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Thread: 2nd hand polo purchase - what to watch out for

  1. #1
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    Question 2nd hand polo purchase - what to watch out for

    Hi team,

    the missus is looking for a small 2nd car so we've shortlisted the Polo 81tsi DSG.. looking at 2015 to 2017

    Wondering if people on here would have some advice for what to look out for? I am a VW owner so I think i know what I'm signing up for!

    Thanks in advance!

    Daz
    MY09 MKV Golf R32 | Black Pearl | Recaros | Sunroof | RNS510 | Purchased Feb '10 | Sold Jul '17
    MY19 MKII Tiguan Highline 162TSI | Indium Grey | S&V | Pano Roof | R-Line | Purchased Nov '18

  2. #2
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    They are pretty good little cars in general. Good little engine. Only thing I would advise you to be very wary of is the 7 speed DSG as these are very very very well known for all the wrong reasons. Burning clutches, failed mechatronics, shuddering at takeoff and low speeds.

    If this car will be spending much of its life in busy Sydney traffic I would heavily suggest avoiding the 7 speed DSG as stop/start traffic is their #1 killer.
    2017 Ford Fiesta ST
    2015 Audi SQ5 bi-turbo V6 TDI family hauler

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lucas_R View Post
    They are pretty good little cars in general. Good little engine. Only thing I would advise you to be very wary of is the 7 speed DSG as these are very very very well known for all the wrong reasons. Burning clutches, failed mechatronics, shuddering at takeoff and low speeds.

    If this car will be spending much of its life in busy Sydney traffic I would heavily suggest avoiding the 7 speed DSG as stop/start traffic is their #1 killer.
    Cheers for the feedback Lucas. Would you still consider this an issue regardless of the service history?

    You are right... it's going to be used as the daily for the wife to get to work and back so peak hour traffic is going to be it's life
    MY09 MKV Golf R32 | Black Pearl | Recaros | Sunroof | RNS510 | Purchased Feb '10 | Sold Jul '17
    MY19 MKII Tiguan Highline 162TSI | Indium Grey | S&V | Pano Roof | R-Line | Purchased Nov '18

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    Quote Originally Posted by daz32 View Post
    Cheers for the feedback Lucas. Would you still consider this an issue regardless of the service history?

    You are right... it's going to be used as the daily for the wife to get to work and back so peak hour traffic is going to be it's life
    These have a definite lifespan (which is very very short BTW) and affects all of them regardless of the service history. Best you could if you do decide to do it is to have the DSG tuned. This will, contrary to common views, actually prolong the life of the clutches. Mechatronic is still a gamble though and can fail at any time. Expect at least 1 (very expensive) failure within 5 years.
    Current: 2023 MY23 T-Roc R Lapiz Blue + Beats Audio + Black pack 2018 MY19 Golf R manual Lapiz Blue + DAP (mods are underway ) 2018 MY18 Golf 110TSI Trendline manual White (with mods now 150TSI) 2014 Amarok TSI Red (tuned over 200kw + lots of extras) 2013 Up! manual Red 10 Previous VWs and some others ...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sharkie View Post
    These have a definite lifespan (which is very very short BTW) and affects all of them regardless of the service history. Best you could if you do decide to do it is to have the DSG tuned. This will, contrary to common views, actually prolong the life of the clutches. Mechatronic is still a gamble though and can fail at any time. Expect at least 1 (very expensive) failure within 5 years.
    very interesting...cheers for the advice

    I'm looking at 2 cars (2015 and 16) with less than 50k kms however noticing that DSG servicing may not have been completed yet (no test drives yet but will take note of the DSG symptoms)

    any other gotcha's to consider? water pumps famous on these as well?
    MY09 MKV Golf R32 | Black Pearl | Recaros | Sunroof | RNS510 | Purchased Feb '10 | Sold Jul '17
    MY19 MKII Tiguan Highline 162TSI | Indium Grey | S&V | Pano Roof | R-Line | Purchased Nov '18

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    Quote Originally Posted by daz32 View Post
    very interesting...cheers for the advice

    I'm looking at 2 cars (2015 and 16) with less than 50k kms however noticing that DSG servicing may not have been completed yet (no test drives yet but will take note of the DSG symptoms)

    any other gotcha's to consider? water pumps famous on these as well?
    Note that this is the 7spd dry clutch unit which will definitely fail, unlike the wet DSGs in the R32 and Tiguan ....
    Current: 2023 MY23 T-Roc R Lapiz Blue + Beats Audio + Black pack 2018 MY19 Golf R manual Lapiz Blue + DAP (mods are underway ) 2018 MY18 Golf 110TSI Trendline manual White (with mods now 150TSI) 2014 Amarok TSI Red (tuned over 200kw + lots of extras) 2013 Up! manual Red 10 Previous VWs and some others ...

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by daz32 View Post
    very interesting...cheers for the advice

    I'm looking at 2 cars (2015 and 16) with less than 50k kms however noticing that DSG servicing may not have been completed yet (no test drives yet but will take note of the DSG symptoms)

    any other gotcha's to consider? water pumps famous on these as well?
    Another problem with the 7 speed DSG is that they do not have a servicing schedule like the much more robust 6 speed's do. They are considered filled for life (although they are actually serviceable, it's not in the service schedule).

    Water pump failures are common across all VW/Audi/Skoda models.
    2017 Ford Fiesta ST
    2015 Audi SQ5 bi-turbo V6 TDI family hauler

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    you guys arent helping with the confidence levels haha

    maybe i should stick to a Mazda2!

    appreciate the insights
    MY09 MKV Golf R32 | Black Pearl | Recaros | Sunroof | RNS510 | Purchased Feb '10 | Sold Jul '17
    MY19 MKII Tiguan Highline 162TSI | Indium Grey | S&V | Pano Roof | R-Line | Purchased Nov '18

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    Well we have had the opposite 10years with a Polo and apart from recalls no problems until a month ago where we had a brake light warning that wouldnt go away.. All fixed now and perfect. Only 29000km and due to be sold in a couple of months when new Kamiq arrives.

    Just dont creep in traffic with foot lightly on brake and all will be good.
    2021 Kamiq LE 110 , Moon White, BV cameras F & B
    Mamba Ebike to replace Tiguan

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    Quote Originally Posted by daz32 View Post
    Hi team,

    the missus is looking for a small 2nd car so we've shortlisted the Polo 81tsi DSG.. looking at 2015 to 2017

    Wondering if people on here would have some advice for what to look out for? I am a VW owner so I think i know what I'm signing up for!

    Thanks in advance!

    Daz
    I just bought a 2016 Comfortline manual one-owner with 37K on the clock. As others have said here, the DSG is something to be very careful with. One thing I didn't check is the stereo and now I have noticed the passenger door speaker has no sound. So perhaps do a front to back fader and left to right balance with some music on to check you have sound from all speakers.

    Good luck.

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