To stay, or to Go?

So I'm in a really tough spot here.

I love the shit out of my MKV, and I've worked pretty hard to set it up the way that it is now, and I have such a compressive list of things that I've done to customize it that when I sit back and look at it I get a little bit exhausted, lol.

That being said, this has been the least reliable car I've ever owned in my life. I run a car club, and there are plenty of other MKV's and MKVI's that are a part of it, and I seem to have the worst luck of any them. I currently have 76,000miles on my car and have had the following issues:

This is a 2.0t CCTA - TSI

5 Waterpumps
1 HPFP
1 DSG Transmission
2 Front Axles
1 Intake Manifold
4 Fuel Injectors
9 Coilpacks (Then I upgraded to R8's and we've been good since then)
1 Upper Timing Chain Cover
1 PCV Valve/System
1 Lower Timing Chain Cover
1 Rear Main Seal

And I think my ABS module may be going, and I have the issue with the TPS sensor harness being too short.

Almost all of that was covered under warranty, so I can't complain. However, the last few repairs I've had to do (Rear-Main, 5th Waterpump, Upper Timing Chain cover, PCV) cost me nearly $2k to repair.

So I'm here now, with a car that works perfectly for the time being. However, my wife and I are trying to save for a home and these repairs keep coming up at the worst possible times and draining us of significant portions of our savings in huge chunks. That being said, I'm fucking horrified that something catastrophic is going to go wrong next (Timing chain tensioner??).

I've had some thoughts... Try to get an extended warranty on my car maybe? Get a new car? Or, maybe my car is fine since so much shit has broken so far, I mean, its a bunch of new stuff right?

I have no idea what to do at the moment and was wondering if anyone here has any input.

Option 1) Find and purchase an extended warranty for my car. (Any advice here would be appreciated if anyone has any expertise in this area)

Option 2) Get a MK7 GTI. I have someone offering me a pretty awesome deal on one and payments would increase less than $150 a month from where I'm at now.

Option 3) Just do the upcoming maint. and drive it repairing any small issues that come up along the way.

So I'm throwing it out there to see what people think... and like I said, I'm grateful for any input! :smile:

1. Screw extended warranties. Had it on one car and never covered what I needed. IMHO its a chump game to take money and give very little in return.
2.$150 more isn't much if you current payment is $50...if your current payment is $350 then its a lot. All a matter of perspective.
3. I would normally advocate keeping your car but 5 water pumps? Holy hell. If you think you have the bugs worked out, I'd keep it.

Lastly... If you are trying to buy a house, you don't really want to take on new debt (what a banker told me before we bought our first house). Get the house first.

What ich will said is true about banks not liking to see new debt. BUT, your car sounds like you got somewhat of a lemon. My car has 104k miles (same engine as yours) and I haven't had any of your mentioned issues other than 2 coilpacks.

I think you would be better off getting a mk7, assuming its new with a dealer warranty .

I think 3rd party extended warranties are expensive, not sure, but you could just pay that money towards a new car.

Seems that with the way your luck is going you might be in the group of people that does have their tensioner go out.

I was in a similar situation to you a few years ago. I went with option 3, and I think that made sense, as it allowed me time to save up for another car. Plus, if you can wrench yourself, you can save an awful lot that way. Here's a list of what has gone wrong with my FSI if it helps you, but of course no 2 cars are a like.

That 133k axle went when I was 500 miles away from home. So I decided I needed something more reliable, but couldn't bear to part with my GTI. Now GTI is my fun car and I have a slower more reliable DD.


