The Mega Mk7 Golf GTI/GTD/R thread

R.O.R

JoeA3 wrote: »

The ears on every Audi salesman in the country are burning

Bet-on tight shiny suit... pointy brown shoes... ice white teeth :pac:

Not in every Audi dealership. There's a couple of dealerships where brown shoes are banned for all members of staff.

theintern

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

You'd often wonder how salesmen make it to work in the mornings. I've a few good friends in sales. Fancy watch, Pringle socks, Geordie shore hair doo, but the lights are on and nobody's home. They'll approach you looking a million dollars and smelling like a Hollister store and then ask you how do you know how many spokes an alloy wheel has or something. You have to marvel at what they do though, it's a way of life, I couldn't hack it now personally.

Just back home from checking out the car, and that description of the salesman is literally exactly correct

Thanks for the advice guys, and especially Joe, meant I went in there knowing my stuff or at least sounding like I did! Took the car for a test drive and inspected it pretty closely and honestly couldn't find anything really wrong. One of the alloys has a nick and app connect wasn't enabled so was delighted I knew to check.

I had my mind mostly made up already but when there were no red flags, I went ahead and made the deal. Officially part of the club now and can't wait to pick it up next week! They're going to fix the alloy scuff and enable app connect for me.

I didn't get a chance to read the advice here about the services before I got there, so I'll be checking to see what they're going to do when they service it and try get some of those bits done.

theintern

Muppet Man wrote: »

Irish car?

Yep, an Irish car. Sold by the same dealer from new and serviced there twice.

MisterDrak

After 13 years of owning (and loving ) GTi's I officially moved on yesterday.

The relationship started way back in 2006 when I got a one year old, black 3 door Mk 5 Gti, which I held on to until 2011, when I gave it to the Mrs. She kept the car until 2017, when she traded it for a Toyota HCR (no accounting for taste there )

I upgraded to a nearly new Grey Mk 6 Gti in 2011, which in the height of the recession and was one of the few Mk6's on the roads. The spec was pretty bleak, but it was pretty exclusive...

I pre ordered a Mk7 when the order book opened around May 2013, and received my car just 2 week after Joe got his. I think I was one of the first batch of Mk7 Gti in the country at that time. There are a few pics of that car on here (way back). That one was a manual 5 door, white, with a panno roof and DCC. Unfortunately the DCC was possibly broken as the ride (even in comfort) was harsh.

Held on to that one until Aug 15, when I upgraded to the MK7 DSG Carbon grey, again with the panno and DCC, and upgraded media (again a few pictures on here somewhere). Did love that car, and was sorry to see it go.

Have loved the time with the cars, and If I was to pick my fav it would be the first Mk5, due to it being my first performance car and just a simple but great drive, without all of todays gadgets.

That car and would always put a big big smile on the face

everlast75

MisterDrak wrote: »

After 13 years of owning (and loving ) GTi's I officially moved on yesterday.

The relationship started way back in 2006 when I got a one year old, black 3 door Mk 5 Gti, which I held on to until 2011, when I gave it to the Mrs. She kept the car until 2017, when she traded it for a Toyota HCR (no accounting for taste there )

I upgraded to a nearly new Grey Mk 6 Gti in 2011, which in the height of the recession and was one of the few Mk6's on the roads. The spec was pretty bleak, but it was pretty exclusive...

I pre ordered a Mk7 when the order book opened around May 2013, and received my car just 2 week after Joe got his. I think I was one of the first batch of Mk7 Gti in the country at that time. There are a few pics of that car on here (way back). That one was a manual 5 door, white, with a panno roof and DCC. Unfortunately the DCC was possibly broken as the ride (even in comfort) was harsh.

Held on to that one until Aug 15, when I upgraded to the MK7 DSG Carbon grey, again with the panno and DCC, and upgraded media (again a few pictures on here somewhere). Did love that car, and was sorry to see it go.

Have loved the time with the cars, and If I was to pick my fav it would be the first Mk5, due to it being my first performance car and just a simple but great drive, without all of todays gadgets.

That car and would always put a big big smile on the face

And you are now driving.... ?

