Hello all, I thought of penning down my experience of buying a used Polo GT TSI and getting our members support with some of the questions I have. So here it goes
The Initial Drill
I’ve always wanted a hot hatch and given the fact that my annual driving range is mostly around 5k kms, I’ve never had the urge to prioritise mileage. So, to me, these are the pointers which make the perfect hot hatch:
- Subtle understated looks - I prefer the subtle looks than the loud ones, I’m more of a sleeper looks kind of person
- Definitely 100+ BHP
- Sturdy and stiff chassis - good body control and dynamics
- A steering tuned towards feedback and not comforts - Would love HPS but given the fact there are literally 0 options in this segment, I am happy with a well calibrated and weighted EPS as well.
Now the fun part starts: (Or the annoying part as some of my friends and family calls it

)
- Petrol - I enjoy the power band more than the torque band. So for my driving style and likings, I prefer petrol
- It should be a 4 pot - I just have this feel that no matter how well balanced a 3 pot is, it simply cannot beat the smoothness of a 4 pot
- Should age well, I prefer having the car for as long as possible because it is really difficult for me to part form it after developing that bond and millions of happy moments
- Good upgradability and after-market support.
With these points in mind and an inherent need to satisfy my OCDs, the only car which seemed to fit my bill was the Polo. Not just any Polo, but the one and only
Polo 1.2 GT TSI. I would’ve loved it if it had a manual but the DSG is no slouch - gear shifts in under 10ms! The level of engineering behind it is just amazing.
The Hunt
I was quite disappointed with the final facelift where they replaced the 4 pot with a 3 pot and the DSG with a TC.
So I started looking into the used car market and for years I could not find the right one. Either the car was too beaten up

or the price was over and beyond my reach.
Finally, I hit the jackpot! I found this listing of a white Polo GT TSI 2015 model which had done around 50K kms in Chennai for a real steal price of 4L!
Initially, I was a little skeptical about the price and also since it had done about 50K kms, I thought a list of major expenses might be lurking in the corner. But I decided to have an open mind and went ahead for a test drive.
Oh boy, the car was buttery smooth and that mid-range acceleration literally swept me off my feet. The way the car steered around corners and the nice weighted steering
(still miss the HPS of Fords though) was just outstanding. The previous owner had made some good mods as well - it was running on upsized 195/55 R15 tyres and also had eagle eyes dual projectors. There weren’t any major issues with the body work, just some minor scratches here and there, nothing that we cannot live with and there were no jerks in D2-D3-D4 as well!
I just couldn’t say “no” to the deal. The price of the car was such that I can still shell out money for any future expenses - even if it meant changing the clutch, adding 1.5L to the price still made it look like a good deal. I might be a little biased here because I was overly excited

. So I bit the bullet and went for it.
The Initial Days
I immediately ordered a VCDS cable from vxdas and it got delivered in about 3 weeks. I made a note of all the important measuring block values from an internet search and a TBHP forum search and started scanning the car
No major error codes, just a couple on the radio antenna and the rear defogger and all vital MVBs seemed to be within normal range.
I even checked the clutch wear using the method posted in
this (VW DSG: How to check the DQ200's clutch wear) thread and I had about 4mm to 5mm clutch material, which I believe would last for another 10k kms at least (fingers crossed).
I believe that whenever we buy a used car, using the car as-is for about a week or so, noting down all the things which you might want to get fixed and then taking it to the service station would yield better results as you have the chance to get all your pointers discussed and fixed at once
So I drove the car up and down to my office which is on OMR,Chennai and made note of all the knicks and knacks which might need addressing.
After jotting down all my observations, I was super happy that there wasn't much, except for minor things like changing the wiper blades and doing an over all thorough inspection and periodic service
One thing which I noticed and wanted to inquire about was the engine noise, to me was quite loud. Hailing from a fleet of port injected and NA engines, I found the TSI engine to be quite audible when you are standing outside. My other drive which is a K12 swift is almost whisper quiet even when I’m right next to the bonnet.
I went to the VW service station located on OMR and asked them to do a thorough inspection and address my pointers as well.
The service station did the 7th year annual service and also mentioned that TSI engines, being direct injected are loud and that this is normal.
Post service, the car felt smoother and I was happy and super excited with it. I've been using it for almost a month now and have done about 1000 kms. So far, I genuinely love the car.
Smitten forever
I believe in the saying,
"We should never meet our heroes", it made absolute sense to me because we usually have unrealistic opinions about them and when we see the reality, it might mar the expectations we have built in our heads. To me, this has been true for cars as well. I read the reviews and look at the spec sheet and fantasise about how great the car would feel to drive, so much so that when I finally do get a chance to drive it, I realise that the reality is a lot different than what I had built up in my mind.
But this car was not the same. It genuinely exceeded my expectations and I started loving it even more, which I believed was just not possible. Now I look forward to many more exciting drives and thrilling upgrades!
I never trust love at first sight, but my car proved me wrong

I have a few questions and doubts and I need our members' help with it.
- I am not quite satisfied with the service they offered at VW-OMR,Chennai. They just do not seem to understand the meaning of preventive maintenance. When I inquired about the spark plugs and timing chain tensioner and other preventive maintenance, which I believe is a really good thing to do especially when you buy a used car, they kept brushing it aside not even trying to explain why it is not needed now without checking the condition of it. According to them, it’s not given in their periodic maintenance sheet and so it is not needed.
Also they are a lot more expensive than Maruti's. It's expected, but for the premium price we pay, I expected good qualified technicians who understand good preventive maintenance and educate the customers as well.
[Q] So are there any good FNGs in and around OMR Chennai who specialise in VW cars? I have read good reviews about Ignite ECR, but have not been there personally. Any other places or more info about Ignite would be helpful.
- I really want the engine under guard to be fitted. I don’t want any debris to hit the mech unit or the oil pan and drill a deep hole in my pocket. But I find the 8-10k price for that plastic guard a bit on the higher side.
[Q] So are there any alternatives or any place where I can source a used one? - I also want a pair of OE Dual barrel headlights because the eagle eyes are not that great with light output and I’m also a sucker for the OE looks

[Q] Is there any good place where I can source one for a discounted price? A good pair of used ones will also suffice my case here. - At times the engine takes some 3 to 4 seconds to start up, this is not during morning cold starts, its random and happens mostly when the car is shut off for a couple of hours after a drive and then when I try to start again, I checked the rail pressure thinking that it could be because of the HPFP or the LPFP but no luck there, LPFP fuel pressure sits around 3 to 4 bar during idle and HPFP rail pressure sits around 65 to 70 bar which I think is normal for EA111
[Q] Could this be because of a bad fuel filter? I missed changing the filter in the recent service routine
- [Q] Is there any oil change interval for the DQ200? Some say it is required every 60k kms whereas I have also read threads and articles about this being a dry unit and the oil is sealed for life.
Your help with the above questions would help me a lot.
Thanks for reading.