Oliver Hoffmann I agree. I’ve never bought a new car before. Everyone I know who buys new always regrets. Unless you plan on keeping your car for 15 years plus than it maybe worth buying new. I do buy most of my car CPO I don’t buy the cheapest one nor the concourse condition. Just because I will be daily driving it and can’t garage it’s. I do take care of my cars. They get washed by myself weekly if weather permits, and paint sealed after each wash. I do most maintenance myself. CPO also comes with warranty, 1 owner car and no accidents. Yes I may pay a little bit more buying CPO but it’s worth it for me esp bc I keep my cars for 5-6 years.
I needed a car and wanted a Sportwagen so had to wait for it to come off boat. If my old Saab lasted more years, I could have saved some money on used one but I didn't have time and couldn't find a good used wagon with low miles at that time. Cheers
I'm at 85k on my Mk7 GTI and I've been APR stage 1 ECU and TCU tuned for almost half of those miles now and not a single issue. I had an ignition coil die around 20k miles but that was covered under warranty as a regular part failure but other than that, no issues. Fingers crossed it stays that way. I have doubts it'll be better in the long run than my old Camry (that thing was indestructible), but it's a damn sight more reliable than the Chevy in our family.
I've had my '17 SE GTI (purchased new) for going on 2.5 years. Absolutely zero issues and everything is holding up well; I've only had to clean and lube the moonroof seals to keep it silent. 10k miles with a Unitronics Stage 1+ tune, clutch still feels like the day I bought it. I love this car!
Just got a 2020 mk7 the other day. Let’s just say the buy was spur of the moment due to outside factors and hadn’t really done much research. Reading that it’s a reliable car is so fucking relieving. My mk6 was a nightmare. Probably poured 3-4k into it.
@@zohair4658 I know you're not asking me but if it has 103k and it's not leaking fluids or has shaft play on the turbo or play in the wastegate you should be in good shape. Most of the manufacturer defects occur sooner like within the first 50k. I bought my car with 70k on it and immediately went full Boltons stage 2 and continue to beat the hell out of It daily, I'm at 100k rn. Only thing that broke so far is a 5 dollar coolant feed line that goes to the turbo and it took me 20 minutes to replace.
@Isaac Clarke feels perfectly fine.All cars get extreme detailing and look and smell brand new...add a $2000 100,000 mile extended warranty and you're golden.beats brand new.got a 16 GTI for 16,000 with 27,000 miles
Lol now in March of 2022, used they’re going for 27-30k with some decent milage on them, and depending on options. Definitely time to sell if you’re wanting to. I’m crazy enough to buy one right now. Still cheaper than paying $200 to fill my tank every 2 weeks in my diesel F-250. 13mpg hurts.
I have a 2015 Silver GTI SE, never driven in the rain nor winter, not our primary auto. Garaged. We call it the baby car, not one single problem. Hope to keep it two more years, great car!
I had the same concerns. Especially when you get into higher miles. I had brought my 2016 in Nov 2015. 74ks miles later and the only problem i had was the coolant leaking and 1 other time related to the coolant. Other than those two timed my car has never needed anything outside of regular maintenance. Salute to you and jr14. .. watch alot of your videos for ideas and DIY help
We had a 2015 up to 82k miles. The MK7 is VERY reliable. It is very surprising honestly. It was my 5th VW, and the only one to never let me down. I have a 2019 Tacoma right now, but i really want another GTI
I have a stock 2015 GTI-S that can get 39.9 mpg on long trips. It’s my 3rd GTI over the past 25 years and I love it. Although I do still miss my 84’ Rabbit GTI😢
Brian Craig at what speed and in what kind of terrain? Thats good mileage. I always figured great mileage was possible as the engine turns slowly at 75mph compared to other 4 cylinder cars.