JoeA3

Did you eventually buy one of those cars you were telling me about MisterDrak?

kooga

there was a great article in his months evo magazine mark v gti V Mark 7 clubsport

The Mark V came out with 5 stars with the recommendation see if you can find one in the classifieds and buy!

I'm still trundling around in my 08 Mark V and will hold on till it dies!

carsfan2

You have to tell us what you’ve moved onto misterdrak.

MisterDrak

The pressure :cool:

Trying to post a bloody pic and not working... Text will have to do ... Ill post up later when I figure it out...

G30 530i M Sport...

I went away from the "default" 5 series 520D, as I'm not sure where the diesel is going to end up in 3-4 years, when I eventually come to change this one.

I well know that the i as opposed to the D is going to be heavier on fuel, but as I mentioned on here a few times, I do only do 7-8K mile per year. My Gti only have 24K miles after 3 1/2 years.

Did the deal on Paddys day, and picked it up yesterday around 3pm.

First impression. Drives like an absolute dream. Blown away with the comfort of the drive and almost silence in the cabin when moving.

Gave it the beans on an empty road, and you do feel the extra weight of the car as it takes a second to get going, but then the surge would push past the Gti, up to 70mph.

The iDrive is fab, the ambient lighting a gimmick, but a beautiful one at that. I sat in the car last night with my son, endless going through the combinations

Overall an absolutely beautiful motor.

carsfan2

Well wear.
Hope you get much pleasure from it.
Did you trade in gti?
There are more and more petrol af hybrid 5 series being sold now.
I’m in a g31 520d myself and the 5 is a super car. Do a lot more mileage than you so diesel suits.

MisterDrak

carsfan2 wrote: »

Well wear.
Hope you get much pleasure from it.
Did you trade in gti?
There are more and more petrol af hybrid 5 series being sold now.
I’m in a g31 520d myself and the 5 is a super car. Do a lot more mileage than you so diesel suits.

Thanks carsfan2...

Yes traded it in. But don't get me started on the number i got for it. Bit of a joke really, given it was €44K new in 2015. But i knew much of that going into the dealer in advance.

To be clear the car is a 181 and not new, and I had to really had to push myself to come up with the cost to change...

hooch-85

Sounds like your GTi would be a good buy for someone on here MisterDrak.

Good luck with the new car.

Wailin

Lovely car and please post pics when you figure out how!

bazz26

Is that the Mediterranean Blue 530i that Beshoffs had for sale?

MisterDrak

Here you go !

Don't usually wear a suit, but just happened to be with a customer that day

Didn't mention much about the ride yesterday, but while it is very smooth, on concrete roads it does pick up imperfections in the road joins. It runs in 20", I would have preferred 19" for a smoother ride...

Looking forward to a good spin this weekend. :cool:

kodirl

I saw a sweet 191-WW-4 grey GTI-P yesterday near Greystones on my way to work. Anyone here own it? It was very nice!!

kooga

as above lovely 191 C R in white around Cork City I have passed it a few mornings by the south infirmary and Victoria hospital. Well wear

JoeA3

Car looks the business MisterDark! Not sure about the suit though lol.

I’d consider swapping the front grills to the gloss black versions though if it were mine. Nicer than the chrome imo especially on an M Sport.

carsfan2

In this case I differ from Joe.
Leave the grilles. Black looks great on 3/4 series but the little bit of chrome in the standard grille suits the 5 in my view. You also have a little chrome on the door handles and the wheels are two tone.
Well wear again looks fab. Black sapphire I’m guessing.

theintern

After what seemed like an age but was actually only a week, finally picked up my GTI yesterday. The dealer forgot to enable app connect as promised so have to go back to him but apart from that I'm over the moon.

Just gave it a quick wash and wax to get rid of the all the water spots the dealer left on it so I'm ready to show it off..

162, PP, Carbon Grey, manual, keyless, 17k miles, 19 inch Santiagos, reversing camera, alarm. Lovely thing to pick a car up on Friday and have the time to enjoy it over the weekend. Getting on the power is a joy, loving how it feels through corners, but taking it very handy at the moment till I get used to the extra power...

