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08' MK5 Golf 1.4 TSI Match - the rare one (but not the cool one!)

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#1 · (Edited)
So I thought I would start a thread about a car I bought for uni and various placements across the North. Planning on keeping this one a while unlike the previous Polo which was sold after only 1 year! I just haven't had the chance of posting this up, so some of this is in retrospect but bare with me whilst I catch up

Anyways, this car was bought in April 2017, nearly a year ago from a trader who was using it as his personal car. It had 63K on the clock, full independent service history with the odd dealer history.




A few interesting things about this car - apparently its quite rare having a 1.4 TSI (122hp) engine on a MK5 Golf - these were in huge demand in Europe and there was a shortage so very few actually got to the UK in MK5 form. Additionally, this car seems to have migrated from Scotland! No idea how it got to West Yorkshire, but I presume through an auction or something! This one has also had a K&N air filter fitted, a subtle dump valve and limo tints.

As with most second hand cars, particularly of this age, there were some things that needed sorting out. Cosmetically, the car was great for its age, there is some evidence of some panels receiving paint, but not unexpected for this age of vehicle.

First things first then - I wanted to fit a dashcam for piece of mind. I went for the Spytec A119-C after reading various reviews:



Onto the wiring at first - piggyback on the ABS fuse (no2 from memory)



Fitted the dashcam - wasn't too pleased to be honest as it was too obvious from the outside. So had another shot:




Much better I think! Initially had problems with the dashcam and the microSD card kept getting corrupt. Turned out to be a fake Samsung microSD card! Bought another one and all problems gone!
 
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#2 ·
Another day and the white nut covers were bothering me. I didn't take a close up but they can be seen on the first picture slightly

Essentially - they were like this:


Not very good looking at all.

So bought some weather proof plastic paint in Gloss black, sanded down the originals and finally gave 3 coats in a day and left to dry



And then fitted:

 
#3 · (Edited)
Another little thing - I didnt actually noticed this at the time the vehicle was bought and I was particularly annoyed with it



Sorry about the pic, didn't realise I had put my finger in it, quite literally.

Unlike the more basic spec Golf's - the Match spec came with Cruise control, multifunction display, leather steering wheel and a leather handbrake lever

Off I hopped on the bay of E's and managed to get a whole handbrake mechanism, along with the leather cover from a MK5 Golf GTI for a penny under £12 posted

Then I went swapping the covers around -



The best bit - managed to sell the handbrake mechanism for a tenner on eBay so basically only paid £3-4 for the leather cover.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Something else that bothered me was the huge amount of wind noise at motorway speeds that the drivers side door was producing. I wasn't particularly sure where it was coming from but after a careful inspection - it appeared that the drivers side door had no window seal on the inside.

The door panel must have been removed at some point and someone forgot to put the window seal back.

So off on ebay to grab one -

£9.38 this was - was fairly local so collected it.

And got some Torx bits whilst I was at it because I didn't have any and needed to pop the door panel open.



No more gap between the door panel and the window. Before I could see all the wiring down there.

Fairly easy job as it just pushes into place and no more wind noise at high speed! Result!
 
#5 · (Edited)
Few more things that needed sorting out back in November 2017 -

1) The car didn't come with a handbook or any manuals, just the service books and receipt. So I bought a used set in excellent condition from the bay for £15.

Im a bit picky about handbooks and prefer to put all the car's history etc inside so I just had to have one!

Not the best pictures but you get the idea:




Also, one of the bulbs went. It was a standard Philips Longlife H7 bulb but decided to upgrade to Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited which I got from a registered Osram seller (there are loads of fakes about!!)

You can see the classic blue tinge to them below:



Gave it a quick wash after and noticed these bad boys:




Yep you've guess it - dreaded bird poo etching. Its been in Scarborough recently and the seagulls have been offloading more than usual this year. I used hot water on it and an MF on the same day but the seeds had left a few light scratches in the paint when wiping off.

Anyways, out with the hairdryer first which removed most of it. And finally a bit of a polish with Autosmart Mirror Image by hand :




Tip with the hairdryer - only seems to work if you do it within 1-2 weeks of the bird poo landing on the paint. Otherwise, doesn't work as well.
 
#6 · (Edited)
End of January comes and its MOT time. Passed with 1 advisory which was also present last year - rear brake discs had rusted and there was a significant 1-2cm lip around the disc.



So got it booked in with my local independent for a Full service and the rear brake pads and discs changing when the surprises came. The vehicle had fake Spark plugs which had almost melted - he pulled one out and showed me, was shocked. The electrode had almost separated from the housing. TBH I wouldnt have been able to tell that it was actually a spark plug, that's how bad it was.

Atleast the brakes are now nice, shiny and silver rather than brown!




All OEM parts used from TPS
 
#7 · (Edited)
And finally - all caught up!

