[s4ch]

Originally Posted by Mortis

I don't need to worry about whether that car I checked out has hidden accidental damage because it got sold.

Looks like I may not get a chance to get these cars inspected by VW service because they get sold before any rational pre purchase checks can be done !!

I think you dodged a bullet there!

Normally a token advance will let the dealer know you are serious and then you can take it to VW for a check. But yes, you do need to dedicate the time for it and act quick.

When I bought mine, I saw it online at 9am, was at the dealer at 10am, and took it straight to VW by 11am and had it home by 4pm!

Have you seen this one? Looks very clean with low mileage: https://www.facebook.com/share/irSnRnkP5Lb3x4NV/

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by s4ch

I think you dodged a bullet there!

Have you seen this one? Looks very clean with low mileage: https://www.facebook.com/share/irSnRnkP5Lb3x4NV/

Good tips.
Unfortunately that car is in Pune and I'm in Mumbai. I've not yet reached the stage where it becomes an option to travel to another city to check out a car. I guess I will leave that option for later since I have seen a couple of cars from other places that appeared decent.

[Intrnl_Cmbstn]

Guys I need opinions and honest advice.

My friend owns a Polo GT 1.2 TSI with DSG - 2013 model. It was primarily used by his mom and his wife and for city runs by the family. I have driven it a few times myself and have loved driving it (fast). Have even gone bonkers with it on the Mumbai -Pune Expressway (I was young and unmarried then, with lots adrenaline). I had told him years ago that whenever he wants to sell this car he should let me know first. Now he has decided to sell it and I get the first right of refusal.

I own a Marazzo and Elite i20 1.2 petrol manual (2015 model). The Marazzo is for highway runs and full family hauling. The i20 is used more by my wife for city runs and less often by me and even less often by my dad. I do not have parking space for another car, so I will have to sell my i20 to get the GT TSI.

The benefit of doing this is that my wife gets is that she gets an automatic instead of a manual, more convenience for her. The benefit that I get is that I get a ho.. warm hatch which is far more fun to drive than my lethargic 1.2 petrol i20. I am an enthusiastic driver and give the beans to my cars once in a while.

Now the price - he is willing to sell it to me in the ballpark of 3.25 to 3.75 lakhs. Its a very very tempting price as the car is in very good condition and driven only 50,000 odd km over 11 years. He has even got the suspension replaced 3 months ago. I will get this much and more for my i20 anyway. So there isn't going to be much additional layout in terms of money.

Now the question is it wise to buy a 11 year old VW Polo GT 1.2 TSI with DSG in terms of maintenance cost and reliability issues? Since this car will be driven more by wife, I do not want to compromise much on the peace of mind factor, which the i20 has bucketloads of. What kind of fuel efficiency can I expect?

Your help please, T-BHP fam!

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by Intrnl_Cmbstn

Now the question is it wise to buy a 11 year old VW Polo GT 1.2 TSI with DSG in terms of maintenance cost and reliability issues? Since this car will be driven more by wife, I do not want to compromise much on the peace of mind factor, which the i20 has bucketloads of. What kind of fuel efficiency can I expect?

Your help please, T-BHP fam!

Go for it. It is like befriending a known devil than an unknown angel. Keep 1.5 Lakhs invested in some liquid fund if in case you need it for the DSG. Probably you are his close friend hence he is quoting 3.25 Lakhs. In all probability, elsewhere he may get 5 Lakhs for the Polo GT TSI. Check if any issues identified in the DSG earlier, if it has been opened for whatever reasons and then also take a technical opinion from a VW service center. Considering you are in Mumbai, go to VW Downtown Sewri and they can do a thorough check of the Polo.

[Intrnl_Cmbstn]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Go for it. It is like befriending a known devil than an unknown angel. Keep 1.5 Lakhs invested in some liquid fund if in case you need it for the DSG. Probably you are his close friend hence he is quoting 3.25 Lakhs. In all probability, elsewhere he may get 5 Lakhs for the Polo GT TSI. Check if any issues identified in the DSG earlier, if it has been opened for whatever reasons and then also take a technical opinion from a VW service center. Considering you are in Mumbai, go to VW Downtown Sewri and they can do a thorough check of the Polo.

Thank you so much. Will definitely get it checked by VW before sealing the deal. Would it be advisable to get a check done by the CarWale inspection service? They charge Rs. 1,000 for a home inspection and will give a full report. For Rs. 600 they even give a vehicle history report (though it will not cover anything that was done at local mechanics).

