How NOT To Buy a MK5 VW GTI

[@HumbleMechanic]

This GTI needs some major help. What mods/maintenance should we do first?!?!?!

[@jacobkorban476]

pin stripe delete

[@HumbleMechanic]

@@jacobkorban476 HAHA I HATE IT! and its only on one side.

[@kfrdubber]

Is the ubderhood cover missing?

[@kfrdubber]

Looks like the pinstripe is missing on the driver's door. My question would be why?

[@HumbleMechanic]

@@kfrdubber and the whole passenger side. Im guessing one of the PO tried removing it.

[@rudolphna54]

Definitely fix it up and put it right first. Always feel bad to see good cars abused like this.

[@manuelpiston]

Good?😑

[@kaktuss2projungle585]

@@manuelpistonyes, good. Those cars are excelent especially the fahrenheit version both jetta and golf which is just better versions of european actually good cars, it does to have heated seats better sterring wheel, more power etc.

[@martycrush6412]

The best golf gti......... ever👌🏻

[@laalaa99stl]

OMG! This is _exactly_ my car! I have #1169 so this was likely a sister vehicle that rolled off the line the very same day. Mine suffered from a slipped timing chain and bent valves and is currently waiting for whenever I have enough time to do that intimidating job. Needless to say, I'm _very_ motivated to tune in and watch any future content involving this car. IMHO it's the nicest-looking car VW ever made if also the most unreliable.

[@HumbleMechanic]

Only 3 away!!! I have a little bit of timing chain content in the Jetta series I did with Gears and Gasoline.

[@VdubSmallGarage]

I’ve personally used his videos to fix my 2.0 tsi that had burnt valves from never getting the carbon cleaned. I’ll be following his videos for my Audi tt timing belt and water pump.

[@douglashartman9639]

I have #462, 165,000 on it and it has had most of these issues at some point, but still has never left me stranded. Mod the heck out it!

[@turbod_2.0]

#1 Fahrenheit edition is currently for sale at Milton VW in Canada for 29k, #2 and #74 were dismantled for parts at Das Parts in Canada

[@einfelder8262]

Timing chain? My BPY 2008 MK5 GTI has a belt.

[@laalaa99stl]

7:22 That there was a load-bearing stick. You in trouble now, son 😄

[@freetvs.]

I just put a set of Miltons off a 2020 gti on my mk5 r32 and they look incredible. Highly recommend

[@OwlManoloPR13]

Please bring back Cars with Cocktails!! It takes your KZbin content to a whole new different level because it can serve as a "behind the scenes" to both your MK5 projects and a good hour of shop talk!

[@roncrawford5013]

I say get the major maintenance stuff done first and then start to throw a little more power at it. Make it safe and fun to drive first so you're not worried about it breaking down or killing you. Then just have fun with it. It's a cool and fairly unique car so it deserves some love, but to fix it all back to OEM would cost a fortune.

[@jamesfranko5098]

Why are people obsessed with power? It's got 200 bhp which is pretty good. If you want a straight line car with loads of power there are a million. If you want a great handling car with decent power this is it.

[@JustinStrife]

@@jamesfranko5098 200hp is just eh. 250-300hp is MUCH better. My APR k04 mk6 GTI is a BLAST, but I've also added coilovers, f/r swaybars, and lightweight wheels with ps4s tires to go with the power increase.

[@brycejeannot8665]

Best ad campaign. Find your FAST!!!

[@HiyasuJ]

Where's the fun in a reliable car ? -Any VW AG enthusiast

[@HumbleMechanic]

Will she start, when will it beak down??? All part of the thrill of owning a vW

[@meatmanifesto]

Always keep a code reader in the glovebox 🤣

[@TassieLorenzo]

@@meatmanifesto If you own a 8th-gen Civic Si instead of the same year Mk5 GTI you probably never had cause to even find where the OBD2 port even is. Just sayin'. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@Onewheelordeal]

​​@@TassieLorenzothis guy Hondas, the Japanese cars might not keep your repair hobby busy quite like Europe can do for ya

[@Tsitris46]

My MkV GTi had 160k when I sold it. The only common issue it had was the headliner. The guy that bought it mentioned that he had 230k on it recently. Properly maintained they will treat you right.

