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VW GOLF GTI
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Comments
I would appreciate knowing which dealer
you managed to procure your Golf GLX
from at $200 over invoice. Thank you.
bradhazeltine@hotmail.com
UV light? That is, will photo-voltaic cells work
well if placed inside the car atop the dashboard?
Thanks
Another approach is to fax your specs and your price (telling them where/how you got your fair price so they know you didn't pull it out of the air) to all of the dealers in your area. CC all of them so they know who's in the game. Tell them the first dealership to take the price wins. I have seen this approach work for many people.
Good luck and please, keep us posted.
carlady/host
- Overall, I liked the feel of the Bimmer best. Very poised and confidence building on the road. The rear drive with balanced weight distribution made for a real thrill under hard cornering. Plus, the new coupe looks hot with a more agressive stance and new 17" alloys. On the downside, the Bimmer was the most expensive vehicle tested and I wasn't sure if the extra handling performance and label prestige justifies the $11,000CAN difference in price.
- Audi A4 was another fabulous car and the 4 cylider 1.8L turbo was a real shocker performance wise; virtually no turbo lag and lots of torque down low (2000-2500RPM) so you can jump off the lights. Nicely finished interior and distinctive styling. Regrettably, overpriced (IMHO) for what you get.
- The Jetta is essentially a Golf with 4 door and a trunk. It's a bit bigger and more urbane in it's styling. Virtually the same performance as the GTI, only you pay a $2,000 premium for the sedan stying.
The GTI won based on its performance, price, and it's quirky styling (at first I was off-put, but you grow to love it). Oh yeah, and it's practicality - the hatch has tons of storage space, and with the seats down you can cram lotsa stuff into the back. Plus the solid build, leather interior, 16" alloys and killer OEM sound system are sweet.
On the downside, torque steer and understeer are a problem (traction control helps, but...), hatchbacks are generally looked upon as econoboxes, and the insurance is high (lots of theft in my neck of the woods).
Paid $29,000CAN including Freight and PDI here in Ottawa, Canada. Dealers had told me this car was impossible to find, but from my experience, there are enough around the lots to prevent gouging. Every dealership in my area (5) had at least one in inventory during my negotiating period.
Overall I found VW very easy to deal with, and their cars have numerous thoughtful extras built in which really make a difference over time. And did I mention the performance....
Sorry for being long-winded.
A 323 station wagon (which they are going to import starting in December or January) with the sport package would have been just perfect for me. But way to expensive.
I drove the A4 Avant. Seemed a bit slow to me. Handling and ride was nice. Stripped, it would have been around $26k, plus a three month wait (hey, I'm impatient). Would be nice if it was chipped, I suspect.
The Saab 9-3 was nice. Very fast. Not sure how long I'd like the styling. Not cheap either -- I figured around $26-27k.
2000 Subaru Legacy wagon was too slow.
I like the styling of the Jetta, but the slope of the c pillar reduces headroom significantly in the back seat. The GTI actually has more headroom back there, due the straight roofline. And I wanted a hatch or station wagon to haul stuff. I do wish the GTI was available with 4 doors.
I was able to find one immediately, but in my neck of the woods (the Bay Area) every dealer who had one was charging at least $2000 above sticker, except for Dirito Brothers in Walnut Creek. I first called them on Tuesday, drove it and purchased it on Wednesday, arranged for insurance on Thursday and drove it home.
I'm fine with 2 doors... I won't be carrying passengers too often, and I prefer to have the longer doors for my own ease of entry/exit.
I love the solidity of the car. It exudes quality. I love slamming the door, or closing the hatch and hearing the lock engage. The leather of the steering wheel and seats is gorgeous to look at and sumptuous to the touch. I would rather the shift knob was leather instead of wood. The microwave-timer control for the sunroof seems needlessly odd, but I don't mind it much.
I like how the rear deck, which covers the cargo space when the hatch is closed, works; it has automatically retracting lines that attach to little posts inside the lid. It's very simple to remove or replace. (That hook on the underside-- is that meant for hanging clothing?) The tie-downs are handy and I'm glad the CD changer is hidden behind its door. I've only tried folding the rear seats once; it was kind of a pain but it's probably just that I was doing it spastically. It's unfortunate that you have to remove the headrests, but it's clever that there are slots for them on the rear edge of the rear seat cushions.
Incidentally, I removed the center headrest and tossed it in the closet. There's never going to be three adults in the back, and it just blocks my rear view.
I am extreeeemely happy with my GTI GLX. It's sporty, useful, handsome and well put-together. I like it more and more every day.
I thought the same thing about the hook on the deck lid, but while perusing the owners manual it mentions that it is there to hold the trunk floor flap open when accessing the spare and toolkit. Another one of those thoughtful little things that make this car wonderful (not to mention the gas strut hood lift, trunk tie downs, auto-locking trunk et al.)
As for the sunroof knob, I actually like it a lot. Once you get used to the positions you just flick your wrist and forget about it. On my Ford Expidition you have to press and hold the sunroof rocker switch until it opens to the desired spot - same for closing (BTW, there is a manual winch to close the sunroof hidden in the ceiling pod behind the cloth cover just in case the actuator dies.)
