[Closed] So, what's the opinion on petrol cars with 45k mileage

103000 on our car when we bought it. Passing 111111 was very exciting, and we recently hit 118118 but no funny men in vests appeared. I'm looking forward to 123456.

When I used to run my corolla GT's Front wheel drives and Coupes it was considered on those 1.6 16v engines that they were only just loosening up by 100k. Jap is where it's at for stellar mileages.

🙂
Sold our Omega at 280,000.
Original clutch.
Mind you,the rest of it was scrap.

Second German car I've owned, I'd possibly have another.
But not a Passat - I've heard so many horror stories.

So, I'm still really interested in the golf. What worries me is that it's a 60 plate with 45k on the clock. If in right that means it's due a cam belt change?

Thats another 2-400 straight away

What engines it got that needs a cam belt at 45k or 5 years ?

That's what it says on the VW site

Your Volkswagen's cambelt must be renewed no later than the maximum change interval (this depends on model but typically ranges from 40,000 to 120,000 miles) or after the recommended four years, whichever is the sooner.

I thought the VW group 1.4Tsi engines up to 2013 were cam chains, not belts.

And what does that mean in terms of the change?

It still means 5 years or 60k right?

Another reason not to buy a vw box of crap then.

Blimey, and I thought golfs were reliable and well thought of.

Maybe it's back to finding a Focus.

It aint 1980 anymore im afraid.

Golfs are just over priced and expensive to fix when they go wrong - and they do go wrong - quite often.

Our golf - fsh from dealer lasted just 2 years on original engine before i swapped it in for Frontera of all things. It consumed more parts than i deamed normal - never needed a steering rack in my life on any of my bangers - the golf did and it wasnt even bangernomics .... It was a forae into decent cars at a fair bit of cash. - leaked everywhere , sunroof due to blocked drains , rear boot lid leaked and killed the high level brake light and some trailer module ... In the frost front the doors would freeze shut against the seals And the options pack headlights didnt meet the newly introduced at the time standards so wouldnt go through mot - was fine for the 6 years previous mind.... It loved oil almost as much as it loved petrol due to terrible engine design (piston and ring clearances were huge at cold by design which let it burn oil) .

Oh and it handled not bad but i later found out this was due to the negative camber they put on the front wheels as it wore through the inside edge of the tires in no time ... Got the tracking and camber set to neutral with the new tires and it handled almost dangerously , was like bambi on ice - had the camber put back and it was great again....

Bag of bolts.

Conversely ive had 2 french cars bought for buttons with no service history - one for 7 years the other for 2 and neither have cost anything like as much as the golf to buy , run ,repair - and neither needed a new engine despite surpassing the golfs low milage by a long way. Infact none of my cars ever have had as many design flaws as the golf , certainly not ones that i cant live with where as it seemed the golf just had poor design feature after poor design feature.

Oh and mrs t-rs uncles tails of woe with his owned since new and fully dealer serviced t5 have not filled me with joy either. Latest issue is 4 years in ....new brake pipes needed where it goes over the fuel tank at the back for mot .... - and he is not handless having rebuilt several olde world alfas so it probably does need the pipe as oppose to poor dealer trying to fleece....

I think it should be on a chain, my 1.4tfsi in a Fabia VRS (15,000 miles though) is on one. If it is on a belt try and find out if it is a Continental belt on a model that new, they seem to be standard fit on VW now (I have one in our Fabia 1.6 diesel) and their change interval is something like 130,000 miles. VW UK are known for being the only VW office in the world to recommend the short four year/45,000 mile belt change.

If you're buying from a dealer get them to change the cambelt as part of the deal.
That's what I did last car I bought.

EDIT: buying any used car is a bit of a lottery tbh, don't get too stressed.

Another thumbs up for the civic 1.8 only sold mine as due to a back injury found it increasingly difficult to get in and out, now have a CRV with 2.2 diesel lump fantastic piece of kit. I used to run vw's and audis and they werent that problematic but in all honesty I now prefer Hondas 😯

Civic petrol would be a good choice and the magic seats are great for us bikers

So, I'm still really interested in the golf. What worries me is that it's a 60 plate with 45k on the clock. If in right that means it's due a cam belt change?
Thats another 2-400 straight away

Either get them to do a belt change as part of the purchase price, or haggle a little off.

Personally, I'd rather do the latter... I fell victim buying a Passat TDi (old 1.9 110bhp engine, bulletproof in everyone's words) that had just had a cambelt change at a main dealer. It was an 11 year old car with 120k miles on so I quietly questioned the logic of going to a main dealer, but anyway... Bought the car happily thinking I'd got probably the best condition 11 year old Passat on the road...

FFWD 3 months and 3k miles and the engine seized at 70mph on the motorway on me! Yes really...