Job for today was to top up coolant. Seems to be losing coolant from somewhere but not at a drastic rate and no leaks either. Will keep an eye on it but I suspect the water pump may be on its way out





Also had a delivery from ECP today after their 50% off wipers earlier on in the week



Went for Bosch on the front as I have had great experiences with the Aerotwin wiper blades on the Lexus and on other vehicles. I'll fit these as soon as the car has been washed.

Never tried Valeo wipers before but thought it should do for the rear. From the outset though, its evident that the Bosch wiper blades are much better quality in comparison to the valeo one. TBH it feels a bit flimsy. Ah well will just get rid of it if its split after a few months
 
#8 ·
Think the car may need a wash - it must have been atleast 3 months!

The rear wheels looks particularly bad from the rusted brake discs but hopefully they wont be pitted as they were sealed back in November.

Apologies for the pics - appears my phone camera has got some orange fluid in it!






Might need a good vac too


 
#10 · (Edited)
Nice car. Some great work you've done there. Keep it up. ECP is great for cheap parts.

Are you happy with the dash cam?

How do you find the Nightbreakers? I've heard they can have a short life.
Very happy with the dash cam. No issues with it at all and it just works. Footage quality is good too and full hd of course. The button can be a bit of a pain as its tiny but for the price it's great.

The nightbreakers are great. The beam length is fantastic, much better than the Philips longlife standard bulbs. Only issue really is that the car does get flashed alot even though alignment of the headlights is correct. Had them on for a few months and they're definitely worth the money. These were the unlimited not the laser which I think only have 8 months or so lifespan

On a side note, opened my phone up and turned out some glue had melted in the camera housing and leaked. All cleaned so pics won't have that orange blur anymore!

Are the pic sizes ok or too big? Let me know and I'll make them smaller if need be
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the info. I'm swaying between Nightbreakers and MTEC bulbs.

Pic sizes seem ok to me.
Are they the MTEC super white ones? AFAIK those give off a whiter light - as in xenon look but the output aren't as good as the Osram Nightbreakers.

I wasn't too fussed with the colour of the light but wanted a longer beam as the originals weren't that great
 
#16 ·
I agree, and certainly for a vehicle that is touching 10 years old.

It manages to get about 500+ miles from a tank which gives a calculated fuel economy of 42mpg. Computer shows about 45mpg.

Im sure the newer versions of these engines are much better in terms of fuel economy but certainly not disappointed with the efficiency of this particular engine.
 
#17 · (Edited)
So, since October last year, the car has not been washed at all!

It was coated in Fusso at the time and was looking rather tired. It was in much need of a good clean and I was initially worried that the rusted rear brake discs had ruined the rear wheels.

Without further ado I got the car into position and examined what I was working with -







Now Ive never seen vertical streaks on a car before. Basically I had to clean the seals with APC and a detailing brush to remove moss! It was cold outside so couldn't be bothered washing the car afterwards :lol:

Additionally, the rear wheels were shot - both had a lot of baked on brake dust from rusted discs and I suppose there was probably some excessive brake dust from the new pads/discs bedding in



So, got the kit out -

:doublesho - I know I know, big yellow sponge. Dont worry, doesn't touch the paintwork, its for wiping the side of the 5l shampoo tub as it dribbles.

First up were the wheels - sprayed KKD Ferrum all over them



Pressure washed and then Autosmart Smart Wheels 1:10 - and agitated. Came out very very well! Tyres were also cleaned with Smart wheels.




Gave the car a quick pressure wash to see if there was any beading from the Fusso. Was a bit disheartened when water just sat on the bonnet, and the rest of the car for that matter :(




Anyway, got on with it - washed the car with Carchem 1900:1 (love the leather oak smell) and rinse off. Was pleasantly surprised to see some evidence of Fusso still alive! :thumb: It was slightly flagging but not bad by all means and certainly not on this car which spends its life mainly on the motorway and is not garaged! Much better beading on the sides of the car though!




Pleased, I got on with the rest of the car. Finished off with 2 coats of Sonax BSD for the paint, Planet Polish Wheel Seal & Shine on the wheels, Autosmart Highstyle applied via sponge on the tyres and finally, all glass sealed with 2 coats of RainX followed by 1 coat of Powermaxed Rain Off.

And some RainX/Powermaxed Rain off beading:



And finally, some finished shots -







Not too shabby for a 10 year old veteran!
 
#19 ·
Oh dear oh dear.

Had its wash and drove fine the day after. The Service light came on which I went to reset. Got that done according to manual and turned the car on just to see if its really gone and....

...the ESP light is permanently on. The ESP button near the shifter does nothing either
 
#28 ·
Right so been doing some digging around.

From what it looks like, I need an ABS unit - about £200 remanufactured i.e. the company send me one and then I send them my faulty unit back. Benefit is that it has lifetime warranty and these things are known to fail.

