SHOULD YOU BUY A VW GOLF GTI MK6 IN 2023? | Reliability | Performance | Running Costs |

Should you consider buying a VW Golf GTI Mk6 in 2023? I have owned my Golf GTI for around 5 years now, featured it on the channel a few times to great success and now I thought I would bring the car back for a long term review owners guide to owning a Mk6 GTI in 2023. This or at least some of what I mention could also be said for the standard Golf Mk6 but I am not sure as I have never driven a standard car.

My Golf for those who are new here is a 2010 Golf GTI Mk6 TFSI 2.0 with almost no options, a standard black car with no modifications, yet. I have covered the car in detail on the channel before and hope to get it back on for more content over the year. It has been an amazing car to own, so if you are new hear and want to watch more videos on my Golf GTI then please make sure to hit the subscribe button and give this video a thumbs up so you can help the channel grow.

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Joe

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Joe 😊

[BadPhD]

I bought my 2013 MK6 GTI in 2019 with only 37, 000 miles on it. It now has 63, 000. I thoroughly enjoy the car and it has been very reliable. For the last two Septembers I have gone on 8 day roadtrips totalling about 3, 500 miles each. I drive the twistiest backroads I can find (I live in Oregon, USA). There's also plenty of fun roads local to me so I can go out for a 30 minute drive or a few hours.

[shoxy]

Had mine for almost 3 years now did the timing chain soon after purchasing for piece of mind but has only needed a front wheel bearing and front coil spring. Never see many MK6's about plenty of MK5 & MK7s. Still a good looking car that is aging very well

[THEMIKE]

I did actually buy a Mk6 GOLF GTI 35 Edition this year. Model is from 2011. Very lovely to drive and stable and solid and joyful :D LOVE IT

[geebee]

I bought a 2011 MK6 1.6 diesel Bluemotion back in 2015 so had it now 8 years and there's nothing out there I's swap it for.
It still returns 80mpg on longer motorway journeys and other than a new battery it's been super reliable.
I've upgraded the brakes and suspension, put all weather tyres on as I do a lot of motorway miles and UK weather not that great, updated the head unit so I now have bluetooth, sat nav, telephone and rear parking on the clock and it drives like brand new.

[johncschwartz]

I have a 2012 GTI MK6 / 2 DOOR. I bought the car new in 2013. For me, it has been an excellent car, fast, fun to drive and trouble free. I had the same intake manifold problem as you described but had it fixed by VW on a recall. You should look into that. I live in the US so I am not sure it would be the same in the UK.
At the time I had that work done, I had them de carbonize the intake valves while they were in there. They were surprisingly bad at 47000 miles.
After that was done, I ended up doing a stage 1 tune to my car. I got it from a company called Integrated Engineering. The specialize in VW and Audi cars. Great people to deal with! The results are amazing! No hardware changes just a computer "flash tune." It took about 20 minutes with my car hooked up to a battery charger and my laptop! WOW! What a difference! This is how these car should have been delivered! It turns the MK6 into a rocket! They claim approximately a 57 horsepower The difference is like night and day! The only problem is the clutch is the weak point! I am in the process of upgrading that now.

[EnjoyingGoodMusic]

Got a mark 6 up here in northern Sweden, wife and her family told me to get a big 4wd but my GTI captured my heart immediately. It fits both the baby stroller and child seat and is fun as hell to drive, i literally can't wait until next summer we are driving through Norway and it's going to be a blast🎉

[algreenhough]

Had this car 5years bought with 65k on and now done 100k. Full VW serv history, however I've had to change timing belt and tensioner, sump, clutch, pcv valve. I had the inlet manifold light keep coming on on me so eventually I paid vw for the diagnosis. They couldn't find anything but stripped down exhaust and put back said see how it goes gone! No charge just diagnostic £60 vw were brilliant on this as they had the car 24 hrs. It is a brilliant car to drive, sounds great, still looks good and performs well. Did a bit of work to it when I bought it but been really good since.

[rabross]

Just bought a late 2012 96k fvwsh every 10k...absolute peach and a brilliant driver...drive mk5gtis for ten years...no issues...came across this and said I'd try it..only fault is horrendous road noise from the tyres

[michaelw]

I bought my mk6 brand new in 2009, the week they started rolling off of the boats in the USA. I bought the first manual clutch car that was available at my local dealership. To date I’ve put 163k miles on it

Aside from a few warranty repairs and coming within a few days of being declared a lemon due to an electrical gremlin hat involved flying in an engineer from VW to diagnose, the first 100k miles were entirely trouble free. It was, sincerely, more reliable than my Toyota Camry.

