I love this car. I cruze the forums. I can not decide if it's long term reliable?? What about new 2.0 TSI motor and valve build up. Is it safe to buy VW again.?? I loved my old passat but it killed me with repair.
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VW GTI Safe to buy yet?
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vw is still very expensive to fix and needs fixing a lot
A new one is coming out for the 2014 model year....if you can wait that long.
The TSI has an updated PCV system, and is supposed to have reduced intake valve deposits over the older 2.0 FSI. Keep in mind it is a German car (made in Wolfsburg.) They're well built, fun to drive, but require more maintenance than other cars. If you buy a German car knowing that, you'll be happier than you would if you were expecting it to behave like a Toyota. If you get 4-motion (I would), remember to ask for the Haldex fluid service, quite often the dealership service department will not do that unless the customer requests it.
Threads like this scare me
http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151350
I am spending am keeping my true automotive love. Rock solid dependable 200K No junk on it no cylinder deactivation old school pushrod 9mpg heavily modded gas pig
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Fast little city car with a nice 6 speed would be a nice change of pace. I tried to find love for a civic si. I just couldn't find it.
http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151350
I am spending am keeping my true automotive love. Rock solid dependable 200K No junk on it no cylinder deactivation old school pushrod 9mpg heavily modded gas pig
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Fast little city car with a nice 6 speed would be a nice change of pace. I tried to find love for a civic si. I just couldn't find it.
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Their dsg gearbox is pure rubbish
Originally Posted By: kr_bitog
Their dsg gearbox is pure rubbish
Please relate the personal experience that leads you to say this.
Their dsg gearbox is pure rubbish
Please relate the personal experience that leads you to say this.
I am not the person who want to throw my money for unrealiable car, but if you google you can see the issue with dsg failure (some are just weeks from show room, less than 10k especially if you have speed bump/hump in your area) you will get enough complaints from the whole Asia, China and Europe.
If you live in cold climate and has no speed hump on your road, you may be luckier, but if you live on tropical climate and everyday you hit at least 20 speed hump everywhere you want to park, just pray hard that the VW keep changing your gearbox during warranty period.
If you live in cold climate and has no speed hump on your road, you may be luckier, but if you live on tropical climate and everyday you hit at least 20 speed hump everywhere you want to park, just pray hard that the VW keep changing your gearbox during warranty period.
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You don't buy a GTI and get an automatic. The best part about the car is how butter smooth the shifter and clutch are. It also has a nice hill hold if that is a concern for you.
I had a rental CC with the 2.0TSI/DSG combo and it was the worst powertrain I have ever driven. The turbo lag from the engine is terrible, and couple that with the DSG slamming into gear to downshift right before the turbo spools up, and you have one jerky powertrain.
I had a rental CC with the 2.0TSI/DSG combo and it was the worst powertrain I have ever driven. The turbo lag from the engine is terrible, and couple that with the DSG slamming into gear to downshift right before the turbo spools up, and you have one jerky powertrain.
Agree with dish. Having driven a GTI with DSG, I wasn't impressed. I'd take the manual version any day.
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Having driven a GTI with DSG, I wasn't impressed.
This has also been my experience. A Fahrenheit GTI was much lamer to drive than a base-model GTI what came with a manual transmission. Shame they saddled such a hot car with an awesome paint job with such a downer transmission.
DSG DMF failures and mechatronic unit failures are notorious. Manual transmissions still have some DMF issues but at least they don't need a $600 service every 40k miles (still $150 in supplies to DIY plus a $100-$200 SST and VCDS {$350) one-time costs).
Having driven a GTI with DSG, I wasn't impressed.
This has also been my experience. A Fahrenheit GTI was much lamer to drive than a base-model GTI what came with a manual transmission. Shame they saddled such a hot car with an awesome paint job with such a downer transmission.
DSG DMF failures and mechatronic unit failures are notorious. Manual transmissions still have some DMF issues but at least they don't need a $600 service every 40k miles (still $150 in supplies to DIY plus a $100-$200 SST and VCDS {$350) one-time costs).
if you loved the repair experience with your passat then enjoy a similar experience down the road with your next vw.
the only one i would ever buy is an ALH TDI vintage whatever, even then good luck finding one for 5 grand and less than 150k miles.
the only one i would ever buy is an ALH TDI vintage whatever, even then good luck finding one for 5 grand and less than 150k miles.
