Buying a MK7 R, what should I look for?

[iceman9820]

I'm in the market to trade up from my 2016 GTI to a MK7 R. What issues should I be in the lookout for? Specifically I'm wanting one with the DSG. Are there reliability issues with the MK7 that were corrected with the 7.5s? I found a 2016 R with 27k miles that I'm interested in but I just stumbled onto the rabbit hole of the Haldex failures at low miles. The market on the Rs is already small enough in my area, and when I'm specifically looking for lapis blue with DSG it's tempting to jump on the first one I find but I want to know if I'm better off waiting for a 7.5 to pop up.

 

[ice raptor]

I have the 16 R DSG and cant say i ever really see much issue with it nor have i seen much complaints. The major differences between the 7.5 and 7 would be the digital display for the dash and 7spd trans verses the 6. You cant go wrong with either. Just pick which one you'd prefer more or can afford.

 

[Pickleahoy]

You wont be able to test Haldex issues unless the seller lets you do a launch which may require you to leave it for last as a consider it sold type of deal if it doesn't spin the fronts alone. Ideally you would take the car to a shop to get inspected since an hour labor is cheap insurance on a >$20,000 purchase, and they would look for fluid seepage which could catch water pump sealing issues (something that can happen on any golf).

Look for dodgy mods I suppose, and if you are interested in warranty if there's any powertrain one left then ask the shop to check for TD1 codes on the ECU for having been tuned. There's no reliability issues that the MK7.5 could avoid, its the same pig with more lipstick.

 

[david9962000]

Places like Carmax have a 3 days return policy so you could get the R inspected right after you buy just to make sure. Also Carmax has a great aftermarket warranty.

 

[iceman9820]

Thanks for the advice, feeling more comfortable about pulling the trigger if the car is still available this weekend.

Places like Carmax have a 3 days return policy so you could get the R inspected right after you buy just to make sure. Also Carmax has a great aftermarket warranty.

I have considered CarMax as an option but unfortunately there's only two cars available that I'm interested in and both have to be transferred from several states over.

 

[Striker23]

I used carmax years ago and had a gti transferred from Georgia to Texas. If you end up buying it you don’t have to pay full price for the transfer. At least that’s how it worked a few years ago. Hope you find the one you’re looking for!

 

[ClubFed]

Places like Carmax have a 3 days return policy so you could get the R inspected right after you buy just to make sure. Also Carmax has a great aftermarket warranty.

Heck yea they do. When I had my Focus ST and had any issues they had it covered under my Maxcare even though I was FBO and running e30. You better believe I put Maxcare on the Golf too, and it's already worked out for me since I had to have my infotainment system replaced due to a bad module, and I'm tuned lol.

 

[JC_451]

Number 1 thing you should look for is: has this car previously been tuned?

I would also avoid any cars that have multiple owners despite low mileage. Take your time shopping, the R isn't as rare as dealers like to pretend. You don't have to jump on the first that appears just to make sure you get it.

Don't lock yourself into a specific color. That will severely limit your options and give the dealer leverage over you. Expand your search area, delivery fees are often negotiable.

 

[vj123]

If you can financially stretch for a MK7.5, i would take time and wait for one.

 

[staying_tuned]

As @JC_451 mentioned, ignore anyone attempting to leverage their rarity. What is actually rare is someone looking to buy an R right now hah, you have all of the leverage. Look for any signs of modifications. For me, anything at all is a no-go even if the car is CPO. Simple things like an intake or an exhaust are easy to spot but also the easiest to swap back to stock. On these cars if nothing sticks out, look for more PITA things to swap back out like:

- Front-mount intercooler (time consuming to swap back out)
- Springs (time consuming to swap back out)
- Stiffer suspension or motor mount bushings (not worth the resale cost savings, most owners would leave them)
- Jiggly driver's left A/C vent (signs of running P3 or other vent gauge)
- Turbo muffler delete (if gloss black or polished, its not stock and they are kind of a pain to swap)

Check the service record, if it has over 40k miles DSG should have been flushed as part of its 40k service. Look for coolant stains on the hood liner & firewall from coolant leak/pump failure (not bad, just make sure the fix is present/verifiable in its service history).

Don't forget that an economy Enterprise rental is only $35/day and enterprise will actually pick the car up for you if wherever you're buying a car is within like 10 miles of the closest enterprise. Same with Budget but Enterprise seems to be the most reasonable. If not, your salesman will likely give you a ride to return it if you end up closing a deal on the car. I can't remember the last time I purchased a car locally. I'm OCD about rust so I regularly drive a multiple states away to grab gems.

 

[Gimpster]

People always think I'm crazy, but I have criss crossed this nation for car deals. Especially when I've lived in small captive markets where the one-and-only VW dealers thinks you have no options.

As @JC_451

Don't forget that an economy Enterprise rental is only $35/day and enterprise will actually pick the car up for you if wherever you're buying a car is within like 10 miles of the closest enterprise. Same with Budget but Enterprise seems to be the most reasonable. If not, your salesman will likely give you a ride to return it if you end up closing a deal on the car. I can't remember the last time I purchased a car locally. I'm OCD about rust so I regularly drive a multiple states away to grab gems.

 

[iceman9820]

https://www.carolinaautodirect.com/...t-seats--nav-carolina-auto-direct-id-35934481
Here's the dealer's listing for the one I'm looking at. I know it has an CAI but I'm not sure about any other mods. If it's still there by Friday I'll take it for a test drive. Hopefully they'll be able to put on a lift for me so I can see the underside.

 

[vj123]

Looks like the suspension is dropped as well.

 

[sterkrazzy]

Yea, probably on springs.

 

[staying_tuned]

Pretty slim chance that a person spent money on an intake and didn't spend another few hundred for an off the shelf tune. It looks to be in fantastic shape but I'd suspect the reason for this NOT being certified is because it's already been TD1 flagged for a tune. If you absolutely must get this, have them certify it without charging you. You'll also notice that although there is a service record on the carfax, NONE of them cover routine fluid changes which means the previous owner likely did the routine stuff which combined with the intake, paints a picture of an enthusiast. Not many enthusiasts would leave such a tuner friendly platform stock. As others have mentioned, it does appear to have aftermarket springs on it which is another ball of wax. Lastly, 28k (not including delivery and doc fees, call it 30k) is a lot to lay down for this. I'd walk away from this without a second thought.