My centre headrest is in the closet too. VW was a bit optimistic about the seating capacity back there ;-)
A nice feature about the sunroof knob is that you can actually feel when it reaches the optimum-open point or the closed point. My SO's Jeep Grand Cherokee has a rocker switch for the sunroof, but it's one-touch open, press-and-hold close. It seems like VW could have easily used a one-touch window switch for the sunroof.
Not that I'm complaining, mind you! Like you say, the thought-out details of this car make it a joy even when it's not moving. For instance, being able to open the windows when unlocking the door with the key. Why didn't someone think of that sooner?
This discussion is making me antsy to leave work!
http://WWW.GIACusa.COM/vr6dbw.html
The guy behind this operation, Garrett Lim, is somewhat of a legend in chip tuning. The guy is a medical student (!) from California, currently going to school back in Pennsylvania. He does chips for a HUGE variety of cars, but he's a VW guy personally. I had one of his chips in my '97 GTI VR6, an early version he did for that motor, and it was a nice upgrade. He claims pretty healthy increases for the fly-by-wire motor, with dyno results to back it up.
Whoops - just noticed you have a '98, or the "early" version of the VR6. No problemo, he can chip it too.. in fact it's less expensive as your chip is socketed. See his site for more info.
-kc-
'99 GTI GLX
'86.5 Scirocco 16V 2.0
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Factory/1780
- it is NOT normal, but has been a chronic problem since the Mk3 cars. The cable shifters are lousy (IMHO - my 13 year old Scirocco shifts better - is this progress??) and problematic. There are a couple of TSB's at VW's tech site that go over the procedure for how to fix the problem. If your car is under warranty, take it in and demand they fix it, wave the TSB in their faces if they try to tell you it's "normal".. total baloney.
Go here to view the TSB for the '99.5+ cars:
(You will need the Adobe Acrobat reader, a free plug-in, installed in order to view it)
http://tech.vw.com/pdf/v349902.pdf
There is also a separate TSB at the site for the
earlier VR6 cars, for the exact same problem.
Note that ALL of the recent VW and Audi TSBs are posted here (tech.vw.com), in plain site for the public to view - this is very cool!
-kc-
'99 GTI GLX
'86.5 Scirocco 16V 2.0
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Factory/1780
Also - I wandered over to the "Honda League of 4-Bangers" on this site and irritated our rice burning friends.
I called the Civic si a 'bathtub' and that got them going!
Cheers!
a Garrett chip in my '97. Garrett may be a medical student but he's truly a craftsman at his work, and *does* care about what happens to the motors he's tuning, I sincerely believe. I have spoken with him personally and spoken to others in the business who are in the know - the guy is universally respected.
What makes you think he "prevents the ECU from retarding the timing"? Not true. Garrett fine tunes the fuel and timing maps, yes, but does not disable anything..
-kc-
'99 GTI GLX
'86.5 Scirocco 16V 2.0
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Factory/1780
Performance wise it would be a close match to the GTI GLX for thousands less?
I want more performance, more VW performance. I don't think I can get enough out of the little four banger. I have a K&N, and I've thought of chipping it, but I'm worried if I buy the car, dump a grand into it on a chip, cat-back exhaust, and so on that I'll still get the lump in my throat when some 40 YO tools by in some VR6 model that's being strangled by an automatic.
So my question is what would you do: Step away from the GTI badge to get the performance? Or keep the 2.0 I've had since it was new and drop some mods on it?
Thanks!
Why, oh why did they ever give up on the 16V engine. it shoukd have been made the standard. At least they would have been competitive, then.
Bruce, Smart Shopper co-Host.
I say go for a new VW. I think VWs look much better now. And I don't think there's much hope for the 2.0, performance-wise. Maybe you want to wait for the Jetta GLS (or GTI GLS) with the 1.8T engine-- should be less expensive than the VR6.
Golf GTI GLS (4 cyl). My question is this: does the GTI GLS handle better than a base GOLF GL? I know they have the same engine, but do they have the same suspension? I can't tell by reading the VW brochures, etc. Any advice from VW pros would be appreciated. Thanks.
(Unsolicited advice from the carlady: depending on your daughter's age and driving experience, the GLX 6cyl may be too much car. The insurance rates will be off the charts. I know it's not a model you are currently considering but bear it in mind in case the salesperson -- or your daughter -- starts leaning that way...)
carlady/host
I'm just wondering what types of leather cleaner/conditioner I should use on my 2000 GTI. Some conditioner state that the cream may cause darkening of the leather (I have a Beige color leather).
Thanks in advance!
While the 2.0L is a bit of a dog, the suspension makes a difference in the way the car "feels."
I've been using Mother's Leather Cleaner and their Conditioner. The cleaner works great - I got grease from the headrests all over the rear seat when opening the hatch for big cargo. Just spray it on on gently buff. Has a nice citrus scent too. The Conditioner is a lotion that you rub into the leather. Leaves it feeling nice and supple. About $8CAN each ($6US).