James Medina I drove from Nashville, Tn to Austin, Tx straight through just stopping for gas in 12hrs or so. I think my average speed was 68 mph. I did everything I could to keep it in 6th gear(it is a manual btw) without downshifting too much. For some reason I could never get it to 40mpg. I want to say by the time I got Little Rock, Ak my range was 450 miles per tank. It really gets great mileage right between 65 and 75mph. 6th gear almost seems to coast at that speed.
Brian Craig Thats funny Brian. For a minute I thought I was reading my own writing because I did that drive I think in May. There were massive rains in Little Rock so I shot down to Shreveport and then drove through Tyler and Carthage. The next time in June I drove to Dallas. Anyways its flatter land. In my 17 Civic manual 1.5 I would get 42-43 mpg doing that drive. Both are better than what my 1.8t 2000 Passat would get with its port injection. 28mpg 80 mph/ 31mpg 70 mph. Gearing has a lot to do with it and pistons now are coated and use low tension rings.
Such a great car. Eventually you've gotta go Golf R turbo, only around 1300 new or used on the forums for just 700 that can be low miles. So sexy honestly too I love the fenders specifically.
I spent 4k on a hybrid turbo and stage 2 which has much more power than a pricey R and lighter, and a sunroof. I don't track my car and handles amazing in the canyons, great daily driver and beats many cars. No thanks on the R.
@@Detriuch Nope. I do own a 2016 GTI, it's a DSG PP 4 door , wanted a 2 door with that combo but impossible to find. It's e45 tuned by Ed@EQT, near FBO it's a monster with all the bracing and typical inserts and mounts, the usual for a mk7 mod list.
I’ve had mine for 25K miles so far after buying new in 2018 (bought a 2017 GTI S DSG at the model year end). I’ve had it in the shop twice for warranty. Once for delamination of a small plastic piece on the shifter lol (been fine ever since). And again for a bad sensor that was fixed in an hour and has been trouble free since being replaced. I’d say so far so good with these things, I guess we’ll see how the next few years go
I have a 2015 a3 quattro 2.0T same MQB platform as the Mk7 GTI, I bought it with 22k miles on it, Im currently at 32k I just did my DSG service in my garage and it was pretty easy, this car always brings a smile to my face, I also did the turbo muffler delete, turbo inlet pipe and a unitronic cf intake, Im waiting to get a downpipe to go stage 2, I can’t wait to see how its going to handle once tuned. I looked into the GTI but the trunk space was too small for me, so I went with something with the same engine/tuning capability but a little bigger. Your GTI looks amazing! 👌🏼
I’m kinda glad I bought mine used. I would only buy a new VW if it’s a lease. I leased a new 2019 Tiguan in February for my wife. Got a good deal, full warranty and she doesn’t drive much so 10k miles a year is good for her. I myself drive a lot so I went with a clean CPO GTi with performance package. This is my first VW and it’s been very reliable. I changed out the tiny battery just for peace of mind and esp bc I live in NY and the winters are harsh.
I have 40k on my '15 Sportwagen SE 1.8 tsi, purchased new. No problems. Two recalls, camshaft software and siphon pump. Awesome car and have gotten 40mpg on road trip love the power and utility. Cheers and VW should of had GTI Sportwagens. Would have sold tons.
I'm on my 6th Volkswagen over the years. My Chattanooga made 17 Passat R line has been problem free through over 60k miles. I've been running a Neuspeed power module and 93 octane for over 2yrs now so it's not a dog like stock. I'm going APR stage 1 next. With proper maintenance my VW's have been pretty reliable.
I love my 2016 MK7. I Just got back from a 1200 total Mile road trip over the weekend without a single hiccup. The seats for me was comfortable and the gas mileage was amazing.
Filip Djurdjevic I just bought the car a few months ago and so far I've only had one oil change so far for $60 Before the mk7 I just bought I had an mk6 that was totaled from being hit by a semi truck that wasn't paying attention. I had issues with ignition coils and interior stuff not working well at all.
Ernesto Del Aguila III I also hit a deer, a doe, young one, going perhaps faster in a snow storm. I needed new hood, power steering fluid reservoir, headlight and that was it. In total it was about 750 bucks.
