Volkswagen Rabbit

rolzrabbit

Hey just passed 7,000 miles today. Love my ride, except for one thing. The hissing noise of the struts drives me a bit nuts. Anyone else notice this? Every time I drive with the windows down, I gotta turn up the radio to drown out the hissing! Otherwise, great car. Oh, and I went after-market with some 17 inch konig rims. I just couldn't wait for a car with alloys to come in at the dock. Bad enough I had to go to Maryland all the way from philly just to get the car.

steven39

maybe you have a rattle snake camping out in your struts.lol

volntitan

My daughter was in a serious accident a couple of weeks ago on her way homr from college in her 04 Golf. So with the insurance money, we went shopping. We decided to get her a new car that will take her thru college and grad school. We test drove the Versa, Fit, Civic, Impreza, Yaris, Corolla and Rabbit. The Versa has great room. Fit has great versitility. Problem with these cars are how well their resale value will be because they are "trendy" cars. Wouldn't say classic styling is their strong point. Same with the Yaris. Now all these cars got better gas mileage than the Rabbit, but when it comes to build quality they don't touch the Rabbit. Not saying these cars are quality, because they are, but the Rabbit is so more solid feeling and much better drive than the others. The Versa was big inside, but felt very cheap. No personality in these cars. The Rabbit was fun to drive, feels very secure.

So obviously we went with the Rabbit. Black 2 door with Automatic. Paid $16,500. Better stereo and drive than her Golf. Honestly, we knew the Rabbit would be the choice. She LOVED her Golf and after getting in an accident where she ended up on the other side of the Interstate across the median and end up on fire (caused by the other car...it caught on fire and spread to hers) and then to see how well the cage held up, I am convinced that the Rabbit is one of the safest little cars on the road. And the fact it is the Rabbit is the only one in the class to offer Electronic Stability Control, it is a winner.

Karen_S

A reporter from a national news magazine is hoping to talk with consumers who have just downsized their vehicle from a SUV (preferably large) to a small, compact car. Please reply to ctalati@edmunds.com no later than Monday, December 4, 2006 with your daytime contact info.

jmcg3

I prefer the 2-door, but the lack of a center armrest is also a deal-killer for me. Do I really have to buy a GTI or a 4-door just to get a center armrest, or is there an aftermarket fix for this glaring omission by VW? :confuse:

jbaustian

You can certainly add the center armrest later. And you can probably swap one out of a Rabbit, GTI, or Jetta.

VW has done this before -- the 2-door Golfs were all GL models, the 4-doors were GLS. Then they dropped the 2-door TDIs entirely. None of it made much sense -- why can't they offer all engine/transmission/trim options in both 2-door and 4-door models?

eldaino

I agree, i dunno why they have done this in the past. I have a rabbit 2 door, and i must say that i thought the transition from a car with an armrest to one without it would be awful, but its not nearly that bad, si i don't really mind. I think you can get the attachment from vw though.

pog4

I am sure I could live without the armrest and the upgraded radio, but in the back of my mind I would always be wishing I had them. Now that I am activity shopping for a 4 door model, I am having a heck of a time finding one that is not completely optioned out. It seams I could easily get a base 2 (15K) door or a fully loaded 4 door (20K+) but nothing in the middle. I hope a new shipment comes in soon, I was planning to purchase around the end of the month.

BTW - motor week posted the video review of the rabbit
road test

steven39

hello folks,i have a 07 rabbit and have a question regarding the windshield wipers operation.when i am driveing with the lowest setting on the wipers and i make a stop at a stop sign or light the wipers will stop working then resume normal operation when the car starts to move again.is this normal? or is it time for repairs.

go_snail_go

I finally have a chance to buy a new car. Current vehicle is a Honda CRV that will soon be my daughter&#146;s first car. Now it&#146;s time for Dad to play. What would you buy, or recommend buying, if you were in the <$30k market and had the following criteria.

