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Don't let them jack up the price for the in-dash cd or cd changer. The cd changer costs $290 at the parts window and the in-dash cd costs $240 at the parts window (or direct from vw at http://www.vw.com). You can install the cd changer with a screwdriver in 5 minutes. The in-dash cd is a bit of a pain to install, but can be done do-it yourself.
Jared
'00 GTI GLX
Seems as though I've spent half my life waiting for VW to come out with things. In Europe they have the Audi A3, that looks much like a Golf GTI, but AWD and a lot sportier. Now they souped it up as the Audi S3. Come to the US? Never, VW says. VW doesn't want to intrude on Audi's market. So probably no GTI AWD at all for a long time. Maybe I'm just an AWD nut ('88 Audi 90Q, now '93 Mitsu Eclipse GSX).
But I'd buy a GTI GLX if I could fix the vague transmission and the body lean/dive. The GTI is otherwise a marvelous car. Does anyone have experience with the Neuspeed suspension add-ons?
==/\/\=i=k=e=============
Neuspeed makes a short-shift kit. It's not cheap as it replaces the entire shifter mechanism. I haven't tried the Mk4 version, but I had one in my Mk3 '97 GTI VR6 (very close to the same setup, also cable-shifted) and it was a nice upgrade, if not very cost effective. I too loathe the cable shifter.. hell my 13 year old Scirocco shifts better. And they call this progress??
-kc-
And the car -- wow!! I love it. It is exactly what I was looking for -- sporty and practical. In earlier posts I mentioned my concerns about the stereo, but I have to say I think it sounds great (and so does everyone else who has heard it). I'm sure over time I may develop an ear for its weaknesses, but right now I'm very happy with it. My last car had a crappy stereo at best, so this is a huge improvement over what I'm used to.
To folks considering the car: try to test drive at night on a highway without the radio. This car is great at night on the highway -- the dashboard is beautiful, the engine purrs, and the the rear-view mirror automatically adjusts so that you can see what's behind you but all glare is eliminated -- a terrific feature. Plus that quiet engine still has tons of zip at highway speeds so passing is a breeze. All and all a great car and a great car-buying experience -- thanks.
(I'll never make 'Top Gun' school) and developed a
flat on an errand the next day. Was right in front
of my office, thought I'd wuss out and let this
"roadside assistance" that comes with new VWs deal
with it? I also started to slowly do the tire
change as I called on my cell phone. Of course,
even with all the new car "huh?" experiences, I
finished as they arrived.
Interesting lessons for anyone not in the gifted
elite that does their own mods, who likes to
visualize trouble in advance or amuse themselves
with the misfortunes of their fellow idiot man:
[1] Spent something like 20 minutes on hold to "VW
Roadside Assistance". Lucky my cell battery wasn't
low. In the end THEY used AAA, to which I still
belong. Made me realize that in my fantasies, I
thought some German rocket scientist would soar in
on a V2. Get over it, and call AAA. They answer
their phones quicker.
[2] "VW Roadside Assistance" will want your VIN.
On a cell phone I read their number off the little
sticker they suggest you apply to inside rear side
window, then read the VIN off the car. On a land
line, have both numbers recorded same place.
[3] The owner's manual doesn't correctly describe
how to remove the '00 GTI GLX plastic logo
do-hickeys from the allow wheels, to expose the
bolts. Principle: tapping and listening will
reveal what's plastic, what's alloy, to determine
what should come off. A phillips head into a hole
will pry a gap, then a flat screwdriver can pop
them off from the edge. Perhaps my tire mechanic
was a great actor, but I felt like much less of an
idiot the next day when this equally confused him.
[4] Carry flares. Great time to use them. I was
parked at night on edge of Manhattan traffic, they
gave me much improved sense of security against
becoming road kill. These things must be an
arsonist's wet dream. You'll use two flares in
sequence per location, if anything holds you up on
your change.
[5] The provided bolt wrench is barely adequate.
Luckily I carry a crossbar X from a long-gone 60's
van, that includes the needed 17mm size. My top
notch tire place supposedly has their power tools
set to not overtighten the bolts, but it took me
TWENTY MINUTES of obstinate struggling to loosen
the bolt that uses the "wheel lock key". Have
anyone who changes wheels HAND TIGHTEN these
bolts, or you may have to wuss out and wait for
help because of this one issue. Also, good time to
study what a lame wheel lock comes stock, as has
been noted on other lists. Would be a pretty cheap
upgrade to go top of the line 3rd party.
[6] Owner's manual says to block diagonally
opposite tire, but no block is provided. Of course
I never considered this till time of need. Buy one
and carry it! Didn't need it on level asphalt.
