Your most expensive repair bill

I'm trying to get a feel for how expensive potential repairs might be.

What has been your most expensive repair bill so far?

On this car, not much, been for the most part fixing my own shit

I'm a big believer in preventative maintenance to preclude "repairs". That being said, my 2007 FSI/BPY engine 2.0L just turned 80K mi. I have been changing my own oil/filter, air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, brake pads/fluid flush, Turbo/diverter valve (15 min job), and cam follower. I had my DSG serviced at the dealership but I will probably do it myself next time. I am coming up on one of the most major maint. intervals on the car at 90K mi which is: Timing belt tensioner and pulley kit, water pump & coolent flush & fill, drive belt replacement. I am not familiar/comfortable enough with this job to attempt it so I'm paying a reputable Euro-service center near me to do the job. My quote (just got it today) is: $724.77 parts and shop supplies and $779.48 in labor (local sales tax applies $105.29) for a grand total of $1,609.54. This is probably the most money I will spend on this car in one shot since I've owned it. The other might be a cam chain tensioner/adjuster job but so far mine is noiseless at start-up and until that changes I will kick that can down the road a ways. The most expensive "repair's" I've had was the replacement of the driver door lock assy. at the dealership which cost me $420.00 and before that, I had both (one failed) headlamps and ballasts replaced at the dealership at a cost of $350.00. Now I stay away from the stealership if possible! Good luck!
01/25/2019
Update! I stopped by the dealership this morning after having no business with them for almost a year and asked for a quote on the timing/serpentine/water pump/thermostat/coolant job. The Senior service writer came out and said "Hi! I know you. I'm going to give you the best quote I can on that job because we want your business!" He came in between $1250 and $1300 all in. You could have knocked me over with a feather! I called the other shop and politely declined their services... Ya' gotta shop around!

3carmonte said:

I am coming up on one of the most major maint. intervals on the car at 90K mi which is: Timing belt tensioner and pulley kit, water pump & coolent flush & fill, drive belt replacement. I am not familiar/comfortable enough with this job to attempt it so I'm paying a reputable Euro-service center near me to do the job.

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If you haven't already made up your mind to go with the shop, I'd encourage you to take on the timing belt job yourself. My experience level with automotive repairs is pretty similar to yours (oil, filters, spark plugs, brakes, flushes, etc.) and I just finished the timing belt job for the first time with no problems. It was much easier than I feared, I basically followed the DIY post stickied on this forum and the ECS PDF. The ECS ultimate timing belt kit with thermostat cost me under $300 and it had everything I needed, plus I was also able to fix my broken thermostat after doing the timing belt. I did the job on and off over a weekend, mostly at night after my daughter went to bed, so I didn't have to stress about finishing it all at once.

Regarding the OP's question, I've owned my 2008 MK5 GTI since new and the most I've spent on a repair is on the ECS timing belt/thermostat kit, around $300 in parts. My GTI has been a fairly reliable car, but not as trouble-free or cheap to run as the Honda S2000 or Integra I've had in the past. Scheduled maintenance costs more for VWs than Japanese cars, but if you do basic maintenance yourself, the cost difference is pretty negligible (e.g., oil, filters, spark plugs, ignition coils, brakes). I've had only a few issues outside of scheduled maintenance with my car: (a) misfire caused by a bad ignition coil around 85k miles, (b) thermostat was stuck open around 80k miles, and (c) headliner fabric became unglued (still need to fix). None of these caused my car to become undriveable, and I was able to complete the repairs when convenient. However, if I paid a shop to do my timing belt and thermostat, I'd be looking at $2,000-2,500 in my area, which is almost the value of my 11 year old car.

In my opinion, if you don't want to do at least some of the repairs yourself, it doesn't make much sense to buy a 10 year old VW. You'd spend the same amount in parts and labor to maintain a MK5 VW as you would a similarly-aged BMW or Audi. For the same money, I'd rather have a RWD or AWD car. But if you're at least a little handy, the MK5 GTIs are still pretty good cars, even today.