4 door, automatic, decent mpg, reliable, comfortable/confident at 85+ mph, and FUN to drive

I&#146;m considering the GTI (4dr), GLI, S40, TSX, WRX, EVO IX, Accord V6, and Legacy GT. Your advice, experience, or opinion would be greatly appreciated.

backy

Don't forget the new Altima. You could also get a slightly used 3 Series or A4 for under $30k.

There are a couple of comparo discussions you might want to check out--one on mid-sized sedans (covers Accord, Legacy etc.) and one on cars around $30k. Have fun!

eldaino

Well, i don't know what kind of response you were expecting but since this is a vw thread, i would imagine you would get a lot of gli and gti's. Unless you have a soft spot for VW there are quite a few cars that out perform the gti and gli, and in turn cars that don't for the same price. It all depends on what you want. I would suggest a rabbit since thats what this thread is about, but its not listed as one of your options...making me wonder why you didn't post this in any of the gti threads. :confuse:

jbaustian

Somebody asked today where to get one, and it turns out there are several for sale on eBay. Go here for a current list:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=160826

These are for the Mk4 models, but the Mk5 model Golf/Rabbit has been available in Europe for a few years, so the parts are out there.

tom05ex

It's normal. The wipers will automatically slow down by one speed setting when you come to a stop. When you start moving again, they go back to the original speed. In other words:
If on high speed, they reduce to low speed
If on low speed, they reduce to intermittent
If on intermittent, the interval between wipes will lengthen

You can temporarily override this if you need to. For instance, if you have the wipers on low, and then bring the car to a stop and they switch to interval, you can turn off the wipers and turn them back on again on low, and they will wipe continuously. However, the next time you start moving and come to a stop again, they will resume the temporary speed change.

Another neato thing the wipers do: when they're on intermittent and you change the interval to a shorter setting, the wipers will immediately make one extra sweep (even if they just finished one) before settling into the new interval setting. Try it. Just another one of the smart little things they built into this car.

morrdba

Okay, I've had my $14,990 2Dr 2006 Rabbit for several months now....I think I was the 1st one in Tidewater, VA...and I can't wait any longer to put some alloys and sticky tires on it and take it out on the autocross track! Does anyone have any idea what the best tire and wheel combination would be for racing this puppy?

micweb

The tires and wheels on the GTi, with the GTi attached.



Sorry, couldn't resist.

You'll get more benefits from putting Eibach lowering springs on it, than from changes tires.

steven39

hi folks,i just recieved my guitar in the mail from vw after about 2 months of purchasing my vwrabbit.i must say that this is a very nice guitar and not at all like the toy guitar that i thought i would be receiving.it's an electric guitar with all of the accesories included such as carrying case,straps,battery,pics,and all of the power cords needed.it also came with a little miniature guitar that sticks on the back of the rabbit just underneath of the rabbit emblem which is pretty neat.anyway,i don't play the guitar and i called some local music shops in my area to see maybe how much they would bye the guitar from me.i got around to calling 1 shop so far and they offered me twenty dollars for it.however,when i went on ebay to see what they were getting for these guitars i seen the same exact guitar that i have going for over 300.00...
was the guy in the music store who offered me twenty dollars for the guitar simply trying to pull my chain or what???

mopsy

Cool. I hope I get my guitar soon. It's been 6 weeks now since we bought our Rabbit. Keep in mind that I am not a professional guitar player or anything. But from what I have read, First Act guitars are not highly regarded as musical instruments. The value in these guitars is the VW collectability (if that's a word). When I first looked at the auctions as the guitars started shipping a few weeks ago, they were going for $500-600. Now they seem to end in the $200-250 range.

steven39

thanks for the info mopsy.i purchased my rabbit on oct 23 and so it's been close to 8 weeks delivery just like i was told.you should probably recieve the guitar within the next few weeks if it's already been 6 weeks since you purchased your rabbit.how do you like your rabbit thus far??........i love mine and i look for excuses to drive it especially at night with the cool interior lighting.

mopsy

Everyday I hope to see that big box on my porch! I love my car. My DH and I fight over who drives it. Poor thing has already got about 3800 miles on it. 5K service time will be here very soon! Averaging about 27 mpg on spirited 30% city/ 70% hwy driving. Have a Tornado Red 4 door manual with no options except some 16" Jetta alloys we bought at a discount from the dealer. Did I mention how much I love this car?

