2009 Volkswagon Golf GTI/Mk6 Opinions?
 

I'm in the market for a new car and my friend is planning on selling her 2009 fully loaded VW GTI w/ Auto-trans. Does anyone have any good or bad experiences with this model?

I'm guessing it's already out of warranty or will be soon. Are VW parts expensive for the GTI and are their anything I should be aware for this particular car? And hows the reliability of this car in particular?

Since it's a euro car, I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for parts nor do I want to head into the dealership every month :(

Pros/Cons of this car?

Read up on the carbon build up on the intake valves on the 2.0L DI motor on the vw forums. I'm not sure how common the problem is, but seems like of all the DI motors, the VW's and Audis have it the worst.

The TSI engine (08.5+ GTI) has much better reliability than the FSI engines (06-08) so that's good. On the other hand, oil changes when done at dealership is expensive, so if you can DIY you can save a fair bit.

Parts can be expensive, it's cheaper to source from the US. The automatic transmission may have problems - find out if it's in the affected recall series. Mechanical reliability is fine, so are most of the electrical parts - it's just that they start to have interior rattles after a while.

It's a fun drive, but like any other Euro car, be prepared for higher maintenance and repair costs.

I have a MK6 with DSG bought last November. Honestly I wish I didn't get DSG. It's quick and a blast to drive BUT, driving stick makes driving that much more interesting imo.

I recently bought an MK6 and have no complaints.

I think the 2009 has a different engine but just to put things into perspective:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3366758

Any GTI after 2008.5 has the TSI engine. Same engine is in the Mk6.

I have had an 07 gti with the "less reliable" motor. I still have 2 years warranty left, but because it was cpo. Id assume the 09 would have about the same left. Make sure the dsg doesn't jerk at low speeds. I have heard the tsi engines are a lot more reliable than the tfsi, but I have had zero problems with my car other than an airbag light that just came on. Its a vw so expect pretty good mechanicals, but down the road I'm sure frustrating interior rattles, broken trim peices inside, weird electrical gremlins, but will pretty much always get you where you need to go. That sort of shit never has bothered me though. Its small, pretty fast, fun, fairly cheap and looks pretty cool IMO. It has been given car of the year award many times for good reason.

i have an 09 and its pretty much perfect.......except you might be lucky enough to get one of those bad ones with the faulty mech unit in the DSG which screws it up and then ur in for a recall...

other than that its a fine car

i have 07 gti dsg.

timing belt and diverter valve replace under warranty.
other than that i enjoy driving this car.