Golf 7.5 GTI buying advice (2017)

Golf 7.5 GTI buying advice (2017)

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Trailhead

Original Poster:

2,628 posts

154 months

Monday 31st January 2022
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Hi all,

I think I am in the market for a Golf GTI DSG mk7.5, having grown bored of my C220.

VW are offering a 2 year warranty on all used cars and my Merc has shot up in price so seems a good time to move it on (and it’s boring).

I’ve never owned a VW. Is there anything on this particular model that I should look out for or avoid / check?

Does anyone have one and recommend them? The contender is a Golf R, but I think the GTI is possibly going to be more fun for me personally, with the R running the risk of being “too easy”.

Feel free to post your pics of GTI or R.

Cheers in advance!

adf27

42 posts

83 months

Monday 31st January 2022
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I had a Mk7 GTI basically the same car I think. All the reviews say it's the best hot hatch, but almost too good in that it lacks character.

Personally I enjoyed it, it did everything well, city commute, fast b road and motorway drives (drove it to Paris and back fairly regularly). I never really fell in love with it though, and as much as I enjoyed it, it's not a car that I missed once it was gone.

Edit. I also had a C220d before, 2015 coupe, and I loved that car although it was boring, a GTI was a welcome sporty upgrade and the novelty of it took a while to wear off


Trailhead

Original Poster:

2,628 posts

154 months

Monday 31st January 2022
quotequote all
adf27 said:
I had a Mk7 GTI basically the same car I think. All the reviews say it's the best hot hatch, but almost too good in that it lacks character.

Personally I enjoyed it, it did everything well, city commute, fast b road and motorway drives (drove it to Paris and back fairly regularly). I never really fell in love with it though, and as much as I enjoyed it, it's not a car that I missed once it was gone.

Edit. I also had a C220d before, 2015 coupe, and I loved that car although it was boring, a GTI was a welcome sporty upgrade and the novelty of it took a while to wear off
Cheers ADF.

Interesting that you loved the C220d but not the GTI though….


adf27

42 posts

83 months

Tuesday 1st February 2022
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Could say I'm a boring person, drive a Transit Custom now 🤣 I also had a Mk6 GTI and that I did love because it was so much more analogue than the Mk7

Trailhead

Original Poster:

2,628 posts

154 months

Wednesday 2nd February 2022
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Thanks!

I’ll see how I get on….

The way I see it, the Mercedes is easily replaceable if this turns out to be a mistake.


MattyD803

1,846 posts

72 months

Wednesday 2nd February 2022
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As they say, the GTi is "all things to all men"......and it is. (pro's and con's to that of course). But to my mind, it's an excellent all round car. The 7.5's had great spec as standard and really look the part.....big thumbs up from me.

Take a look at the Volkswizard website (he might have something saucy for sale) and then watch some of his video's on the 7.5. He knows the Golf GTi inside out and it might be well worth watching his video's to help really make up your mind, including what spec is/isn't worth having etc.

An Oryx white 3 door TCR like he has currently got for sale would suit me right down to the ground.....

Drive Blind

5,253 posts

184 months

Wednesday 2nd February 2022
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I'm considering a mk7.5 GTi as my next purchase but the current crazy prices are putting me off. Currently got a mk7 GTD.

You looking for a performance pack car? 18's or 19's ?

The diamond cut wheels really don't like our salt covered roads.

JamesC27

81 posts

213 months

Wednesday 2nd February 2022
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Love mine, keep looking at changing but nothing else ticks the boxes without significant ££££ even with the increased value.


Trailhead

Original Poster:

2,628 posts

154 months

Thursday 3rd February 2022
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Drive Blind said:
I'm considering a mk7.5 GTi as my next purchase but the current crazy prices are putting me off. Currently got a mk7 GTD.

You looking for a performance pack car? 18's or 19's ?

The diamond cut wheels really don't like our salt covered roads.
7.5
DSG
Reversing camera
Wireless charging
White or blue

Leather and pan roof would be nice but I’m not spending an extra £3k on leather on a used car and I have read the pan roof can cause issues.

Must be 1 owner from new and FVWSH

damianmkv

635 posts

150 months

Saturday 5th February 2022
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I wouldn’t bother with leather. Takes for EVER to heat up, burns you bum in the summer and sags..

I have 2 mk7.5s at the moment ( a GTi PP and an R ). In both cars I’ve had the same issues - creaking front suspension which needs lubrication / greasing but will be covered under warranty, rattley glovebox and a bloody annoying rattle from the NSR inside door handle.

My cars have been in many times for the rattles, come back “fixed” only for them to return a few days later.

Trailhead

Original Poster:

2,628 posts

154 months

Saturday 5th February 2022
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Cheers Damian.

I have ordered a car and gone with the tartan.

It’s my first car for over 10 years without leather so I’ll see how I get on !

25th QV

159 posts

59 months

Monday 7th February 2022
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I had a mk 7.5 GTI manual, base spec, no options other than red paint.

Beat all rounder I've ever owned in my 30 years of driving and VERY sad to see it go.

Only complaint, if I had to find one was that the standard stereo was woeful and the climate control a little inconsistent, but minor niggles in an ocean of excellence.


dunk_01

6 posts

68 months

Saturday 21st May 2022
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damianmkv said:
I wouldn’t bother with leather. Takes for EVER to heat up, burns you bum in the summer and sags..

