not a merc but german your opinions

[ricardo62]

Im hoping for some feedback on a purchase my friend has just made ? ive just got back from doing a deal on a 2nd hand car for a female friend , shes bought a golf vr5 2.3 litre 2002 long mot service history paid 1000 pounds cash.
now I took this car for a test drive and o m g ! its a rocket!!! its a lot faster acceleration than my 3.2 e class I was stunned . I did warn her that she is going to be in 4 a hell of a shock when she drives it coming from a 1600 n reg astra, now my question has any one got any views on these cars good or bad and have they got any major problems to look out 4 .
thanks

 

[Brummie1372]

Flashing blue lights in the rearview mirror?







I'll get my coat

 

[ricardo62]

I get exactly were your coming from but seriously any major known faults etc

 

[redbaron]

offensively thirsty iirc... but make a lovely noise

 

[Barachello]

Lovely sound, but I remember someone saying that they 'sound' faster than they actually are?

 

[ricardo62]

well it was certainly qk enough 4 me !! but ive told her 2 drive it with a light foot and dnt be tempted to have a heavy right foot im hoping if she drives it carefully she can get 35 mpg on a run poss more cruising at 65 , and maybe hi 20s around town ?

 

[Barachello]

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/archive/index.php/t-91754.html

Found the above with a quick google.

Seems they are brutal on fuel at worst.

 

[ricardo62]

oh dear wat have I done? surely like my car with a big engine esp a small car it will hardly be wrking and understressed to achieve same speed as a small engine I would have thought good mpg ? im honestly getting around 35 around town in my car and high 40s on a run ?

 

[Barachello]

The lighter the foot, the better mpg, but I would suggest just being prepared for a few complaints from your friend lol

 

[ricardo62]

one good thing her insurance quote was better than I expected ,, 315 pounds a yr fully comp.

 

[gaz_l]

I ran a V5 for a couple of years after I sold my C43, the Golf was barely any better on fuel

Nice car though, no problems at all with it and it had c. 120K on the clock when I sold it on. The only known issue is that the cam chain tensioners start to give up the ghost at that kind of mileage, although I sold mine to a mate and he ran it up to 150K before he had a problem. Easy to spot as the engine sounds like a bag of spanners but not a cheap fix.

I'd have another one, in actual fact I've been looking for an estate but they are uber rare. I dare say one'll turn in the fullness of time.

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[219]

I guess at 2002 that will be a Mk V ?

While I can't comment on the V5 , we have a 2001 Mk IV Golf 1.9 Diesel Estate ( with the 115 bhp engine ) and it is no slouch either .

My sister bought the car as a demonstrator and we got it from her earlier this year ( she now has the current shape Golf SL Estate , which is also a lovely car and as big as the Passats of years gone by , it has the panoramic roof which is really nice ) .

I remember my sister getting stuck with a broken clutch cable a few years ago - that was the only breakdown . The car was VW serviced for a number of years , then by a local garage - it has had a couple of coil springs over they years ( they tend to break just like Mercedes ones do ) , front discs and calipers were replaced in 2009 and we have just done the back ones . It had a bracket welded at the back of the exhaust last year , although the exhaust was still sound enough to last a while longer ( this is still the original system ) . The car needed an alternator two or three years ago after we wrongly thought it needed a new battery . The cambelt had been renewed before we got it and everything else has been routine servicing , done on schedule .

Everything still works , including the air con , and the car returns 60 mpg without trying too hard ; it is a very pleasant car to drive .

 

[ricardo62]

Thank you both the above for your feedback , oh dear as thirsty as a 4.3 litre !! that's not good , and pontoneer you mention cam CHAIN, so it has a chain as opposed to a belt ? well at least she wont have to get the cambelt changed if that's the case , and im getting her to get another oil and filter change carried out next week , you cant beat having fresh oil in a car when you buy it , at least then you know your good for another 6000 miles plus and peace of mind .
I guess as its in vgc and a 02 plate if it does end up being to thirsty she can always sell it and I cant see it selling for less than what she paid for it , actually in my opinion I reckon it wld sell for 1500pounds ?

