Topic: Average 'Life Expectancy' (KMs) of a 2013 VW Golf 2.5 L Sportline Wagon?

[OliverD]

Just do a general search for old VW and you will see their lifespan seem short - it seems like 150-160k kms is when they disappear. I bet likely the transmission or something really expensive goes, making it worthless to fix.

LOL, no. Plenty of VWs around with high kms.

Under $10k for a low KM 2013 Sportline wagon sounds super reasonable to me. The Sportline trim is actually fairly rare, moreso on the wagon. It came with some neat wheels. If the owner has taken care of the car it sounds like it's a good buy to me.

[tortoise]

I think VWs reputation isn't as deserved as some people think. 

I would put my money on a VW outlasting a comparable Kia/Hyundai product.

[drutgat]

I have been offered a 2013 VW Golf 2.5 L Sportline Wagon with 91,000 KMs for $8000, and cannot seem to find what the average life expectancy of this model is.


I spent several hours yesterday with my friend, who is selling the car, going over the car's history, appearance, problems (very few so far), and so on, and taking the car for a test drive.


My friend takes care of his possessions very well, and any issues that do exist will probably only be revealed by an inspection by a mechanic.


My friend is asking $8000, and I am trying to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of this model, primarily in terms of how long it will last.


In reading up on the traditional problems that this model has, it seems that the car has been free of all of them, barring the increasing creaks and groans which are typical as this model ages.


Thanks in advance for any replies.

Just do a general search for old VW and you will see their lifespan seem short - it seems like 150-160k kms is when they disappear. I bet likely the transmission or something really expensive goes, making it worthless to fix.


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Thanks, Tauri13 - for some reason I could not find that kind of info., so thanks for this.

[drutgat]

Just do a general search for old VW and you will see their lifespan seem short - it seems like 150-160k kms is when they disappear. I bet likely the transmission or something really expensive goes, making it worthless to fix.

LOL, no. Plenty of VWs around with high kms.

Under $10k for a low KM 2013 Sportline wagon sounds super reasonable to me. The Sportline trim is actually fairly rare, moreso on the wagon. It came with some neat wheels. If the owner has taken care of the car it sounds like it's a good buy to me.

Thanks, OliverD.


I love the trim on the Sportline, and - because my friend (like me) is anal about taking care of things, everything on and in the car works, although there are the usual creaks and groans which are apparently common with this model.

[quadzilla]

Thanks, Tauri13 - for some reason I could not find that kind of info., so thanks for this.

Don’t listen to tauri as he is anti VW and many other things not Ford.

VWs easily last 200-300K kms.

[ktm525]

With or without one burned out headlight?

[tortoise]

With or without one burned out headlight?

Oh, with.  Absolutely with.

[quadzilla]

With of course. If all lights are working be afraid. 

[CSH]

I saw these ads:

https://www.kijijiautos.ca/vip/15797899/
https://www.kijijiautos.ca/vip/15704046/


maybe i should fix it for 1K and raise he price lol....

[HeliDriver]

With or without one burned out headlight?

Oh, with.  Absolutely with.

I know we’re having a laugh here, but I thought that was just a MK4 thing?

I’ve had to replace bulbs on every single car I’ve owned - Nissans, Honda, couple of GMs. My VW has been no better or worse: one headlight and one license plate bulb in ten years.

[aquadorhj]

my mk5 had 2 headlight burn in 10 years, and no other bulbs that i recall.  (my mk4 had bulbs burn if i glance at it wrong )

we had it for just under 200k km, automatic.  and upto that point, replace 2 wheel bearings and 2 axles. both at the front (axles, obviously)
as preventive maintenance, did spark plugs twice, but mechanically very sound. even the shocks were still original. 
they were certainly on their way out, but not fully out yet.
at that point, the only thing that was bothering me about the car was sway bar bushing squeaking in winter.  little lube and it would go away for a while. 

2.5 inline 5s certainly feel like reliable old motor.

your friend's wagon may not be worth full 8k asking, but i would easily think it's worth 5~6k.  4k too little.

[dkaz]

The 2.5 and 2.Slow should be good for at least 300,000km. It's the electronic problems that develop that are a nightmare to diagnose and fix.

[HeliDriver]

The 2.5 and 2.Slow should be good for at least 300,000km. It's the electronic problems that develop that are a nightmare to diagnose and fix.

On a MK5 or 6? What kind of nightmare electronic problems are these known to develop?

[tortoise]

My Mk7 needed two new bulbs in the first 2.5 years.  Plus a tail light.

[EV-Light]

Thanks, Tauri13 - for some reason I could not find that kind of info., so thanks for this.

Don’t listen to tauri as he is anti VW and many other things not Ford.

VWs easily last 200-300K kms.

I am not anti VW, just being realistic here - a simple search on autotrader for 200k kms VWs returns only 134 results — that’s for ALL VWs

Then you look at a brand like Toyota - 409, Honda - 498, Ford - 561....by all margins even BMW is better 118 cars still out there.


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[OliverD]

Thanks, Tauri13 - for some reason I could not find that kind of info., so thanks for this.

Don’t listen to tauri as he is anti VW and many other things not Ford.

VWs easily last 200-300K kms.

I am not anti VW, just being realistic here - a simple search on autotrader for 200k kms VWs returns only 134 results — that’s for ALL VWs

Then you look at a brand like Toyota - 409, Honda - 498, Ford - 561....by all margins even BMW is better 118 cars still out there.

You do realize that way, way more Toyotas, Hondas, and Fords are sold, right???

Also high KM cars tend to show up on Kijiji, not AutoTrader.

[Triple Bob]

A manual golf wagon will easily do 250K km if looked after. It's not a complex car.

[Ex-airbalancer]

A manual golf wagon will easily do 250K km if looked after. It's not a complex car.

Any car should last 250,000 km

[EV-Light]

A manual golf wagon will easily do 250K km if looked after. It's not a complex car.

Well bear in mind, a clutch replacement is what...$3.5k?


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[EV-Light]

Thanks, Tauri13 - for some reason I could not find that kind of info., so thanks for this.

Don’t listen to tauri as he is anti VW and many other things not Ford.

VWs easily last 200-300K kms.

I am not anti VW, just being realistic here - a simple search on autotrader for 200k kms VWs returns only 134 results — that’s for ALL VWs

Then you look at a brand like Toyota - 409, Honda - 498, Ford - 561....by all margins even BMW is better 118 cars still out there.

You do realize that way, way more Toyotas, Hondas, and Fords are sold, right???

Also high KM cars tend to show up on Kijiji, not AutoTrader.

And you realize there are way way less BMWs sold right?

Hence why I added them in there - by all margins, there should be at least 300 VWs.

To me that’s an obvious indication of below average life.

I’ve seen many ads of people trying to sell their VWs - usually around 120-160k kms - for 2 reason, 1- DSG blew up and its expensive as hell to replace 2- Turbo blew up and its expensive to replace...I’ve also seen some 2.5s eat up the chain, so full engine failure...

The op should do his own unbiased search online - at least for awareness of the risks he is signing up to and potential costs involved.

If the price here was $4k, I’d say it was a decent deal....save another $4-5k of what’s to come as insurance.


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