I have a 5 year old 2.0 TDI golf, 60,000 miles but is due a Campbeltown change.

I’m half thinking of trading it in and getting something else to see me through the next 3 years or so. A few things have gone wrong with the golf in my ownership time so it doesn’t fill me with confidence and I’m considering a 3 series or octavia as a replacement.

Is now a good time to sell the golf and invest in a new car or should I keep it for another few years and accept that it will be worth very little when it comes to trading it in?

I’ve always bought my cars cash before, never finance so interested to hear what most people do now. Unfortunately a company car isn’t on the cards!

what sort of things have gone wrong in the 5 years ?

a cambelt change in its self is no reason to get rid of a 5 year old car.

I’d keep it personally. Presumably all the things that were wrong are now fixed & a cam belt change (& don’t forget the water pump at the same time) is one less thing to worry about for the next 4 years. Better the devil you know IMO 🙂

It’d be worth less if you sell it without having the Campbeltown change though.

Tdi Golf I wish you were whisky! Tdi Golf Och Aye!
Tdi Golf I wish you were whisky!
I would run you dry!

(Apologies to Andy Stewart)

I’ve only owned it for 20 months but have had the following:

1. New clutch and gearbox housing due to a bit of the clutch breaking off.
2. New shock absorber.
3. Clutch pedal clicks on pressing and releasing – very annoying!
4. Suspensions sometimes sounds like a bag of spanners.

Change it rather than waiting for it to go worst.

60,000 miles is only just getting into its stride for a diesel. I’d spend the money getting the timing belt and clutch sorted properly because changing cars is expensive and there’s no way a new car can ever be called an investment.

Sounds like the same roads that wrecked the shock absorber have also broken one of the springs.

With the clutch and the Campbeltown belt changed, that’s pretty much the two biggest jobs an older car would need. I’d keep it iiwy since the cost of a new belt will be cheaper than the cost of a new car and then you’ll have a car which you can guarantee has had the belt changed.

its not an older car. its still near new.

I understand the reasoning here as at 5 years old bought 20 months ago … its probably in its least depreciating stage of life.

how ever if it was me and the rest of the car was nice enough id just sort the cambelt/water pump and the clutch. the cambelt needs doing anyway or itll take a hit on resale of more than the belt replacement normally.

So the existing car may cost a few hundred quid more to maintain over the next few years – you’re concerned about this! Yet you’re considering spunking several thousand quid up the wall on a newer car where depreciation alone every year will be in the £1000’s. That’s some crazy maths going on there!

3. Clutch pedal clicks on pressing and releasing – very annoying!

I sold my CR-V for exactly that reason…. Well, I gave it back to the dealer I bought it from.

I’m not hugely concerned about the cost of replacing the cam belt and water pump but the clutch does slightly concern me as no where on the internet can I find a solution or examples of it being fixed.

Eventually I will need to buy a new car so I was just wondering if now (5 years old, 60,000 miles) was a good time to bite the bullet.

Plus I do fancy an estate!

I’m not hugely concerned about the cost of replacing the cam belt and water pump but the clutch does slightly concern me as no where on the internet can I find a solution or examples of it being fixed.

Did it click before the clutch was changed?

??
http://uk-mkivs.net/topic/31742-clutch-pedal-clicking-finally-fixed/

Why does the Campbeltown need changing? Is the angle of dangle wrong?

Woody that doesn’t sound like the same issue as mine unfortunately. Clicking only just started a year after new clutch.

It sounds like you want validation for your decision, that you’ve already made, to chop it in for a BMW.

I like BMWs. I approve.

Just don’t kid yourself that it’s about saving money.

I would get rid. Its ok saying the engine is only just breaking in but that’s no good if the rest of the car is falling apart around it. I tried to run a bmw e90 3 series into the ground but failed miserably when the bills started racking up. In my case we had an £800 bill for the steering wheel input sensor then a £1400 bill for a turbo and an 11 hour tow back from holiday with 2 restless kids in the back. The final straw was the clutch starting to slip and various bearings needing changing which was going to cost nearly £3000.

60000 miles is pretty low mileage though.

andysredmini – Member
I would get rid. Its ok saying the engine is only just breaking in but that’s no good if the rest of the car is falling apart around it. I tried to run a bmw e90 3 series into the ground but failed miserably when the bills started racking up. In my case we had an £800 bill for the steering wheel input sensor then a £1400 bill for a turbo and an 11 hour tow back from holiday with 2 restless kids in the back. The final straw was the clutch starting to slip and various bearings needing changing which was going to cost nearly £3000.

60000 miles is pretty low mileage though.

^^^This!

I had the exact same problem with an E92 BMW. I thought it would be fine to run in to the ground but in reality maintenance was astronomically expensive.

Hence, I now lease brand new cars. PCM, I find it only slightly more expensive than running a car 5-10 years old but I have zero concerns. I just insure and fuel it and the Finance company cover everything else.

I used to happily run old cars and maintain them myself. However, as time has become more precious and cars more complex I just can’t be arsed and happily pay the surprisingly small premium for complete peace of mind.

If you look at this from another perspective the question would be something like “I’m getting a bit fed up with my bike and quite fancy a new one, but its a lot of money and the wife says what’s wrong with the one you’ve got and so I’ve tried to convince her that the shock and forks need servicing and it will need new disk pads soon which is like throwing good money after bad but she’s not having it”

In which case you would all say go ahead and get a new one if you like and let us know where the wife moves out to and don’t forget to post piccies…

Cars are not single items that fall apart. They are collections of components, most of which are independent. So if a door handle fails, that is no indication that your shocks will go next.

Hence, I now lease brand new cars. PCM, I find it only slightly more expensive than running a car 5-10 years old but I have zero concerns. I just insure and fuel it and the Finance company cover everything else.

What are you leasing out of interest?

I keep looking into it but seems expensive whenever i do.

I’ve just got rid of my 2.2 TDCI Mondeo (2006, 120k) because it was becoming uneconomical to keep it on the road. Old diesels innit – DMF, EGR valve, turbo, turbo actuator…

From experience, buying a high-pressure diesel only makes sense if it’s a lease/company car, replaced every 3-4 years. Keeping them running when they get old gets expensive.

Yes, you should expect more than 60000 miles from your Golf. Maybe you’ve been unlucky, maybe it’s been driven hard, or maybe once you fix these current problems it’ll be OK for another few years.

I’ve gone back to petrol.

What are you leasing out of interest?

I keep looking into it but seems expensive whenever i do.

A Golf.

Leases can be hugely expensive. It depends on the marque and mileage. If you are happy to drive whatever is the best deal that fits your needs, then there are some extremely cheap deals out there.

The correct answer ‘generally’ is to keep it as it should be able to do another 60k miles without too many problems and then with a bit of luck another 60k after that. You will lose far more money in depreciation on a new car and changing to something else second hand is a risk. However it is hard to put a price on your time and the level of comfort and condition of your car. If you spend a lot of time in your car and it currently looks and smells like a tramp lives in it then maybe get a new one if you can afford it and intend to look after it!

P.S. my VAG group diesel just had a new belt and water pump at a cost of £275 (a fixed price deal from an independent VW specialist garage).