So I get the car recovered at great hassle (100 odd miles from home when it happened), and begin to follow up the "12 month guarantee" given with the cambelt service at the main dealer...

Long and the short of it was that although the car had only had the belt replaced 6 months previously, and it had a 12 month guarantee, the small print said it was only valid for the owner of the car at the time of the service. I tried every angle, but they squirmed and squirmed...

My independent mechanic who's a good friend (and a VERY good mechanic) did a report on what had happened. Turns out (and this is common practice apparently at main dealers), that though they'd replaced the cambelt, they'd not replaced the water pump or the tensioners at the same time (all needs replacing together otherwise is pointless)! I was horrified, but still no leg to stand on as it wasn't me that had paid for the work... In the end I had to cut my losses, break the car for parts, and learn a harsh lesson...

That lesson being... Cambelt services are VERY important, only get someone you trust wholly to do the work for you.

With that in mind, I'd rather pick up a car that's due a cambelt service soon, haggle a little off the price, and get the work done by my trusted mechanic. As an ex main dealer head mechanic himself, he knows all the shortcuts main dealers often take, as he used to get told to do them himself! He quit cos he was fed up of effectively ripping customers off, and setup his own business and is incredibly successful as a result.

If you want the Golf, get 2 or 3 quotes from reputable garages to get the work done, then haggle a bit off the purchase price and it should probably be fine...

Yeah, the cam chain work would definitely be a negotiation point.

As you say, I'd rather get the discount and then get my mechanic to do it.

I'll have a look at the Civics too, I hate the old model but I'd not looked at the new shape.

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Audi A6 2.5TDI

Mboy.... Two guesses why my golf needed a new engine.

Sounds like its a precursor to becoming a vw dealer to be a ****.

I was much more nieve with cars back then...

Has anyone driven the 1.2 se Seat Leon TSI as a power comparison?

Surely 45k miles on an engine hasn't been considered high mileage at that age for decades, has it? My first car was a mk3 Fiesta, 6yrs old with 55k miles on that I got rid of at 155k miles only because the bodywork and chassis was rusting to bits....engine was fine.

isitafox - Member
Just had the clutch done on my 1.0 petrol Yaris at 117600 miles. Jap is where it's at.

While I wouldn't deny that buying a Japanese car is probably a good idea, I am not sure that is a particularly great indicator.
The Fiesta I mention above was still on its original clutch when I got rid at 155k miles..
And my current Ibiza (with 130bhp and 310Nm of torque) is still on its original clutch at 12 yrs old and 263k miles...

It's not a mileage vs age thing, I think I've been brainwashed to believe lower mileage is always better.

I can get the golf with 45k miles compared to a newer useless Astra with lower miles and no guts

Just buy an astra with the right engine then ..... An astra doesnt have to be gutless...

I wouldnt pay a premium for the golf or any vw , infact i will go as far as to say unless they have a major policy shift ill never have another vw.

My fiesta was on 250k miles on original clutch stumpy doing motorway miles , how ever i changed my vans clutch at 93k as it had a hard life moving. Heavy loads - engines and gear boxes often together and many town miles when the mrs used it for commutin and towing my mates lwb hi top transit while it was loaded probably shortened its life span.

Clutch age is not a good indicator of car quality anyway, use and driving style are bigger factors than quality of car.

Lower milage isnt always better , buy on condition and price , not age and milage , both are irelevent if the price and condition are right. A 10 year old car with 20000miles is not necessarilly a better buy than a 2 year old car with 60000 miles car.... Its highely likely the 60k car has been a motorway muncher which is less hard on a car than doing the school run or tootling to church on sunday.

That's the problem. There isn't a better engine.

Diesel is out of the question due to mileage, the 1.6 is basically a dust buster and the GTC is only 3 door.

The focus petrol worth having, the 1.0l ecoboost, is out of budget for now.

The Leon and the Golf are the only real option.

The 1.4 civic won't cut it and the 1.8 is overkill

The 1.0 focus is the only one worth having .....really...

1.8 focus is 123 bhp nice car , cheap for service and parts. Plenty power. Been using the pool 1.8 focus at work this week , far better than the 1.0 ecoboost we also have as a pool for the drive i had to do .... Used the 1.0 before . Mpg was dire and it was pretty gutless to drive. Certainly had to play the gear box for overtaking.

What makes the 1.8 civic overkill ?

If you want more than 85 bhp of a 1.6 - which if the astras gutless it seems you do ..... Then a 1.8n/a is the least complex least problematic technology solution. Add in turbos and superchargers and you add an extra level of things to **** up. Turbos and supechargers are not known for being cheap to fix either ....

Again, I guess I'm basing it on my old 2.0l which was overkill for my journeys.

