Golf GTE, mad to buy private up North

Eclectic Dan

After realising that buying a diesel doesn't make sense for me, I'm looking at Golf GTEs at the moment and I've a couple of questions...

Looking at an older model, c. 2016-2017 to fit within my budget. Are there any concerns with obsolescence with these models with batteries running out etc? I'm a bit clueless.

Second, the best example I've seen for sale is a private sale in Northern Ireland. The description, Service history etc seems immaculate but I've only a minimal knowledge of cars, so buying a car privately would obviously be a risk. I'm just wondering is there any way this could make sense or any point in me spending a day to go up and view?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058231611/golf-gte-mad-to-buy-private-up-north

No, buying a car privately is not mad at all.

Plug in hybrids will not become obsolete in the near future. They are only starting to take off. Yes they are a stop gap to full electric but they will still be popular for several years to come.

Electric motor on the GTE has warranty until 100,000 miles.

If the car checks out make sure to do your homework on VRT, VAT, customs duties, etc

Eclectic Dan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118590775#Comment_118590775

Thanks very much. Anything in particular I should look for when inspecting, or should I think about getting a 3rd party mechanical inspection?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118590849#Comment_118590849

I wouldn’t know a whole lot but definitely make sure the car is charged up for the text drive and ensure that the hybrid system is working and charges correctly etc.

Depending on the mileage I would want to see a DSG oil change done too

Toyotafanboi

Mad to do it IMO.

The battery itself, depending on the year it was sold has a 7 or 8 year warranty but limited to 100k miles/ 160k kms but the rest of the hybrid system does not.

If it's an import forget about goodwill if anything expensive fails too.

An all electric range of basically nowhere and mediocre mpg's the rest of the time.

Be a far smaller chance of getting stung with a GTD if you want a well spec'd Golf with some poke. If you want some sort of hybrid car the Golf is best avoided IMO.

snowcat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118591702#Comment_118591702

Jaysus GTD's are we back in 2010.

Toyotafanboi

Still available new and have been ever since. The pre facelift Mk7 was a nice car, the 7.5 is a bit meh and the mk8 is too dear, really.

Eclectic Dan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118591702#Comment_118591702

Mind me asking why I should stay away from the Golf, as opposed to say an Ionic, Auris or 3 series?

Not set on a hybrid, but I definitely won't be doing enough miles for a diesel.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118591702#Comment_118591702

I bought two of them privately with no issue. A mate of mine imported one from the UK which had a minor issue with the hybrid system. VW Ireland flew in a technician from Germany and fixed it free of charge.

There aren’t any common problems with the hybrid system and they are a far superior car than a GTD and much more interesting imo. Being able to heat the car up or cool it down from your phone is great.

Electric range of 30km to 40km and 55mpg on the motorway with a completely dead battery. 205bhp as well. They are a great all rounder but be prepared to charge them almost every day especially during winter.

Obviously if your up and down the motorway every day then diesel is the way to go.

Eclectic Dan

@User1998 with this 100k warranty on the engine, is there a risk of a cliff edge in terms of resale value once that's hit?

Also tempted by a model with 78k miles

User1998

No not at all. Most of the early GTE’s have over 100k miles by now

Toyotafanboi

Is that what they told him? 🤔 I wouldn't see the need to fly a lad from Germany for a "minor issue", seems like BS tbh. I dont doubt you've had two, trouble free, it's not unrealistic.

I just dont really see the point i suppose. Why take the risk of all that comes with the hybrid system for the sake of 30kms of electric motoring? Not saying they're desperately unreliable but have seen a few giving trouble and it's usually costly unfortunately, it wouldn't be long of undoing any savings made.

Leonard Hofstadter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118592307#Comment_118592307

If you're not doing the mileage, why not just get a petrol one, as in a GTI? If your mileage is small then fuel costs aren't a big deal, speaking from experience.

Like everyone else out there I hate paying as much as I do for petrol at the moment, and it did get me thinking about buying something maybe a bit more fuel efficient, or starting to drive a bit slower, until I did the maths. I've tracked how much petrol I've used in my car since I got it, and looking at 2019, which was the last 'normal' year, I used 951 litres of petrol, and my long-term average is about 28 mpg. That means even if for the rest of 2022 petrol prices stay around the €1.75 mark, I will spend about €1660 in petrol for the year. Even if petrol dropped back to 1.50 a litre, that would have me spending about €1430 in petrol for the year, which would only save me about €230 a year, or €18 a month. While of course there is the psychological pain of paying over €100 every time I fill the car up, it has to be considered in that light. €18 is such a small portion of what I spend every month so feck it I might as well just drive the car the way I want to and enjoy it.

So with all that in mind, just sod it and get a GTI. Life's too short so we might as well have a bit of fun on the way. It will be way lighter and therefore fun to drive (presumably you are some way interested in how a car drives if you're looking at a GTE), faster and just much simpler mechanically. Yes it will use more fuel but if your mileage is low it's not going to make a massive difference to your finances, but it will make you much happier when you drive it.

kanuseeme

I cannot say anything helpful about the golf phev, but I had a outlander phev and now a Toyota Prius phev, I would recommend a phev if your doing lots of little short hops and even on longer trips the mpg is not so bad, 40mpg for the outlander and 50mpg for the Toyota.

The 30-40 km adds up if your driving daily or get a chance to charge again it can mean 80 km with no petrol used, during covid all trips were electric ended up using 15 euro every 4 months or so, even now I put 125 euros worth of petrol(2 fills) in the car since I bought it and I still have 30% of a tank left, it should see me through till the end of this month and the Toyota only does about 15 km on battery. I bought the Toyota in November and it's giving me an average of 125 mpg, slowly creeping up from the 50 mpg trip to Dublin that used about a quarter of my total petrol.

About the battery, there is a buffer that is never touched in most phevs, which means its never overcharged or drained, which protects it. Soon as the battery reaches the lower buffer, the engine kicks in, and when it's full the regen does not kick in until some energy is used, it can catch you out sometimes, you expect to slow down and you just keep freewheeling.

With the outlander I did 20000 miles in it and used about 1000 euros worth of petrol over 2,5 years, most of it was on 300 km trips to Dublin and back.

Water2626262

If phevs were really unreliable we’d see a lot more threads about 330e/530e/GTEs having horrific bills and having to sell their cars for parts. There was a huge number imported into the country. This includes high and low mileage ones.

yes the batteries are small and provide tiny ranges. Really suited to short trips but if you do longer trips it’s not really a big deal. Would one or two litres per 100km thirstier than a diesel equivalent but you are getting the benefit of a higher than average brake horse power and torque vs a typical 2l diesel

The low vrt is the reason why these are popular. They are / were much cheaper to buy then the similar powered 530i/d / GTI equivalents which still carry a premium over the phevs.