Help WRX or GTI

Yeah, I would seriously consider aftermarket costs when buying a new car...to me, its all about the potential of the car, not what it already has.:burnrubber:

every car has it's issues, I am on my five VW and haven't had one problem yet. My buddy has a jetta is it gives him a bunch of issues. My friend with the WRX has had nothing but problems, he is on his third rear main seal. As I have said before every car has it's good and it's bad, just but the one that is the best for you. I really doesn't matter what anyone on this board says, you are the one that has to drive it everyday.

Sauceboy01 said:

^^

I'm definitely with you on this Steve.

I had a WRX before i bought the benz and abused the hell out of it, i was pushing over 320 at the Fly at one point for about 30,000 miles with no problems!! I rallye'd it, tracked it, and everything else'd it. When i sold it i just gave it a new coat of paint and it was like new!! Now, if i did that w/ a Gti i dont think it can handle it. I know several people who have complained about VW reliability issues..

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This "reliability" issue is a non issue at this point.
The cars VW is selling now are all new models, except for the Beetle.
Until proven otherwise the new VW's are as reliable as any new car, which means it may or may not have a lot of issues.

Steve:
I'd like to know what "major" problems your insurance customers have had?
My insurance agent knows nothing about my cars or any issues I may have had with them.
I don't know anyone who goes to their insurance agent when they have car problems, unless it was related to an accident,
and that's a whole other issue as related to car problems.

TT

desmoface said:

My wife kind of likes those things...I know this is a gti forum/thread, but how do you like that cobalt ss?

Steve
05 impreza rs
05 rsx s type

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Its fun at first.. the torque really impressed me, and with a few mods like pully, intake, and exhaust i got good hp gains outta less than a 1k. its a good car, but has had problems, and GM isnt doing to well either. but the interrior is ugly as hell, just my recarros were nice... thats it.

I don't think you can compare the 2. They are aimed at 2 very serperate markets. The GTI was designed to be a sporty but not at the expense of comfort and luxury. The WRX on the other hand was designed as a race car (remember it's roots come from rallying). Unfortunately coming from a racing heritage has the disadvantage of sacrificing comfort and some luxuries. Think of it in terms of women....the Golf is like an actress....very pretty but not not going to win any olympic races....but take a true sprinter....all muscle and not much else...but she can win a race! (sorry for an sterotypes...just couldnt' quite come up with another analogy)

Basically you need to decide what you want from a car. The WRX is faster, but will you use that power that often? Imo...you just get so much more from the GTI....and come on...it ain't exactly slow.

From a WRX Owner...

Hi. I've currently got a 2002 WRX with 65,000 miles on it. Other than a bad timing belt, & regular maintenance it's been extremely reliable from day one. Ironically enough, I looked at a MKIV VR6 GTI prior to getting my WRX...TBH there is no comparison between the GTI & WRX...The WRX has a very sparse interior, tends to be louder at high speeds, & doesn't have a ride anywhere near as comfortable as the GTI. So, I am now in the market for a new car & seriously looking at the GTI. Reliability has always been a primary concern.

GTT said:

This "reliability" issue is a non issue at this point.
The cars VW is selling now are all new models, except for the Beetle.
Until proven otherwise the new VW's are as reliable as any new car, which means it may or may not have a lot of issues.

Steve:
I'd like to know what "major" problems your insurance customers have had?
My insurance agent knows nothing about my cars or any issues I may have had with them.
I don't know anyone who goes to their insurance agent when they have car problems, unless it was related to an accident,
and that's a whole other issue as related to car problems.

TT

Click to expand...

Well, this particular customer called to do a change of cars (remove the vw and add her new car) she went into how she had to replace the motor, after which the vw dealership's mechanic told her that she has a new engine which should make the car good to go for a long time. Not long after, the new engine started to exhibit the same problems as the first motor (I am not exactly sure what the symptoms were but I have read about audi/vw having oil sludge problems in certain motors causing oil starvation). Hence, she traded her vw, new motor and all on a new car.

Yesterday, had a customer call to get prices on a motorcycle. He has an 05 Mazda 6, I axed him how he liked it. He likes it, since he's a car nut, I proceed to tell him that I just sat in the new GTI on Tuesday and that I really like it. To which he replies, "my girlfriend has a Jetta and it has been nothing but trouble since new".

One of my good friends that I ride motorcycles with had a jetta with the 6 cylinder engine, the higher end/performance model. Just out of warranty, were talkin a month out of warranty, low milage, he takes his car in for it's strange behavior, the mechanic tells him all, *ALL* of his wheel bearings need to be replaced. This was at the vw dealership. Something like $600+~ to repair.

He wrote vw america and tells them his situation and that he thought wheel bearings should last longer than the 30 something thousand miles he has on his car. VW denied his warranty claim. Granted, it was out of warranty, by about a month. Seem fair to you? All wheels needed new wheel bearings? Do these routinely need replacing on vw's every 30,000~ miles?

He also had to replace the wheel bearings in his chevy van and it cost him about $30 per wheel.

Again, I like the GTI, but whenever I consider a car, electric razor, tires, a furnace for my home, etc, I research the hell out of it. To the point of my wife telling me I have OCD, which I probably do. I learn everything I can about that product, problems, accolades, etc. I am just starting this process with the GTI as I really like the car (wife hates it, by the way).

