto wheels.

The only option that this car had from the factory was the cold weather package giving me heated cloth seats, and heated mirrors and washer nozzles. I really miss this car and wish I held onto it longer.

Off the showroom floor.



When I sold her.





And just a couple pics I have with the Golf on Passat CC wheels.



 
#6 ·
I bought one for myself back in 2015.. kept it for a year. Good car. I bought another one for my wife, we had it also for almost a year.. though it didn't get driven much at all. Sold it since we were moving out of the country. I'd buy another for my wife if she wanted one.
 
#7 ·
Check the bottom seam of the hatch for rust. On mine the rear window washer hose leaked inside the hatch, and the hatch rusted badly.

Also, the leading edges of the front doors might get rubbed out of paint and rust, if the car has those foam pieces in the door jambs to keep ice from building up in there. The door rubs against the foam. But I believe this is an importer-installed thing that only cold climate markets have.
 
#8 · (Edited)
At the risk of causing catastrophic failure because i mentioned it...


my 2013 Golf has been really good.

I have a 4 door - auto 2.5

Mileage is average at best mid 20's to 30's on highway but mechanically has been good.
Get up and go is adequate for merging into traffic and the 5 cylinder makes nice noises for what it is.
Still :heart: VW seat heaters. Still really like the cloth seats that came in the Golf VI.

Everytime I get in it though, I still like it. Although it's a very pedestrian econo car, the MKVI still feels fancy me. :)

Maintenance so far -

  • Oil changes
  • Did the brakes at 32k
  • Replaced the stock tires at 35k

Just about to hit 41k.

Broken things:

1.) Sunroof stopped working this past summer. Since It ceased to function in the closed position so I haven't any research to try and fix.


Based on my experience I'd say I've been pretty happy with the vehicle






Will check for these but I don't think my rear washer has ever leaked - I do remember hearing about that issue though a few years back.
Thanks for the tip.
 
#10 ·
#11 ·
Anyone know if these have the driver door lock module failures that were fairly common with the Mk5?

Something in the module fails and the driver door doesn't lock with the remote unless you use the key in the door.

The 2.5L sounds interesting with exhaust and intake mods though.
 
#18 ·
Have a 2010 which I purchased in August 2011 w/ 13k on it. Have 95k on it now. Haven’t had too many problems (knock on wood lol).

Stuff replaced outside of maintenance:

-2 intake manifolds (covered by warranty).
-TOB issue which replaced clutch at 40k.
-coil pack.
-carbon cleaning recently.

My headliner is sagging.

Not much else..
 
#20 ·
Of course with my luck buying what is one of the most reliable VW engines in recent history I've experienced an ongoing stalling/hiccuping issue that the dealer couldn't solve.

I've replaced so, so much on the car that by now I nearly have a new engine. The entire wiring harness, coil packs, timing chain, throttle body, fuel pump, etc, etc, etc

Other than this mystery issue, I can't say I've had any real issues with the engine. It's such a great little thing, makes a nice growl. It's not quite as rigid as it used to be (if that makes sense), and fuel economy has been getting a little worse from what I've noticed.
 
#21 · (Edited)
I have 200k on my 2011 GTI that I've owned since new. It's been my daily since Jan 2011.

It's a 4 door Manual with Cloth and lighting package.

The car has held up surprisingly well and I drive it hard every single day. Other than the water pumps going bad and timing chain tensioner (under warranty) I've had no serious issues that ever left me stranded. The OEM factory clutch was replaced at 190k. It still had life left in it and would grab gears no problem but the dual mass flywheel started making noise so I decided to replace it with a new OEM kit.

I've made a few small tweaks to get the car to a level that I think is just the perfect level of comfort and engagement for a daily that leaves many people shocked at how much fun the car is to drive.

I'll list my tweaks below as a reference for anyone curious:


Sound system:
VW Drivers Gear/Helix spare tire sub + 5 Channel Amp ~$300 on clearance + $130 Install by local dealer

OEM headunit coded for pre-amp output with VCDS. I'm an audio engineer - the audio quality produced by this setup beats some of the best OEM systems available today. Very accurate and nicely time aligned right out of the box with the included Helix 5ch amp - Considering the amount spent on this setup - I'm extremely happy with this. There is room for improvement but it will take a good amount of money to make a significant improvement beyond this setup.

Suspension:
OEM Audi TTRS solid rubber front control arm bushings installed at 60k and redone at 190k ~$25 for both bushings.

Superpro "street" rear trailing arm bushings Installed at 190k ~$100 for both bushings 110k
I was able to do these in my friends garage with a lift.

Bilstein B6 Dampers installed with Audi TT shock mounts and OEM Drivers Gear linear springs. Installed at 110k

I initially installed camber plates since I was wearing out the outside shoulders of my tires but it was terrible on SoCal roads so I went back to the OEM shock mounts and went with the Superpro ball joints for increased camber.

