A few seconds of chain rattle on a cold start, later a permanent noise; the chain stretches and the tensioner does not hold it. If the chain jumps, the engine is badly damaged inside, and the repair is a rebuild. The tensioner is driven by oil pressure, so it does not hold with the engine stopped: a car left rolling in gear is the typical trigger for the chain jumping.

The light, magnesium cased MQ200 and the MQ250, sized for higher torque, are the most widespread manual gearboxes in the transverse engine VAG models. Both have the same two weak points, and both depend on use.

With direct injection the fuel does not wash the intake valves: the petrol goes into the cylinder, not behind the valve. The oil mist and soot arriving through the EGR and the crankcase ventilation therefore build up on the valve stem and head, and from 80,000 to 100,000 km they restrict the flow. Symptoms are hesitation, loss of power, a rough cold start and misfire. It is not a part failure: it is a consequence of the design, and therefore it comes back. Cleaning (walnut or dry ice blasting) helps for a few tens of thousands of kilometres.

Water gets in through the sunroof drains, the door seals or the window guides, and collects on the floor and in the sill. The water also ruins the wiring and the control units in the floor, which leads to hesitant starting and an alarm going off on its own. With a fault like this, lift the carpet first, because the water is under it.

Pixels drop out on the central display of the instrument cluster, where you read the trip computer: the text fades, the backlight becomes erratic, at first one or two dots are missing, and later whole lines are unreadable. This is where the service interval, the outside temperature and the warnings appear, and if a warning is unreadable you will not notice it. The instrument cluster can be refurbished, and a new one is not always needed.

On the 8P the rubber bushes in the front lower control arms wear out: the steering goes vague, you hear a knock on uneven roads, and the tyre edges wear unevenly. It often shows up around 60,000 to 80,000 miles, which is roughly 95,000 to 130,000 km. On front wheel drive cars the rear suspension bushes wear too, it then rattles, and the back of the car follows the front uncertainly. One part on its own is not expensive, but when they all need replacing together the suspension repair costs more. You can hear it on the test drive and see it in the tyre wear.

The central locking control unit takes in moisture over the years, and from then on it is unpredictable: the doors do not lock together, the remote sometimes does not respond, and the alarm goes off for no reason. A door that stays open is a problem in a car park, and an alarm that goes off on its own can flatten the battery.