So what years were VW's OK?

tuna55 wrote: So like this? http://hickory.craigslist.org/cto/4706156471.html

Looks sweet. I don't think you are going to find many civic SIs, focus SVTs, SERs, CRXs, 323s, etc that nice for that asking price. It is quite a bit older than a focus SVT though.

Eh, my Evo whinings made me realize, I can buy like TWO twin turbo S4s for what an Evo VIII will cost. Buy them AND bring the maintenance up to date. And they made S4s in wagon form. And the insurance probably won't run me $450/month.

That is if I can't find a Passat W8 wagon, which is a giant ball of fun in my opinion. It's a Passat that makes small V8 sounds, and it has S4 suspension and brakes!

rcutclif wrote:

tuna55 wrote: So like this? http://hickory.craigslist.org/cto/4706156471.html

Looks sweet. I don't think you are going to find many civic SIs, focus SVTs, SERs, CRXs, 323s, etc that nice for that asking price. It is quite a bit older than a focus SVT though.

It's cheap, I'll give it that. And those can be fun to drive. Otherwise, my warnings about German cars stands.

Knurled wrote: That is if I can't find a Passat W8 wagon, which is a giant ball of fun in my opinion. It's a Passat that makes small V8 sounds, and it has S4 suspension and brakes!

There is one for sale locally that no one will touch. The stanced out, um, stance and implied other idiocy within might have something to do with that. I can get the info if you want.

Oh hell no. Slammed is damned.

Tuna, yes.

W8, avoid.

Paul_VR6 wrote: W8, avoid.

Nothing on them particularly scares me. And there's one at a dealership a half-hour away that is exactly what I am looking for: W8 4Motion avant, black on black. I could buy it four-five times over before getting to the expense of the Evo option, and insurance will be scads cheaper because it is not a red-hot theft magnet.

Heh. Heh. Heh.

(If I get any crap about it at work from Da Boss about buying a "weird" car, I'll just remind him that he bought a 3.6 powered CTS on purpose.)

This seems to be key: If you are going to buy a VWAG product from the 00s or so, buy it from a dealership, not a private party. You want a car that was owned by someone who took good enough care of it that a dealership would care enough to sell it instead of auctioning it off to a buy-here pay-here kind of place. A private party seller would probably have done a bunch of DIY hackery on it and this era VW does not take well to DIY hackery.

tuna55 wrote: So like this? http://hickory.craigslist.org/cto/4706156471.html

Yes, assuming those pictures are current.

I wrongly assumed all of the later Mk2's had digifant injection. The 16v offers more power in stock form but there is nothing wrong with an 8v. When the CIS is working properly, it's brilliant, when not, it becomes aggravating and costs can add up quickly. I've had 2 CIS cars, one was well maintained and, to my knowledge, is still running around. The other got a carb swapped on it after pricing fuel pump replacement costs.

As to the Civic recommendation, my 14 year old neigbor bought a late 90s hatch last spring. It had been sitting for a while and needed work but he's been able to fund all of the repairs mowing lawns and working part time. If you can find one not molested, it would be a very good choice. I'm actually looking for one to add to my fleet.

Knurled wrote: Nothing on them particularly scares me.

Braver than I, which after 15 years of VR6 powered cars says alot

There are known vvt issues, chain stretch or cam adjuster problems that love to throw codes. Not a huge performance issue but when you get grounded for not being able to pass emissions its a pain. The fix is diy 3k+ for all four adjusters, chains and tensioners. You have the pleasure of dropping the trans too to get to them. I have a buddy with two Phaetons with the problem, luckily he got them cheap because of this. I would nt go near one without 50k+ of extended warranty.

Back to cheap vws...

I figure I'd do those as a preventive maintenance thing while I have the trans out at the trans shop for a preventive rebuild/torque converter. Ain't scared

I think $4k is freakin' cheap for something of that caliber.

Knurled wrote: Eh, my Evo whinings made me realize, I can buy like TWO twin turbo S4s for what an Evo VIII will cost. Buy them AND bring the maintenance up to date. And they made S4s in wagon form. And the insurance probably won't run me $450/month. That is if I can't find a Passat W8 wagon, which is a giant ball of fun in my opinion. It's a Passat that makes small V8 sounds, and it has S4 suspension and brakes!

The B5 W8 is a rare and exotic beast...... For actually less money generally and much less headache but better performance from your crazy German wagon desires get a B6 VR6. Or maybe buy mine, I'm getting tired of car payments and thinking we might do a couple of years of cash cars to pay off some bills.

I'd agree the B6 with the 3.6 is a BEAST. The only failures I've seen on those are the early ones needing the int shaft bolt replaced. Few people starting to clean their intakes/valves but issues aren't as bad as the turbo cars. After all that is addressed, the only other thing that I've seen was a failed lower tensioner (noise and cam code only) at 197k. Threw a spare motor I had in that car and I'll use that one as a spare for the race car. Nice thing about the 3.6 is there's LOTS of them around and share parts with the 06-08 3.2's as well.

wearymicrobe wrote:

bravenrace wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: For me 2001-2009 give or take a year. Our 2014 has been rock solid, and anything they made with a Car or Bosh injection has been bulletproof as well.

You're 2014 is a 2014.

And its a lease, I do not trust VW period end stop...... but my wife wanted the car.

VWs/Audis are the best cars to lease. I think they were invented to be leased. Same cost of ownership, all the perks of a new car and none of the headaches.

tuna55 wrote: Ok. So I'll say again, if you wanted a gti but more reasonable, reliable, what would you buy? Only two folks have answered that.

Mazda3 or Focus