Cam follower worn through (out of warranty by 6mths). Replaced hpfp, intake cam, etc. $1900.

clarence35 said:

In my opinion, if you don't want to do at least some of the repairs yourself, it doesn't make much sense to buy a 10 year old VW. You'd spend the same amount in parts and labor to maintain a MK5 VW as you would a similarly-aged BMW or Audi. For the same money, I'd rather have a RWD or AWD car. But if you're at least a little handy, the MK5 GTIs are still pretty good cars, even today.

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That exactly, chances are that you will spend more in repairs than buying a more recent car directly.

Replacing the DSG. If I didnt have the connections I do it would have been... wait for it..... waaaaait for it.... $11k lol. Ended up around $3500 all said and done with a new rear main and DMFW.

Engine or Trans failure where you have a major fail will of course be your biggest repair bill like any car. These cars do not hold value well and replacing or rebuilding either engine or trans can cost more than the value of the car. You just have to know that going in. If you aren't ok with that get rid of your 10yr+ old car while it is still running and you can get at least a few bucks for it and move on to something newer. Also as the car ages it is of course likely that a number of other smaller failures will occur, stuff only lasts so long. If cost of repairs is an issue for you, get a Honda. I have had several Honda Civics and they always just go for high mileage with very little fuss. Of course they are not very sophisticated or powerful but that is part of why they have fewer problems.

I was at that crossroad last year but I like driving this car so much that I decided to keep it and refresh it for another 10yrs of service and fun. It was a very expensive choice. I could have taken that money and could have purchased a new GTI.

But the new stuff is hella more expensive yet cheaply made. Plus more nanny-state big brother devices being installed as federal mandate. The cheap stuff is still...cheap compared.

If you are particularly pained by paying a high car repair bill, a VW is probably not for you. I've owned Honda's, Chevy's, Toyota's, Olds, Nissan's, and VW's. My GTI is the love of my car life - but certainly the most expensive to maintain and repair. If I was unable to DIY - I'd probably be unable to afford my current joy ride. My biggest expense thus far was replacing both CV joint/axles. About $200 on parts and $50 on tools I needed. Also did a DIY DSG service for about $125. I'm real lucky to have picked up my '06 for $2K. Was high mileage at 195K when I picked up, but former owner really loved car and spent a small fortune to maintain really well. I've put 10K on car since July of last year...still running like a champ!

Cautionary tale that I'll preface by stating I encourage DIY repairs - but there's some risk you're accepting by taking them on. The former owner of my GTI decided to attempt DIY timing belt and water pump @ 190K. He's did a great job, but unfortunately reversed the vacuum lines on his evap purge valve causing about $800 worth of damage. He also broke the connector on the cam position sensor, which was another $50. VW connectors are a pain in the ass. I'm lucky to have received a pile of old receipts when I purchased my car. While perusing tonight, I also found an invoice for out of warranty AC compressor replacement at $1,059.37. Yikes! Glad I didn't have to pay that!!

On my 2006 GTI over $6,400.......$2,500 for used Golf R motor I think it was close to $300 to ship it to me, new AC, new passenger side axle and of course installation $3200.

TooOldForThis said:

On my 2006 GTI over $6,400.......$2,500 for used Golf R motor I think it was close to $300 to ship it to me, new AC, new passenger side axle and of course installation $3200.

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That seems affordable for the golf R crza, was it missing the turbo? Sometimes the salvage motors don’t include that. Wouldn’t matter if you already had k04 tho.

golfballer78 said:

That seems affordable for the golf R crza, was it missing the turbo? Sometimes the salvage motors don’t include that. Wouldn’t matter if you already had k04 tho.

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I already had a K04 but it had like close to 100k on it, but the Golf R motor came with the turbo and all the accessories. I went ahead and replaced the AC system.