I have 2 mk7.5s at the moment ( a GTi PP and an R ). In both cars I’ve had the same issues - creaking front suspension which needs lubrication / greasing but will be covered under warranty, rattley glovebox and a bloody annoying rattle from the NSR inside door handle.

My cars have been in many times for the rattles, come back “fixed” only for them to return a few days later.
Sorry to resurrect this thread. I’ve just got a 7.5 GTI PP, which I’m really enjoying. Which do you prefer? Is the R noticeably faster day to day?

paralla

3,981 posts

142 months

Saturday 21st May 2022
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Put a couple of cable ties on the bonnet catch release mechanism before it breaks (and you can’t open the bonnet).

https://www.vwroc.com/forums/topic/28638-bonnet-ca...

rottenegg

811 posts

70 months

Monday 23rd May 2022
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Drive Blind said:
I'm considering a mk7.5 GTi as my next purchase but the current crazy prices are putting me off. Currently got a mk7 GTD.
You're not wrong!. I've been looking to upgrade my Edition 30 to a Clubsport (or a TCR as second choice) for a while now, but with the current pricing insanity, I've decided to hang onto the MK5 instead.

damianmkv said:
I have 2 mk7.5s at the moment ( a GTi PP and an R ). In both cars I’ve had the same issues - creaking front suspension which needs lubrication / greasing but will be covered under warranty, rattley glovebox and a bloody annoying rattle from the NSR inside door handle.

My cars have been in many times for the rattles, come back “fixed” only for them to return a few days later.
paralla said:
Put a couple of cable ties on the bonnet catch release mechanism before it breaks (and you can’t open the bonnet).

https://www.vwroc.com/forums/topic/28638-bonnet-ca...
Good to see VW are still not addressing basic flaws that have been around since 2004 laugh

Smiljan

11,132 posts

204 months

Monday 23rd May 2022
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Add the bonnet insulation to that list, my 2018 R has the same issue as my previous 2008 GTi. The insulation shrinks and falls down at the rear edge, eventually over time it’ll begin to rub on the engine and fall to bits.

Nothing a couple of long cable ties won’t fix but VW should really have sorted the design by now.

I’ve done the release cable, cable tie trick just in case and my front suspension has always creaked from new in hot weather and greasing and new control arms under warranty did nothing.

Minor niggles really but you’d think with the numbers made they’d design out these issues over time.

Just waiting for my cooling system to start leaking and the dsg to lunch itself and I’ll complete the R / GTi bingo on this one. DSG oil will be done at 40k regardless of the service schedule and the haldex gets a clean and refill every 2nd service. Most niggly bits can be mitigated for with some proactive maintenance.

damianmkv

635 posts

150 months

Monday 23rd May 2022
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dunk_01 said:
Sorry to resurrect this thread. I’ve just got a 7.5 GTI PP, which I’m really enjoying. Which do you prefer? Is the R noticeably faster day to day?
Yes, the R is much faster as you’d expect. But I daily the GTi and once you start throwing it around you realise just how good it is.

That said, I’ve test driven 2 mk8 Clubsports in the last few days and they’re also great. They sound “metallic” like the R when accelerating hard and they go through the gears like the R too. The exhaust let’s out a good “crack” at 3000rpm and the standard suspension on 19s is a huge improvement over the 7.5.

In terms of preference, it’s tricky as my more spirited driving is almost always done in the GTi. I just feel it could do with another 40-50bhp..

Trailhead

Original Poster:

2,628 posts

154 months

Monday 23rd May 2022
quotequote all
Well, I’m personally still shopping for one. I let one go last month as it was a bit pricey but since then the prices have gone up even more.

GTEYE

2,166 posts

217 months

Saturday 28th May 2022
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Mk7.5 GTI PP owner here. Personally I find it more fun than the R, drove them both back to back before buying. The R is faster, the GTI is more fun. And plenty fast enough for the U.K.

Personally I found the detailing on the GTI much nicer, red striping and stitching where the R just has grey or chrome. Avoid the leather, the tartan cloth is much nicer.

As said, watch the wheels, they don’t like the U.K. roads. The problem is chipping of the lacquer on our crappy roads, which then corrodes.

The PP is worth the extra over the standard. The late ones, 2019 on come loaded with kit and are worth a bit more. Matrix adaptive lights are beyond awesome.

Prices are currently crazy though, but that’s the market. Mine is still worth more than I paid for it (new) back in 2020.

Edited by GTEYE on Saturday 28th May 09:20


Edited by GTEYE on Saturday 28th May 09:22


Edited by GTEYE on Saturday 28th May 09:22

SteBrown91

2,573 posts

136 months

Saturday 28th May 2022
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GTEYE said:
Personally I found the detailing on the GTI much nicer, red striping and stitching where the R just has grey or chrome. Avoid the leather, the tartan cloth is much nicer.
Only thing I would say to this the 7.5s could be specced with “art velours” which was also very nice - I bit more subtle than tartan but a good middle ground between cloth and leather.

The outers are leather (ish) and the centres are a print patterned fake suede with red accents on the GTI.

However this wasn’t a popular option but if I were buying one would be the option I’d be seeking out if possible.