And yes the guy is my closest mate, would even give it to me for nothing if I would ask for it. He is being offered 3.5 lakhs by an MG dealership as exchange against his purchase of a Windsor. He told me they plan to negotiate a higher price with the dealer if I dont buy it. If I ask it for less he would give it to me for less.

I read somewhere in this thread that the gearbox has the potential to set me back by up to 3 lakhs! Is that an exaggeration? While you have asked to set a budget of 1.5 lakhs, some other mention 30 - 60k. While I understand this depends on the type of issues that crop up, what is the most common issue found?

[SLK]

Originally Posted by Intrnl_Cmbstn

And yes the guy is my closest mate, would even give it to me for nothing if I would ask for it. He is being offered 3.5 lakhs by an MG dealership as exchange against his purchase of a Windsor.

That's the tricky part, closest mate, you know the car, you just buy it, without all the third party inspection.

GT TSI is a car that gets to the heart more than the mind, specifically when it starts to get old!. As a owner of a 9.5 yr old GT TSI, I won't like to sell it to a known person for its obvious possibilities of blowing up!, but if a person really wants it then I'd rather not be happy to go through an additional inspection for that.

See on one hand, there is a person who can potentially give it to you for free, on the other hand you want to get it checked by a third party, doesn't sound symbolically right even if commercially fine!

Also, DSG is the only scare with the car, and no one can really predict that (they will check stupid things like accident, paint, tyres, battery, service history! ALL of which you can take on face value anyways).

If the clutch feels ok and car crawls and shifts without issues, just take the plunge.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by Intrnl_Cmbstn

Thank you so much. Will definitely get it checked by VW before sealing the deal. Would it be advisable to get a check done by the CarWale inspection service? They charge Rs. 1,000 for a home inspection and will give a full report. For Rs. 600 they even give a vehicle history report (though it will not cover anything that was done at local mechanics).

Considering the seller is a close friend of yours, he should be pretty much transparent with regards to the car. Rather than the third party evaluation, spend few thousand more and get it evaluated by VW Service Center. If he maintained his car at one of the VW service center, then service history will be readily available. If not, then you anyways will have the current status of the car from the inspection at VW Service Center.

Originally Posted by Intrnl_Cmbstn

And yes the guy is my closest mate, would even give it to me for nothing if I would ask for it. He is being offered 3.5 lakhs by an MG dealership as exchange against his purchase of a Windsor. He told me they plan to negotiate a higher price with the dealer if I dont buy it. If I ask it for less he would give it to me for less.

I don't think there will be any room of negotiation with regards to a newly launched Windsor. If the dealer has quoted 3.5 Lakhs then definitely it will fetch him anywhere between 4 to 5 Lakhs, if sold independently. Cannot comment if you should ask for lesser or not however it is better to have transparent and true financial transactions with a close buddy. The car will serve you max 4-5 years but the friend is for lifetime.

Originally Posted by Intrnl_Cmbstn

I read somewhere in this thread that the gearbox has the potential to set me back by up to 3 lakhs! Is that an exaggeration? While you have asked to set a budget of 1.5 lakhs, some other mention 30 - 60k. While I understand this depends on the type of issues that crop up, what is the most common issue found?

2013 DSG was a dry clutch and it was the most notorious ones of the lot. I said 1.5 Lakhs in general however one cannot predict the cost of a decade old German Car with DSG. Ask the service center guys for a quote to completely overhaul a 2013 DSG. Apart from that, there may not be any significant cost. Polo GT TSI is a heart vs mind decision. If I was you, I would exchange the boring i20 for a rather newer Polo GT TSI (2017/2018) Post 2017, DSGs have been more reliable and less expensive to repair.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Intrnl_Cmbstn

Guys I need opinions and honest advice.
My friend owns a Polo GT 1.2 TSI with DSG - 2013 model. It was primarily used by his mom and his wife and for city runs by the family.
Your help please, T-BHP fam!

Go for it. Known car, meets your requirement, good price. As you may have seen the recent posts, the prices for this are generally unrealistic and still get sold. He will probably get more if he sells it outside. So since he is a close mate you need to ensure there is a win-win deal.

Need to account for dsg issues in the future and don't expect great mileage in heavy traffic conditions.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Intrnl_Cmbstn

Your help please, T-BHP fam!

I love my 10-yr-old GT TDI, but if a known person was to offer me a known 11-yr-old GT TSI for 3.5 lakh I would not be able to resist it.