I didn't even realise there was a 1.8l new shape focus. I know there is a rare 1.6 titanium ecoboost.

The Civic 1.8 gets 46-47mpg for me on average.

There isnt .... They stopped in 11... But given you were loking at a 10plate car in the op i figured that would be suitable.

Is that old or new shape?

Is the face lift model a new engine?

Yeah of course, I see now.

I'd not considered the old focus. I'll check it out.

I'll look again at civics too. As daft as it sounds I have to like how the car looks and I really don't like the old civic.

The new one is much nicer but I can only find 1.4 v-Tecs in budget.

2.2 CDTi Civic here - 196K miles. 08 plate and had a new clutch and DMF 18m ago.

Still drives mint and can get the Spitfire in without taking a wheel off.

I'd have no problems having the 1.8 petrol. Or a Type R...

Yeah, I'm going to look at a civic today.

Has to be the 1.8 though as the 1.4 looks underwhelming power wise. It's not turbo charged.

I think the previous Focus is a pretty unpleasant car compared to the golf. Not nice to drive, the only advantage I can think of is that it is bigger.

I would agree with you about the astra, the current one is a horrendous car.

Bit of a curveball but I had a current megane for a bit on hire. No comments on reliability but I expected it to be worse than The Astra but it was a really great car. Really good. I am also a bit of a Honda fanboy. If Trailrat's anti VW stuff gets to you then maybe try one of them.

I'll be looking at the Golf and the Civic moving forward.

I really thought the Golf was the car to have, I didn't expect as many pobble bashing them as there has been.

Turns out (and this is common practice apparently at main dealers), that though they'd replaced the cambelt, they'd not replaced the water pump or the tensioners at the same time

My main vw dealer offer two prices, one with the water pump and one without. Sinclair VW are excellent, very open and transparent, and do a good job.

Cheers molgrips.

I'll be asking for a dropped price and getting the work done myself. My friend works at the VW garage near me and looks after me so hopefully it will be great.

Finding a mechanic you can trust is the most important part of car ownership....

I trust my local mechanic and when i said i was car hunting he said anything but a VAG mobile. Unfortunately i didn't take heed and payed the price, all's well now though, back in the Jap fold.

I really thought the Golf was the car to have

marketing - people also think that diamonds are worth the money but that is all marketing as well. Tag Watches, the list goes on...

Hmmmmmm, ok. All the car review magazines/websites love the golf too.

I'm at a loss now what to look at.

Do you ride a specialised ? The bike mags all love em too.....we know why that is.

How much advertising by vw in your car mag ?

Correct interpretation of the reliability index speaks volumes.

Vw pish.

Fwiw i drive pugs and land rovers, not without their faults but their dealers dont pretend they never go wrong and bury their head in the sand.

Maybe I'm gullible then. I've owned 3 spesh bikes and loved them. In fact a stumpjumper Evo is one of my faves.

I had a pug that had to be scrapped because it kept failing it's mot on emissions.

I'd love a land rover but I don't live on a farm nor have anything to tow 😉

Back to the drawing board I think

trail_rat - Member
Do you ride a specialised ?

Hmmmm. I ride a Specialized. Tried a few at the time and it was far and away the best bike I rode for my type of riding.

People always spout stuff about them always winning magazine tests, but I used to subscribe to MBR (where they had/have a back page ad every edition) and they would quite often not come out on top.

FWIW my brother's last car was a VW Golf - the 1.6 Bluemotion so nothing fancy. He has had company cars for getting on for 20 yrs and reckons that the Golf was the best car he has ever had.
Nothing whizzy, nothing special but said for him and his family it was the perfect car in terms of getting them where they needed to be reliably and in comfort. He stuck decent mileage on it too as his company HQ is about a 200 mile drive away and had no issues in the three yrs he owned it.

Not sure I would choose a Golf myself - I would go for a Skoda or Leon equivalent as you can get them a fair bit cheaper but the last few years of Golfs do seem pretty good.

trail_rat - Member

Fwiw i drive pugs and land rovers, not without their faults but their dealers dont pretend they never go wrong and bury their head in the sand.

Ha ha! My Wife's 308 was an absolute bag of turd. It was only 14 months old and would kangaroo down the road from start-up like an 80s car with the choke pulled too far out. Dealer reckoned this was normal.
While she was debating what to replace it with, the cat collapsed (on a 14 month old car) and she had to get it towed to our local garage.

She bought it as she used to have a 106 Graduate that she loved and so held Peugeot in high regard, but this thing was a world away from that car. A real turd of a car.....

My Citroen C4 was also a "turd".

I've been after a Leon but I'm not sure the 1.2tsi will cut it.

A few of the copa SE around but I'm just wary of the 1.2 on my motorway journeys.