Ad blocker detected: Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.
Newby here. I'm looking at exchanging my 08 Fiesta ST150 and was originally considering the newer ST180 but in my searches I stumbled upon the VW Polo BlueGT. This car has a similar BHP/ 0-60 time as my present ST and I really like the look of it, it looks like it would suit me as perfectly as the ST but with a bit more comfort.
My last dealings with VW was back in the 80's 90's when my wife had an old "van" type Polo followed by a Golf Driver, and I had a LHD Karmann Beetle! Things have obviously moved on a lot since then but when I spotted the Blue GT Polo it ticked a lot of boxes for me that the ST didn't. Problem is although I'm pretty savvy with cars having been a bit of a petrolhead all my life and having restored quite a few classics over the years I know nothing about the new breed of VWs and their weak points & strengths. I would therefore appreciate a bit of shopping advice from you guys in what to look for when buying one of these cars? I'll be looking at a 2015 to 2017 MY, I've searched the web looking for any issues these cars have but can't find anything nasty - which could possibly be a good thing
Any advice in what to look for / avoid would be greatly appreiated
Hi Dave,
I have a 14 plate Blue GT which I have owned since new and the car has never let me down mechanically and is a joy to drive especially around the Scotland/Lake District roads.
Fuel economy figures will probably not match unless you drive extremely carefully but by no means is it thirsty.
The only one thing that I can mention as regards possible faults is the rear window washer feed, it came off inside the boot lid and kept setting my alarm and central locking off.
It was under warranty so done for nothing but the guy at the dealer said this is a known fault on Polos but not generally the GT or GTI. Other than that i don’t think you can go wrong.
Cheers
Edit: One time a resistor went on the heater so it would only work on higher settings. Again a quick and under warranty fix haha!
Thanks very much for that, it helps a lot. As metioned, I've scoured the the internet looking for any major problems these cars have and so far found nothing that would cause concern, which is unusual as you'll always get at least a couple of owners complaining about something. I belong to a another car forum (an MX5 one as I have a 1994 Eunos RS Roadster which I imported in 2015 and now restored) and was chatting to one of the members there last night and it turns out his wife has owned a 2013 BlueGT from new and both of them love it. It's still a very low miler at just 20k but they've never had the slightest bit of trouble with it.
I've now earmarked a few locally (ish) so I'll get out tomorrow and go see them.
My son has had 2 Golfs - and the rear washer tube came adrft on both of them
I’ve owned a lot of cars in the past 50 plus years. My current BGT DSG is one of the best I’ve had and has been 100% reliable.
At the risk of offending other respected members I find it a better compromise than the GTi being more economical having a better ride and with a real world performance that is very similar, cheaper to insure too.
Hi Dave,
As you mentioned that one of the MX5 forum members wives has done 20k with no problems. My car is currently just over 47k and this week is having new discs and pads all round and good service.
I’m glad the washer tube fix was under warranty as the invoice for a new boot lock was £250+.
They are pretty bullet proof and they do move well.
The only bit of advice I would say is definetly try the DSG as they are fantastic as Ricmondo, myself and a lot of the other forum users will agree.
You guys are great thanks very much, and funnily enough the MX forum fella urged me to try the DSG as well - and I will, but I do like my gear shifts, although I stand to be converted
We've got a long (3000 mile) European road trip planned forJune this year and if the Polo we get is as good as it sounds then we'll probably take that. We have a late model 1.5 Turbo Focus as well (which my wife uses), lovely car but the Blue GT sounds like it could be more fun in the Alps and easier to park in some of the more "compact" hotels we've got booked.
We're lucky enough to have a fair few VW dealerships within 50 miles of here so weather permitting I'll get myself out tomorrow and have a look at a few.
I'd be guessing/hoping that the washer pipes coming off are down to not enough winter washer fluid concentrate in the pipes, ie slushing or freezing.
It is very handy to have a short/small car, that is the very reason that my poor S4 sleeps in the garage most of the time, it is not big by any account, but slightly bigger than the Polo, though on longer journeys/trips nothing beats driving a car with a longer wheelbase and a bit more weight and power - even if the fuel stops become a bit too frequent!
was a couple of things I found concerning before buying my blue gt. 1 was that I could barely find much about it online like reviews from owners not just companies etc. and the fact the most used blue gt's that i saw come up for sale local to me were all fairly low mileage, which is a good thing dont get me wrong but it kind of made me feel like people were getting rid of them cause of problems. things like that always go through my head cause i worry about everything haha.
I got myself a 63 plate with just under 15k miles on the clock last year, and it hasnt let me down. I got into an accident before christmas which was entirely my fault and just one of those things you do once and you know you'll never do it again (will add that it wasn't due to speed or loss of control just involved an early morning and turning out of a junction into low sun causing my screen to fog up as it was cold morning), after being repaired its still running like it never happened.
I love the car although being a worrier I cant help but feel the accident I had is going to create problems with the car in the furture. But again thats just me. I hit 20k miles the other day and still loving it. mines a manual and I enjoy the ride, only thing that put me off dsg is that ive never driven auto/dsg cars before
The greatest advocate was a good friend who finished on the Podium at Le Mans, won at the Ring and had numerous other victories driving a Jaguar C Type. He had a long succession of eye watering cars including a 300SL, Ferrari Daytona and numerous Porsche. He swore after trying DSG ( well PDK but same group, same concept) that he would always choose the double clutch in preference to a manual.
It will only take you a few minutes to get used to automatic shifting but if you prefer you can use the stick as a sequential change or use the paddles and pretend you are an F1 driver.
Ricmondo wrote: Wed Jan 24, 2018 7:36 pm
It will only take you a few minutes to get used to automatic shifting but if you prefer you can use the stick as a sequential change or use the paddles and pretend you are an F1 driver.
I can still pretend to be Ayrton Senna, sliding through Monaco, sideways, one hand on the steering wheel, one hand operating an H pattern gearbox
You’d have to pretend it was back in the 80s or very early 90s before sequential gear changes became the F1 norm. My favourite Senna Monte was 1984 in the Tolman Hart, a memorable race but awful rain, I got soaked to the skin and didn’t have a nice cosy Blue GT to drive home, my MGB would have been greatly improved with a VW climate control!