I have a 2017 Jetta GLI unmodified that has only 9000 miles. I don't drove it that much. I get a lot of compliments because of the color, Silver Metallic White. I did however attend two performance driving days. Runs pretty good though doesn't have enough torque. It is a lease and I hesitated to put a tune on it. I have had zero problems so far. DSG trans.
Love your videos . And I was in the same boat as you. I purchased a 2017 gti s ,6 sp manual. I always wanted a GTI but had japanese cars my whole life and was worried about reliability and all the people who warned me about the volkswagen brand.So far very impressed with quality of the car. I am a car guy but not in to the tuning aspect of cars. I just like the car in terms of style and the way it drives. I think a lot of the problems (not all) could be the result of the tuning aspect of these cars where you alter the factory specs and as result usually drive them harder . I believe if you drive these cars in normal fashion (not baby them), they should have they have have pretty good results in terms of reliability.
Yeah they are now reliable. My brother has owned a MK7 GTI since 2016 also and had zero issues. His car is even a full stage 2 APR GTI without having experienced any problems.
Agree. I have a 2015 GTI w/60,000 miles. It’s been great so far, bought it in 2016 with 15,000 miles. Currently, I’m about to do some service and oil and stuff etc, but no issues related to power train/engine at all so far. I love it! I will keep it as long as possible.
The mk7's are just an incredible platform. I'm just under 60k miles now. Went stage 1 at 9k, stage 2 at 35k, stage 3 at 44k. Jb4 stacked and the only issue I've ever had was a coil pack that failed around 33k under warranty. The DSG tune with the is38 makes for such a better driving experience. Great video!
I'm not gonna lie, I beat the crap out of my stage 1 apr mk7 gti. And, at 80k with the tune since 10k miles, I am happy to say the Porsche Gt3 engineer did an awesome job designing out the mk7 gti and not a single problem. Totaly go for the dsg. Oh get light weight wheels, with stage 1. All you ever need. Now, where's my gold!
Cool! I own the Europe sold GTI Clubsport & thinking tuning later. Clubsports are sold with lightweight wheels from factory. But at the moment dont see to much reason yet since it have the Golf R IS38 turbo. Been thinkin gettin exhaust for long, but also the exhaust on Clubsports are quite decent compared to standard GTI's. If i do, it shall definetly be IPE system with a CTS Turbo downpope however.. Never heard anything better!! 👍
@@tredfxman We in the US, don't get such nice toys :). I had a set of ligtweight 17-18 pound OZ wheels with APR stage1. I can't state how much faster the car was compared to the stock wheels. For those interested, I couldn't get my car past 13.9 seconds on a hot day quarter mile drag way. With Spare and a full tank of gas, if that matters. Even while using launch control.
I really don't understand why people say VWs are unreliable. I'm on my 3rd one and I've never had any serious issues. last car I had was a 2002 Jetta VR6 with over 210,000 miles and she was still running strong. just got check engine light when it got cold in the winter and would go away after a few days.
@@Itsdjsigi Yes I'm aware. I currently drive a 2010 GTI with a 2.0 TSI. I was referring to how people say that Volkswagens in general are unreliable. Which I still have not found to be the case.
Thank goodness for this review I might revert to getting one in the near. As u said, all the horror stories and reliability issues were just about done putting me off from buying it. Funny thing is I'd hear the negative reviews and at the same time there'd be owners that say the opposite about these cars. So I've been confused and having mixed thoughts regarding this car since I too don't wanna get one and end draining my pockets fixing things all the time
I love my MK7 GTI but it was in the shop 20 times before the warranty was up. Since the warranty has expired its been trouble free but I would hardly call it "reliable".
Vincent V i bought it from a ford dealer and i asked them if they did all recommended service and they said yes. Just to be sure i took it to VW and the said everything checks out as it should.