eldaino

Hey stevo! The guitar is cool isn't it? I've had it for awhile now; don't listen to those guitar shop guys. The reason that they are offering you so little is because of the brand; first act is pretty entry level, but its no worse than alot of entry level ibanez's or fenders. Its a collectors item that isn't really meant to be seriously played with, but maybe put up in glass somewhere. They are just being dumbasses, a new run of the mill first act is still more expensive than that. These are sweet little guitars, but their appeal is more to the vw faithful and collecter, not really to gigging musicians. Having said that, have you tried plugging it into the aux jack in your rabbit and playing through the speakers? it actually sounds pretty good!

steven39

hi folks,i have noticed that after i turn off the ignition after driveing that my front wind wipers will move up about 1 inch from their normal position without me touching the switch.is this a normal thing with the wipers or am i haveing electrical problems already.

mopsy

Hmmm...I haven't noticed that. I'll have to check next time I drive the car. Have you been to Vortex forums? Lots of useful advice there (and some useless posts too of course LOL).

gogogodzilla

I've got an '07 GTI, and have noticed the opposite.

Sometimes, when I shut off the engine, the windshield wipers will settle-down about a 1/2 inch.

jeffyscott

My understanding is wipers change their resting position periodically so that the rubber on the blades is not always flipped the same way when resting. This helps prevent the rubber from getting "stuck" and not flipping back and forth when wiping, like it is supposed to.

There is also a "service" position that will move them up so that you can lift the wipers up off the windshield...so that is another possibility. Owner's manual tells you how to trigger the service position.

steven39

ok guys,i just watched the dvd that came with my rabbit that explains how some of the rabbit's features operate.the guy said that every other time that you use the wipers the wiper blades will change their resting position to get more longevity out of the blades and to prevent premature wear on the blades.this is how it works on the rabbit models,iam not sure how it works on other vw models.

surferjd

A little help/advice please. I am helping my fiance buy a 07 rabbit with the following features:
4 door
manual
sun roof
sat radio

What range in price should i negotiate to not including tax etc.

thank you all and happy new year!

v_d

try to ask your question here

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.f0dd1b2/55

you should be looking at about $19000 MSRP... the invoice should be around that, if not $500 short of MSRP... From what I read most paid full MSRP if not a bit more (still a few ppl paid a bit less than MSRP). There`s a big demand for Rabbits so dealers usually stick to the price. Hope it helped a bit, good luck! I bet she`s looking for a red one :P

steven39

i purchased my 07 rabbit a few months ago....
4dr,auto,sunroof,sat radio,ect...
msrp was 20,400.00..got the car for 19,500.00 plus ttt....steve

surferjd

thank you for the replies!
she is getting a silver one...manual...4dr...roof..sat radio...18,722.00 +ttt

only one left in FL...next one in state will be in march they said and another dealer told me same!

surferjd

oh, follow up question,

would buying it in let's say Kentucky be cheaper ie taxes etc? any other state??
thanks

jeffyscott

My understanding is you pay taxes to your state of residence not the state where you buy it.

fivedoors

Hi all, I got my 07 automatic rabbit last month, I realized that when I step on the gas pedal to speed up the car from 0 mph, its response is so reluctant, in other words, the acceleration is very slow. Have you guys encountered the same problem? This gave me some frustrations when I tried to make left turn at the interaction with traffic lights . Other than this issue, I love the rabbit as whole.

moparbad

VW has high predicted residual value.