The colour is very interesting, really looks different in different lights, I wasn't sure about it when I first saw it but it's growing on me big time.

Comhrá

Well wear. Fantastic looking motor. Whatever you do, just mind those alloys and be ultra-careful parking by the kerbs. Enjoy.

theintern

Comhra wrote: »

Well wear. Fantastic looking motor. Whatever you do, just mind those alloys and be ultra-careful parking by the kerbs. Enjoy.

One was kerbed so the dealer got it fixed before I bought. I've heard the Santiagos are a bit of a pain to mind alright. I'm hoping the parking sensors and reversing camera help avoid the majority of issues!

theintern

Actually, where are people getting their pressed metal plates from? I'd like something that's not the bog standard, but still legal.

hooch-85

That's a beautiful car, excellent spec, one of my favourite colours on these too, was a great find. All the best with it.

JoeA3

theintern wrote: »

Actually, where are people getting their pressed metal plates from? I'd like something that's not the bog standard, but still legal.

eireplates.com.
Great quality, next day delivery. He’ll do them without county or dashes too if you ask.

Car looks great!

vintagevrs

Quality. Great spec. A 2nd hand manual PP is what I would buy if I had to choose a performance golf. That one looks brand new, enjoy.

theintern

vintagevrs wrote: »

Quality. Great spec. A 2nd hand manual PP is what I would buy if I had to choose a performance golf. That one looks brand new, enjoy.

The guy who had it bought it new and just traded it in for a new R, so I think he looked after it. Found one tiny mark on the paint while washing it but that's about it so I'm delighted.

I was pretty impressed with the Autoglym rapid wax. Easy to apply because you don't have to dry the car first and brought up a lovely shine on the car.

ChuckLarry

The Santiago’s are the business
All the best with the new motor

I appear to be in a bit of a minority on this but I think plastic plates look way better than pressed metal plates, I just don’t like the look of the metal ones at all.

JoeA3

Plastic plates are naff. Dealers usually compound it by making an absolute hames of the font spacing, the sizing, then drilling them to the car (and cracking the plastic laminate in the process).

As I said I just don’t like metal, they look cheap and old fashioned and just don’t suit modern cars imo.

theintern

Lance Tall Beagle wrote: »

As I said I just don’t like metal, they look cheap and old fashioned and just don’t suit modern cars imo.

I think this might be a perspective thing, for me plastic plates have been on everything for a good while and so they're common and naff to me, whereas metal plates are a bit different and interesting. But metal plates were on everything before plastic, so I can see how they are 'old fashioned' to plenty of people.

Like we have a vintage car or two in the family and I think the metal plates really look good on them but on a modern hot hatch to me anyway the plastic looks much better but each to their own of course.

JoeA3

This isn’t vintage car plates we’re talking about. It’s just a simple clean legible plate with well spaced fonts that doesn’t delaminate and look like sh1t within months... makes for a much cleaner smarter look I reckon.

For example...

SaintsYB

I was looking at getting plates like those before Joe. I read though that you must have the county name in Irish at the top of the plate. Have you had any issue with that before?

JoeA3

SaintsYB wrote: »

I was looking at getting plates like those before Joe. I read though that you must have the county name in Irish at the top of the plate. Have you had any issue with that before?

Running plates like that for years, no issue. The NCT testers probably would take issue with it but that’s a problem far down the road.

SaintsYB

JoeA3 wrote: »

Running plates like that for years, no issue. The NCT testers probably would take issue with it but that’s a problem far down the road.

That's good to know. I had the NCT done just before Christmas so that issue won't arise until after I plan on getting rid of the car. I might just go ahead and get some of these done.

bazz26

Put back on the old standard ones for the NCT.

Atlantic Dawn

I really can't understand people German plating their car, wtf connection has Ireland with Germany, they were feckers at every stage this country was on a downer. I'd associate anyone with a German style plate as being a traitor to the country, utter tools.

theintern

SaintsYB wrote: »

That's good to know. I had the NCT done just before Christmas so that issue won't arise until after I plan on getting rid of the car. I might just go ahead and get some of these done.