[@panzerveps]

I've never understood the headliner issue. Never seen such a thing on the east side of the Atlantic.

[@jlcousineau]

I have a soft spot for this generation vw’s. Sad to see how poorly they age mechanically, because they’re amazing cars. I’m in a mk7 now, but even the pedestrian cars of this era were special, I get excited when I see a clean mk5 Jetta. My friends think I’m crazy.

[@dubradiolol]

Being a long time VW guy and having something from just about every generation since mk2 gti, your videos are awesome, also bring back memories of my mk5 rabbit lol

[@HumbleMechanic]

Hell yes! The one car Ive never owned is a MK2. One day!

[@bryanmauroner3347]

As a MK5 owner this saddens my heart 😢 Clearly it was neglected and not maintained …. Yikes! Rule of thumb you always make sure that all maintenance is done first then the fun stuff 😁 Good luck with your journey 👊

[@brentlevitt4664]

Not even a day after watching this video, I was down in San Diego and a pristine MK5 Fahrenheit GTI parks in front of me at a coffee shop downtown; I forgot just how awesome these looked in person. I can't wait to see this build return to that level of glory.

[@Tomd4850]

I think even for $2k, I think you could have done a lot better. I kept telling my brother to offer you his daily driven MK5 Fahrenheit for a project. It's still in abysmal condition, but it's a temple compared to that sad specimen.

[@mike12585]

Yeah, with all those issues. $500 seems fair. 2k he over paid but they’re hard to find.

[@JD-rq7il]

This is going to be awesome! I agree with most. Do the maintenance and fixing, sprinkle in the mods when it makes sense

[@DansEuropeVlog]

Mk5 GtI was my gate way in to vw so I can't wait to see what you do with it. If you switch the seat it might be cool to go with an orange tartan instead of the leather. But over all this should be a cool series.

[@Flies2FLL]

I don't know Charles. I had a '97 Jetta GLX that I named "Christine" because that car literally waited for the worst possible time to break! I started my first day at my dream job airline in 2006 with the car blowing its oil out three blocks from where I was staying. I managed to get a ride into work, but $700 later it was repaired. One week later the heater core exploded in traffic, flooding the dash and basically screwing up everything except the speedometer. Then the cooling fans failed a week after that! Eventually three of the four power windows and the air conditioning all failed in short order, during a Memphis summer. I was so mad at the car at the end that I was literally parking it unlocked, hoping someone would steal it! Sad, since it drove so damn well~ I think the MK3 was the worst car Volkswagen ever built. Great video!

[@aygwm]

I think the mk3 was the best VW ever built…

[@Flies2FLL]

@@aygwm You are welcome to your opinion.

[@fmarinosfromafar9512]

It's not my money, so fix and then mod! Wheel-wise for the MkV, I like the BBSs that came on the Edition 30. Great video as usual, and looking forward to seeing what you and Paul get up to!

[@jameshaulenbeek5931]

I'm a big fan of the Rotary wheel. I got them on my Golf R - very nice, simple multispoke wheel. Big bonus, it's barely heavier than the Pretoria and not so overdone 😂

[@HumbleMechanic]

NICE! I think the RML snowflakes are at the top of my list. I will probs put my englishtowns on it for now.

[@garvysgarage]

@@HumbleMechanic those RML’s are hotttt

[@magellanicspaceclouds]

@@HumbleMechanic You can never go wrong with RMLs.

[@K03sport]

​@@HumbleMechanic .. Ronal R50 Aero (try to find the Anniversary Gold edition)

[@isaactrockman4417]

Needs some ronal teddy bears

[@nickbutler9943]

I'd take the same approach I would if it was mine - fix the major issues 1st, with upgrades where needed, then work through the remainder - but a wash / interior clean is high on the priority list

[@WilsonKnows]

I can’t wait to watch this car come back to life. I bought an 08 GTI BPY last year and I have issues you have mentioned. With 168k miles on it after driving it a year daily. I think it’s well worth completely fixing and getting weird with it.

