Crossing off GTI due to reliability/service concerns?

KharatosGTI said:

How does the UK public view Honda and Nissan? Please do tell, I'd really love to know. :thumbsup:

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More "budgety" brands than VW, that's for sure.
Two examples:
Nissan Micra and Honda "Jazz" (where's the power of dreams in that, eh?). VW Polo, which is rough supermini equivalent, is more expensive but I'd still rather one over the others.

Japanese car companies are regarded (generally) as less prestigious than European car manufacturers, I think.

luckaz said:

I feel the Consumer Reports reliability ratings are the only objective source of reliability information.

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:barf:

I just traded in my 2006 Acura RSX-S for my 06 GTI, and my Acura was a rattle trap, and it rode like an Evo, but handled like a Civic. Overall, it was a letdown. Sweet motor though.

Nimble said:

I just traded in my 2006 Acura RSX-S for my 06 GTI, and my Acura was a rattle trap, and it rode like an Evo, but handled like a Civic. Overall, it was a letdown. Sweet motor though.

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Wow, that might be a bit harsh and extreme but it sure makes me feel good about the decision I made. :laugh:

KharatosGTI said:

Wow, that might be a bit harsh and extreme but it sure makes me feel good about the decision I made. :laugh:

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Well, it's the truth in MY experience of owning the type s

I will be selling my 02' Si for a GTI Mkv. I have about 53k miles on it so far, and there is rattling in the doors when the windows are down. But that might be a cause from my magnaflow cat-back.idk.

cmdrfire said:

More "budgety" brands than VW, that's for sure.
Two examples:
Nissan Micra and Honda "Jazz" (where's the power of dreams in that, eh?). VW Polo, which is rough supermini equivalent, is more expensive but I'd still rather one over the others.

Japanese car companies are regarded (generally) as less prestigious than European car manufacturers, I think.

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I'm definitely very ignorant when it comes to information like that. For example I was just searching for some info on Google and came to find out that the founding father of Porsche actually designed the icon of VW - Beetle. Honestly I never knew that and it definitely means something. And the fact that VW and Porsche always did and still have a very close relationship is also quite something.

KharatosGTI said:

I'm definitely very ignorant when it comes to information like that. For example I was just searching for some info on Google and came to find out that the founding father of Porsche actually designed the icon of VW - Beetle. Honestly I never knew that and it definitely means something. And the fact that VW and Porsche always did and still have a very close relationship is also quite something.

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The design for the 911 and the Beetle share surprisingly similar roots, all from the genius of Ferdinand Porsche.
It may be worth noting that the head of VW Worker's Advisory Board, another automotive genius, is Ferdinand Porsche's grandson, Ferdinand Piech. It was Piech's genius that led to the adoption of turbochargers in production cars, stemming from the highly successful 917 series of racing cars. In a way, this is another little tie from our VW GTI with the 2.0T all the way back to Porsche - modern turbocharging stems back from the Porsche 917.

Porsche and VW share a lot of history together - Ferdinand Porsche set up VolksWagen (the People's Car) at the behest of Adolf Hitler to mass produce a simple, reliable car for the mass market; the Beetle. Many ideas are traded back and forth between VW and Porsche today - for instance, the VW Tourag comes from the same family background as the Porsche Cayenne; different species, same genus, if you will. More recently, to prevent any foreign owners from buying into VW, Porsche bought 20% of Volkswagen AG. It is also worth noting that Ferdinand Piech also owns 13% of Porsche, though is not a part of the board.

To be as netral as possible, I've had much better luck with my vw's than I have had with my Audi's. My only complaint with my mkiv gti was a crappy flexible body that creaked like a stagecoach. My MkIII was better. My 99 A4 was a piece of shit, it pretty much took a dump and died at 85k miles. $4000 later it still wasn't right and i traded for my MKV. Again, I am partial to VWs but getting in the new one for the first time I was blown away by the qualitty of materials and craftsmenship. All in all I would get one now while they are stil made by the Krauts, and befor they start getting made in Brazil and Mexico again. Absolutely no offense meant to those countries or their people, just my honest opinion.

So far my dealer and service people seem very cooperative and friendly. How ever I asked a few questions about any mods. Used exaust as an example. They said any mods would void the warranty for the car. The whole warranty not just the part that was modified.

The acura has a good reputaion for reliability. Get the car you like the best and Find a better dealer if your not satisfied with the one you have for service. The GTI will holds its value better and hold up just fine if you take care of it.

In my life i've owned several different cars as well as driven friends vehicles. I've worked at 2 German car dealer ships (M-Benz and a Porsche/Audi/Jag) and have dealt with all the other brands as well.
It really doesn't matter what brand you buy or own... dealerships, be it sales or service or just like people. There are good and bad everywhere.

As for reliability... all Brands have their own issues. If YOU maintain your ride and stick to to the manufactures recommended service criteria your ride should last a long while. Working at the dealers ships showed me that those people who follow the manufactures guidance held up better/lasted longer and had fewer issues overall.

No car is perfect!

The best recommendation I can give you on SERVICE is Search! Network with people in the area to find out who does the best job and will meet your expectations.

>>>> And the "most important" part people truly neglect these days is the "lack of thorough communication" (get detailed and get details in return). Don't just assume the other person knows exactly what you are asking or telling them. Every person on earth communicates and receives/processes information differently.... it's not a flaw or fault, it's just who we are.

"Ask great questions... you'll get great answers."

Well made up my mind and I'm going to get an MK5. Being a former STI owner, and owning many other sport cars, I did my homework an for the money I believe the new GTI is the best car for the money. Quality, reliability, looks, the whole package got me sold!!!!

Isnt the MKV built in Germany? (instead of Mexico)
So the reliability shouldn't be a problem.
Only VDUBs built in South Africa often have glitches..

Can't wait to get mine.. its still sitting at the port, no idea whats going on..

Your going to get a biased report every time you post a question like this in a forum dedicated to a particular vehicle model. If you posted this in a Mustang forum, they'd tell you both cars suck, go get a mustang.


That being said...

If you want a five year car, go for the RSX. They're built well, will last forever, and they already have a few with the hundreds of thousands of miles on them. Hell, my friend bought one in '02 or so, and it was still going strong with NO issues after about 90k miles. He sold it to another friend of mine who still has it, still going strong.

If you want a car that will give you wood every time you drive it, has the rarity (at least where I'm from... I've yet to see another in almost two months of ownership) that might be a factor, has a good resale value, and is just plain fun to drive... Get the GTI.

It sounds like you want a daily driver. It doesn't sound like you're gonna chip it, or put a stage 3 on it. Maybe a drop and intake, maybe exhaust, correct? If so... It's gonna be totally up to you. Both cars perform very well stock. Both cars are fast. But only one is a GTI.

Look at it this way: Japanese cars drive like loose women have sex. They're good at it because they're tolerances are low, they've been around the block a few million times, and they are used to sub-standard performance. A european car on the other hand, is like a really hot virgin. She's gonna be a little tight, have a few kinks to work out, but when she goes, she really goes. They both have their merits, but who wants a car (or woman) that everyone else has?

I've owned all sorts of different cars since 1977 and have owned VW/Audi's from '77 to now. None have shown to be UNreliable.

I have a modded '98.5 Audi 1.8t and my only gripe in 140k miles is a squeaky control arm bushing.

Damn great cars IMHO!