 

[vealige]

As mentioned above nice cars but it was a bit of an odd engine really its has the same mpg as the 2.8 V6 or the R32 having come from the latter myself its not great expect between 18-24 around town and about 30 on a run. To be honest I don't find my C55 much worse. The V5 sounds nice mind but the most popular choice of engine in the MKIV Golf is the 1.8T or TDI. The V5 is a chain driven engine like the V6 variants and these can start to wear around the 100k mark but its not to say they will. Tell tale sign is it sounds rattly on tick over as the engine should be silky smooth. The V5 was dropped due to poor economy/performance in favour of smaller turbo engines which is why they are cheap to pick up. I have a Bora TDI with 164k on the clock and its stupidly reliable as long as they are well maintained they do go on and on. Only issues tend to be minor annoying ones like plastic clips breaking on the electric window runners etc but its such a cheap and easy fix I'm currently on a European road trip in my Bora just done 1500 miles in it in the last 4 days averaging 55mpg.

 

[ricardo62]

Thank you ,a friend of hers wrks in the vw dealership and has already printed off a sheet detailing the service history and it had a new lambda fitted in 03 , and has had other parts but it doesn't say what they were .
when she gets it her friend has said register it at her dealership as the new owner and any outstanding recalls she will check if they have been done and if not they will be done f o c , like ive said the first thing to do is oil and filter and fresh anti freeze then its peace of mind , at least its a camchain and not a belt I think there better in my opinion ,it didn't sound rattly when I listened 2 it , it has 113000 on the clock ?

 

[flango]

Not thirsty from my experience mine always cleared 30 mpg and up to 37 mpg on a run. Great cars but one major fault, the engine is too heavy for the front suspension so if you put it into a corner hard it's going to get away from you as the inertia just keeps pushing, not a car for the faint hearted driver. If it's got standard front suspension (which I doubt as everyone changed them) I would change it or she will be disappearing through a hedge near you soon. The Golf 1.8 turbo is actually a faster car and more agile although it doesn't appear that way on paper. I drove both back to back around the ring and the 1.8 turbo was over 30 seconds faster than the VR5 the vids are on YouTube still I think.

Great car tough hope she enjoys

 

[grober]

Front wishbone bushes a weak spot - possibly due to extra engine weight? May have been renewed already?
Here's some nice piccies /data on the V5 engine refers to the 2.3.

http://www.volkspage.net/technik/ssp/ssp/SSP_195.pdf

It may have a dual mass flywheel and variable inlet manifold to keep an eye on?

ps I recall some of the v5/v6 engines having oil pump problems - might be worth checking online for this?

 

[ricardo62]

thank you flannia I have warned her its rapid , but to be honest she takes her 2 children with her most of the time as shes a single mum and cant leave them alone , by the way she does have a job ! and she has promised me she is not a girl racer and wnt be silly . I liked it myself and wld seriously consider a swop 4 my car , but shes not intrested in a big barge !!!

 

[gaz_l]

I think the problem with my V5 was the fact that it was the 4 speed auto (it was a '99 model) which are quite low geared - IIRC it was something like 22MPH/1000RPM in top.

The 2002 will be the 20v 170 BHP model (mine was the 10v 150 BHP) - if it's an auto it will have the 5 speed box, or all the manuals were 5 speed so with a bit of luck the economy will be better.

Around town mine struggled to do more than 20-22 MPG, but 30 MPG on a run was acheivable so long as you kept the speed down to a reasonable level. I didn't think that was particularly clever though given that the C43 would turn in 28 MPG on a run and the average speed would be, ahem, a little faster .

I've just remembered, actually, that thanks to the low gearing the V5 was the last car I had flat out in top.. I'm guessing the fuel consumption was in single figures at that point .

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[ricardo62]

yep its the 20valve manual..