Possibly replacing my SVTF with an '07 GTI, VW owners come on in!

[Killercanary]

I LOVE my SVT Focus but with two kids now in normal car seats it's getting to be too much of a PITA to use. I'm in the market for a 4 door, FWD, manual trans, hatch back that gets good mileage. I've looked at and have driven a few things but in the end on paper a VW GTI seems to be the car I need. I found one locally with 23K miles. Its a 4 door 2007 GTI with a manual transmission. Does anyone have experience with these cars? Are they reliable? I've heard bad things about VW's quality in recent years and wanted to know what you all have to say. I don't want a foreign car but no domestic manufacturer makes what I want.

[White5.0]

I'm sure he'll chime in, but if he doesn't, pm 97laserred. he has an 03 GTI and its a pretty nice car. he hast had any major problems with it since he's had it. i've been around it/in it/been for a ride in it plenty of times and its a fun car thats pretty quick for what it is and i'm sure gets good gas mileage. seems to be a good daily driver. his is a 2 door but the back seats have plenty of room, especially compared to a mustang.

[MBH]

cam follower. Search it. Consider it preventative maintenance around 45k. The only other problem I can think of off the top of my head is carbon build up if you're going to be racking up a ton of miles on it. It's a problem with any direct injection motor from what I've seen.

The 07s are FSI motors. Not many problems that I know of, but I never really dug much into the FSI for issues (my CC is a TSI). My car is also a DSG (twin clutch automatic or whatever you want to call it), so I'll just tell you right now that you won't have to worry about any bad mechatronic units or jerky starts (some do this, some don't).

They're good cars, surprisingly quick for what they are and get great gas mileage (best I've gotten is 36.1, reasonable to average around 24 mixed in a GTI).

If you want to know how to do anything on them suspension wise, just PM me. VagComs can change a lot of the programming on the car.

[gmkillr]

If your going to buy foreign then you might as well do it right and buy reliable with awesome gas mileage andf if want some pep to it then go with a 4-door Honda Civic SI with a stick.

I already told you what kind of mileage I get with my auto civic, id imagine a stixk would be 2-4mpg better than that.

[95riosnake]

Have you considered a Mazdaspeed 3 or 6? Both are very nice cars with a good amount of get up n' go, not sure on mpg but it couldn't be too bad on the 3.

[Stroked03Cobra]

Have you considered a Mazdaspeed 3 or 6? Both are very nice cars with a good amount of get up n' go, not sure on mpg but it couldn't be too bad on the 3.

+1 on the mazdaspeeds, I just love my Fords and well thats the closest thing to Ford that was listed above!

[yeahloh95]

x2 on the honda i agree with rob the si would do everything you are looking for , but i lke the gti's too

[Killercanary]

Thanks guys!

Civic Si is out as I absolutely need a hatchback

Mazda speed 3 and 6 are out as their mileage is horrible. I know a guy with a speed3 and he gets 18-19 in town and 22 on the highway. OUCH!

Subaru's are out for the very same reason as the mazda's. Although they seem to be a touch better, they still suck for their size and engine. I know they have AWD and that is a nice trade off for mileage, but when driving as much as I do I can't justify it.

Bo- I'll put 17-21K a year on it, so the miles will rack up quickly. I just did a quick search and it looks like I hope I have the "B" cam and not the "A" cam... it sucks that unless you pull it apart there is no way to tell. I just read up on the carbon buildup too... looks like a catch can or water/meth injection are the only possible fixes. DAMN! I'm not liking this already...

[MBH]

Bo- I'll put 17-21K a year on it, so the miles will rack up quickly. I just did a quick search and it looks like I hope I have the "B" cam and not the "A" cam... it sucks that unless you pull it apart there is no way to tell. I just read up on the carbon buildup too... looks like a catch can or water/meth injection are the only possible fixes. DAMN! I'm not liking this already...

What's the B cam vs the A cam? never looked into it before :o

Seafoam every so often should help keep carbon buildup to a minimum. It doesn't get out huge deposits (like 80k mile cars will have), but it does knock down the build up fairly well.

I'd be worried putting that many miles on a 2.0T to be honest, but then again I'm thinking suburb/city driving miles. There is a lot going on in those motors, but they "should" prove to be reliable with proper maintenance like Brian said. I'd look into an extended warranty on one to see if it's worth it for piece of mind. The cars are great in terms of overall package - utility, sportiness, curb appeal, build quality, ergonomics, asthetics, etc. It might not be the best at one thing, but it does them all very well.

Catch cans on the PCV system aren't the $15 home depot specials like we run on our cars, I think you need to actually buy something kinda silly from an online retailer like http://www.bshspeedshop.com/store/pcv/ for instance. that price is unreal IMO.... you're a wizard with this stuff, so I wouldn't be surprised if you end up making one that's better on your own lol

here is a decent thread for you to read over (and another forum other than vortex) http://golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126634

Something you might be interested in: http://www.vw.com/golf/offers/en/us/ 0% for 72 months on a new golf. Just throwing that out there, I'd rather see you in a MKV GTI or two before a golf.

[Killercanary]

Thanks for the replies.