I love my car, gears and all, but my left leg, like me, is over 70 years old now, and if I could get the same, spirited driving feel (or perhaps even better in some ways) from an AT it would be wonderful. My only hesitation would be exchanging low-revs-torque diesel for high-revs-whizz petrol. But you don't have that problem.

You are a lucky man, and I'm sure you'd regret it if you miss this opportunity.

[Intrnl_Cmbstn]

Originally Posted by SLK

That's the tricky part, closest mate, you know the car, you just buy it, without all the third party inspection.

See on one hand, there is a person who can potentially give it to you for free, on the other hand you want to get it checked by a third party, doesn't sound symbolically right even if commercially fine!

I have told him already that if there's a problem with the gearbox, let it be someone else's problem, not mine. So he's cool to let me get it checked. Being a friend, he wouldn't want me to face the expense for the gearbox repair.

Originally Posted by SLK

If the clutch feels ok and car crawls and shifts without issues, just take the plunge.

Yes this is something I am definitely going to check. Thanks. It should crawl at 5kmph on D without any inputs right?

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Rather than the third party evaluation, spend few thousand more and get it evaluated by VW Service Center.

Okay. The one at Kurla is the most convenient for me. Any contact of a good SA over there?

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

The car will serve you max 4-5 years but the friend is for lifetime.

Gonna give him what he asks, wont negotiate.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

If I was you, I would exchange the boring i20 for a rather newer Polo GT TSI (2017/2018) Post 2017, DSGs have been more reliable and less expensive to repair.

The only reason I am even doing this is because it's my friend's car and he called me up to ask if I want it as he knows I love to drive it. I wasn't in the market for any used car anyway.

Definitely not going to do the painful search of a GT TSI at a reasonable price, based on the experience of others in this thread.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Go for it. Known car, meets your requirement, good price. As you may have seen the recent posts, the prices for this are generally unrealistic and still get sold.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

You are a lucky man, and I'm sure you'd regret it if you miss this opportunity.

Love the encouragement by distinguished BHPians. Will update here once I am through with the deal.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Intrnl_Cmbstn

It should crawl at 5kmph on D without any inputs right?

TSI owners will advise, I've never driven one. In general, though, some AT cars "creep" others don't. And usually, on the flat only, not uphill. Also, some consider it desirable (I do: it enables one-pedal stop-start-traffic driving) and some consider it dangerous (can be for someone not used to it).

I'd expect speed to be barely walking pace.

Hoping you can go ahead with this car and that it all works out well . Sure, I'm encouraging you, but not without recognising that there is an element of risk.

[PrisonMike]

Originally Posted by Intrnl_Cmbstn

Yes this is something I am definitely going to check. Thanks. It should crawl at 5kmph on D without any inputs right?

It should basically be the same as when you let go of the clutch in a manual transmission.

Okay. The one at Kurla is the most convenient for me. Any contact of a good SA over there?

The Kurla ASC is Autobahn if I'm not mistaken? I had taken my 2015 GT there for PDI before purchasing it. Not sure how good they are, but they seemed to have done a decent enough job at diagnosing my car. Except that the sales advisor told me that my ABS sensors WILL fail and that I should have invested in new sensors then and there itself, it's been 3 years since, and I've had zero ABS issues.

If you can, you could try going to Downtown VW at Sewri. You can ask for either Firoz, or Naresh. Those are the 2 SA's I've dealt with so far.

Regardless of where you go, make sure you ask them to check for fault codes, suspension wear and tear, struts, strutmounts, and steering rack health.

[yogeshb18]

Go for it. i20 vs. GT TSI. It’s obvious choice. I have a 2014 Vento. And I would never sell it. Anyway, if you are deciding otherwise, I’m interested

[DasAutoFanatic]

Definitely go for it! I own a 2018 VW Vento 1.2 TSI Highline Plus, and I've been in the market searching for a Polo TSI (GT is available) in the bracket of sub 5 lakhs. And man, what you're friend is offering is a very tempting price. I wouldn't miss this deal if I were you.

Also, if you decide otherwise, let me know. I am also interested in checking it out.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Originally Posted by Intrnl_Cmbstn

Guys I need opinions and honest advice.

My friend owns a Polo GT 1.2 TSI with DSG - 2013 model.

Go for it!

I used mine for 1,11,444 km with all original stuff (suspension & AC compressor apart) until I handed it over.

Since this one is used by the Mom, I am assuming it will be much lower run than mine.