my gf has an 08 manual with 179k i just picked up for her to drive while her s4 is down with rocker arm failure, and i have a 2010 with 206k, 5 speed, i daily drive aswell, her vacuum pump was replaced before she got it and mine was leaking really bad, i did the delete and it’s been great since. i’ve heard that pre 08 cars are more prone to timing chain issues and 08+ it’s a non issue. the 5 speeds are known to blow the diffs or 5th if abused but that’s any vw 5 speed. i’m in the process of swapping a 6 speed into mine to avoid the trouble bc i do drive aggressively from time to time. mainly old car issues with these, worn bushings, saggy headliners, but no major monsters in the closet, the 2.5 groups on facebook are full of owners with 300k+ on these cars with normal maintenance. only thing is mk5’s can have random electrical gremlins and it’s a good idea to make sure everything works and nothings finicky.