Originally Posted By: kr_bitog
I am not the person who want to throw my money for unrealiable car, but if you google you can see the issue with dsg failure (some are just weeks from show room, less than 10k especially if you have speed bump/hump in your area) you will get enough complaints from the whole Asia, China and Europe.
If you live in cold climate and has no speed hump on your road, you may be luckier, but if you live on tropical climate and everyday you hit at least 20 speed hump everywhere you want to park, just pray hard that the VW keep changing your gearbox during warranty period.
Got it, no personal experience... just internet fear mongering.
I am not the person who want to throw my money for unrealiable car, but if you google you can see the issue with dsg failure (some are just weeks from show room, less than 10k especially if you have speed bump/hump in your area) you will get enough complaints from the whole Asia, China and Europe.
If you live in cold climate and has no speed hump on your road, you may be luckier, but if you live on tropical climate and everyday you hit at least 20 speed hump everywhere you want to park, just pray hard that the VW keep changing your gearbox during warranty period.
Got it, no personal experience... just internet fear mongering.
I bought a 2010 GTI in October of '09, and it was the second MKVI GTI my local dealership pulled off a truck. I didn't buy the first one because I didn't want leather or nav and I wanted the third pedal. I basically wanted the plaid seats with every other option (minus nav).
As of this second, I'm just shy of 56k miles. All the issues I had with my car occurred in the first 10k miles. It was mostly just loose bolts that needed to be adjusted and basic new car teething issues. The only major issue I've experienced was a nasty electrical short that had the car in the shop for about two weeks. But since then, it's been trouble free (knock on wood).
I've stuck to the 10k OCI and have taken the car to the dealership for servicing each time. I've done all the maintenance myself on every other vehicle I've owned, but thought I'd see if I noticed a difference in how the car aged by paying extra for a dealership technician to do the inspections. So far so good.
I don't really get the statement that these cars are more maintenance intensive than anything else on the road. This has been the lowest maintenance car I've ever owned (clearly DSG owners might claim otherwise). Even Toyota wants you to bring a Camry in for servicing every 5k miles, VW only asks that you stop by every 10k.
The only long term issues I'm worried about would be the rumored (and very rare) timing chain tensioner failures, water pump failures, and direct injection related carbon buildups (which I'm told aren't nearly as bad as they were on previous 2.0T engines). So I intend to have the water pump and a variety of timing chain parts replaced at 100k just to be sure.
Otherwise, what is there to worry about?
As of this second, I'm just shy of 56k miles. All the issues I had with my car occurred in the first 10k miles. It was mostly just loose bolts that needed to be adjusted and basic new car teething issues. The only major issue I've experienced was a nasty electrical short that had the car in the shop for about two weeks. But since then, it's been trouble free (knock on wood).
I've stuck to the 10k OCI and have taken the car to the dealership for servicing each time. I've done all the maintenance myself on every other vehicle I've owned, but thought I'd see if I noticed a difference in how the car aged by paying extra for a dealership technician to do the inspections. So far so good.
I don't really get the statement that these cars are more maintenance intensive than anything else on the road. This has been the lowest maintenance car I've ever owned (clearly DSG owners might claim otherwise). Even Toyota wants you to bring a Camry in for servicing every 5k miles, VW only asks that you stop by every 10k.
The only long term issues I'm worried about would be the rumored (and very rare) timing chain tensioner failures, water pump failures, and direct injection related carbon buildups (which I'm told aren't nearly as bad as they were on previous 2.0T engines). So I intend to have the water pump and a variety of timing chain parts replaced at 100k just to be sure.
Otherwise, what is there to worry about?
Consider yourself lucky I guess.
My friend was doing 10K OCI's on his base Golf and wondered why his oil pressure light flickered after a while. Only to find out the dipstick was bone dry when pulled. Probably had a quart in it. He has had other issues with the car as well.
They are not all made equal.
My friend was doing 10K OCI's on his base Golf and wondered why his oil pressure light flickered after a while. Only to find out the dipstick was bone dry when pulled. Probably had a quart in it. He has had other issues with the car as well.
They are not all made equal.
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Consider yourself lucky I guess.
My friend was doing 10K OCI's on his base Golf and wondered why his oil pressure light flickered after a while. Only to find out the dipstick was bone dry when pulled. Probably had a quart in it. He has had other issues with the car as well.
They are not all made equal.
Am I lucky or is your friend unlucky?