Vincent V yes everything included. I put down 5k with 2.5int and so far so good. Only thing is the engine oil sensor blew i think and even though i got a fresh oil change its saying otherwise. But the DSG is good too. I drove my brothers “2017” one and its really nice. But personally i like to control my gears
@@omriwahabi423 I agree as well. Stage 2 isn't that big of a jump from stage 1 like a stock to stage 1 is, Id get the tcu with stage 1 too, but I'm skipping stage 1 and going straight to 2 anyways.
Bought my new 2019 White-Silver GTI SE (MSRP $34, 295) in Feb 2020 for $25, 395. This, of course, comes with the former 6yr/72,000 mile warranty. Deals can be made on new outgoing MK7.5s, but not for much longer.
In value its an A+. I just bought my 2016 gti SE. Non lighting package and no performance package. Has the sunroof, dsg, leather and 53k miles. Oit the door with a warsnty that covers everything for the next 4 years was 16,876. You just cant find the performance, quality and now reliability with the competition.
@@Russellscottx ^ thats exactly why i dropped my 2012 speed3 for a GTI. I needed something more mature and just more refined. The speed3 was a blast to drive though..
For me im at 120,000 for a 2015 and the only thing that i have had wrong with it is the turbo; That was about 3K but the dealer helped me but that is about it.
VW and all German cars for that matter have a poor reputation for long term reliability according to respected consumer online sites. 70k miles in 3 years is not long term. Your right at that place when the engine plastics, sensors and so on generally start to fail. Curious to hear how things hold up for you in the next few years if you keep it and continue to drive 20k + miles/year. Btw this is spoken by a fellow mk7 GTI owner.
Wife drives a 08 GTi that's been in our family for 8 years... BPY FSI. Pretty much no issues at all. In 8 years I have put very little money into it: cooling fan, blower resistor, coil packs (upgraded), 2 cam followers for HPFP (preventative, cheap and easy to do), all the maintenance stuff is done on time. Just replaced the front end arms with aluminum Passat ones and put some Whiteline bushings in there. New tie rods, fixed rattling rear rotor heat shields, one left rear bearing due to Abs sensor fault (rusted out reluctor on bearing), has all original bulbs in it still, and I just did the headliner on it few weeks ago. Drives great with over 100k miles craptastic roads. I have a 15 TDi wagon that I daily and a 09 TSi SportWagen, I find the MK7 a step down in quality thou.
Im strongly considering the 2016 golf gti. It'd be my first car thats actually good (previously had a 99 Camry and currently and 05 Envoy) and you're video just helped sway me in my decision. Appreciate the info man! Only question I have is, is it worth it to spend the extra couple thousand to get the performance package?
That’s awesome! But yeah definitely go with the performance package, the lsd is worth everything and you’ll get the bigger brakes and usually the lighting package
Same, my old car got totaled, and now I’m in the market for a fun daily driver and the golf seems to be the one. It’s good to know that they are reliable, and I’m very keen about maintenance so it should not be an issue! I was also wondering if the LSD and extra power was worth it as well
Ive got an 2014 mk7 golf R with 56670km and its been great so far... only thing that went is the haldex pump which is planned at the garage for the 25th this month. Other than that its also been stage 1+ and it drives like a rocket
Vw not holding value is very true I was not sure about buying one but I couldn't help it with the warranty 6 yr 72k miles there's nothing better other then Kia/Hyundai but they dont hold value either so I went for it and traded in my 11 WRX and couldn't be happier
I have owned a VW product for 21yrs now. Will have nothing but a VW. I have owned; 1985 Golf, 1987 Cabriolet, 2013 Jetta S, now I have a 2019 Jetta R-Line. All were reliable & none left me stranded! VW all the way!
Bought my MK7 GTI Autobahn DSG in November 2016 for $30K and not one issue ever, even after having APR Stage 1 😎 VW finally did it! An amazing daily driver that holds it reliability and value. The trade in value for my car is great, so not sure why your resale value is so bad other than the accident on your CARFAX. Mine also had a bad accident (young girl hit my car in the side and ran me off the road), but still have $7500 trade in value. It could be the huge amount of mileage. 70K in three years will kill the resale value on any vehicle, so there is that!
