Are Golf’s reliable?

[Lonelydriver_95]

Hey all, new guy here. I don’t have a Golf yet but I’m tempted by one and I’ve wanted one for a long time but I just have a few reservations. I value long-term reliability in a car (all but 2 of my cars have been Japanese, my current main car being a Subaru Crosstrek 6MT) and I’m wondering are these golf’s pretty reliable cars? I don’t expect a Golf to be Toyota/Subaru/Honda reliable but what are some common problems? I’ve included a pic of the car in interested in. It’s got like 16K miles, a manual trans and a clean CARFAX. But sadly no Tartan seats

 

[starsmith]

I think the general consensus you'll get here is that the mk7 generation with the EA888.3 1.8L and 2.0L motors have proven to have mechanical reliability as good or better than vehicles with comparable modern drivetrains, if maintained correctly. They are overbuilt for the power they make. The major issues are 1. failing thermostat housing, which is now covered by class action, and 2. carbon buildup on intake valves causing poor performance, which is just an additional maintenance item that eventually needs to be done (it's actually a good idea to do both of these at once if possible).

On the other hand, Toyotas are designed to keep running even if you put in spit for lube, and you'll never get away with such neglect on a VW. It has been proposed that this is the reason why German cars are considered very reliable in Germany but less reliable in the US.

I'd say the thing to watch for on the used market is that owners of these cars love to do kiddo shit with them, you don't always know what kind of crappy tune or turbo has been on a used one, whether the owner let the car warm up and cool down for hard driving, etc. VW are able to tell you whether the car has ever been tuned at all by plugging it into their system.

 

[mrmatto]

VW are able to tell you whether the car has ever been tuned at all by plugging it into their system.

One note on this: Yes, VW can tell you this. But please note they do not check for this as part of the CPO "certification" process. There have been many a CPO GTI sold with a tune on it (including mine). So if your goal is to avoid a previously-tuned vehicle, you need to specifically ask VW to check for this.

 

[EpicTech]

My best cars I have owned have been VW's, my worst was my Honda. It suffered cam failure one time, and apparently a bad set of valve springs another time, leaving me stranded both times in an area with no cell reception. My current GTI has 106k on it, and almost 100k of those miles have been stage 2 power or more, on stock internals.

 

[Jonnymk7.5]

Bought my 2018 Gti Se Dsg new. Currently 121k miles. Most reliable car I've owned. No coolant leak, no oil burning. Never did a carbon cleaning. Still smooth as butter.

 

[Strange Mud]

make sure it hasn't been tuned, then typical going over car. A VW dealer should be able to scan it for tune, sometimes you can send VIN to various tuners to ask. My 17 with 50K has been very reliable and a good combo of fun and practical

 

[battle.munky]

We have a 2017 GTI, zero issues so far. Fun as the day is long.

Our daughter has a 2015 GTI and has had the water pump and thermostat housing replaced 4 times and she just hit 100k. She just found out too that she needs to have some suspension work done after hearing some crunching sound on the driver's front. For her, she loves it still even though she's had the leak issues, still fun as the day is long.

Hope these posts help you decide and POIDH.

 

[dtfd]

We have a 2017 GTI, zero issues so far. Fun as the day is long.

Our daughter has a 2015 GTI and has had the water pump and thermostat housing replaced 4 times and she just hit 100k. She just found out too that she needs to have some suspension work done after hearing some crunching sound on the driver's front. For her, she loves it still even though she's had the leak issues, still fun as the day is long.

Hope these posts help you decide and POIDH.

The 2015's seem to have all the issues on this platform.

 

[MSchott]

Mine is a 2017 GTI Sport with 122,000 miles. Had the thermostat housing replaced under warranty at about 48,000 miles and it currently uses about a quart every 2500 miles. Other than that just regular maintenance. Overall I’d rate the cars reliability as excellent.

 

[8T_BoCO]

Our 2019 Golf Sportwagen and 2019 Alltrack (sold this summer) have been very reliable, however we don't drive many miles.
No mechanical modifications.

 

[Agray]

Mine is a 2017 GTI Sport with 122,000 miles. Had the thermostat housing replaced under warranty at about 48,000 miles and it currently uses about a quart every 2500 miles. Other than that just regular maintenance. Overall I’d rate the cars reliability as excellent.

Have you done any investigation to see where the oil is being consumed?

 

[MSchott]

No. That kind of consumption is fairly normal at 122,000 miles I’d guess. Likely worn piston rings. It’s not from any leaking gaskets.