97lasered- My cousin made a spreadsheet to compare gas versus diesel in terms of a cost to own and a time to the break even mark. The dealer that has my GTI also has a TDI jetta. The Jetta is $20,999 and my GTI is $16,999. Assuming $2.99/gallon of gas and an average MPG of 26mpg for the GTI and $3.15/gallon of diesel and an average of 35mpg in the jetta, it would take 130,000 miles of driving before you hit the break even mark between the two and a savings of $2250 after the break even point up to 250,000 miles. In other words, you'd have to drive the jetta for over 160,000 miles before it'd start to save money over the gas GTI despite the mileage. Trust me, I've always wanted a TDI but the cost for used ones is nearly the same as the price for a new one.

John- what I didn't post earlier was that my decision had come down to a WRX sport wagon and a GTI. I drove both yesterday as well back to back. I'd pick the GTI anyday over the WRX from a driving perspective. I know the AWD would be nice, but frankly the mileage in WRX's, and all subaru's for that matter suck for their size. I have 4 friends with subaru's and the best any of them has seen was 24-25mph. Most see low 20's. I have a Friend that drove his last turbo Subaru for 250K miles and he never got better than 23-24mpg in it. It was a forester though but he lived in Ohio where its flat compared to here. I just can't justify living with a car that I don't like the looks of, I didn't like the power delivery, and one that gets bad MPG for its size despite having AWD. I tried to like the WRX, I just love the GTI that much more, and its less expensive.

Bo- The "A" cam is the bad one that wears out the cam follower. The "B" cam was introduced somewhere during the 2007 model year but there is absolutely no way to tell which cam is in the car other than to visually inspect it. Its not hard from what I've read. If its one piece its the bad A cam, if its two piece its the good B cam. Unfortunately I can not check this car until after I buy it as I'm sure they don't want me ripping apart the engine. Unless I find a way to introduce seafoam into a vacuum line it won't help much as the car is direct injection and the seafoam will never get into contact with the intake tract.

philly- No offense but I'd never own a dodge product, nor a current aveo. I drove a new fiesta but for the amount of performance I'd give up and the space as well, its not worth the $18-$20 price they are commanding.

Rob- I do not own an SUV nor a truck so my hatch acts as my carry all. I love the versatility a hatch provides and frankly I love the looks of them. I know I'm weird but I'm a hatch guy. Even if the trunk is large in a civic, I imagine the trunk opening like all other cars is not. That's my major problem with non-hatch backs. I drove a '10 fusion 4cyl 6 spd and liked it until I saw the trunk size opening.

Steiny- thanks for the input. I hope I'm as lucky with the GTI

procharged- I drove them both and although I like them I want a hatchback and they do not offer them in those models. i hate to buy foreign but the domestics do not make what I want as usual.

Jaa55- Its for sale. I just put it up on here. :)

[cwh19]

35mpg is pretty low for a tdi. I know 2 people with tdi jettas and one averages 41mpg and the other 42 mpg

[phillysrt4]

philly- No offense but I'd never own a dodge product, nor a current aveo. I drove a new fiesta but for the amount of performance I'd give up and the space as well, its not worth the $18-$20 price they are commanding.

None taken :)

I figured the Aveo RS with its turbochared 1.4 would mean good fuel economy, mod potential and its a hatch that's why I suggested it. I wouldnt suggest just any old aveo ;)

they want a 18k for a fiesta in the states? wow thats really close to canadian pricing!

[97LaserRed]

Mazda suck with gas. A vw is very reliable if you take care of them. You must stay on top of maint.for them to last. Like bo said about the cam follower. Watch out on the TSI 2.0T motor. The 2.5 is also a good motor.

If I were to do it over again I'd go deisel. They get 45+mpg on highway. (My 1.8t will get 38-40). They can be made very fast for daily and are still a blast to drive.

When I get home ill try to get you some more info. Just too much to type on my phone at work! Haha

[somethingclever]

buddy of mine has a gen 1 wrx wagon....with a full exhaust and tuner being the only mods, 30mpg highway...it runs 100-101 in the quarter....no maintenance beyond regular fluid changes and brakes. It also pulls his 5x10 enclosed trailer with his race bike, camping equipment, tools, tires..etc...still gets 17mpg! It's around 130k miles right now...he bought it new.

IMO if a person had to have only 1 vehicle to do everything with, that car is difficult to beat.

[Stangman701]

IMO if a person had to have only 1 vehicle to do everything with, that car is difficult to beat.

I've always said that if I were forced to have one vehicle for some reason, it would be a WRX wagon(preferably the "saabaru") or the newer STI hatch

[phillysrt4]

Im a bit late on suggestions.. but... dodge caliber?

Aveo RS?

Ford Fiesta Hatch?

[gmkillr]

Have you ever seen how large the trunks are in the civics?

Whats the need for a hatch?

[stieny]

Loved my '07 SI. Ran and cornered like it was glued to the road. The 6 speed in those things is a nice gear box too.

It did everything great and had plenty of room, 32 mpg highway, mid to high 20's city, and was pretty quick.

It was a blast to drive.

If you absolutely need a hatch, then GTI is the way to go. I owned a VW a few years back and it ran like a champ all the time and would go anywhere in the snow. I had not one ounce of trouble with it.

[97LaserRed]

vw+snow = dry

[MBH]

vw+snow = dry

hahahahahahah