For me the 100k mile point was when the old car problems started to pop up, which can be extra vicious because it’s a German car. That said it’s not a difficult car to work on, prices for parts are generally reasonable, and there’s plenty of independent shops that specialize in Volkswagens to choose from for when I don’t care to tackle a repair. At about 100k I opted to refresh the suspension as it was basically shot: new dampers, new front control arm bushings, and new trailing arm bushings. Not long after my car’s air conditioner died and required major repairs (condenser, compressor, etc), which was not cheap. My ABS module also failed but I believe that had something to do with a painfully hard hit taken from an object I ran over on the highway (I’m surprised the car wasn’t further damaged).

In the last 30k miles I’ve had to replace the coil packs, high pressure fuel pump, fuel injectors, and alternator. I’m also due for my second valve cleaning as the car is stuttering and misfiring.

Otherwise I’ve done some suspension and brake upgrades to make the car feel more like the sports car I’d like it to be but can’t buy because I need space to haul multiple kids around in.

The reason I’ve held onto it is that it’s just such a nice car to drive and the interior is a space I still enjoy being in. The interior is that old style analog which I greatly prefer with a basic audio interface which I also prefer. All the physical knobs and switches allow me to focus more on driving and less on interacting with a tech toy. Despite my suspension upgrades the car is still very pleasant to cruise in and very sharp and willing when the mood strikes. The engine, with its microscopic turbo, is just so nice to use right in the middle of the rev rang with a fair amount of pop even on the factory tune.

Would I recommend it? Honestly, I don’t know. It’s a fantastic car to drive but it comes down to one’s tolerance of mechanical uncertainty. If you stumble across one that has been well looked after I absolutely would, but those are getting harder and harder to find as the car ages. The problem is that a neglected one will cause a lot more pain than an equivalent Honda or Toyota.

Still though… nice cars, I love mine even if it has caused some frustration over the years.

[DNT_]

We bought a 2022 arkana, and even that is more smooth and the engine is more fresh ... we still like driving the mk 6... this car don t compare with new models... is like a tank the golf... in 11 years we never had big problems.

[MrBigbangbuzz]

Had mine 8 years ago.. best car I’ve driven

[JustinStrife]

I have a 2012 Autobahn Edition GTI with DSG, APR K04, IC, DP, and APR ECU/TCU tunes that just turned 148k miles this month. Maintenance is key. Had to replace the intake manifold and injectors when I went to k04 at 134k miles. Still on original engine and DSG and runs flawless.

I picked up a 2013 Golf R with 152k miles last year and slowly modding it. Small issues here and there, but nothing expensive(everything is under 100 dollars to replace). Knowledge goes a long way.

[Adam_Bell]

cheeky Skyfall shot at the end I took my mk5 R32 to the same road last year

[glensainsbury]

Hi Joe, great film. I have just bought a 2012 mk6 gti and it is about the same spec as yours. It is a very under the radar golf gti and there is not much out there apart from the cam chain horror stories. If you want your exaust tips to look as good as new, I can recommend wd40 and some scotch brite.

[Vikturus]

I have had mine for 13 months now. I paid the equivalent in pounds $3500 ( $7000 nzd ) and I have done quite alot of work to it to make it mine

Stage 2 IE tune
Cobb exhaust
IE intake
GFB Diverter valve
PS5 Tyres ( also put Mk7 GTI wheels on )
Bilstein B6 shocks
EBC brake pads and rotors
HPFP upgrade
R8 coils and new plugs
replaced all the fluids
I also replaced the timing chains and did a carbon cleaning and it runs incredibly! 280hp for a 2l is fun! and it is the perfect daily imo ( No issues since doing all the work I did all this work over 2 days lol )

[JimMcBob]

I had a fault for intake manifold flapper on my mk6. It was from improper reinstallation of the vacuum solenoid for the flapper actuator. It was dark and i was tired. Even with it backwards the car ran better and stronger than before i got all the carbon out from behind the intake valves. After i figured out my mistake and cleared codes with an android app, i was very very pleased.

Fix your intake. You are missing alot of low down torque. And carbon

[Chapaz]

I got mine in November 2022 and done a few mods to it and I love mine. More so it come from Japan so the car is immaculate and like new underneath

[zombietaichi]

That’s weird, followed you because I too bought a 2006 Cayman S… three weeks ago I bought a 2013 Mk6 with Unitronic stage 3 tune (as daily driver)… to just see this video and you too owning a Mk6. Guess like minds know a good thing when they see it! 🤝👏

[jcbell]

Just stumbled across your vid. Bought a cheap mk6 gti dsg with a dsg fault (mechatronics) last year, fitted another mechatronics from a breaker coded it and touchwood it’s been a great car ever since. It’s a decent spec one with Xenons etc it has been mapped so now 265ps and great fun but at the same time wifeys run about and owes me the grand total of £4600. 👍🏻

[blackballed]

Just picked up a brilliant looking mk6 tdi and in 2023 it looks like new both inside and out. 2l engine so still had plenty punch although obviously not as much as the gti.