H&R Big rear sway bar on soft setting. Installed at 115k (tried both the small and big bar)

Swift 5k rear springs. Installed at 160k (I will eventually upgrade the fronts to a 3k Swift spring) - Swift springs are magical - Suspension Wizard Joey Seely seems to be using Swifts exclusively after my friend mentioned them to him a year ago.


Chassis:
Audi Subframe Bolts installed at 20k - I would go straight to the subframe deadset kit if I had to do it again (I'll probably do this when I replace motor mounts and trans mount)
Stern rear chassis brace installed at 150k
VCDS XDS strong setting (uses the rear brakes to help the car rotate better under throttle)

Brakes:
Endless MX72 Pads
Endless RF650 Fluid (endless brake products are the ****)
Centric Solid Cryo treated rotor (installed at 110k)
Tyrol Sport Caliper stiffening kit
VCDS brake threshold tweaks

Alignment:
Joey Seely gave me these settings and they were also a big part of the transformation that made this car what it is.

F Toe: .5mm total toe in (magic setting)
F Camber: Maxed out at -1.7 deg

R Toe: .75mm total toe in
R Camber: -1.1 deg


All in all, I think once I replace the front springs with 3k swifts I think I'll have created the perfect daily driver for me. I had a former BMW engineer help me through the years with all the changes. Every time he and others drive the car, they are always pleasantly surprised. It might not be the fastest thing out there but oh man is it a blast to drive. So far, the only car that I've driven that made me not want to get back in my GTI has been a 991.2 with RWS - I think that says a lot.



My wife has a mk7 for her daily, great car but I feel it is more Audi than VW in terms of feel. Which is a good thing for many but leaves me wanting more.
I've driven a few mk7 Rs as well. The AWD and power when tuned is great but again, the chassis doesn't speak to me the way my GTI does even though they are much more capable. This is a daily for me so I just want something fun to drive, not just faster.

I try to tell anyone that is interested about how awesome these cars are. One of the best buys in the used car market IMO. It's a lot of car for the money.

EDIT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZKFd-SNp8s - Yuri and Jakub think so too!
 
#23 · (Edited)
Wow, Awesome!



Great write up :thumbup:

I totally get what you're saying about the driving feel over outright power for a fun daily formula. I have the same thing in a different brand/model and will probably do like you are doing, replace/upgrade when stuff wears out and just keep driving it, it's a blast.

Your post reminded me of the days when we talks as much about car stereos as we did the rest of the car. The sound system in the FiST is craptastic but I don't blast out the jams like I use to and prefer it muted on the curvy roads. But years ago I would have sunk money in upgrades on it for sure.
 
#26 · (Edited)
As I mentioned in my OP, with the 5 speed, it drives extremely well (or did when they were new and I was selling them). I think that pairing is much better suited that the automatics and seriously would have considered getting one but ended up with the B5 instead. My buddy just sold his 08 that he put 100k miles on and all it needed was maintenance items. It was truly a perfect car for him, especially in the city.
 
#27 ·
I had a Mk6 Sportwagen 2.5L 5-speed for a few years. Great car, good highway cruiser. But I will say this, and it pains me...but the automatic is better.

The short ratio 02J in the Mk5 cars was better to drive than the long ratio box they installed in the Mk6 cars. They did that because the fuel economy sucked in the Mk5s. While the long ratio box solved the fuel economy problem, it made the cars suckier to drive due to the wide gear spacing. Add to that the 02J’s crappy shifter and clutch arrangement, and it was not a very satisfying manual car to drive.

If I were looking for a manual 5-cylinder to build, I’d choose a Mk5 over a Mk6 purely from a mechanical standpoint.
 
#30 ·
Mine is holding up well after 10 and 103k. And especially when compared to a lot of different cars I see coming through the shop. A lot of other cars have paint, rust and interiors falling apart. At the end of the day it comes down to how the car was treated from day one. Worked at a VW dealership and can say most VW owners really beat the piss out of their cars.
Then many mod them making other issues. My car still runs great too. It will need some maintenance like timing chain tensioner etc, but that’s expected on most higher mileage vehicles. Bought it 8/11 and still love it. No tune or crazy mods either. Haven’t had to do much to it in general other than general maintenance.
 
#31 ·
I have my 13 TDI with 124k now. The only issues I can think of are that the vent control on the back of the center console is broken, but that may have been done by the dog. There is some surface rust starting on the front door hinge mechanism but I think some grease will stop it where it is now. Strut mounts seem tired but they aren't bad enough for me to want to replace them yet. No head liner issues or anything like that but it's been in Connecticut and now Ohio it's whole life.
 
#32 ·
I cannot speak to long term ownership, but I leased a 2010 Golf 2.5 5 speed 2 door brand new back in the day, and for the 2 years I had it I was genuinely impressed with it for all the reasons you mentioned.

It was a decent suspension and a set of tires and wheels away from a budget GTI, in fact.
 
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