Talk me out of a GTI

[Brady]

you mean their commercials where VWs get smashed while the guy is driving at 5mph and talking to 4 people?

Well, that's part of it. And you might think they're crazy, but I saw no fewer than a dozen articles discussing those "Safe Happens" ads. The ads generated a huge buzz, so even for people who thought the ads were "disturbing," they got some serious recognition. Impact creates awareness. Subaru could use a healthy dose of brand awareness.

 

They also do very well with print media. Really, they do well everywhere.

 

 

Volkswagen could put the Jetta in the Whitehouse if they wanted. They're that good.

[Brady]

oops!

[cobra commander]

Yeah what the hell was I thinking... The LGT is confirmed for this summer. This thread is what just changed my mind.. And the fact that my speech final was at a pizza parlor and I just had a few rounds of drinks...

[shiggins]

I bought a GTI back in '00.....I still own and drive it. I bought a '06 LGT.....I love to drive it. When I got my LGT in Sept of '05, I was very, very seriously considering holding out for the new GTI. After studying the facts, I decided the LGT was gonna be the car to choose.

 

After having owned a 98 Jetta GLX and my current 00 GTI, I can say stick to the LGT. Sure I loved my VW's, and at the time there wasn't anything else I wanted more (the GTI came pre WRX by a few months). The VW's are great cars, fun to drive, full of utility (FOLD DOWN REAR SEATS YOU SUBARU ENGINEERING DORKS), and drivetrain-wise 100% reliable. With that said, the electronic side was a nightmare.....failed coil packs, failed mass airflow sensors, failed coolant sensors, failed window switches, failed power window regulators, failed door pin switch, failed battery and so on. My GTI has also had the A/C compressor go bad ($750+) at about 65k, now has an airbag fault code, currently again has non-working A/C, and so on.

 

In other words, it's getting really hard to not want to drive the GTI off a bridge. Meanwhile, I only have 9 months on my LGT, but it's still had 0 warranty issues. I couldn't say that about either of the VW's. I still love VW's cars, but until they prove to me that they've solved all their reliabilty problems, I'll stay away.

 

VW puts all the little touches in their cars that makes it so sweet. I bought a $23K GTI that had rain sensing wipers, auto up and down (read this Subaru...it is possible with modern science) windows, and just general excellent interior materials quality. Subaru hasn't figured that all out yet. Plus I can haul a ton in the GTI with it's rear hatch and FOLDABLE rear seats. The Subie though just kicks ass with the fun to drive factor. For that reason alone, I'm so, so, so happy with the LGT. I look forward to driving it every chance I get. In other words, so far I'm far more happy with my LGT than with my GTI when new.....and I loved the GTI then. Once Stage II comes this summer, I have no doubt that it will further my love for the LGT.

 

P.S.

My dad has a 98 Jetta TDI with over 250k and hasn't had any problems outside of the warranty (I think he had a bad axle half shaft and turbo bearing in warranty). It's like a crapshoot with VW......get a good car, you smile, get a bad car......hello crazytime. There's a reason they're at the lower end of the spectrum with initial car reliability.

[AWD_Rules3830]

Yeah what the hell was I thinking... The LGT is confirmed for this summer. This thread is what just changed my mind.. And the fact that my speech final was at a pizza parlor and I just had a few rounds of drinks...

 

 

LGT.COM SAVES ANOTHER SOUL !!!! :icon_bigg:icon_bigg

 

praise the rally gods !!!!

[700watts]

YES SIRs we got one moe !!!!

[RabidMonk]

I say buy the GTI. That puts one more slow car on the road for the rest of us to pick on . . .

[BatChips107]

forget both.. buy an STI

[Spec B]

Fahrvergnugen....SIGH!

[aldouse]

the pleasure of having a beautiful unique car out on the streets is what keeps me driving my legacy everyday.... leave your car out in the parking lot and have a lot of auto enthusiasts walk by and try to figure out what kinda car it is with a heavy frustrated look on their faces is definitely worth the purchase. esp. when you compare it to a very COMMON v-dub.

 

get an 07 spec-b ftw!

[HansGT]

ah no. unless you can get an R32 which might be fun. But I'd rather have my GT.

[Underdog]

Cobra, I find myself in a very similar situation. I was debating the TDI (jetta for now as the rabbit ain't out yet) versus the LGT...

 

This may seem like a ridiculous pair to be competing but with the chip/injector/exhaust path, the tdi can put down some respectable #s and still get mid 40's gas mileage (comfort, quality, reliability aside ).

 

However, the MkV platform is already scheduled for replacement in 2008 (EU) and 2009 for the US due to high manufacturing costs. This will be the shortest platform life for a VW and you can expect aftermarket and dealer support to be scaled down appropriately.

 

Plus the leggy looks so damned good and is still rare enough for people to wonder what it is. You'll never hear that in a gti...

[Max Rebo]

Farfignugen....sigh

That's Fahrvergnugen.

 

I've owned two Mk4 VWs... a '99.5 GTI VR6 and an '06 R32. Both were great cars. However, they can nickel and dime you to death. Good thing for warranties. Many of the common problems have been worked out (i.e, window regulators, ignition coils, MAF). The interiors are generally great, but I'd say QC is spotty. My GTI didn't rattle all that much while my R32 had one or two annoying ones. I also had front and rear braces in my GTI, so those may have helped.

 

As far as being FWD... in CA it doesn't make much of a difference. If you like to auto-x or road race, then yeah, it'll make a difference. Otherwise, it's moot.