[@WilsonKnows]

I have a lot to learn about how to fix it properly.

[@Dconectadostvfilms]

Really exited to see what you can do with this GTI. I have a red 2006 MKV GTI (first car when i was 16 years old, I'm 30 now) that I decided to keep in my garage ever since, I dont drive it however you just inspired me to give some love to my garage queen, funny enough some of the issues your GTI have I also have in mine hahaha ready to hop on this journey with @humbleMechanic

[@Busogirl17]

I have a Mk5 and I have to say seeing this one in such a state makes me sad. 😢 I hope it gets fixed up and I'm also excited to see the Mods you have in store for it. I absolutely adore these cars.

[@jamesstephenson4544]

Are Mk5s reliable? Looking for a fun manual car to drive occasionally, but I would like it to be running more than not running.

[@ianmoore322]

@@jamesstephenson4544 mechanically reliable, interior not as much

[@gezika]

Yessss, magma orange to hold us over until ginster yellow content! Can’t wait to see more!

[@Tagomago12]

Don't know about gti prices in the US but in the UK £1500 max

[@dwang911]

i love the watkins glen vw wheel

[@Wobblenuts]

My first VW was a Mk5, man that car went through a bunch of different stages and mods. Excited to see what you're going to do to get this back up to par.

[@mkvv-dub4456]

Starting a guesstimate at 2-2.5k for the Fahrenheit

[@too-stoked-about-2-strokes]

I had a Fahrenheit GTI and all of the clearcoat flaked off of it before 100k miles.

[@HumbleMechanic]

Suffering from the same issue as Tornado red/pink

[@euroberto85]

BBS CH wheels would look good on this

[@HumbleMechanic]

Those wheels are so proper!

[@chriswhitehead6095]

Your refurbishment will assist me with any future issues I may have with my 2007 A3 S-line. looking forward to the coming episodes.

[@nbrowser]

You n PaulyD are always up to something interesting...love it when you two work together as it's always entertaining!

[@frankhoward7645]

3:45. Exact same design problem you'll find on a Mark 4 Jetta. The hole coming out of the body is too close to the hole going into the hatch causing the wires to crimp every time one opens the hatch. On my Chrysler minivan, the holes are about a foot apart from each other so when one opens the hatch, about 12" of wire twists maybe a quarter turn. No chance of crimping because the wires are parallel to the hinge axle.

[@rashaadhartley2145]

Whoop whoop, start with the interior then straight into modifications, much better when the car smells fresh while working on it

[@nsumniac]

The sweet pinstripe made it worth all the effort

[@Vikturus22]

Make it safe first. I would personally go down this route Bilstein B4 shocks all around replace all the bushings fix all the leaks get the headlights going and get good brakes. Then mod!

[@SpecialFX99]

I'd love to see you do the MKV like it's a car you plan to keep forever because I'm approaching mine the same way

[@satanscupcake9593]

Sameeee

[@mtn0freek]

Awesome! Looking forward to you and pauly d sprucing these up

[@ericcherveny5195]

Reminds me of the old Humble Mechanic podcasts where you'd discuss VW parts failures! I've missed those!

[@radoo1994]

Sadness number 48😂: cracked windshield - or at least this is how it looks at 10:28

[@bogotaco2]

As a proud MK5 owner I’m so happy to see more mk5 content coming to this channel. Looking forward to the repairs as well as the mods, I say fix the big things first (safety and basic functionality) then mod away!

[@chrisjones7281]

This is going to be a fun series🎉🎉

[@luisgpr1]

Still daily drive my 2009 Jetta TDI, so much of what goes into this video also applies to my car, so bring it on!. Mine is not so sad though, it's not perfect but a nice errand runner.

