Found my ideal-spec Mk7 Performance, one owner, fully documented history including diff oil change, low miles, fully-optioned; got excited, went to see it and on the test drive I had a load of error messages and warning lights on the dash - DCC and ACC both out; various sensors out; EPC warning.
So I couldn't buy it but can't get the car out of my head, and am wondering if it's worth getting it inspected in case it's all related to something simple, like weak battery voltage perhaps?
Ideally I'd like a GTI specialist to check it but don't really know who to approach or even if that's something anyone would do.
The AA has its inspection service - anyone ever used it and able to speak to its value? Would they know what to look for when it comes to model-specific issues like dodgy DCC?
Any GTI owners any thoughts or advice here? Am I right to give the car another chance or should I just run away from it? Gremlins notwithstanding, I haven't seen another with this spec and history for sale for ages. DCC is rare enough as it is.
Presumably this is a private seller? Walk away…
Dealer (not main, obvs). He did apologise and didn't try to minimise or make any excuses - couldn't, really - but he seemed pretty sure a new battery would fix it all. I dunno. The list of possible faults behind an EPC warning is pretty scary.
A dealer said a new battery would fix it all? Yeah sure, why has not done that then? I bet they know full well what’s wrong (and tried a new battery) and it’s not worth them investing in fixing it so the question is could you fix something they can’t/wont? This car is a project for someone with the knowledge and ability to repair themselves. An AA inspection will list everything wrong (probably a long list that will put you off the car) but I don’t believe it will tell you the cost to fix the problems etc so why bother when you know it has problems. It won’t pass an MOT with a bunch of warning lights on. Ask yourself why the original owner decided enough was enough with the car and got rid (my guess is it was becoming a problem/costly). If you do buy the car then you will have limited recourse as you bought it knowing it has certain issues. Dont walk away….RUN!
Leave it. Follow the head, not the heart. There will be another one. I've been down this path several times and each time not listening to the voice of logic stung me on the arse.
Just keep looking. Took me a year to find the correct spec Van I wanted.
Ask them to fit new battery and see if it fixes the issues?
Keep looking, there's plenty on the market.i bought my 7.5 six months ago after a bit of a search. In end I bought mine from the local main dealer after searching nationwide. Maybe a little more expensive than I wanted but got two years warranty and service pack. Worth the extra for a little peace of mind. Couldn't be happier with it, such a great little car.
I had one and it was a great car but then Covid was on, I hardly drove it - battery went flat and it was a nightmare after that! It was at the end of its lease so never got it fully sorted but the issue you describe were similar to mine.
RM.
I had a scary looking engine light on my admittedly diesel bag car recently, bought an obd scanner, it was a glow plug that needed replacing. Once there's a new battery a decent garage should be ok with you plugging one in, £20 from the website that small not be named for a degree of peace of mind. It also currently has two sized wheel nuts that the local black circles have done a great job of rounding, I have no evidence of this of course,not may have been like that since the wheels were last off.
I also own a golf of a slightly older vintage. 105k miles and I suspect some decent sized bills coming in the next few years.
A blown brake light triggered ADAS radar warning on our Fabia. Modern cars are hugely complex and a battery is at the core of most complexity.
If the dealer thinks it's fixable, get them to put a new battery in and loan it for a weekend test drive...
I would be very wary.
on the specific question about AA or RAC inspections, my experience of an RAC pre sale inspection on a complex car is that they don’t guarantee to spot everything and will wriggle out of problems identified afterward. It’s like an MOT, they can say it was fine when they checked….
(My experience was after a clean bill of heath the car broke down and nearly caught fire on the way home from buying it )
I would prefer to spend money on a discussion with a local GTi specialist.
Wouldn't waste your time if the dealer isn't prepared to throw a couple of hundred at the car to fix it, which is what the battery would cost.
The battery failed on mine this year, and on fitting the new one the dash lit up with fault after fault
Mk7 gti - brilliant jack of all trades. Had mine 10 years. PP, winter pack, DSG and ACC. Spends most of its time tooling about with Labrador in the back, but it's been on track and it's trickled home from the airport after a very long day of work and a flight home. Did both very well. Cracking cars.
I keep looking around but there's genuinely nothing I'd change it for.
AA inspection is a total waste of time. They won't commit to anything and will basically confirm 'yes, this is, a used car some stuff is worn and it may or may not break down in the future'.
Set your alerts up on auto trader, pistonheads.com, cazoo etc, get on the Facebook groups.
Another will come up in the right spec soon enough.
