how can u tell if it's been canned!?

[Nicks]

how can you tell if a car has been thrashed?!

does a slight judder whilst driving mean wheel balance is off or it has taken a hard knock?!

the car is a x demo plus 1!? should one avoid these?

it looks mint but has a lot of stone chips on the bonnet but vw said they would get a re spray... would you notice this or can they make it look like the original!? its only done 26k..

hope you guys can help!!!

[neo66]

I've got a couple of stone chips on mine and its only a 57 reg, but I have heard that vw paint can be weak resulting in vulnerability on the front end. Personally I wouldn't buy an x-demo thats reached 20k+ miles, as its probly been drove by many different people and only had short journeys.

[Kevster140]

how can you tell if a car has been thrashed?!

does a slight judder whilst driving mean wheel balance is off or it has taken a hard knock?!

the car is a x demo plus 1!? should one avoid these?

it looks mint but has a lot of stone chips on the bonnet but vw said they would get a re spray... would you notice this or can they make it look like the original!? its only done 26k..

hope you guys can help!!!

I would imagine that the previous buyer to you got the discount for it being driven by loads of people and 'tested' for what it does. How many people do you know who trash the nuts off a demo car when you have a sales guy in the car...? Yes i would be more cautious with an ex demo but is GTI not meant to be driven fast?

Stone chips could well be drivers who just drive far to close!

As for respray - i would make sure you get cover on any body shop work (ie 3 years) so if it is not up to scratch they can sort it. I had a very bad experience with BMW due to shoddy work - but I'd hope vindis/vw body shop is better! Still many sides to having it sprayed or not - it's never the same as the factory paint i can tell you that much.

[ccgoose]

i would stay well clear, my mate took a golf gti for a test once and they ended up racing a VXR!!

he then went to the VXR garage two weeks later and that was the demo model he'd been 'overtaking'

idiots!!

[ashadam]

how can you tell if a car has been thrashed?!

does a slight judder whilst driving mean wheel balance is off or it has taken a hard knock?!

the car is a x demo plus 1!? should one avoid these?

it looks mint but has a lot of stone chips on the bonnet but vw said they would get a re spray... would you notice this or can they make it look like the original!? its only done 26k..

hope you guys can help!!!

If you suspect a car has been thrashed then just leave and find another car, although I am not sure how you would tell car has been thrashed.

[drmartin]

how can you tell if a car has been thrashed?!

does a slight judder whilst driving mean wheel balance is off or it has taken a hard knock?!

the car is a x demo plus 1!? should one avoid these?

it looks mint but has a lot of stone chips on the bonnet but vw said they would get a re spray... would you notice this or can they make it look like the original!? its only done 26k..

hope you guys can help!!!

I thrash mine on a daily basis (company car driver) and have thrashed the same car for the last 95k miles! Its still as good as the day it left the dealer, so based on this you cannot really tell.

Mine lives at 80 on the motorways, and yes the front does suffer stone chipping, the plastic tirm becomes rough and so on.

In my opinion, if its the right car at th right price then go for it! if its under warrenty then you are covered.

m

[Kevster140]

I thrash mine on a daily basis (company car driver) and have thrashed the same car for the last 95k miles! Its still as good as the day it left the dealer, so based on this you cannot really tell.

m

Good point - many people drive 'fast'. What on earth do VW etc do to test the cars....!

[Jimp45]

The odd judder at idle is normal for the GTI. It just wants to GO It takes an awful lot of thrashing to harm the GTI in any way.
Stone chips is probably down to whoever owned it last driving a bit too close to cars in front.

[Teflon]

Sorry to sound sexist here, but it's a bit like getting a new girlfriend. You can't tell much about past history from appearance and the sales pitch, but if you get a poor first impression or things look tarted up or a bit tatty ........................she's probably not on a night out from the convent.

Consider a GTI as being like Paris Hilton. Very desirable and lots of fun, but if you are looking for a long term relationship there are some risks involved and you might find the running costs are a bit scary.

Seriously though, you can spot long term abuse from things like excessive tyre wear for the mileage, closely spaced variable life service periods (in terms of miles), heavily worn brakepads, scuffed alloys, sloppy handbrake and so on. It's impossible to tell if it's been briefly used in a bank robbery or thrashed round the Nurburgring. Buy original spec, full service history, avoid anything that has been remapped because that indicates a previous owner with delusions of Hamiltonism. Front end stone chips tend to indicate lots of motoway miles which is no bad thing because you can't drive far at 100mph. Stone chips around wheel arches point to some aggressive driving sometime. Look for good quality original paintwork around the car, with no fine scratches and polish residue in crevices; anyone who washes his car by hand and gives it the odd dab of polish doesn't drive like a maniac.

[dubcruiser]

Sorry to sound sexist here, but it's a bit like getting a new girlfriend. You can't tell much about past history from appearance and the sales pitch, but if you get a poor first impression or things look tarted up or a bit tatty ........................she's probably not on a night out from the convent.

Consider a GTI as being like Paris Hilton. Very desirable and lots of fun, but if you are looking for a long term relationship there are some risks involved and you might find the running costs are a bit scary.

Seriously though, you can spot long term abuse from things like excessive tyre wear for the mileage, closely spaced variable life service periods (in terms of miles), heavily worn brakepads, scuffed alloys, sloppy handbrake and so on. It's impossible to tell if it's been briefly used in a bank robbery or thrashed round the Nurburgring. Buy original spec, full service history, avoid anything that has been remapped because that indicates a previous owner with delusions of Hamiltonism. Front end stone chips tend to indicate lots of motoway miles which is no bad thing because you can't drive far at 100mph. Stone chips around wheel arches point to some aggressive driving sometime. Look for good quality original paintwork around the car, with no fine scratches and polish residue in crevices; anyone who washes his car by hand and gives it the odd dab of polish doesn't drive like a maniac.

Good write up mate! Agree with your post there. I bought my Mk4 GTi back in January with 61k on it but I could just tell the two owners before me had cherished it. All receipts for services and warranty work, even the original and second owner sales invoices for the car. The paintwork is top notch suggesting it was loved rather than just used. In the 8 months I have had it she has become my baby! So as you said, if you get the feeling the car is not right or suspect something of it then walk away. If you think it feels and looks right, then slap a deposit on it before someone else does!