With all the negative publicity over the past 2-3 years on diesels (not all justified in my opinion), you may find it more difficult to sell a GTD in a few years time than you would a petrol engined car. Have you considered a GTI?
I think the standard 18” Nogaro alloys on the GTD are one of the nicer design standard wheels that VW fitted to the mk7 Golf. However, bear in mind that VW diamond cut alloys don’t fare too well in the durability stakes, with many suffering from the dreaded white worm corrosion after 2.5 - 3 years, and a good quality refurb will cost around £85-90 +VAT on an 18” wheel and around £100 +VAT for a 19” Santiago alloy. Tyres for 19” alloys will also be more costly to replace than tyres for 18” wheels and ride will be less compliant on 19” wheels. Also, check the wheels carefully on any car you view for kerbing and white worm damage and if they’re damaged, negotiate the cost of full refurbishment into the deal.
Ensure any car you view has been HPI’d - I’ve read some horror stories on some forums of people unwittingly buying a car that they’ve subsequently discovered has been written off! Check for full service history. On cars with DSG transmission, the gearbox should be serviced every £40k miles, so check this has been done. I think that a full service history and good quality premium branded tyres are signs that a car has been well maintained. Some early mk7 Golfs seemed to suffer from noisy rear suspension, requiring the rear shock absorbers to be replaced, so listen for any abnormal suspension noises on a test drive. Rear tyres can wear more heavily on the inside edge in a ‘sawtooth’ / stepped pattern and create a noise that sounds like failed / failing wheel bearings (not uncommon on cars with independent rear suspension), so run your hand around the inside edge of the tyres to feel for any ‘stepping’ of the tread. Cars with leather upholstery can suffer from sagging and creasing of the leather, especially on the driver’s seat, as VW leather isn’t the best quality, and not all of the leather is actually leather (some parts are vinyl).
Good luck in your search. There are plenty of examples on the used car market, so don’t fall for the first car you view, but ensure you look at a few examples before you buy.
