27th Sep 2007, 05:59
I owned a 2003 Polo TDI Sport and it was absolute rubbish. It was forever in the garage been fixed, infact the Ford Fiesta hire car they gave me was much better than the Polo! Thankfully it is now sold and I have bought a much more reliable car - a Ford Focus, VW are building rubbish unreliable cars nowadays.
19th Mar 2008, 10:01
A friend has a 4 month old Golf GT TDI which has a rusting tailgate. VW aren't even prepared to replace the tailgate - they want to repair it.
Quality, my backside.
6th Dec 2008, 16:03
I own a 2006 TDI 2.0 Sport and have covered about 28,000 miles in the last 18 months it not let me down once. I agree about the slow first gear take off, but after that it has amazing performance. When driven at moderate speeds 60+ mpg is easily achieve-able. My experience of both my local VW dealers is they provide absolutely outstanding customer service nothing is too much trouble for them. Overall a very well engineered car which like all cars may have occasional faults develop, but I feel confident that the mark V golf will be on the roads decades after others are scrapped.
22nd Dec 2008, 17:09
I think those days are long gone, my friend. These cars won't outlast their rivals. There isn't a real world survey anywhere that backs up VW's reliability claims any more.
5th Jun 2009, 19:10
My 2006 MK5 Golf+ 2.0 TDI pd140 16v DSG Sport is very reliable! 110000km only one fault regarding the cruse control, fixed under warranty..
My previous car was a new Peugeot 206, but it wasn't reliable so I sold it after a year and 50000km...
I just love the dual clutch transmission, and wouldn't live without it. Before DSG I used to hate auto transmission.
The DSG has launch control so 0-60MPH is only 9.2 seconds. The pd140 engine output 152 HP with no mods!
The torque is impressive all the way from 1900-3500 RPM, and max @350nm.
But it's also a very comfy car with great handling and fuel economy.
The climate where I live make cars rust fast, and the MK5 Golf seems to handle this very well.
The inside of the car is genius with lots of storage room and other clever details that really makes living with this car a joy!
Overall I would say the price is high, but it's worth every $
10th Jun 2009, 06:03
Over-rated buckets on wheels. Boring and unreliable car living off of its reputation. All I can report is that they are extremely comfortable, which is handy when you're waiting at the roadside for the recovery truck.
Got a Ford Focus now, and my god, what a car. I'll never buy anything other than Ford. Stunning to drive and rock solid.
22nd Aug 2009, 19:47
Think of it like this; when you sell the Golf it will still be worth twice as much as a Ford Focus, that's made of cheapo tin.
A Golf will do 100k plus on the same engine, and the Focus will be scrap before the engine does 100k.
23rd Aug 2009, 08:46
New to this thread, but I have to say that comment about Fords being tin is daft. The Focus won most reliable used car many times over the VW and the new Focus models are very solid.
It just shows the blind brand snobbery about... The VW may hold value more than the Ford because of this, though-because VW is the default choice for the uninformed and uninterested in cars who buy on the strength of how much better VW were ten years or more ago.
In my experience, late VWs are a nightmare of under-engineering and stupid faults-faulty alarms, window guides, coil packs, ECUs etc, ad infinitum, so I now steer clear.
Bear in mind Ford is now far better quality and VW has lost its edge, Ford parts are cheaper, but their cars depreciate more.
Just rubbishing the opposition is mindless.
6th Jan 2010, 08:11
I know a VW dealer technician of 30 yrs experience who doesn't recommend any of the latest generation VW's. Reckons the amount of cost cutting and lowest bidder components on the latest stuff makes them unrecognisable compared to the VWs of the 80's and 90's. As do the list of common, repeated faults on all models. Ask him how many mkV Golf and Touran ESP modules (£1600 for the part alone) he changes in a week, and how hard customers have to fight to get VW to contribute to what is a fundamental design fault.
Modern Volkswagens are problematic, cheaply built junk aimed at people who think good build quality means an expensive looking dashboard and fancy instrument lighting.
18th Nov 2010, 17:38
I am absolutely disgusted with my 07 Golf TSi 170. I've had problem after problem with the car, and I even had to pay for an extended warranty on the car.
1st problem was the turbo, then electrics had to be replaced, gearbox rebuild, alternator pulley repair.
I thought I was buying some quality and prestige; all I bought was a badge and hassle.
VW dealers are arrogant and scabby, would have been better off with a Kia Cee'd; at least you get a 7 year warranty, or the Ford Focus for reliability and dealer service. May consider the 2011 Focus, which looks good.
Now that I've got rid of the Golf, I'll never buy another one again. Golf owners beware.
30th May 2007, 04:07
I agree that 1st gear is sluggish, but after that it really picks up. Impressive car with no problems so far. It does scuff a bit on the interior door panels. Otherwise, great.