2016+ Golf R Buying Advice

We are about to move back to the States and the missus wants to get a Golf R. We test drove a 2019 the last time we were home and we both fell in love with it. We would like to stay below $30k and there are plenty of options in that price point. I've searched the interwebs and didn't run across that many horror stories pertaining to these models. Should I be afraid of cars with 50-60k miles? We are looking at only six-speed cars as neither of us are fans of an auto. 

Are there any particular weak points I should look at? 

the clutch is a huge weak point, it doesn't hold much more than stock power levels

Haven't had any issues with my clutch.  Will it hold 400awhp?  Nope, but it'll hold over stock power just fine.

Not a whole lot of issues with these, check to see if the thermostat housing has been replaced and the haldex fluid changed out with cars of that mileage.  Other than that, they're solid.

docwyte said:

Haven't had any issues with my clutch.  Will it hold 400awhp?  Nope, but it'll hold over stock power just fine.

Still something to watch out for, especially if the OP is buying a used car that was previously tuned or one with higher miles.

While there are people who've been ok with the stock clutch, it still is a weak point. Seen plenty of posts online about stock power mk7s slipping and my own experience with my mk6 gti's clutch that started slipping at less than 2000 miles post tune with 21,000 miles on it and I specifically got a lower output torque tune. 

Look up Humblemechanic’s posts about his R on the Tube of You’s.  Pretty informative info there.  Hope I am allowed to give that reference in this forum, and do know that I have no affiliation with him what so ever.  Just dig the VW (and now Miata) info that he puts out.

aw614 said:

docwyte said:

Haven't had any issues with my clutch.  Will it hold 400awhp?  Nope, but it'll hold over stock power just fine.

Still something to watch out for, especially if the OP is buying a used car that was previously tuned or one with higher miles.

While there are people who've been ok with the stock clutch, it still is a weak point. Seen plenty of posts online about stock power mk7s slipping and my own experience with my mk6 gti's clutch that started slipping at less than 2000 miles post tune with 21,000 miles on it and I specifically got a lower output torque tune. 

My friend Paul’s R has an APR tune in it, and his stock R clutch is holding up fine 25k miles in.  Might be a different stock clutch in a R vs. a GTI.

In reply to aw614 :

Will the clutch last 100k miles?  Probably not, it definitely isn't as overbuilt as the older VW clutches it seems.  However its not made of glass and will hold more than stock power.  It won't hold Stage 2 power tho, as that can be close to 400awhp depending on the tune.

On any used car the clutch is suspect, it might be a good idea just to budget a replacement.  My plan is to use the Southbend Stage 3 Daily setup when my stock clutch goes, which is a great clutch, just $$$ to buy.

In reply to docwyte :

Yes I agree the stock clutches can last with stock power, but when I see well known posters on other forums have their stock MK7R have a clutch go at 12k miles and several other posts online, along  friends locally with MK7s and MK6s mirroring my mk6 experience with moderate power increase have a slipping clutch, I still think the clutch is a weak point to be warned about. And yes I think it is made of glass. 

Maybe it can hold up todaily driving, but I do not see it holding up anything outside of that. 

einy (Forum Supporter) said:

aw614 said:

docwyte said:

Haven't had any issues with my clutch.  Will it hold 400awhp?  Nope, but it'll hold over stock power just fine.

Still something to watch out for, especially if the OP is buying a used car that was previously tuned or one with higher miles.

While there are people who've been ok with the stock clutch, it still is a weak point. Seen plenty of posts online about stock power mk7s slipping and my own experience with my mk6 gti's clutch that started slipping at less than 2000 miles post tune with 21,000 miles on it and I specifically got a lower output torque tune. 

My friend Paul’s R has an APR tune in it, and his stock R clutch is holding up fine 25k miles in.  Might be a different stock clutch in a R vs. a GTI.

Supposedly it is the same clutch on the mk7 R and GTI.

aw614 said:

In reply to docwyte :

Yes I agree the stock clutches can last with stock power, but when I see well known posters on other forums have their stock MK7R have a clutch go at 12k miles and several other posts online, along  friends locally with MK7s and MK6s mirroring my mk6 experience with moderate power increase have a slipping clutch, I still think the clutch is a weak point to be warned about. And yes I think it is made of glass. 

Maybe it can hold up todaily driving, but I do not see it holding up anything outside of that. 

I'm at 8700 miles now, I'll see what happens as far as clutch life.  It's my DD, not a track car, drag car.  I'm not launching this thing, so I bet the clutch lasts awhile.

if it does start slipping I'll install a southbend stage 3 daily setup and finally tune this thing to stage 2 level 

aw614 said:

Seen plenty of posts online about stock power mk7s slipping and my own experience with my mk6 gti's clutch that started slipping at less than 2000 miles post tune with 21,000 miles on it and I specifically got a lower output torque tune. 

Unrelated example: My stage 2 (probably around 350hp at the crank), driven-hard WRX's transmission was problem free for the 180k miles I owned it, and my stock clutch still had a ton of life left when I switched it out at like 120k. Meanwhile, I hear dudes with the EXACT same car, with lower tunes, going through clutches every 30k miles and breaking transmissions, and they post CONSTANTLY on all the forums about it until the "common knowledge" is that Subaru transmissions are "made of glass" and the clutches suck, just because of a handful of loudmouths and all the morons who repeat "what they read on the internet" over and over as if they experienced it personally. 

Since the Golf R/GTI crowd is pretty much the same demographic as the WRX crowd, I have a tendency to take all the "I heard these cars......" posts with a grain of salt. Let's face it, half the people buying hot hatches are morons who don't know how to drive (or use a clutch?) correctly. 

FWIW, my Mk7 GTi with 25k miles, which I drive HARD, has never had any clutch slip issues. And (internet story) I have several friends with tuned GTIs and Golf Rs who also have had no issues with the stock clutch.

Putting all that aside.....

A stock clutch slipping when a car is substantially increased in power is not a "weak point" any more than a car on stock all-season tires not having traction when you add a bunch of power is a "weak point." If you're going up in power on much any car, you need to also make the relevant upgrades to other things...brakes, tires, clutch, whatever. 

einy (Forum Supporter) said:

Look up Humblemechanic’s posts about his R on the Tube of You’s.  Pretty informative info there.  Hope I am allowed to give that reference in this forum, and do know that I have no affiliation with him what so ever.  Just dig the VW (and now Miata) info that he puts out.

I'd like to second this. Humblemechanic knows his way around Volkswagens in general. It just so happens that he also owns a mk7 R.

Agree with irish44j, just a tune on these makes silly power over stock.  Slap a downpipe on and a stage 2 tune and you've got over 400ft lbs and 400hp.

stock clutch isn't designed for that power level