Thinking of buying a 08 Diesel Golf

michael3154

I'm thinking of buying a 08 Diesel Golf (because of the lower road tax) but I'm not to sure how realiable they are compared to the older models or what to look out for when looking at it. The one I'm going looking at has about 52000miles on the clock and is the match spec. It has been imported from the UK but is being sold from a reputable garage.

Any advise??? Is there anything I should look out for??

bazz26

michael3154 wrote: »

I'm thinking of buying a 08 Diesel Golf (because of the lower road tax) but I'm not to sure how realiable they are compared to the older models or what to look out for when looking at it. The one I'm going looking at has about 52000miles on the clock and is the match spec. It has been imported from the UK but is being sold from a reputable garage.

Any advise??? Is there anything I should look out for??

Buying a diesel just because it is cheaper to tax can be a false economy but most Irish motorists don't see the bigger picture. Work out what annual mileage you are doing and then see if the savings are worth the premium a diesel car costs over a similar petrol model. So if you are doing less than 15k miles a year then it doesn't make financial sense to spend thousands just to save a couple of hundred on motor tax. It would take you about 10 years to break even.

michael3154

Im am currently driving about 40000 miles a year so I have to go deisel. Much cheaper in the long run. Just not sure how realiable to newer golfs are.

heate

It's a mkv golf if it's 2008. The story goes that the 1.9tdi is bullet proof and the 2.0tdi can be a bit of a nightmare.
What do you currently do 40,000m a year in?
Do you think the golf is comfortable enough for spending hours in?

Leonard Hofstadter

If you want reliability do not buy the 2.0 TDI.

The 1.9 has far less power but is infinitely more reliable. In fact as modern diesels go you can't really beat this old fashioned non common rail or DPF diesel.

166man

A quick look on carzone shows that a 2008 Golf TDI with reasonable spec and say 50k miles is about €14950. Then change the search to petrol will show you plenty of 1.6 petrols with the same mileage and spec for about €10950.

Now of course you have to factor in that the chances are when the OP sells the car in say 2-3 years time that the diesel will still be worth more than the petrol, however €4000 is an awful lot of money and would easily cover the marginal increase in tax. Fuel economy would probably be 38 ish for the 1.6petrol and probably 50ish for the diesel but you would want to be doing serious miles to make the diesel worth it.

Also by going petrol you don't end up with a tractor engine under the bonnet.:pac:

EPM

captainspeed wrote: »

If you want reliability do not buy the 2.0 TDI.

The 1.9 has far less power but is infinitely more reliable. In fact as modern diesels go you can't really beat this old fashioned non common rail or DPF diesel.

The two litres on the Golf platform are fine...and at that mileage a DPF may well outlive the car!

wishmaster200

michael3154 wrote: »

I'm thinking of buying a 08 Diesel Golf (because of the lower road tax) but I'm not to sure how realiable they are compared to the older models or what to look out for when looking at it. The one I'm going looking at has about 52000miles on the clock and is the match spec. It has been imported from the UK but is being sold from a reputable garage.

Any advise??? Is there anything I should look out for??

not a good buy be prepared to change the turbo for 800 euro

George Dalton

wishmaster200 wrote: »

not a good buy be prepared to change the turbo for 800 euro

:rolleyes:

What diesel car in that class would you recommend then?

BailMeOut

I recently brought in a 2008 1.9 golf diesel from uk. Very basic model with 40k miles. I am really surprised on how quick it is and a couple of weeks ago drove from Dub to Cork and back again on just over half tank diesel. Only have it a few months but so far so good!

650Ginge

This will give u some idea how long a diesel would take to pay for itself.

http://sporkforge.com/finance/gas_cost.php

colm_mcm

Match spec is fairly decent on the golf, from memory, it's roughly the same as the older SE model

I can't believe people are going on about petrol to you given the mileage you're doing,


I'd be verifying service history and mileage, and getting clarification from the garage about what the warranty does and doesn't cover.

1.9 will be grand, just do your history checks before buying

michael3154

Currently have a 01 Mondeo. Not really the best for the longer journeys. Not sure how comfortable the 08 golf will be but has to be better then my last car.

EPM

michael3154 wrote: »

Currently have a 01 Mondeo. Not really the best for the longer journeys. Not sure how comfortable the 08 golf will be but has to be better then my last car.

About equal, the mondeo is a cruiser. Golf is a generation newer and is tuned for comfort in normal guise.

Nissan doctor

wishmaster200 wrote: »

not a good buy be prepared to change the turbo for 800 euro

What a random rubbish comment:rolleyes:

michael3154

So if i wasn't to get a golf what should i get?

George Dalton

If you like Golfs get a Golf. We look after a lot of them and I think they are a very good car overall.

There is no such thing as a perfect car. So one way to look at it is that it doesn't really matter what car you buy if you are unlucky you could end up having trouble with it and have to spend money on it.

So you may as well buy a car you like. I think it isn't as bad spending money fixing a car that you actually like compared to one you don't like.