I have black leather so I wouldn't notice darkening as much, but it did not appear to change the colour of the leather. Mother's make very good quality polishes and cleaners, so I'm pretty sure they won't do any damage. Hovever, you might want to test in a hidden spot first. Check out www.mothers.com for more info. Their waxes are first rate.
A few other notes on suspension...
Having driven in a MK3 GTI VR6 vs. my 2000 GLX I would have to say that VW has softened the suspension a bit. The ride on the 2000 is a good blend of performance and comfort; the 98 VR6 suspension felt more purposeful although harsher (plus the chassis isn't nearly as solid feeling).
The GTI GLS is a bit of a ripoff - no performance whatsoever in the engine department. When VW brings the 1.8Turbo to the GLS in the spring, then the car will be worthy of the nameplate. Having driven the 1.8T in the Audi A4 and the Beetle 1.8T, I think that the GLS 1.8T will bring a smile to any enthusiasts face. Gobs of torque down low where you need it, high revving, almost no turbo lag - if it was availabvle when I bought my GLX I may have gone for it instead. Not that I'm disatisfied though :-)
carlady/host
-kc-
'99 GTI GLX
'86.5 Scirocco 16V 2.0
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Factory/1780
The set up you are using, how does it differ from the H&R Coilovers? I'm not too technical, but I was curious which is superior. I understand the coilover's are expensive. Also, what did this modification do to your warrenty?
Whenever I get around to getting one of these cars, hopefully soon, I plan on replacing the suspension bits, though I would think twice if it did grievous damage to my warrenty. Of course, new tires are a given. I've yet to hear of a car with decent stock tires.
-kc-
Also, it seems that racing purists despise all the bells and whistles that come with the GLX, like power windows, heated seats, air conditioning, etc. as needless weight and more stuff to break.
OTOH, go down to the forums at vwvortex-- if anyone there has a straight-up stock car, it's only because they just brought it home five minutes ago, and they already have a wrench in one hand while typing with the other. To each their own!
I just bought a 2000 GTI, and love it. What a great combination of performance, handling, comfort, convenience and looks. Perhaps it's not a purist's car, but then again, purists tend to upgrade regardless. I'm considering a spring and shock package, and have heard that the H&R springs are the way to go. As far as the shocks are concerned, Konis have been recommended, but you seem to prefer Bilsteins. Any further thoughts?
My Scirocco is really a hoot - 2.0 upgrade, full Bilstein/H&R/Neuspeed swaybar suspention, Dunlop SP8000's on Corrado BBS rims, euro lights and possibly the most important visual upgrade of all: euro bumpers in place of the HUGE battering rams that the car came with for the US market... it's quick, has tons of low end (not possible with the 1.8 16V) and handles like a go-kart. And is a damn fine looking car if I may say so!
-kc-
'99 GTI GLX
'86.5 Scirocco 16V 2.0
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Factory/1780
I just bought my new GTI this august, should i be worried about this recall notice since Golf and GTI is essentially the same car but different engines?
Please help!
Why not call the service manager at the dealership from which you bought your car and ask for a complete explanation of the recall and why it does /not apply to your car?
Get the facts. Then, if necessary, panic. ;-)
carlady/host
GTI and I was impressed by the handling and quality of the car. Accelaration was lively but most important to me was that I was able to merge into highway speed effortlessly. I was actually surprized to see how fast I was going since the car was very stable, quiet and solid at highway speeds. The next day I went and test drove the v6 gti. Compared to the 4 cyl. the v6 was smoother but had a lounder more muscular sound at idle (nice). The idle sound on the 4 is definetly quieter. Once in first gear I barely hit the gas pedal and the Automatic Slip Regulation (ASR) immediatly kicked in. This is a powerful engine!!! There was torque steer that reminded me of my 88 Golf (great car by the way).
The gear shifting on the v6 was quick and I reached 60 miles/hr effortlessly. Acceleration is what really sets the two gtis from each others. I say that because I really did not see any difference in the handling between the two gtis. I was expecting better handling with the v6 but apparently the suspension is the same. One other difference I noticed was the weight at the front of the car, the v6 logically felt heavier in the front compared to the 4 cyl.
I was ready to buy the silver/black v6 but couldn't afford to spend 25,000 dolars (with tax and tags)on this beautiful piece of engineering. The dealer refused to negotiate and I felt that he wanted to keep the car for himself (very strange and horrible experience). Shopping for a v6 was a nightmare, even autobytel could not give me a decent price on that car. However, through autobytel I was able to get my silver GLS with beige leather interior and a 6 CD changer for 18,500 (including tax and tags). I decided to go for the 4 for the following reasons: 1) budget, 2) the handling is the same on both cars and 3) the performance of the 4 suits my daily commute.
In summary, if you are on a budget and want a rare car with excellent handling and real world performance (highway merging, etc...)then go with the base gti. If you can wait until the spring (hard to wait for such an awesome car)then get the turbo gti. It will probably be more expensive but worth it I am sure. If you can get a great deal on the 4 cyl GTI right now, I say go for it, it is all you will need (I have no regrets what so ever!!!).
Well, I hope that this long post was informative and for all you Golf drivers out there: enjoy!!!
2000 Gti Gls (silver/beige leath.)