 

Someone mentioned that the R32's ride quality was not good. That's subjective. It is quite good, with the US-spec setup, albeit underdamped. With the Euro-OEM setup, it's fantastic. OTOH, my specB is a bit soft, which is why I'll eventually have STi pinks installed.

 

I'd say the real difference is whether one wants/needs AWD, especially in CA. Also, consider modifications. You'll get more out of the LGT, but the GTI is no slouch, either... nevermind the AWD.

 

I've had good and bad dealership experiences, too. There are two in my area -- I hate one (as of recently) and love the other. It is a shame that finding a good service department is such hard work. It could happen with any brand, though.

 

I'm hooked on the 2.5 turbo now, though, so I'll be drooling over a Stage 1 AP until I can actually buy it.

 

My 2¢.

[NYtoVT]

You can also look up the Consumer Reports for:

reliability,

mechanical and

electrical faults on the whole VW line.

 

You won't find any on the Subarus (minus the pre 2002 Forester).

[whitetiger]

AWD>FWD end of story

[MarcusDubya77]

VW not known for great reliability...

[SWP-LegacyGT]

My 2 cents...

 

Either get the GT or wait for the R36 which is basically an AWD GTI with the 3.2L engine w/ a turbo.

[Max Rebo]

My 2 cents...

 

Either get the GT or wait for the R36 which is basically an AWD GTI with the 3.2L engine w/ a turbo.

 

If the R36 made it here, the engine would probably still be NA. So far, a future R3x is just a rumor.

[Tommyh]

Even if they have issues why do people still buy them? It's like knowingly buying American.

 

...Wait, I don't get it. You bought an American car.

[NeedMoreBoost]

DON'T BUY IT, VW RELIABILITY SUCKS

 

I had a 95 GTI with the VR6 engine. My first car I ever bought. I absolutely loved the damn thing, black on black, fully loaded. It could be because I was coming from a 85 Toyota Corolla hatch back hand-me-down but thats besides the point.

 

I bought it used with 40,000 miles and babied the damn thing. By the time it reached 65,000, EVERYTHING started breaking and falling apart. The parts are expensive too. I sat down and went through repair receipts and figured out that I could've bought the car twice..literally.

 

Thats why I bought a Legacy, repairs started being more expensive than my payments. Once you go Jap, you neva go back!

 

 

My friend had a 96 GTI and had identical problems with his. The only reliable VW I've dealt with is my mothers Passat but that one was made in deutschland.

 

How many VWs do you see with taillights and headlights out?

[lilycat]

DON'T BUY IT, VW RELIABILITY SUCKS

 

The only reliable VW I've dealt with is my mothers Passat but that one was made in deutschland.

 

Trust me, our passat was a pos and it was made in the deutschland. That does not a difference make.

 

I will not list the probs...you can find them all over the internet. Just know, it was bad, very bad.

 

Like most, I loved that car for many reasons. It was little things. Most ex-dub owners have these strange, unreasonable feelings of nostalgia. Yet, if you ask, you'll start a thread like this one.

 

In reality, most ex-dub owners hated the type of problems the cars had and were puzzled by how crappy they turned out to be. Then, ask about the service dpt. and you'll really get them sad.

 

Lovin' my LGT so far.

[SWP-LegacyGT]

If the R36 made it here, the engine would probably still be NA. So far, a future R3x is just a rumor.

doubt it, VW would lose some market. There's guys who have done R34-36 revisions to their 32's. It's entirely possible that VW will bring it here.

[Euclid]

The main reliability issues with VW's of the past years have been electrical problems. With the new VW's (golf/jetta/passat) VW has said it has gone with new suppliers for the electrical components. They are in fact using the same company Toyota uses. The new cars are still too new to really make any judgement on reliability.

 

 

As for the R36 according this article The main reliability issues with VW's of the past 5-6 years have been electrical problems. With the new VW's (golf/jetta/passat) VW has said it has gone with new suppliers for the electrical components. They are in fact using the same company Toyota uses. The new cars are still too new to really make any judgement on reliability.

 

 

As for the R36 according this articlehttp://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2463254 VW is having problems fitting the 3.6L engine with a beefed up DSG tranny into the engine bay. So who knows, we may just be getting an R32.

 

Personally if we get a 4 door dsg R32 I'll be buying one as my wifes new car, if not then she wants a white 4 door GTI.

[Max Rebo]

Yeah.. a 4-door R-car would have been fantastic. I don't know what I'll do if they bring one over in the near future. Until then, I'll play with my specB. If the next one is just another R32, then there's no reason for me to switch back yet.

[Brady]

The main reliability issues with VW's of the past years have been electrical problems. With the new VW's (golf/jetta/passat) VW has said it has gone with new suppliers for the electrical components. They are in fact using the same company Toyota uses. The new cars are still too new to really make any judgement on reliability.

All they're doing is passing the blame on former reliability issues to win over new sales. They've done this FOREVER! They've been building crap cars since the early/mid '90s. How many times have I heard from Volkswagen "we've fixed that problem on the new lineup!"? Too many. How do you explain over a decade of reliability issues spanning all models and consistently ranking near the bottom of most industry quality/reliability ratings?

 

I give no exception to Volkswagen. They sell cars through marketing and image. If they built cars half as good as they marketed them and that performed as good as they looked, I would have no problem recommending one to anybody. They just don't measure up though. I'd love to see them turn it all around, but I've been waiting nearly 10 years to see this happen.