I need help buying a vw gti Options

[Tedmund]

It's time to sell one of my Miatas and buy a car I can but a car seat in. I've had my eye on the vw mk4 gti. Most people tell me not to but a vw because they fall apart and are expensive to own. I have friends that have had great running vw. And many that have had terrible money pits. I'd hate to get stuck with a lemon.

Does anyone have any pointers on buying a used vw? Things to look for? Common issues? Red flags?

Any advice?

Thank you!

[Ivan the Terribl...]

Don't get a GTI plain n simple. Vacuum lines on 1.8's fall apart and I've had a few recently that needed cats. If you do decide go with a mk4 platform look for a 2.0 which is slow but reliable and pretty easy to maintain.

Honestly if you are just looking for a car to be just used as a mode of transportation then look into buying or leasing one instead. Save you the head aches of an old ass car. Trust me, I work on them and know how much they cost to repair.

The new 2.5 platform is a great engine. Those things are awesome motors and don't have any problems so I'd recommend that.

Just keep in mind if you buy an older VW (mk4 ) there will be stuff that will crap out unless you really stay ontop of maintenance. That's the key in having a reliable VW.

[mk3f.t.w.]

yeah. make sure the previous owner was really on top of the maintenance (preferably dealer maintained) otherwise you can really get screwed. You can still get a mk4 gti with a NA 2.0L on the early gti. Like '99 or so. The later ones are all 1.8t and vr6 for GTI

[The Professor]

I never had mechanical issues with either of my mk4s. Done all the work on them myself. Proper maintenance is important, but in all honesty, if you can find one in good shape, they're pretty good fun little cars.

Each motor has its own strengths and weaknesses.

I've only owned 2 of them though, so what do I know.

[Tedmund]

Ivan I was afraid you would have bad news for me. : ( There aren't too many in my area for sale. The ones I've seen always have a ton of miles on them. And with my price range it's harder to get a one owner with low miles. I'd hate to buy a car and have to fix it a week later. I need reliability.

New born baby + my ls1 swap miata + GTI in the shop all the time sounds like an expensive combo.

Who knows maybe I'll find an old guy with one in his garage. That would be nice!

Thanks for the help guys. I'm not ruling out a GTI just yet. I will just be very picky when I look at them.