Thanks for all the replies. Looking at a 7.5 in the local main dealer tomorrow.
Del, out of interest, when you put the new battery in and had all the faults - what did you to clear them?
I've had vehicles I was selling inspected by the AA, it's very basic, quite non committal, didn't even involve it being jacked up off the floor. I'd definitely say they are not worth it. New battery might well sort the faults, they do cause a lot of abs, eps, steering light and others when voltage is low which can often happen with sale vehicles. That said the dealer should be happy to fit a new battery, clear faults, send a video of this, same again after however long the test drive was to see if they come back on etc.
you put the new battery in and had all the faults - what did you to clear them?
Drive it for a few minutes and all the dash warnings disappear apparently according to my brother who has done this with his partners Seat Leon. To clear the faults you need an OBD reader or a friendly mechanic
Having owned both 7 and 7.5 Golfs , the latter have a better specification including car play/ android auto
Faulty brake pedal switch can also do this; implausible signals from the pedal faults anything that uses this discrete. Easy fix but you've got to ask why the dealer hasn't bothered to plug his computer in and have a look at the fault history.
Anyone selling a car (or anything really) that says 'it's got a fault that's an easy fix'... if it's an easy fix why haven't you done it yourself before advertising? I'd walk/run away from this one.
Few years ago I was buying something rare. Found a nice example at a non-dealer garage a 5hr drive away. To help decide if it was worth my time travelling, I used https://www.clickmechanic.com/pre-purchase-inspection . Got a detailed inspection report inc lots of photos of the underside (at my request - these were Aussie imports without much in the way of underseal!) and a good chat with the mechanic who did it. Obviously still no liability/warranty etc but their report gave me enough confidence to travel there to inspect it myself.
Walk away - there will be another.
Dealers who let customers test drive cars with warning lights are to be avoided at all costs. If they cared they'd present the car in the best condition possible to achieve the best price.
A dealer said a new battery would fix it all? Yeah sure, why has not done that then? I bet they know full well what’s wrong (and tried a new battery) and it’s not worth them investing in fixing it so the question is could you fix something they can’t/wont?
It's probably just because it's been cold, the car has sitting on his forecourt for a while and the battery has gone flat. They didn't realise until they went to start it and found it wouldn't.
These faults are exactly what you get on a VAG car when a battery goes flat. Most of the time they will clear with about 30 mins of driving. It doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong with the car, other than the battery is weak.
If it's a rare spec, I'd ask them to change the battery and have another test drive. Check before buying that they have fitted an EFB or AGM battery as required, think either are acceptable on a mk7 as long as it is coded correctly.
I got over-excited and took the loan out before viewing so I now have it burning a hole in my pocket. I might just see if the dealer gets back in touch over the next few days with evidence of a fix. Otherwise I'll cancel the loan within the cooling off period, save a few more pennies, and look out for a Clubsport...
I am on the hunt for a Mk3 Renaultsport Megane. One dealer has an older one up for sale (for strong money, as its low mileage/owners). I made contact, asked for the service history. Its overdue a cambelt by about 3 years. I asked if they would replace it, but it 'wasnt something they get involved with'. I then asked if they would reduce the price accordingly (£950 to get done) only to be told the price was adjusted to suit. No mention of it needing it in the ad. Some dealers are just crooks, or are hoping whoever buys it doesnt check or doesnt know. I wouldnt want to drive it home!
So yeah... find another.
Some dealers are just crooks, or are hoping whoever buys it doesnt check or doesnt know. I wouldnt want to drive it home!
So yeah... find another.
It's not the same as that, these faults are quite likely to be just from the car having its original battery and sitting for a few weeks in the quiet period after Christmas.
But yeah in your case with the cambelt that does sound like a piss take. Some absolute jokers around.
If it's "just" the battery, any reputable dealer would be keen to sort that to sell. Walk away if they won't.
More than likely they would prefer someone to buy it and then use the warranty to get it fixed as that would save the garage spending any money
Similarly, if they spend money on the car and then don't sell it to a customer so sell it on to another garage, they would have wasted money too. Often why cars still need alloys refreshing or minor bodywork detailing etc. before you buy it. If the potential buyer doesn't raise it as an issue, the garage has saved itself cost. I don't agree with that way of selling a car!
Errors like this are often really simple things wrong, and the ACC often throws an error/disables as a subset of other things rather than there actually being anything wrong with it.
It's not that uncommon for all these errors to flash up when you start the car, especially if the battery is on it's way out. Did they clear once you started driving?