Otherwise, provided jack looks cheesy but works
great. Remember, a GTI GLX only weighs 2800 lbs.
After this, the change was the routine breeze it
should be. The full sized spare is awesome, had
plenty of pressure.
[7] Call ahead to your tire place to make sure
they have your tire in stock, in case your tire is
a "goner". Mine had one left of my Gislaved
Nordfrost 2 studded snows, I lucked out. (Great
tire, but if the 99 mph speed rating is an issue
for you, go Pirelli snows.)
I carry a bike pump. At my tire place, a fellow
patron recommended a 12V compressor than runs off
any of the many cig outlets on the GTI. On a
slower leak, he managed to reinflate and drive for
help without changing the tire! Get one with the
attachments for basketballs and camping air
mattresses. Bonus: Can "top off" any given tire
with an additional 4 psi in under a minute, slow
but could be less hassle than driving to a filling
station?
The wheels wouldn't have been my first choice, but in retrospect add to the unique look of an already unique car. Bought it for all the typical econ / sport / practical reasons. Thought I would blend in more, but I actually get more people stopping me and asking about my VW econo / sport car than I ever did with my Corvette.
Decided the Sound system is more than adequate at this point, same comments from others re the speaker break in. I will get an in-dash cd, for the convenience
Car could do with a little less body roll, but no real complaints. I probably won't go for lower spring / shock combo as it is already a bit low for driveway bumps etc. 4wd 204 hp would be nice, but again, it may or may not get here and the existing 174hp fwd is a nice combo.
Overall... I got exactly what I wanted. Went through carbargains.com I did notice their price has gone up, I paid 21,900 1 month ago.
Also appreciated this and the other edmunds boards, very informative
-kc-
Does anyone have any advice or opinions/ideas as to the pros/cons of installing an add-on unit?
The last thing that I want to do is to spoil the look of the car or add additional wind noise.
Hosts are the only ones who can hide or scribble posts that are not their own.
carlady/host
I installed an air deflector on my sun roof. It reduces noise a lot, a lot...less than factory pop up; Moreover, without the air deflector on the roof likes a man without hat.
Go ahead, buy a sun roof air deflector and you won't regret.
need another oil change till 20,000 miles which
seemed like a long time.
i always thought that you should change your oil
at least every 5000 miles can anyone comment on this?
-kc-
will i get better performance out of 18" than 17" due to shorter sidewall? is this just splitting hairs? the 18" LOOK pretty sweet but obviously cost more... (harshness of ride is not much of a factor since my last ride was a 99 miata).
Suspension: am thinking about bilstein sport shocks with H&R springs. But what about Neuspeed springs or Koni shocks. I've read excellent things about all. What are the real differences for street performance?
Sway bars: Are they really necessary after the above upgrades? And are neuspeed bars beefy enough for the new platform?
Finally, intake and exhaust (don't want to chip engine). What are good brands beyond Neuspeed?
Sorry for the long post, but I want to do the upgrades right the first time. My proposed budget for wheels/suspension is $4K.
Thanks,
John
will i get better performance out of 18" than 17" due to shorter sidewall? is this just splitting hairs? the 18" LOOK pretty sweet but obviously cost more... (harshness of ride is not much of a factor since my last ride was a 99 miata).
Suspension: am thinking about bilstein sport shocks with H&R springs. But what about Neuspeed springs or Koni shocks. I've read excellent things about all. What are the real differences for street performance?
Sway bars: Are they really necessary after the above upgrades? And are neuspeed bars beefy enough for the new platform?
Finally, intake and exhaust (don't want to chip engine). What are good brands beyond Neuspeed?
Sorry for the long post, but I want to do the upgrades right the first time. My proposed budget for wheels/suspension is $4K.
Thanks,
John
As for intake/exhaust, there ain't a whole lot of horses to be gained here, and the open element stuff makes a lot of racket (music to some - not I!) and in hot weather will just suck in a lot of hot air and decrease performance, unless you have one with a nice heatshield setup of some kind. The stock exhaust is stainless and will last virtually forever so I'm sticking with it too. I "upgraded" the exhaust in my '97 GTI VR6 and regretted it dearly, because it created resonance inside the car that was almost unbearable - despite not being particularly loud outside.
Good luck!
-kc-
'99 GTI GLX
'86.5 Scirocco 16V 2.0
http://www.geocities.com/klcoll
carlady/host
-kc-
318ti '98 model with 10K miles. About the same
price. The BMW is like new, and has over two years
left on warranty (more than VW new!) and full
maintenance until 36K miles.
Any thoughts on this? I want a fun, well-built,
safe hatchback for under 20K. Few choices out
there... Thanks.
