looking for a new car at the moment. My mk3 golf is on its last legs (178,000).

Was thinking about a newer golf but there seem to be a lot of horror stories of chocolate camshafts on the mk4s and dodgy oil pumps on the mk5. Read a few forums and it would seem your almost guaranteed a £1000+ repair bill at some point.

But, these horror stories dont seem to carry over to other models in the VAG group. I thought they all shared the same engines?

They do share the same engine, as do all the SEAT range, Skoda and the ford Galaxy IIRC. If there was a problem with these engines it would be a properly major issue. Our Audi MK4 is approaching 100k and has been faultless so far. But then 100k on one of these egngines is just run in.

so, a vocal minority making a lot of noise? or the PD130/150 engine is setup differently in the golf.

You can’t trust the internet. Ignore this post.

oil pump issue put me off a Passat, infact most modern diesels seem to have issues so ended up with a Volvo petrol instead.

Audi, seat , skoda, ford galaxy, vw all use the same engines.
I’m not aware of the problems you mention, honest john doesn’t mention them in his car by car breakdown fault lists. I know of issues with 6 speed gearboxes needing rebuilds (after part of the selector drops off and in to the box as I understand).

Reading the ‘bad bits’ on Honest John could put you off any car. Best to use it as a guide for what to check for when buying.

Having typed that, after years of maintaining (and restoring) cars myself, I’ve settled on Volvo. Not perfect either of course.

Onto my 4th, 3 Mk V and currnt MkVI, and whilst none of them have had a lot of miles on when I’ve gone back not a single has shown any problems. With the exception of thee exhaust sensor went on my current a few week ago at around 25k miles, replaced under warranty in a few hours without quibble.

Other than that nothing, not even a hic, bulbs or a even a rattle.

They are excellent engines, responsive and plenty of torque to pull bikes and blokes around on trips away.

infact most modern diesels seem to have issues

That can’t possibly be true as you didn’t add FACT to the end. 😆

Theres a lot of them out there, so there will be a lot of complaints, but as a % of all cars, negligible issue. Everything is much the same, except for French rubbish, that is rubbish.

There was an oil pump issue on some of the 2.0 TDI engines depending on where they were made between certain dates. There was a recall for it afaik, not a problem any more. Any car over 60k miles or so will either not have it or it would have been fixed.

+1 for timber tho. There aren’t systematic problems. I’ve owned 2 VAG TDIs and would have more.

ive had the gearbox issue. 1 and 2 gear suddenly disappeared. Fitted a reclaimed box from a breaker as I was quoted 1200 for a refurb of my box! I think the 2.0 tdi is a good engine, I think it does have alot more niggles with it than the 1.9 though. Its worth noting that its the bnm engine code I think that has the oil problem, the others are more reliable i.e. not all 2.0 tdi’s in all vag cars are identical.

I’ll put in another good word for the diesels, I’ve had a mk4 1.9 and currently own a 09 plate GT TDI 2.0 140. few niggles with the older car but then it had been to the moon and back, new engine is just… Boooooooost! great fun, good economy, no issues as yet. Very happy.

I have a 1.9tdi, it won’t die, upto 174k, i had to spend £100 to get it through the mot. hole in exhaust and a bulb had gone.

Looking at the mk4 pd150.

The mk5’s are out of budget unless they are already stellar mileage.

i’ve always wanted a mk 4 anniversary edition and i’m hoping to get one soon – tell me I’m not making a big mistake as they seem to be pretty expensive for a 10 year old car !

Eyeing up a couple of those. They do seem to hold their value a little too much for me though.

I had a Mk4 PD130 from new and did 40~k miles in it with zero issues. YM03 YPK where are you now?

Aside form a new battery my Bora’s only needed regular servicing over the last eights years of ownership.

The pd150s are the ones with the chocolate cams if you’re to believe the word on the street. Our mk iv 130pd is just ticking up to 100k and never put a foot wrong…

Agreed, the 150 versions do seem to be a lot more problematic than 130’s.

Im on 130K on a 52 plate Mark IV golf 1.9GT Tdi 130 and its an ace car. No problems, and if you drive it easy and stick to between 65 and 75 on the motorway it will give you between 60 and 65mpg! Even did norfolk to Manchester averaging 70mpg once

All i have ever done is drop the oil and flush it with a forte engine flush which really seems to refresh it

Doh! Developed a fault with the front light matrix tonight, wants to keep checking all the lights.

The cams are the same material in the 150s and in the 130’s the issue is to do with how much boost they run and how often the Oil is changed. You must use the right VAG spec oil in the 150’s or they do indeed eat the camshafts! If you skimp on oil then its big bills. I would go for the 130 TDI its a lovely engine and doesn’t strain the chassis to much. The 150 is to much for the chassis, it’s no Focus in this respect.

what Bland said

My CR170 tdi engine is running just fine with 37,000 miles in it. due a service next week so guessing it will be even better after that!

A colleagues PD170 tdi engine was very troublesome but another’s wasn’t.

ho hum.

So, a PD130 with the spec level of the PD150.

Does such a thing exist..

Yes it’s called buying the interior from a breakers yard for 300 quid.
I’ve read a fair bit about the 150 having crappy cams and not worth the risk unless they have been fixed already.

A remap of the 130 engine would get you 170 anyway, and is 2-300 for the work. if you desperately want the extrahp or not

I have a 2002 bora TDi 130 SE for sale at the mo had no problems at all with it. Well serviced as I understand useing the correct oil is critical for cam shaft life.
looking for around £3500 if your interested.

I’ve got a 2002 A4 1.9 130PD with 153K miles, still running like it’s brand new, can’t fault it!

Until 5 weeks ago, I used a Fabia vrs as a driving school car. Was a fantastic car and pulled like a train despite having 151,000 hard miles on it. Would still have it if some stupid cow never rear ended me during a lesson.