2007 Residiual Value for Brands

steven39

yes vw's do tend to hold their value pretty well.
unfortunatly,the good resale value is offset by a poor reliability record.

jeffyscott

Well, at least it's nice to know if our "experiment" with VW becomes too painful, it won't cost us too much to escape.

steven39

yes i agree,i even have looked into researching the new 07 nissan sentra should i have any major issues with my rabbit.however,it's been almost 3 months now since i got the rabbit and so far so good.i love this car and i hope it can hold up to the test of time...

steven39

hi,i got my 07 rabbit in silver in october from gunther motors in ft.lauderdale.it's a 4dr with auto,sunroof,sat radio,and side airbags package.paid 19,500....it was the last one they had in stock at the time.

brobi

All I can say is "wow" this car from the inside feels like a sports car, the engine sounds great and makes u feel you are driving a much bigger car. I just purchased mine from Crosby in Kichener Ontario. The 4 door is the way to go, why? better quality material seats are much better then on the 2 door, center consol added on the 4 door as well as slighly different design in front of the 5speed stick. Test drove both automatic and 5speed. Automatic is great but you just get that better control over the car with a 5speed and its 1,400$ cheaper. So in stead of having the car change gears for you I got the conviniece package with heated seats, heated nozzles, upgraded cd player and mats all included as well as the electonic stablization package and still saved $600 over the automatic. The 5 speed is really nice, so easy to shift "almost too easy". Coming from a 98 Jetta Volskburg edition this car is night and day compared to what I had. The inside is really well done, speaks quality, my sister has brand new civic fully loaded and I would not purchase one. The VW has that european refinment that is lacking on those [non-permissible content removed]. I dont care if the Civic gets extra few miles to the tank, "becuase it does" but I could not trade up the refinment of the VW and classy feel for something like a civic or any comparable japanese car (note I dont even mention an american car as after having the 2007 cobalt as a rental for 1 month , and trying the new rabit it was like night and day) cobalt was just that a car fit for somone who just wants a to b driving , boring, unrefined poor performance. The new Golf (rabit) is my choice and cant be happier!

gogirlgo

Got my Rabbit in June and still love it. I so agree with you about the feeling of a sports car and I have had a couple. The thing about the Rabbit and VW is that they are build for the the person that likes to drive....real driver's cars....the feeling of being one with the car, especially with the 5 speed.

P.S. this is my 3rd VW and they have all be reliable and fun to drive.

steven39

i purchased my 07 rabbit in october and it's been great ever since.i paid 19,500.00 and the rabbit drives and feels as if i spent twice as much.this car drives and has the feel of a bmw at half the cost.

eldaino

Well my relationship with my rabbit has a been a good one so far. I've logged in just under 8k and have only have only had a slight adjustment to my windshield wipers on my 5k service. Contrary to what some people are commenting here, i don't feel like the rabbit has a 'sports car' feel. Nice and peppy off the line, but the engine does kinda get lazy after 4500rpms. (for an iron block 5 cylinder its ok though.) Someone mentioned how much better the rabbit is than the civic, having owned both i will say that i miss the mileage a whole lot, but i understand that the rabbit does good for a car with an engine of this nature and a car of its weight.(the 2.4 aluminum five cyl in the volvo s40 gets worse mileage.) I think that the interior is very nice, but it is not light years ahead of the civic, it is marginally better, but again only marginally.

Kudos on the residual value thing for vw's, hopefully the reliability thing will get better with this new generation. They do hold their value pretty high, almost honda like. I saw an 04 R32 going for almost 30k. I blue booked it and got just a little less! Again probably due to its limited availabilty, but still go vw!

eldaino

hey five doors. Sorry but i cant say that i personally have. I have an auto 2 door and it does great, its on the freeway that any sort of 'sluggishness'can be detected due to the engines low revving nature. It has a ton of torque at very low rpms so it should feel quick 0-60, mine does at least, there is a reason that vw says its the perfect car for city driving. You may want to get it checked out!

personatech

I own a '99 Beetle TDI.