Seems the NCT is the only issue. Might get one of those holders for plates where you can swap in and out plates easily enough.

theintern

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

I really can't understand people German plating their car, wtf connection has Ireland with Germany, they were feckers at every stage this country was on a downer. I'd associate anyone with a German style plate as being a traitor to the country, utter tools.

I've never heard of someone being so patriotic about our number plates! They're German cars and the German plates are a bit different which makes the car stand out a bit, which to be fair is the reason for a lot of mods.

DaveyDave

Quick question on service costs. I was under the impression GTI, R etc weren't expensive to service? When I was driving the Cupra your man said the pads and discs are *really* expensive.

How expensive are pads and other consumables on these cars compared to regular models? Hard to gauge what his idea of expensive is...

If I was to look at something with almost 40k on it, would I need to look out for anything? DSG service on the 6 speed is 60k isn't it?

dastardly00

theintern wrote: »

Actually, where are people getting their pressed metal plates from? I'd like something that's not the bog standard, but still legal.

+1 for www.eireplates.com

I got pressed metal plates for them last month. The plates I got have the standard Irish font, the county in Irish above the reg etc., i.e. they are legal. Trevor will do whatever you want.

I really like them and I think they look a lot better than the plastic plates with the Dealer's info on them.

JoeA3

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

I really can't understand people German plating their car, wtf connection has Ireland with Germany, they were feckers at every stage this country was on a downer. I'd associate anyone with a German style plate as being a traitor to the country, utter tools.

No one said they were?? The pressed plates we’re talking about above have standard fonts. The German plates fad seems to have gone out of fashion thankfully.

Comhrá

JoeA3 wrote: »

No one said they were?? The pressed plates we’re talking about above have standard fonts. The German plates fad seems to have gone out of fashion thankfully.

Nothing impressed me quite like the 09 MO Toyota Corolla I remember overtaking me at high speed a few years ago sporting the German plates.

Neilw

DaveyDave wrote: »

Quick question on service costs. I was under the impression GTI, R etc weren't expensive to service? When I was driving the Cupra your man said the pads and discs are *really* expensive.

How expensive are pads and other consumables on these cars compared to regular models? Hard to gauge what his idea of expensive is...

If I was to look at something with almost 40k on it, would I need to look out for anything? DSG service on the 6 speed is 60k isn't it?

Rear discs and pads wear quickly, on cars with vented rear discs they corrode badly too. These would be on the R, PP Gti and Cupra.
I replaced discs and pads at about 25k Kms due to the pads being worn and corroded discs, think the job inc labour and genuine parts was about €290.

DaveyDave

If I was to look at a 161 model, would the brake fluid and diff oil be part of the third service? If not is it fair to expect them to be done?

Is it cheeky to ask for an early DSG oil change?

Neilw

DaveyDave wrote: »

If I was to look at a 161 model, would the brake fluid and diff oil be part of the third service? If not is it fair to expect them to be done?

Is it cheeky to ask for an early DSG oil change?

Brake fluid change was included in the service pack of my 161. DSG isn't due until 60k miles or something like that.

What's more important on an R is the haldex oil, mine was filthy at 20 odd Kms when changed. It was changed again at 37k Kms and the filter gauze was blocked and filthy oil.
VW won't clean the filter gauze so an independent is the only option.

I doubt there are many R's here which have had an annual haldex oil change and it is absolutely needed.

dar83

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

I really can't understand people German plating their car, wtf connection has Ireland with Germany, they were feckers at every stage this country was on a downer. I'd associate anyone with a German style plate as being a traitor to the country, utter tools.

Haha.

theintern

DaveyDave wrote: »

If I was to look at a 161 model, would the brake fluid and diff oil be part of the third service? If not is it fair to expect them to be done?

Is it cheeky to ask for an early DSG oil change?

I told my salesman that I wanted the PP diff oil change done, and to make sure they did the brake fluid change. It wasn't quite due either of them, but he basically didn't know what I was on about and so just told the service department to do both and they did.


He's also enabling app connect for me. Everything is on the table when you're negotiating. I'd say try your luck and if they're keen to sell the car, they'll do it for you.