MK5 GTI on the Cheap

[Ecwalk]

Theyre very economical as long as theres no major issues. I bought my 2007 gti for $4000 with one owner and 80,000 miles. Unfortunatly my slave cylinder failed after 2 weeks of driving. So far its a $6000 car.

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[golfballer78]

Well, if yer gonna keep stock height,at least do better shocks like koni yellows.

 

[doc280]

Well, if yer gonna keep stock height,at least do better shocks like koni yellows.

Not sure how long the OEM Sachs shocks have been on the GTI, but no leaks and they are performing well. If I were going to put something into the non required suspension budget, I would lean toward a 034 rear sway bar.

 

[doc280]

40,000 Mile Maintenance Kit

I have not forgot about things such as changing the oil and filters. Deutsche Auto Parts of Charlotte has a 40,000 mile maintenance kit which includes the following:
Genuine VW Oil Filter 06D-115-562
Genuine VW Drain Plug N-908-132-02 (14 x 1.5 x 22)
5L Bottle of Liquimoly 5W-40 Leichtlauf High
Genuine VW Pollen Filter 1K1-819-653-B
Genuine VW Air Filter 06F-133-843-A
4 NGK Spark Plugs BKR7EIX

Also purchased VW brake fluid with this order, so I could flush the brake lines.

I could have drove down to Deutsche Auto Parts, but would have required me to go I-77 and I-77 near Charlotte is not the Hwy to Hell, it is the Hwy in Hell. I happily paid the $12.99 for shipping.

I performed the maintenance service and also installed a new oil filter housing because mine was missing the protective cap.

I did learn a few things about the car. Brake fluid was clean as was the air filter. The pollen filter was nasty and since changing the filter I can operate the fan speed at 1 vs 2 with the same result. The plugs tell a big story about the health of the engine. It was definitely time to change the plugs, they were completely rusted. The electrodes, of all four plugs had a beautiful tan grey color indicating the engine is very happy, with no signs of improper air/fuel mixtures nor any oil burning.

40,000 Mile Maintenance Kit - Deutsche Auto Parts - $139.01
VW Brake Fluid ------------- Deutsche Auto Parts - $5.51
Oil Filter Housing------------ Ebay ------------------ $20.98
Oil Filter Socket------------- Ebay ------------------- $11.45

Cost \ Maintenance ---- $4260.53
Miles Driven ---- 763
----------------------------------
Cost Per Mile ------- $5.58

 

[doc280]

Theyre very economical as long as theres no major issues. I bought my 2007 gti for $4000 with one owner and 80,000 miles. Unfortunatly my slave cylinder failed after 2 weeks of driving. So far its a $6000 car.

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Four grand for a 80,000 mile one owner, was not a purchase, it was theft.

 

[5aprilc]

Theyre very economical as long as theres no major issues. I bought my 2007 gti for $4000 with one owner and 80,000 miles. Unfortunatly my slave cylinder failed after 2 weeks of driving. So far its a $6000 car.

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$2,000 to replace a slave cylinder? I hope they at least lubed it up before they stuck it in you.

 

[gti2slow]

Dunno about you but if you are replacing the slave cylinder and the clutch has 80k on it it would make sense to a few folks to replace some other wear items while its taken apart.

 

[doc280]

Inspecting The Underneath.

All right I will start this off saying "My Bad"; I should have inspected the underneath of the GTI before having the alignment done.

Threw the GTI on the lift and got the shop light out and started looking for the good and bad.

The good started with the most obvious, a bright shinny new OEM down pipe and catalytic converter, with a date tag on each 08/2016.

Drivers and passenger side drive axles are clean, shinny and look new.

No leaks from the shocks, no leaks of any kind from the engine and all the bushings are in great shape.

The worst thing I located was the boots on the steering tie rods had come apart and were leaking grease. I purchased a pair of new tie rod ends from Detroit Axle at a very good price and the construction looks very good. The dimensions are a little different then OME and I had to use a string to get the alignment back. I would say the dealer should have found the bad tie rod ends, but I really should have looked everything over before I ran down there.

There was some minor surface rust on some components, but a wire bush, rust treatment, primer, and black paint corrected this. All items I had on hand.

Where the back of the catalytic converter connects, overlaps to the rear exhaust , it was held together with an old exhaust u-clamp. It had an exhaust leak here and the pipes were flexing. I thought about just having this welded, but just maybe one day I may want to change the sound of the GTI, so I removed the u-clamp and replaced it with a lap-joint clamp.