[@bobduker]

So cool I have #94. Not as bad of shape but your videos will definitely help me to get it back up in shape.

[@raiNofchAosFPS]

i look at this mk5 and thankful my car has none of this! after getting a respray she really is a beautiful car. stage 1 downpipe r8 coil and she is a decent machine. dont need more to put a smile on many peoples face.

[@denton8047]

yes, my mkv GTI is a $500 car (but the windows work and it has, some, a/c). FSI + intake = induction noises. That is, if I free up the rust preventing the turbo from actuating.

[@hunter3899]

My favorite wheel type I had were BBS RE-V 18x8 ET40.

[@solocamo3654]

Love that color, didn't even know that variant existed. Modify it since mods also count as repairs ;)

[@acehash]

Me watching the video nodding at every problem and saying “Oh I remember that one”

[@timkis64]

its amazing how vw went from a simple car everyone could run damn near forever, to a mechanics permanent job security dream come true.

[@jamesfranko5098]

Depends on the generation and how it's cared for. My wife has a 2013 beetle with 170k miles and it has no issues at all apart from minor or oil burning. No electrical whatsoever.

[@royson345]

Love this. I daily am 08 GTI I bought for a grand. After a ton of work and elbow grease, she makes a great daily! Looking forward to you rescuing this beauty

[@shizabox]

0:24 the massive amount of leaks and the head nod like yeah bad ass right 😂. Very VW of you 😂😂.

[@PineBeltAdventures]

I found an 08 MK5 with only 28k miles on it 2 years ago. Only put 10k miles on it so far and its been running pretty good!

[@XantoS771]

Most important, check the rust on the rocker panel. My 2006 1.6 Golf in Laser Blue was absolutely busted and needed replacement rocker panels. Had them replaced and repainted for 850$. The rest of the car has been surprisingly reliable

[@oliverle8438]

That's an impressive deal for a repair like that! Can I ask how long ago this was? I've got some rust rockers on my 2012 R that I'm looking at getting sorted soon, not sure how much to expect to pay

[@XantoS771]

@@oliverle8438 Keep in mind this was in Eastern Europe where labor is pretty cheap. It took 2 weeks for them to repair my rocker panels. This was 2 years ago, since then the prices have gone crazy. I would repair that Golf R at a professional, well-reputed shop since I know it's a great car and it deserves it :D

[@DiverseArtist]

I own a Fahrenheit and love it. Mine is low miles (47k) and have owned it almost its whole life. Only issue with mine right now is the headliner like almost every other one.. I guessed 2k on price as ive seen a ton of these for sale over the years. Keep workin on it. There are so many junkyard and totaled fahrenheits that no more should be wasted.

[@steveninverse9579]

Just spent the Spring/Summer rehabbing my new Fahrenheit. Had cracked manifold, cracked break booster lines, bad transmission, blown tail light bulbs, bad passenger ballast, swapped HPFP/cam, new timing belt/water pump, new ac line. Interior was dirty as hell too, not as bad as your's. First VW tho, its a fun ride. Was especially fun getting the check engine to shut off on its own after fixing all those issues. Side note, bought a fun new impact gun for the job, not sure I'd include it in the expense sheet tho

[@monica93304]

I like the early Mk5 with the timing belt instead of the chain. That's reason enough to buy one. I worked on a ton of these back in the day. They get abused, but they can be a nice daily. I'm looking for one as a fix my Audi B5 S4.

[@DesolationTech]

a stick is an extra 10 points on the sadness counter? BOO!! he didnt have a chance!

[@Nickwidastick]

I’ve owned and daily my mk5 gti Bpy for 10+ years now and never been left stranded… 185k miles,original motor, don’t see why people say they aren’t reliable, the most slept on GTI imo.. simple maintenance and she will treat you good… full engine build with a 3071r in the works (shes earned it)…. can’t vouch for the paint though tornado red + Florida Sun = peeling clear coat 💔

[@tiersin]

I have a Fahrenheit I'm restoring currently! It came with a set of OZ Superturismos which I swapped to my MKV R32 while it gets restored. Fit and look is great in my opinion.