Or I can buy the repair kit - Ill ring the dealers and see how much that is - some people have managed to get it for their Skoda's (same unit) for £160 which isn't too bad but has a 2 year warranty

Labour should be OK - 3 hours work so about £300-450 in total including parts I would presume but all dependent on how much these things are to buy
 
#29 · (Edited)
Have you checked with VW UK, on my dads Touran he had this fault, and spoke to VW /VW dealer who fitted a replacement unit at no cost to him, I don't remember exactly how old his car was, but years out of 3 year warranty and he hadn't even had it serviced at VW after the first 3 years. I don't know the criteria for a goodwill repair but may be worth asking VW uk as I was really shocked when they did it f.o.c.
 
#31 ·
Update on this:

VW UK have stopped giving out any goodwill on these since July 2015.

As of now, the part is £250 + VAT so £300 altogether from a dealer. TPS is the same price

The other option is to go for an exchange service but BBA Reman have quoted £250 + VAT which is the same as getting a new part from VW

Another option is to buy off eBay another remanufacturered part on an exchange service but I need the part number so I can match them up as apparently, there are different variations. The problem is, the unit is located quite deep inside the engine bay underneath the battery and housing.

I did send an email to an Audi parts dealer on ebay who said 1K0698517B would fit after checking the VIN. And thats listed at £225
 
#32 ·
My father in law had a 56 plate 1.6 Match, I sold it for him last year.

He'd had it from new and only covered 43k on it with full dealer SH.

He was offered £2k against a new Match 1.4 so I said I'd sell it for him.

He kept it mint and had just put 4 new Pirelli's on his unmarked alloys and even the spare was unused so I was confident of a quick sale

Before I sold it the only things I did was polish the lights as they were very bleached, and had an air bag light fixed (popular fault with the plug under the seat) I took a punt and put it on Autotrader for £4300, a couple of phone calls later a lady caught the train and did a 250 mile journey to drive it home, I knocked off £50 for some fuel and she was over the moon.

I was really sad to see it go but the 1.6 meant it would be too expensive for my kids to insure.







 

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#33 · (Edited)
Very nice! I like the colour too.

Ive been quite impressed with the insurance tbh. paying £625, 8k miles for 10 months policy with the NCD booster and black box from Admiral and only 22. This one's the 1.4 TSI 122hp so a bit more peppy too and relatively good on fuel.

£4300 is a great price. I got this one with 63k on it for £3400, 08 plate although it did have 3 owners and only 1 dealer stamp, rest indies.

Needed things doing but nothing more than £100-200 tbh.
 
#34 ·
OK so, since the famous fault code - 01435 Brake Pressure Sensor 1 (G201) came on, we've had loads of snow! Probably not the best time to be without traction control!




Nonetheless, its been OK, had a few "oh sheeet" moments but apart from that, its been fine.

So, I thought its time to get this sorted and hopefully this will help anyone who has this issue in the future.

Initially I went to my Local VW Dealer. They have stopped doing the goodwill gestures since 2015. Therefore, they wanted £300+VAT for the repair kit (1K0698517B) or £600 (£90 compulsory diagnostics, £300 for the part and the rest is labour). Despite having an ABS recall from 2017, they said my car was not s,ubject to that recall - and surprise surprise, it now has the same fault as the others!

I did some research and it appears there are different variations of the ABS pump, so you have to find the part number (last 2 letters are IMPORTANT!) from the original unit and get a hydraulic block replacement that works with it. My part number was 1K0614517AE. The repair kit (1K0698517B) generally works with my part number, and a few others.

Anyway, I looked online for the repair kit. Audi Cardiff were selling on eBay for £225 and confirmed it would fit after checking the VIN. This comes with a 1 year warranty. These units can fail again as they are just an updated version.

Sinspeed, BBA Reman and ECU Testing also do these. BBA Reman charge £250 for it on ebay and Sinspeed charge £195 exc VAT for an own unit rebuild or £225 for an exchange unit. ECU testing does an exchange unit for £200. All come with lifetime warranties (non transferable).



So - Ive gone for the ECU Testing exchange unit as it said it would be compatible with my part number. Will update in due course.
 
#36 ·
Had the remanufactured unit fitted today

took a while to fit - more than expected as mechanic was being extra careful with it. He was worried about the threads on the aluminium block when putting the brake fluid lines back into the unit.



However, after bleeding the brakes, its sorted the issue. No more ESP light on anymore!



Ive packed the old unit, just waiting for DHL to collect it and send back to ECU testing.


Overall, very pleased. ECU testing offer a very efficient and cost-effective service. The car feels better to drive and the brakes certainly seem to be better. Funny how a little ABS Pump can change a car!
 
#39 ·
Thanks guys,

No more light for the ESP yet and its all working as it should. Ive tested it over the past few days just to make sure so very happy so far.

However, the car is creaking and groaning when going over bumps in town as well as when turning the steering wheel full lock. It sounds like its coming from the driver's side. I got it checked over and its the drivers side top suspension mount. The good thing is, its intermittent at the moment. Sometimes is dead quiet and other times its groaning badly!

Luckily, this time the parts are relatively cheap - £40-£50 for both top mounts.

Any particular brand recommended? Was thinking Lemforder or Meyle but ECP do a few different brands that Ive never heard of
 
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