Anyway, don't shoot the messenger, I just call it like I see it. This is the same reason we didn't get the wrx my wife wanted. She wanted it in a standard/manual trany and I just read about too many grenading trany's in that particular car.

Steve

desmoface said:

Well, this particular customer called to do a change of cars (remove the vw and add her new car) she went into how she had to replace the motor, after which the vw dealership's mechanic told her that she has a new engine which should make the car good to go for a long time. Not long after, the new engine started to exhibit the same problems as the first motor (I am not exactly sure what the symptoms were but I have read about audi/vw having oil sludge problems in certain motors causing oil starvation). Hence, she traded her vw, new motor and all on a new car.

Yesterday, had a customer call to get prices on a motorcycle. He has an 05 Mazda 6, I axed him how he liked it. He likes it, since he's a car nut, I proceed to tell him that I just sat in the new GTI on Tuesday and that I really like it. To which he replies, "my girlfriend has a Jetta and it has been nothing but trouble since new".

One of my good friends that I ride motorcycles with had a jetta with the 6 cylinder engine, the higher end/performance model. Just out of warranty, were talkin a month out of warranty, low milage, he takes his car in for it's strange behavior, the mechanic tells him all, *ALL* of his wheel bearings need to be replaced. This was at the vw dealership. Something like $600+~ to repair.

He wrote vw america and tells them his situation and that he thought wheel bearings should last longer than the 30 something thousand miles he has on his car. VW denied his warranty claim. Granted, it was out of warranty, by about a month. Seem fair to you? All wheels needed new wheel bearings? Do these routinely need replacing on vw's every 30,000~ miles?

He also had to replace the wheel bearings in his chevy van and it cost him about $30 per wheel.

Again, I like the GTI, but whenever I consider a car, electric razor, tires, a furnace for my home, etc, I research the hell out of it. To the point of my wife telling me I have OCD, which I probably do. I learn everything I can about that product, problems, accolades, etc. I am just starting this process with the GTI as I really like the car (wife hates it, by the way).

Anyway, don't shoot the messenger, I just call it like I see it. This is the same reason we didn't get the wrx my wife wanted. She wanted it in a standard/manual trany and I just read about too many grenading trany's in that particular car.

Steve

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I'm not shooting you at all, please don't take it that way.
The things you mention I don't question. However, consider how many VW owners didn't call you and tell you that they didnt' have any problems.
I had a 2000 Mits Eclipse, I actually liked it for a while. It has wheel bearing problems within the first 15,000 miles. It also had a sunroof issue that finally got fixed. No big deal, it happens.
My BMW has had an odd idle from day one. The battery died and stranded me from work one cold morning. Twice it had ignition coils go bad and finally a manufacturer recall to replace the coils. Do I think Mits or BMW's are unreliable? Not at all. The problems are pretty minor and happen in any car. Honda has had auto trans issues, Toyota has had sludge problems, even in a reknown V6.

Also, friend of friends and girlfriends of friends are not really reliable sources. Those who feel burned will be the first to complain. Those who have not had a problem won't say a word.
So, take it with a grain of salt.

My point here is that these are new models, with totally new designs, new engines, transmissions, etc... Thus, we can expect teething issues, but reliability isn't even known yet.
Thus, why not get a car that you like and find fun to drive? You do yourself a disservice to speculate on whether it will be reliable based on models that are no longer built.
There was time when VW was considered acceptably reliable. No reason to think it won't happen again

As far as the grenading trannies I can tell you that is false. The trannies don't grenade.
Early models had problems with warping clutch plates due to excessive standing start launches.
I dont' excuse Subaru for it as they should have included a tougher clutch to handle the power and performance the WRX is capable of. However, the trannies do not grenade. That is what I'm talking about. It's like an urban legend and the snowball effect.
My 1990 Laser Turbo/Mits eclipse had tranny issues as well. Those cars were notorious for having bad synchros which resulted in grinding gears are notchy shifting. It could be subdued with better trans fluid, but needed better synchros to fix the issue. Those cars got a bad rap as well, but most of the problems came on cars that were driven hard. Again, not an excuse for a performance vehicle, but I loved that car. I kept it for 10 years and it was quite reliable even with the larger turbo and mods I put into it.

I think you should go ahead and get the GTI. It's got a pretty good power train warranty at
5 years and 60k miles. Not just that, if it's a car that makes you smile and have fun, then don't deny yourself the pleasure of a drivers cars just because something might go wrong.
At least that's my view. :biggrin:

TT

Hi TT, thats cool..That's why I'm here, I want to get more info and what better place than this? But I agree with what you have said...My dad did buy a new honda accord and it had to have the trany replaced almost immediately so no marque is immune to problems.

I'm hoping that the gti turns out to be a real gem for vw..I love the concept of the car and it looks like a winner. I have 2 years before the lease is up on both of my cars. The wrx is near the top of the list as is the new gti..also the suby legacy gt is looking pretty good...But, a lot is going to happen in the next 2 years so we will see what transpires..

But, my breif sit in the new gti was definitely positive..I will be watching this car closely to see how she does...I think vw did good though, from what I can see, with this new gti.

Steve