Oily dirt had collected around the intercooler pipe connections and as you know not uncommon. I disconnected the pipes and drained the collected oil, cleaned everything and reassembled

Steering tie rod ends -- Detroit Axle-Ebay -- $28.25
Stainless Lap Joint Clamp -- Ebay ----------- $14.08

Cost / Maintenance --------------- $4302.86
Miles Driven ----------------------- 882
-------------------------------------------------
Cost Per Mile ------------------------- $4.88

 

[Ecwalk]

Dunno about you but if you are replacing the slave cylinder and the clutch has 80k on it it would make sense to a few folks to replace some other wear items while its taken apart.

Replaced flywheel, clutch, and master cylinder too


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[avenali312]

...No leaks from the shocks...

Just as an FYI based on personal experience, there may not be physical signs when the shocks/struts are worn out. I replaced mine around 100k because I was installing springs as well. No signs of leakage or anything, but I figured since they're out, why not. There was almost no rebound left in any of them.

 

[doc280]

Headlights

The headlights on the GTI did not work well as the right one lit up the night sky and the left one pointed at the ground. Also the they had the foggy haze going on.

I removed the headlights and found the bulbs were installed incorrectly. Since everything was apart it was a great time to install new bulbs, which I did.

I used the 3M Headlight Restore Kit to remove the foggy haze.

Maxlux 4300K D2S Bulbs ---- Ebay --- $28.00
3M Headlight Restoration Kit -- Advance Auto--- $20.69

Cost / Maintenance --- $4351.55
Miles Driven ------- 1145
-------------------------------------
Cost Per Mile --------- $3.80

 

[doc280]

Door Lock Module, Fuel Filter and Oil Leak.

Shortly after I purchased the GTI the driver's door lock module stopped working. The prices on these vary greatly and keeping with the cheap theme I purchased a new one off Ebay for $22.00. Again following a DIY, I installed the new module, cleared the fault code and all is working.

I had forgot about the fuel filler, when I was performing the maintenance.
I purchased the fuel filter but when I went to install it, I discovered two fuel lines had damaged release buttons. Thanks to someone on the forum they pointed me in the right direction and I purchased a Dorman VW fuel line repair clips; part number 800-027.

Oh crap, a small puddle of oil on the floor. Lifted the GTI up and found the new oil filter housing was leaking from the drain. I had bought this on Ebay, so I was not expecting much from customer service, but I was sent a new one right away.

Driver's door lock module ---- Ebay ---- $22.00
Fuel Filter 6.6 bar -------------Ebay ---- $17.58
Dorman VW Fuel Line Clips -- Advance Auto --- $4.29

Cost / Maintenance --- $4395.42
Miles Driven ---------- 1428
---------------------------------------
Cost Per Mile ------- $3.08

 

[clownish]

The headlights on the GTI did not work well as the right one lit up the night sky and the left one pointed at the ground. Also the they had the foggy haze going on.

I removed the headlights and found the bulbs were installed incorrectly. Since everything was apart it was a great time to install new bulbs, which I did.

I used the 3M Headlight Restore Kit to remove the foggy haze.

Maxlux 4300K D2S Bulbs ---- Ebay --- $28.00
3M Headlight Restoration Kit -- Advance Auto--- $20.69

Cost / Maintenance --- $4351.55
Miles Driven ------- 1145
-------------------------------------
Cost Per Mile --------- $3.80

After using that kit, some people have recommended covering the lens with LaminX or Xpel film etc. or sealing it because after a few months the lens start going cloudy again. I've only ever used it once myself and it was a very light application so I don't know. Been considering it though because having clear headlights is pretty important to me. And they look gorgeous when they're crystal clear and clean.

 

[Soysauce]

X2 on the Laminx. I used a Meguirs headlight restoration kit every month because they would start to fog up again. The laminx made em look nice n shiny

 

[doc280]

After using that kit, some people have recommended covering the lens with LaminX or Xpel film etc. or sealing it because after a few months the lens start going cloudy again. I've only ever used it once myself and it was a very light application so I don't know. Been considering it though because having clear headlights is pretty important to me. And they look gorgeous when they're crystal clear and clean.

I was unaware of headlight film and will keep it in mind, if the fog returns.