Either way, just get a cheap obd scanner and scan it for codes, see what it throws up, and google the code. I'd be surprised if the garage didn't have one themself. Clear/reset the codes first and see if they come back. I can't believe so many people are saying walk away when you have no idea what the problem is, and haven't looked into it, it could (and probably is) be a cheap 2 min fix. Ask them to try swapping the battery with another car, test drive and see if the issue stays.
These things are often a simple faulty sensor, or even an unplugged connector. It definitely wouldn't stop me buying it, as long as they let me spend a little time to see if you can determine where the error is coming from. Use it as price negotiation and you could get a deal for the sake of an easy fix
I had a Mk7 PP a few years ago (for a month, I then sold it as I hated it 🤣 ) but now have a B8 passat so effectively the same car just bigger.
More than likely they would prefer someone to buy it and then use the warranty to get it fixed as that would save the garage spending any money
A warranty doesn't cover known faults. Buy a car with warning lights showing and any work done after purchase to resolve those warning lights is the buyers responsibility, nothing to do with any warranty.
These things are often a simple faulty sensor, or even an unplugged connector.
And you'd buy from a dealer unprepared to do such simple work to sell?
Great cars, I have a 7.5 PP
I spent ages looking for one but certainly wouldn't bother getting one that had any issue like that.
As plenty of others have said, if it was easy why hasn't the dealer done something about it already.
There are plenty of these around so there's really no need to compromise.
Yep, I would absolutely buy from the dealer not interested in fixing it (assuming it's not a VW dealership they'll have all sorts coming and going and aren't specialist in any brand and fixing them) as long as you can confirm it's an easy fix and knock a bit of money off. Looking back, I've actually done this with most of my cars and got great deals with easy fixes.
If you're after a rare spec car, you'll be waiting a long time unless you just crack on with the seller of the one you've found, there's no point being overly sensitive about an individuals attitude if it's the car you've been waiting for for ages.
Dorsetknob, also check under the bonnet for signs of coolant leaks, thats the common issue on these engines, happens to all of them, no biggie once fixed
also check under the bonnet for signs of coolant leaks, thats the common issue on these engines, happens to all of them, no biggie once fixed
This is good advice. The place to look for coolant residue is under the intake manifold where the thermostat housing is. It’s about £1000 to fix….
@dk - i used the rac guy who fitted the new battery to clear the faults. (-:
car was dead on the drive and i was due back at work the following day.
Thermostat and water pump is a £130 to £300+ job if you can DIY it. I managed on my mk3 Octavia VRS (same as mk7 GTi) without having to take the inlet off or fans out. Took a few hours.
If it's any consolation/ comfort.
My last car, a 2011 Smax, had a cell go in the battery while it was sat around for a few hours between me getting it from the garage and driving home from work. It had scored 90+% on the battery test a few hours before.
I've never seen so many random yellow dash warning lights and error messages. I swear it even gave an alert for the cupholder, ice scraper and mats.
New battery the following morning and a quick tickle with the diagnostic by the garage and job jobbed.
My parents' polo had a battery go flat and it threw up a barrage of fault codes and lights. Most of which my cheap obd reader didn't see. Local garage cleared them for a pack of biscuits, they wouldn't take a payment.
it might just be a flat battery try a golf owners forum.
I haven't heard anything from the dealer this week. Might call him next week if he still has it. About the only other car with DCC available at the moment is a Clubsport 40. Which is v.tempting but also an extra 5 grand (and red).
it’s not the battery - you get a different warning for that and things like start/stop stop working
to clear the ACC code you will likely need to send it to VW for calibration and it’s about 400 plus vat assuming the sensors are present/working properly - if the sensors have failed (water ingress etc) or has been nicked (common if behind the badge) then it’s about the same money again.
either way i strongly suggest you don’t trust the salesman 😉
edit : the only way i would buy it is if they sent it to a vw main dealer and got a report and quote to fix
I've just been talking about this with my local garage. My car has just gone in for MOT and we already know it'l be a long and costly list of problems (it's old now, it's been great but this is getting beyond the point of no return).
He knows I've been idly looking at new (secondhand) cars and warned off the likes of AA / RAC inspections as well as the ones by Cinch, Carwow etc. Said they walk around the car, give it a quick start up then sign it off. They're working through dozens of cars, they're mostly generalists, not specialists and they don't have the time to do a decent check much as they may market it as a "50 point check over".
We (the contractors at current place of work) have just been told we're not being renewed ... so that's the kaibosh put on me buying a fun car for the foreseeable. Who'd be a contractor eh?