[@carlterranella8531]

I will definitely be watching this. I have some similar issues Although not nearly as many.

[@ANTIK1OAS]

Ha! I used to see this car around every now and again on the north side of Indy.

[@gearhead-quarters30]

Pretty sick feature list at the end of the video.

[@KenTooker-cb8vf]

Fix it first. Of course mod the suspension when you refresh it. Start with cleaning the interior so you don't retch every time you get in it.

[@korey420]

I live in Southern Indiana.. would have loved to scoop that mk5 up.. nice find!!!

[@redthreadzen]

19" VW talladega alloys are period correct and very stylish. The black one's. Yeh, just a few codes there. Big project, but worth it. Ground up resto, it's a keeper.

[@timothyforce1949]

I had a Mark 5 '08 4-door GTI with the DSG. Other than a few electrical gremlins, it was a great car, lots of fun. It had the cloth plaid seats which held up great. The only mods I did was I had the APR Stage 1 (tune only) tune done at a local Audi dealer and install a K&N replacement filter. That tune really woke up the car, and I never noticed a dent in fuel mileage. Tuned power was claimed to be 265 hp/300 tq, and I'd say that was accurate. The performance with just the tune was plenty for street use. I really enjoyed owning that car. Just got rid of it to get a truck that I really needed at that time in my life. As long as one performed maintenance at the "extreme" schedule, and performed regular Induction cleaning, it was a great and reliable hot hatch.

[@grippgoat]

Fix engine codes so power is right, then send it with mods. Mods give motivation to fix everything else.

[@danieldyman7196]

Hey! Ive got a red version of the mk5 GTI and have done some mods along the same route. Very much worth it

[@Fourdoormob015]

I have a 06 mk5 with 140k, was my first car and I loved it. I’d say it’s in worse shape body wise than this one but it has yet to ever let me down and I’ll always be grateful for it.

[@chrisbartram3034]

Fix it, fit the exhaust because you have it. Those wheels are fine, a refurb will sort them. I'd say that as it's a limited editiion, keep it OE as much as possible. I'm sure you already know, but the DSG park is activated mechanically, where everything else is electronic, so it could be as simple as a disconnected cable.

[@ivanb3303]

Cant wait for more content ..Go for Gold Charles

[@TxToolGuy]

this makes me feel better about my MK5 having a lot of the same issues especially no AC here in texas 💀. i say fix it right but also modify it at the same time. you can do a lot of awesome correct fixes with upgrades. luckily most are easy fixes but time consuming. lots of interior bits for mine

[@shahab_shawn_siahpoosh]

Oh man. Somehow you made the cars that I buy as not such bad deals. I hope this GTI can pay you back by its KZbin videos.

[@Kylehoulihan]

When I bought my my 7 golf wagon I made it a point of ownership that it would have zero deferred maintenance And wow $$$$ but it works like new.

[@ShironekoGokou]

I say fix first, also I recommend a MK6 next, plenty of garbage to fix on those! Also that's what I drive and there's a severe lack of MK6 content on KZbin in general, hopefully one day you and or Paul can give me the MK6 content I crave.

[@Celician83]

Best wheels for that car would be the ones it came with, Austin 18's with the accents painted to match the car. Those are definitely some random GTI wheels that someone found on FB Marketplace.

[@pilfered1685]

This will be exciting, I love my Mk5 GTI, it's in a little better shape than that Fahrenheit, but it has also seen half as much wear.

[@legacyautofocus]

I like how you got KZbin to flash the subscribe button on desktop and at a certain point on video

[@TopGear759]

Mk5 GTI was one of my favorite gens. I had the GLI of this gen loved it.

[@18t4motion]

That passenger door is likely the connector for the wiring harness not seating properly into the window motor connector. Had this problem on both my driver and passenger doors.. my remedy was using gorilla tape to secure the connector in place🤷🏽‍♂️

[@itchaseembacktools]

I put the 17" monte carlo's off a passat on my jetta 2.5 looks real good imo.