I just bought a used 2018 GTI after my 2008 Scion TC finally broke down on me. It has over 200k miles on it. Never had any major issues. I could still fix it but decided to let it go. It served me well. Hope this GTI will last me 10 years.
I absolutely loved my MK7 GTI. Such a fun car. First time VW owner as well and due to the horror stories it was meticulously maintained. However, just after rolling 40k was problem after problem. I still think overall it's a solid car. Just ended up with a bad one. Sold it and miss it like crazy.
@@schuylerlacelle5712Bought CPO at 18k miles. When I first bought the car, high pressure fuel pump was a recall - no big deal. 42k cel came on for the first time. The car was misfiring, changed the spark plugs and coils. Alternator then went bad around the same time, fuel pump went out, also injectors. Had a good amount of carbon build up as well already. Oil changed every 5k and only premium fuel, all other maintenance was also performed ahead of schedule including dsg at 37k instead of 40.
Lenny Schorer oh wow that’s quite a bit that went wrong. Seems to be the case. Either you have all of the problems or none. Conflicted on wether to buy one or not. Thanks for the reply.
@@schuylerlacelle5712 Exactly right, all or none I always hear with VW in general. If my wife didn't rely on it as a daily I for sure would have kept it. It's an amazing car when everything is good. Majority of people I talked to/know that have the MK7 say it's been solid even with tunes. Good luck to you, with whatever you choose.
Lenny Schorer some of those parts were not made by VW but it would be nice if they had been made well. Hitachi, Bosch, etc need to sometimes do better but on my VW, the Hitachi made coils did last a long time.
Question for ya... when you say all the components are holding up well, have you noticed any wear on your interior? My MK7 only has about 20k miles on it and I started to notice wear on the top of the leather steering wheel. Just wondering if you’ve experienced this too, or if it’s just because of my driving style lol
Finally reliable.. The old pd engines were bullet proof and the 1.8 20v's could take some hammer too, sure they went a little off with some mk6 engines but vag engines have never been classed as unreliable..
So your clutch doesnt stall by itself? I had this happen more than 50 times since I bought mine a few weeks ago.. I owned it for 3 days and VW bought it back and put me in a dsg. Very impressed with the DSG...not what I wanted but I am still happy with it and the dealer was great to work with
When you said the transmission wasn't precise and was kinda sloppy, how would it fair for a newer driver to stick shift? I really like this car and I wanna drive stick so badly, so I wanna know from an owner's perspective.
Hey he remembered that Ben and I have done most of the hard work on that car lol..............value is so bad on your car because of the miles and accident history on it. Cleaner cars with less miles are still holding a decent value on KBB. But why get this car and then get rid of it anyways?
My MK7 a 2015 purchased new that year has 41,000 miles. One single issue - a failed coil pack. Granted, the mileage is low - but if I let VW's supposed reputation for poor reliability bother me - I wouldn't have had this car for 5 years of enjoyment.
Depreciation is constant regardless of how much you put down, either way, you are losing that money. The reason is the fear of German cars out of warranty which is why they depreciate so much, this goes for all German cars, especially sedans.
i'd love to know all of the maintenance that you've done so far and what you plan on doing for maintenance going forward. mk7.5 golf R here that i plan on keeping till the engine explodes
I bought a mk7 golf r and since day one the backup camera has issues, the driver side window rolls on auto whenever it feels like it, battery died on me, i get headlights, auto hold, tire pressure monitor system faults which clear out after 30 seconds but still. My car doesnt even have 13500 miles on it and always has a different issue. When i take it to the dealer they say "we cant seem to find anything wrong with it" . So basically ive been paying for a $42k car that has no camera, and plenty of issues.