Just because the car's maintenance schedule has the OCI at 10k doesn't mean you shouldn't keep an eye on it anyway.
Consider yourself lucky I guess.
My friend was doing 10K OCI's on his base Golf and wondered why his oil pressure light flickered after a while. Only to find out the dipstick was bone dry when pulled. Probably had a quart in it. He has had other issues with the car as well.
They are not all made equal.
Am I lucky or is your friend unlucky?
Just because the car's maintenance schedule has the OCI at 10k doesn't mean you shouldn't keep an eye on it anyway.
vw is usually trouble.
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Consider yourself lucky I guess.
My friend was doing 10K OCI's on his base Golf and wondered why his oil pressure light flickered after a while. Only to find out the dipstick was bone dry when pulled. Probably had a quart in it. He has had other issues with the car as well.
They are not all made equal.
Seeing your from Canada, wat kind of base Golf was it? I'm almost certain it is the "City" version with the primitive 2.0 engine with 4 clyinders. These are cheap, Mexican built cars of reasonably poor quality.
The 5 cyl version is far superior in design and build. It's the only VW I'd ever purchase (with a 5 speed manual trans. of course). They are built in Germany and have quality and fit and finish levels comparable to many BMW/Audi etc/ cars.
I once upon a time swore off VW's too, but after reading several pages of positive reviews, it's kinda hard to ignore the rabbit/Golf now
Here's some info to support the VW choice;
http://www.edmunds.com/volkswagen/rabbit/2008/consumer-reviews.html?sub=hatchback
http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/volkswagen/rabbit/2008/single-page/
Consider yourself lucky I guess.
My friend was doing 10K OCI's on his base Golf and wondered why his oil pressure light flickered after a while. Only to find out the dipstick was bone dry when pulled. Probably had a quart in it. He has had other issues with the car as well.
They are not all made equal.
Seeing your from Canada, wat kind of base Golf was it? I'm almost certain it is the "City" version with the primitive 2.0 engine with 4 clyinders. These are cheap, Mexican built cars of reasonably poor quality.
The 5 cyl version is far superior in design and build. It's the only VW I'd ever purchase (with a 5 speed manual trans. of course). They are built in Germany and have quality and fit and finish levels comparable to many BMW/Audi etc/ cars.
I once upon a time swore off VW's too, but after reading several pages of positive reviews, it's kinda hard to ignore the rabbit/Golf now
Here's some info to support the VW choice;
http://www.edmunds.com/volkswagen/rabbit/2008/consumer-reviews.html?sub=hatchback
http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/volkswagen/rabbit/2008/single-page/
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I'm glad to see the cupholders are now built into the center console rather than the dash like VW used to do. Those cupholders in the dashes were cool when the car was new but not when the springs and little levers broke after the first year of ownership.
We have a 1999 VW Jetta as a junker and it has MAJOR electrical issues that we don't believe can be fixed without ripping the car apart. It drove fantastic when new but they are high maintenance cars IMHO. IMHO you buy a VW because you love German cars and engineering and they way they drive. If you simply want reliable and few problems and maintenance costs go with a Japanese or Korean car.
And I'm not a VW hater by any means, I considered a GTI as well when car shopping but if you plan on driving the car into the ground VWs can get expensive.
We have a 1999 VW Jetta as a junker and it has MAJOR electrical issues that we don't believe can be fixed without ripping the car apart. It drove fantastic when new but they are high maintenance cars IMHO. IMHO you buy a VW because you love German cars and engineering and they way they drive. If you simply want reliable and few problems and maintenance costs go with a Japanese or Korean car.
And I'm not a VW hater by any means, I considered a GTI as well when car shopping but if you plan on driving the car into the ground VWs can get expensive.
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Originally Posted By: Stanley Rockafeller
The 5 cyl version is far superior in design and build. It's the only VW I'd ever purchase (with a 5 speed manual trans. of course). They are built in Germany and have quality and fit and finish levels comparable to many BMW/Audi etc/ cars.
The 5cyl itself is built in Mexico.
TDI is built in Poland.
I believe the turbo 4 and VR6 are still built in Germany.
The 5 cyl version is far superior in design and build. It's the only VW I'd ever purchase (with a 5 speed manual trans. of course). They are built in Germany and have quality and fit and finish levels comparable to many BMW/Audi etc/ cars.
The 5cyl itself is built in Mexico.
TDI is built in Poland.
I believe the turbo 4 and VR6 are still built in Germany.
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