Just one more of these threads I promise (my fingers were crossed).
Seriously, ever since my buddies Diesel Rabbit, I've wanted a VW hatch. These have the right combo of newness and price.
My choice is a 4th Gen Golf, Diesel preferred I think but I'd be looking for a gasser.
So what's the deal? Am I kidding myself (and SWMBO) that I won't get killed by breakdowns. I can't have an unreliable car... Again!
In reply to ebonyandivory:
They're still VWs, but I think the generally held consensus is that the diesels are inherently more reliable than the gassers. No coilpacks etc, which were a trouble spot on the MK IV cars. Generally as well, I know the MK IV is a nickel and dime type car, but they seldom leave you stranded. They'll work improperly nearly forever.
is this a rhetorical question?
They are rather attractive. I test drove one when they were new, but decided they were too "grown up" and got a Focus instead. I'm grown up now and want one, but am scared...
Upgrade to 2.0T coil packs and you'll have fewer problems.
I didn't say NO problems, but fewer.
I have 2.0T coil packs on my UrS6, and they've lasted pretty well so far.
I can do the nickel and dime thing no problem. In fact it'll give me stuff to do with the kids.
I just can't afford to be stranded on a regular basis... Or any more often than a Nissan Maxima or Mazda etc. or class competitor.
I looked at at six-way comparison today and the Golf was rated 8.9 out of 10, higher than its competition.
Opinions?
Stock up on window regulators?
I recently put 112K on a 2001 1.8t GTI. I sold it at 163K. My problems in 6 years were.
2 coil packs. The latest recall with the updated packs stopped that completely and were installed free by the dealer.
drivers door latch failed electrically. If you used the button on the fob to unlock it and opened the door it wouldn't sense it being open and sometimes would lock the car while the door was still open causing the alarm to go off when you shut it. I always meant to fix it but hated the oversized key in my pocket so I mostly used the valet key and never noticed it.
The soft touch coating on frequently used interior bits was starting to fail.
The switch for the fuel filler door went flakey (~$25 fix)
A balljoint failed at 120K
Headlights were faded but there were cheap aftermarket glass lenses that fixed that right up.
That is it! Yes the MIL was on quite a bit for the first few years until VW got the coil pack thing right but those problems don't seem excessive for a 12 year old 160,000 mile car. It never left me or my wife stranded. Got 27/35mpg, always looked sharp and most importantly drove great.
We also had a 2003 1.8t Jetta wagon purchased new that developed exactly 1 problem in 60K miles. A coolant temp sensor triggered the MIL. That was it.
Yes the Lubrimoly oil isn't cheap for the 1.8t's but $40 every 5000 miles wasn't enough for me to complain about it.
I'm all in if it's annoying things like mentioned above.
So is THIS the dreaded VAG syndrome? Having never really investigated the details, I figured it was more drivetrain related or stranded at the mall type stuff.
bgkast wrote: They are rather attractive. I test drove one when they were new, but decided they were too "grown up" and got a Focus instead. I'm grown up now and want one, but am scared...
Ummmm.... What? I was looking at something else (drool)
To me, owning a mk5 gti, its all in preliminary maintenance. Ive done nothing but put oil, gas and regular maintenance into my gti for nearly 90k miles.
I have told these stories many times but....................always wanted a VW so I bought a brand new Jetta GLi. In so many ways it was a very nice car but it had so many little niggling annoying problems and left me stranded twice, both times at intersections in the middle of traffic. I mean dead, had to be towed away kind of stranded. Once was the fuel pump the other was an electrical issue. It was always something. From my experience I could not recommend VW.
In reply to Feedyurhed:
What year if you don't mind....?
How hard is VAG-COM (giggity) for DIYers?
aren't wheel hubs a common problem on MkIVs too? I absolutely love how all generation Golf/Rabbit/GTIs look. I would love to have one it's just that well...you always hear this VAG horror stories. I'm all for wrenching but I want a DD to be easy to maintain.
I have a MK IV TDI golf. Manual trans, manual seats, manual windows, manual HVAC, aftermarket radio, upgraded suspension, some other stuff. 250K and will be getting a timing belt/water pump in the spring. I've been thinking about selling it, maybe. If you're interested, let me know.
From what Ive seen, given the popularity of VW, most of the common stuff will be readily available and not priced too horribly, but ive seen a lot of weird parts fail and pretty much have to come from dealers which can be ridiculously high.
I also hate the cooling systems in one of the gas motors in the jettas (maybe 1.8), I had to buy a group of small hose from the dealer for like 100 bucks. Seems like when one part goes everything goes.
Good friend swears but the diesel VWs, but Ive watched them nickel and dime him, his had almost 300K but his family has owned it since new and there is always something hes doing to it, hes put a bunch of glow plugs in and his clutch was ridiculously high.
Ive also wanted one for a while and dont worry to much about most of it, since I can fix it myself and buy parts online for pretty cheap, but I always worry there will be that one big repair that will break me or it we be down for a long time while Im waiting on parts (I would use it as a DD)
4th-gen Golfs are no less reliable than any other cars from the timeframe.
Idiot owners who are proud of vehicular neglect (MIL window sticker, anyone?), however, make them unreliable. Just like neglecting any other car is a problem.
The main problem with the cars, as I see them, is that they are universally bland and boring. There are only two ways people have fun with them: They turn up the boost on 1.8t or VR6 models, or they slam them and play parking-lot ornament. (I will ignore hypermiling TDI owners. That is fun in the way that doing all of your friends' taxes for them is fun. You have to be a pathological nerd to get enjoyment out of it.)
sanman wrote: Stock up on window regulators?
How about greasing the window tracks when the windows get slow instead of just pushing the button down harder? That's cheaper and easier...
This also works on BMWs, Audis, Chevys... everything!
My mk3 gti vr6 gave me so much grief that when the guy I sold it to totaled it, I thought "serves you right berker" when I saw it all smashed up.
Theyre love/hate. I dont need the hate part.
The interior also smells like crayons. That is all.
In reply to clutchsmoke:
I hear that a lot but being involved in the local VW club and whole NW scene for over 15 years I have never smelled it, nor did any one else I knew. They all "knew someone" who's car smelled like crayons but no one had first hand experience.
Even the 5 or 6 VW dealer mechanics I know well have never directly experienced it.
If you wear old-school red/blue 3D glasses while driving at night, it's trippy.
I bought a 2.0 new in 1999.5, then sold it to a friend who ran it for years alongside another Mk 4. I think he kept losing strut tops on it, and I know it was hard on brake rotors. But no strandings as far as I know. Mine was a manual window car so regulators weren't a problem, but the glovebox door would snap off on the first cold day every winter.
I never had a particular problem with it other than it simply wasn't engaging. Reasonably competent, yes. Stuck like glue with the fat tires and upgraded suspension I put on. But it never handled. It just gripped. It's the only car I've ever sold due to meh.
DrBoost wrote: I have a MK IV TDI golf. Manual trans, manual seats, manual windows, manual HVAC, aftermarket radio, upgraded suspension, some other stuff. 250K and will be getting a timing belt/water pump in the spring. I've been thinking about selling it, maybe. If you're interested, let me know.
What is a manual hvac? Is that where you build a small fire on the floorboard to stay warm in the winter and use a handheld fan to stay cool in the winter? 
I always got the felling from VW forums that mk4s are probably the worst golf. Generally the saying is that their suspension is utterly terrible with no way to fix it and any other generation is leagues better to start off with if you want a autocross or track car.
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