@@jamesmedina2062 They all tell me to go to the dealer where i bought the car. Now all my sensors are showing faults. Airbag fault, ABS fault, TPMS fault, auto hold fault etc.... The car starts and runs but not as smooth. Tested the battery and it seems ok.
J Well to a certain extent car dealers can be total scumbags just like other mechanics, but at least there are lemon laws. It doesn't matter what the problem is, if it doesn't get fixed, you have the right to a new car or money back. Of course the maker knows a million times more about the car than the dealer but they are connected so eventually it should be able to get sorted.
I'm with you... But I have an Mk6, 2013 edition, still stock but it burns oil like I'm frying chicken. I spent months getting oil weight tests and measures. At the end, they refuse engine replacement, piston changes or anything. I I'm stuck with oil top offs every 1500mi. I luv my Galetea but it could be better. I'm Hesitant to buy another one, but its so economical, turbo when i need it. My version is missing 3amp USB, and the cigarette is so touchy. The radio basic version screen blanks out hot days. Engine wise, and major systems no problem. But when I live in Germany most citizens do not use all those comfort creatures at least 40 and over. So, it make sense why basic stuff like auto-dimmer review mirror, auto head lights, is not a feature until you drop 30k. I do want the TSC version in 2020, but if Hyundai N20, comes to the US, GTi better start begging. Or just spend 10k more and get an Audi S3 Turbo.
akilla214u2c Take it from me, if you like the car, invest in it to rebuild the engine. If you rebuild it, it may seem like a lot of money but it isn't if you come out with a much better engine. What oil have you used? How many miles or km on it?
@@jamesmedina2062 I used all synthetic 10w-30, with about 65k mi. I like the car, but not to the point where the cost value to likeability equates to paying for a rebuild. There are more comfort creatures I'd like in the car, and for that it is a little out date. It may be on the list for upgrade to newer version or different car. But good insight
The important thing about the mk7 is that being an evolution of the mk6, many of the parts are derivatives of their equivalents in the mk6, so they also improved. Even within the mk6, major problem points were revised for the last two model years. For the mk7, the engine parts were likely improved further.
@@Jbaaaaak idk about that... if you want long term reliability at stage 3 you should definitely also get an upgraded intercooler, boost/charge pipes (whatever you wanna call them), good intake, and probably a TCU tune as well. but that's just me, i'm not one to roll the dice
@@MiniAdler13 Yeah sure those are all neat but they're not necessary for the is38 upgrade. Intercooler will help with heatsoak, boost/charge pipes don't do a whole lot same as an intake. The intake however is recommended for most is38 tunes.
I have the same model and my clutch just failed at 20k miles, still under VW warranty but they won't cover it, they put it down to wear and tear. I have had the car 5 months and not a hard driver at all. gobsmacked that the clutch has failed so young
Stewart Dillon I feel for you. They should take a drive with you and see how you drive it. Where do you live? I had a VW Passat last me 330k miles no problem on the original clutch.
You're soooo lucky! The 2019 GTI is a train wreck. Stalling problems galore especially with the manual car (google it, it's real). I am happy VW bought mine back, although I wish I could have had an experience more like you had.
Stock...Clutch...King 👑 Russ. Wtf mate how is it possible? I put in a sachs dmf and upgraded clutch when i went stage 2 because everything i read told me, (being a manual) i couldnt dare hold the extra power (of a power module much less a tune)without a clutch. You make me regret my decision as im still at 24,900 miles 🤷♂️ 2016 s. I probably could've rode out the stock clutch with newly added power till at least 40,000 before swapping for an upgraded sachs 🤦♂️
@@typulsipher9792 have you had any problems in terms of it not going into gear as smooth? kinda like a bumpy feeling putting it into gear? bc thats what im experiencing now, but not sure it's my clutch bc I never slip under power.
Resale value is pretty much in line with everything else, minus a WRX. My 2016 is loaded, I paid $28k new and after 4 years and 35k mikes it’s worth about $16k. That’s still above 50%