[@ClutchFool]

That’s too bad. Original owner of a 07 fsi package 2 stage 2 6 speed 2 door with factory Votex body kit and I still love it as much as I did back in 06 when I got it new. Recently replaced the headliner, timing belt, cam follower etc , second set of coils but she’s held up well for me. I think it’s pretty rare for a fully loaded mk5 in this good shape still but hasn’t been cheap to upkeep but totally worth it IMO.

[@SleepinDub]

Running 30th Anniversary GLI Laguna Seca's on mine- MK6 wheels look pretty good.

[@gdm1985]

looking forward to seeing this being transformed. In the UK, the high level brake light in these Mk5s always goes too.

[@remyrune5984]

I have 16 inch MSW 85 wheels in gun metal grey and 17 inch TSW indy 500s in chrome for mine. I like both. Quirks that my fahrenheit has are that she likes to open her sunroof on her own, sometimes when parked with no key in the ignition, and she blasts the bass on the radio if i hit the brakes too hard, which I guess was a common issue.

[@patkelly7999]

Good stuff Charles and Paul , well wear,fix first👌👍🙏😎

[@3guysgarage]

I’m excited for these builds… it reminds me of my current daily driver soortwagen which has a million issues 😂😂

[@justinmilam545]

This car has more issues than most junkyard cars. I have a 2006 MKV GTI Autobahn Edition in near perfect condition, It has been an extremely reliable car over the years! You definitely have your hands full just trying to get this thing back to stock condition but we all know you can do it. Hopefully they paid you to take it. I love my factory Detroit wheels (machined not painted), I think they are a must for an MKV if you want more of a factory sleeper look.

[@lukasuz]

I would fix it and leave the original state, but I would add power! How about adding a compressor for lower revs and a bigger turbo for a higher rev spectrum. Not so long ago, Škoda Auto had it on the Fabia 1.4 TSI twin charger with 7speed DSG. And the car was fun. I think this might be a challenge for you ;)

[@cajunspike]

There is a Mk5 GTI with plaid cloth seats and 145k miles in my driveway as I type. I do the maintenace as it is needed. Headliner and brown headlights biggest issue at the moment.

[@dallasvanwyk]

Deboss flavored, keep it up 👌

[@oldkid6]

Watching this was brutal, but hey, at least you have a content car for next year or more.

[@91rss]

couple of them at local upick my friend gets parts from. That Paul drove right by . the door switches go but amazon has em

[@stevejones224]

Radio issue is the cambus. Common in these and a adaptor can be bought quite cheap. Loved my mk5 golf but the electrical issues they have are ridiculous.

[@peterallison290]

Most fun car I've ever owned was a 2005 Mk5 GTi. Bought it new, was a 6spd manual (stick shift in your language) had it APR stage 1 'chipped'. From memory it put out about 180kw and over 400nm of torque. The thing was a rocket ship and so much fun. Sold it after 4yrs to raise some money for a house reno. About a decade later I bought a used Mk6 DSG, it was good but not as much fun as my chipped manual. I've recently driven a new GTi and they just don't feel the same at all. Kind of fake and disengaged. Such a shame.

[@josephmuniz9959]

Fix it first Charles, you’re a master of a VW and it needs your LOVE badly

[@mrBritneyamy]

An absolute stunning rim for the mk5 are the OZ Ultraleggera HLT. Looks amazing on the platform!

[@williambauer2170]

Charles, the Charleston wheels are some of the nicest wheels ever made for the MKV. I found a set for my old RS MKV, and drove 300 miles to get them. I don't have the car anymore, but I still own the wheels! You can probably get money for them!

[@HumbleMechanic]

I like the wheels! Especially if you have the proper wheel caps. Sadly these babies are SAD!!!!!

[@williambauer2170]

@@HumbleMechanic I mean.. IF YOU DON'T WANT 'EM....