PS: I don't really care about chipping, mods, and which has better 0-60 stats. Handling, reliability/durability, safety etc. more important.
-kc-
The GLX is way to powerful for the US( In third gear you already are above the maximum possible speed), I don't want leather and is too expensive in comparison with the 1.8T. Therefore I chose the 1.8T.
However, I like the automatic A/C. Do you know if there is a way to have the GTI 1.8T with automatic A/C in the US?
Thanks
The GLX is way to powerful for the US( In third gear you already are above the maximum possible speed), I don't want leather and is too expensive in comparison with the 1.8T. Therefore I chose the 1.8T.
However, I like the automatic A/C. Do you know if there is a way to have the GTI 1.8T with automatic A/C in the US?
Thanks
Can you tell I don't care for it? :0
To answer your question - you're stuck. The only way to get it in a Golf or Jetta here is in a GLX model, and that means VR6, wood trim, and all the other GLX stuff.
-kc-
-John
:-)
-John
Any idea when the 2001's come out?
thanks,
Jack
Any idea when the 2001's come out?
thanks,
Jack
the lights (internal/external)occasionally go out for a split second, especially whenever I slow down or shift. The car is about 6 months old, has 3600 miles. I've also noticed that when I lower or raise the windows (electric) that the headlights dim, even when cruising down the 'bahn.
Anyone else experienced this type of problem or have any suggestions? thanks................
week, I took it in for a 'slight' hesitation
problem, and I was told that they would have to
look inside of the engine. I was told that the
something was wrong with the pistons (they kept
using the term, "Out of Round"). Yesterday, I went
in, and was told that "piston slap" was taking
place.
They use these terms freely and authoritatively at
the service center, and I'm curious to know if
anyone has had an engine problem like this (or
heard of it).
I'm not worried about the whole thing, because the
car is only 10,000 miles old, and I KNOW how well
it operated before this MAJOR maintenance. I plan
to practically LIVE at the service center, if they
don't fix it properly.
Also, if I have to go into the LEMON-LAW stuff,
what is the best way to approach that whole thing?
I don't "expect" to have to do that, but I would
like to know nevertheless.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Cef
I have seen all of those symptoms. I attributed those things to the operation of Hi-current devices (like the windows and/or air conditioner). It happens very rarely in my GLX, and it is no more severe than other cars I have owned. Whatever is causing it, my be more severe in some cars than others.
Cef
Sorry to get off the subject, but I have to tell you that don't let Volkswagen sell you a battery. It costs me close to $200 including labor. They claim its genuine VW oem, but the battery they installed was black without any (brand) markings. When I asked what happened to the genuine VW oem they said that this is much better that it carries a 5 year no restriction guarantee, which sounds like bullcrap. Anyway, buy your batteries from someplace other than VW, unless they guarantee oem, otherwise you are paying premium price for nothing. I didn't argue with them since I really needed a battery and it was already installed. BUt, I learned my lesson.
Oh, back to your question - no, I've never experienced the internal lights going out when slowing down (I have an auto transmision).
-John
Also the dealer quoted the in-dash CD unit at $350 and vw.com says it is $250. Does anyone know if the price went up?
Thanks Very Much in Advance.........Tom
I had the same problem with my silver 2000 GTI GLX w/10.5k miles on. It took two trips to the dealer to get this problem fixed. The first time they didn't have the part to do the work.I just actually got the car back from the dealer yesterday they fixed the problem,but a new problem has occured. Now when shifting into either 3rd or 4th gear it has difficult going into those gears. So I believe i will be heading back to the dealership soon. Good Luck to response #102
This question may sound stupid. I have been surfing the web. When they say the price for a Bilstein shock is $299.95, does it mean 4 shocks or just one? What about the spring? They said front is $229.00 and rear is $119.00. Do they mean a pair or just one?
Also, I would like to upgrade the intake. Which brand is better? How is Neuspeed?
Thanks in advance.
Manwa
I just recently bought a 2000 Jetta but I can tell you that everyone (except me) wanted a silver Jetta and they told me it takes AT LEAST 3 months to get them in, and they have no idea where they are in the pipeline at any point. Plus I was reading in the Jetta townhall's and a couple people waited for the right color and they receieved a car with either more or less options than they wanted. VW sends them the closest match that they have, so even if you wait, you may not get exactly what you want, unless it's the GLX in which case there really aren't any options anyway. But your best bet is to take a green/black combo or switch to blue, because there are plenty dark blue/tan interiors available.
I got a CD changer in my Jetta and it does cost $350, the price went up in February. They had an excess of them in December-January and blew them out with the $250 price. So they raised them back to $350. Still worth it though.