2nd hand car advice (Golf 1.4 TSI)

BKtje · 24-01-2017 3:54pm #1

Hi folks,

So i'm starting a new job soon and am looking at buying a used car for the commute which would be about 30k km a year. I expect the car itself will need to do about 25k km a year (between commuting and other stuff) with my current motorbike (Kawa Z100SX) taking up the rest of the distance.

Since I was until very recently a student I will be leasing (in case it has any impact on advice given) it and plan to do so for about 3 years.

Preferably I'd like a hatchback that is comfortable to drive but also relatively economical. My commute would be 95% motorway and the rest city. There is a very steep gradient of about 6% on this motorway stretch which I would like to easily climb (doing this stretch 5 days a week will mean I have no patience for a car which would struggle to keep at 120kph).

With the above in mind I have found a local dealer selling a 2015 VW Golf 1.4 TSI Comfortline (150hp) which currently has about 21k km on it. From my research this seems to tick all my boxes.

Basically what I'm asking is whether this car does indeed cover all my needs? Is there anything I should be aware of regarding reliability (bearing in mind that the car will probably be approaching 100k km when the lease ends)? Is there another car that I should be considering or have I forgotten something obvious?

I'm planning to go do a tour of the local dealers this week to see what they have on offer and would like to be as informed as possible (especially as this will be my first car).

I live in Switzerland so no need to think about insurance, tax etc as I'll have to look all that up myself and are generally not a big deal anyway. Diesel at the pumps is also about 10% more expensive here so I don't think i'd save much (if any) over petrol for the distances I'd do.

Thanks in advance for any advice or tips!

Stallingrad · 24-01-2017 4:07pm

Only concern would be the stretched timing chain issue associated with those engines. The 150bhp version in particular. Google is your friend. Given your commute and that climb, you may appreciate the torque of a diesel a supposed to a higher revving petrol.

OldMrBrennan83 · 24-01-2017 4:09pm

This post has been deleted.

BKtje · 24-01-2017 4:15pm

Will look into the timing chain. Hadn't thought about the torque of diesels either being an advantage!

GustavoFring · 24-01-2017 4:18pm

Wouldn't worry about the reliability tbh, they're good cars. They have a timing belt. Aim for a highline if you can though.

BKtje · 24-01-2017 4:34pm

I thought the differences between a comfortline and highline were mostly cosmetic? There is a highline available for similar money and age but double the mileage.

GustavoFring · 24-01-2017 5:06pm

BKtje wrote: »

I thought the differences between a comfortline and highline were mostly cosmetic? There is a highline available for similar money and age but double the mileage.

Two year old car, about 20k km a year is average. There's more spec on the highline over the conforline. Both have little mileage anyway so I wouldn't dismiss the higher mileage car.

BKtje · 24-01-2017 5:43pm

Alright I won't dismiss the highline straight off so.

Toyotafanboi · 24-01-2017 6:06pm

Are you looking at it in a VW dealer? They would be putting a 2 year warranty on the car, so if you only plan to keep it 3 years, that adds decent peace of mind imo.

The 1.4 TSI in a Highline Golf is a really nice combo. At 30k kms per year you could probably go diesel but the petrol is much much nicer and should be reasonably economical on the motorway.

BKtje · 25-01-2017 5:00am

Yeah it's in a dealer alright though not sure what guarantees they supply here. Will see tomorrow when I go have a look.

Stallingrad · 25-01-2017 10:18am

GustavoFring wrote: »

They have a timing belt..

Really? When did they switch to belts?

GustavoFring · 25-01-2017 11:05am

With the new generation of engines. The 1.4 tsi isn't the same engine as the mk5/6 had.

Stallingrad · 25-01-2017 11:11am

GustavoFring wrote: »

With the new generation of engines. The 1.4 tsi isn't the same engine as the mk5/6 had.

Good to know. Cheers.

grogi · 25-01-2017 11:33am

Stallingrad wrote: »

Only concern would be the stretched timing chain issue associated with those engines. The 150bhp version in particular. Google is your friend.

In 2015 model?!

Stallingrad wrote: »

Given your commute and that climb, you may appreciate the torque of a diesel a supposed to a higher revving petrol.

Turbocharged petrols have loads of torque in low rpms range as well...

BKtje · 25-01-2017 3:35pm

Took a 10 month old golf 1.4 150hp for a spin today. In the 30 minutes i drove it I must say that it was a joy to drive. Very economical but power there when you want it. Only thing is that it was an automatic which I'm not a fan of but I guess I could get used to driving a go kart. Probably better economically too.

I'm seriously considering it. Cheers for all comments folks.

2nd hand car advice (Golf 1.4 TSI)

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