Unscheduled Maintenance and Repair (Not counting tires, brakes, rust, oil, dampers, etc.)
1.) 5k - Passenger Airbag Harness - Warranty
2.) 15k - Intake Manifold Motor - Warranty
3.) 20k - AC Compressor - $800/Covered by Warranty
4.) 25k - Intake Manifold Motor Again - Warranty
5.) 49k - Driver's Side Seat Sliding Mechanism - Warranty
6.) 49k - Door ice build up inserts/body work - Warranty
7.) 61k - Driver's Side Radiator Fan - $125/ own labor
8.) 62k - Front PCV - $140/own labor, later replaced free by recall
9.) 62k - Diverter Valve - $100/own labor (upgraded to spring)
10.) 70k - Rear Left Wheel Bearing - $140/ own labor
11.) 72k - Passenger Airbag Harness Again - Extended Warranty*
12.) 80k - Steering Wheel Clock Spring - $100/ own labor
13.) 82k - Driver's Door Electronic Locking Module - $140/own labor
14.) 90k - Cracked Oil Filter Housing - $60/own labor
15.) 91k - Passenger Side Seat Sliding Mechanism - $8/own labor
16.) 99k - Front Left Wheel Bearing - $220/own labor
17.) 102k – MAF Sensor - $130/own labor
18.) 102k – Trunk Latch, Strut - $120/own labor
19.) 105k – Front Right Wheel Bearing - $220/own labor
20.) 105k – Rear Wiper Motor and arm - $205/own labor
21.) 111k – Blinker and Cruise Stalk - $50/own labor
22.) 112k – Left and right drive axles - $600 installed
23.) 112k – Right tie rod - $200 installed
24.) 117k – Climate control blower motor refurb - $free/own labor
25.) 118k – Rear Right Wheel Bearing -$300/own labor
26.) 122k – Rear Left Brake Caliper - $150/own labor
27.) 124k – Driver door speaker connection – free/own labor
28.) 128k – Climate control blower motor - $120
29.) 133k – Driver’s side axle - $300 installed
30.) 133k - Water temp sensor - $20/own labor
31.) 134k – Right tie rod - $200 installed
*Warranty expired, but VW extended warranty for that particular failure.

$150 more per month is $1800 a year that could go into your house fund. Not sure how much of a difference that makes for you. The MK7 is tempting but I'd wait if I was trying to save for a house. The 2015 Mk7 will be even more affordable next year.

Trust me when I say, I bought a house and you really don't want to take on new debt because the process of checking your credit lowers it, also it may seem like you're paying a lot now but not having a car payment is worth it. Hang in there.. I just picked up a 2006 VW rabbit like a month ago with 128K miles and I've already had the purge solenoid, oil pan gasket, and now my secondary air pump is going but I wouldn't trade that for a $350-400 car payment every MONTH......hang in there...

I agree with holding on to it. Seems like everyone is on the same page and has gone through a similar situation. How long do you have till its paid off?

You have spent so much time and money getting it to where you wanted it, it would be a shame to let it go. The other option is to pick up a cheap daily (old Honda or Toyota) for under $2k, repairs are easy and super cheap. Ride it out till you have your house and once you have that, sell the beater, and maybe then get a new car.

The other option you didn't mention, is to get another MKV, all of your parts would swap over but you would be getting a lower mileage hopefully more reliable car. II'vegot right around 150K miles on mine and aside from the initial issues (almost all covered under warranty) it's been one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned.

I appreciate all the input from everyone!

After really sitting down and thinking about it, and letting the initial shock of being able to purchase a MK7 wear off... I'm going to keep my MKV. I love my car (Probably more than is healthy TBH) and after paying out to fix most of the more expensive high $$$ repairs the past 2 months I just don't see the sense in essentially taking on a larger payment + taking the hit on buying a new car.

I've gone ahead and lined up all the higher mileage maintenance that needs to be done and after that I have to imagine things will calm down for a while (Unless there is something crazy that happens).

So I've got the following to install and perform :

Brake Flush
ABS Module Replacement with a newer unit from a 2010+
StopTech Street Performance Pads
Centric blank Rotors (F & R)
Walnut blasting of the valves
DSG Service
Oil Change after Walnut blasting

I also happened to come by a 9W7 bluetooth module for an insanely low price, so I picked that up and ordered a $30 wiring harness from China to sate my need for Bluetooth on the RNS-510 (With wiring harness and bluetooth module I'm out less than $100). So I'll at least have some of the creature comforts of the newer cars :biggrin:

So I'm in it for the long haul for now and will be headed up to SoWo in a few weeks time! Can't wait, and I'm not gonna lie, I'm happy to be doing it again in my MKV :happyanim:

FiXXXerX said:

So I'm in it for the long haul for now and will be headed up to SoWo in a few weeks time! Can't wait, and I'm not gonna lie, I'm happy to be doing it again in my MKV :happyanim:

Click to expand...

I feel you made the right decision. I made the same decision not too long ago. Hope to see you at SoWo.

No to extended warranty... Just have fun and once its paid off get a beater or better daily. And go TARD on the MKV.

The list of stuff you had replaced is quite literally my gravy train of shit I do day in day out.

People who own these cars (Gen 1 tsi specifically) need to have extended warranties. On one big bill, it's paid for.

I hope they updated your chain tensioner when the did the lower cover. I always recommend it and just throw it in free. If they didn't it'd be on the list of to do. I've had them fail as low as 30k miles.