The timing belt is rated at 50K and they try to change it every 40K. Damned expensive. Last time I asked that they install the 80K/100K belt (they ignored me). My understanding is that the difference between 80K and 100K is which tensioner is used. Best news is, if you have the $$$ you can retrofit even a '99 to the new belt and tensioner.

repoman1

Info. released by VW Jan 23, 2007
CLEAN DIESEL VOLKSWAGEN JETTA MAKES NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT AT WASHINGTON, D.C. AUTO SHOW

WASHINGTON, D.C. &#150; Volkswagen of America, Inc. today unveiled its cleanest diesel ever for the U.S., the Jetta TDI. Additionally, the company announced that this new clean diesel will be available to the U.S. market in the spring of 2008. This Jetta TDI will meet emissions standards applicable in all 50 states, including the most stringent "TIER 2/BIN 5" or "LEV II/LEV" requirement limiting nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to 0.05 g/mile.

This clean diesel Jetta meets the lowest emissions standards without the use of urea injection. Instead, a nitrogen oxide storage catalyst reduces NOx emissions by up to 90 percent. The engine management system in the Jetta changes operating modes periodically to treat the NOx that has been stored in the catalytic converter. A particulate filter in the exhaust system further reduces emissions.

The Jetta TDI is one of the first products of the BLUETEC offensive initiated jointly by Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen. The goal of this partnership is to establish the concept of BLUETEC as a uniform label for clean and highly fuel efficient diesel-powered cars and SUVs with 50-state compliant engines. BLUETEC denotes diesel power plants that comply with the strictest emissions regulations of the US market. The technologies individually developed by each manufacturer serve to reduce NOx in particular &#150; an exhaust element more prevalent in a diesel engine.

Volkswagen unveiled its clean diesel concept Tiguan compact SUV at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. The Tiguan will be available in the U.S. mid 2008.

Volkswagen has a 30-year history of providing the U.S. market with efficient and durable diesel vehicles. Diesels traditionally account for almost 20 percent of Volkswagen's sales in the United States.

speedbunny

I've been a VW fan for ten years. Had a 97 Golf and an 04 Beetle until last week...the roads were slick and and I lost control on an exit ramp and actually rolled her to death (but I came out w/o a scratch...that's VW...those cars protect you!!!)
So I read literally this entire blog site, cuz I wanted to buy a Rabbit...and last nite I took a test drive...I work as a courier, drive nine hours a day, and this rollover accident had me skittish, and at the prospect of a test drive, I was nervous with a brand new car....
My totally cool salesmen (the best are the ones who've loved VW's as much as we do, right?)...he goes "get in this car and drive it...you will be healed"
AND I WAS....I could not believe how solid the car is, and how it absolutely works for you...comfort, speed, control...I'd never driven anything by the standard VW 2.0...but this sweet RABBIT gets you outta trouble in a hurry!!!
When I told my sales dude of my veedub history, he says 'oh this is easily the best VW you're buying to date'...and he's absolutely right...makes my golf and beetle feel like jalopies (and I loved them too!!!)
This was a fully loaded four-door...16" wheels...sage green, lovely cool color...so what else could I do but buy her...
And I'm quite sure she'll take care of me...I've never owned a luxury car, but this feels like one!!!
Wuv my Wabbit....she healed me...if anybody's even on the fence, just take a test drive...it was instantaneous adoration for me...that's us VW'rs tho...we LOVE OUR CARS!!!

nippononly

if the changeover of top management that has occurred at VW and delayed many upcoming projects (including the just-mentioned Tiguan release) will have any impact on availability of the new BLUETEC diesels.

3dd

I'm very interested in getting a Rabbit. Has anyone gotten one with the 18" or 17" wheels and the ground effects kit like that one they show in the TV commericals/ads? It is actually kinda funny that VW shows this style in all their commericals and ads, and yet, I don't think you will never be able to get it for under 17G...

wcott

Just finished test driving the 07 Rabbit...was very pleasantly surprised. Not only at the fit and finish, but the price also.
My parents drove VW's for 50 years, until the past few years when the reliability issues drove them to Subaru. I've tested a few of the cars in the Rabbit's group, and like the VW best.
I am considering leasing on for 3-4 years, just to make sure I don't get saddled with a chronic problem for years to come.
I've been quoted around $340/mo for 4 years with 2500 down. That's for the 5 door with the convenience group, ESP, and 16 inch alloys.
Is this out of line, or can I say I got a not-bad deal?

wcott

all prices in Canadian Dollars.