MK7 Reliability

[SouthSideGti]

The failures for the 2015's were mainly in the early 2014 build years. I am at 42k miles on my May 2015 build year 2015 GTI and have had zero issues whatsoever.

Getting a 2016 may be better for peace of mind if you are a review whore like me X_X

 

[CosmosMpower]

Good info, I haven't seen many 2016's for sale either used 15's or new 17's. It looks like they changed the options packages from 2016 to 2017, mainly there's no longer a performance package option?

It seems like that 10 extra HP and the diff from the PP is now in the sport and up for 2017. 2016 only had S, SE and Autobahn with or without performance package I believe.

Was the 2015 option package setup the same as 2016?

If I want a 2015/2016 with xenons/LED, keyless go, 220 hp, VAQ diff and cloth seats should I get a S with PP and lighting pack?

 

[XM_Rocks]

Nice stable of cars. I recently picked up a 996 C2 w/ 80k miles as a weekend car.

You def want a 2016+ for the MIB2 and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

I have a pretty fully loaded 2016 GTI SE 6MT w/ Lighting Package, Performance Package and DCC (adjustable dampers) with 16k Miles I could be talked into selling. I am close in Austin.

 

[heiney9]

Thanks for the info, I do want LSD, Bixenon headlights at least (if not LED) and keyless go. Those are a must so I guess I need to step up to a sport. Is yours a 2015 or a new 2017?

I read through that thread and didn't see any 2017's for under 20k posted.

Sport is/was only offered in 2017. It also has the bigger R brakes in addition to what others have mentioned. LSD, Keyless entry, push button start, special wheels, 20 more HP, Tartan cloth seats, adaptive Bi-Xenon headlights w/LED daylight running lights

This seems to be the sweet spot model, you might be able to find a good deal, but you may have to travel if you can't find one local. Sport models w/DSG retailed just over $30K. Seem to be deals had for as low as $23K, but expect to pay about $24-25, unless you discover a great deal.

 

[SouthSideGti]

Good info, I haven't seen many 2016's for sale either used 15's or new 17's. It looks like they changed the options packages from 2016 to 2017, mainly there's no longer a performance package option?

It seems like that 10 extra HP and the diff from the PP is now in the sport and up for 2017. 2016 only had S, SE and Autobahn with or without performance package I believe.

Was the 2015 option package setup the same as 2016?

If I want a 2015/2016 with xenons/LED, keyless go, 220 hp, VAQ diff and cloth seats should I get a S with PP and lighting pack?

The 2015 packages had the same names (S, SE & AB) but they contained slightly different things. For example, the 2015 AB package gave the option of purchasing the Performance package but it was not standard. In the 2016 year, the AB package contained the PP standard on all. For me the PP wasnt worth it as I was going the modded route and planned on tuning and adding the wavetrac LSD in the end.

Cars.com and AutoTrader have all the package information per year. Damn VW for confusing it so much

 

[heiney9]

The big draw back for the 2015 model is the phone integration and media center. It's proprietary to VW and is not very good by today's standards. In 2016 they went to Android Auto/Apple Carplay and it's much, much better.

 

[SouthSideGti]

The big draw back for the 2015 model is the phone integration and media center. It's proprietary to VW and is not very good by today's standards. In 2016 they went to Android Auto/Apple Carplay and it's much, much better.

The MIB1 is the 2015's crutch. That's the one big thing I miss but with bluetooth I get by

 

[Sub-to-Dub]

It looks like they changed the options packages from 2016 to 2017, mainly there's no longer a performance package option?

Yeah, the 2017 Sport, SE, and Autobahn trims all include the Lightning Package and Performance Package as standard. I think the only optional package for 2017 was the Driver Assistance Package (blind-spot monitoring, automatic braking, etc.) on the SE and Autobahn trims. Basically, 2017 made things simpler but probably meant some folks couldn't get the exact combination they wanted.

For 2015 and 2016 I believe all trims (S, SE, Autobahn) could be optioned with the Lighting Package and the Performance Package separately. Performance Pack SE and Autobahn cars could also option the DCC Adaptive Damping System package.

 

[XM_Rocks]

Yeah the 2017 Sport, SE, and Autobahn trims all include the Lightning Package and Performance Package as standard. I think the only optional package for 2017 was the Driver Assistance Package (blind-spot monitoring, automatic braking, etc.) on the SE and Autobahn trims.

For 2015 and 2016 I believe all trims could be optioned with the Lighting Package and the Performance Package separately.

DCC on Autobahn as well.

 

[MeltedSolid]

The performance package is the same across all years, it includes golf R brakes, an electronic LSD, slightly larger rear sway bar, and a superficial 10hp increase. In 2015-2016 you could get the performance package option, but in 2017 it came standard on at least the sport and autobahn, maybe SE. Generally the performance package seems very worth it to me, it's not much extra for some big brakes and an LSD.

 

[CosmosMpower]

Nice stable of cars. I recently picked up a 996 C2 w/ 80k miles as a weekend car.

You def want a 2016+ for the MIB2 and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

I have a pretty fully loaded 2016 GTI SE 6MT w/ Lighting Package, Performance Package and DCC (adjustable dampers) with 16k Miles I could be talked into selling. I am close in Austin.

Thank you, what's MIB2? I got apple car play on my M2 and was not impressed, I turned it off and never use it but then again the nav screen on that car is not touch screen and you have to use the controller joystick which is annoying.

Your 2016 SE sounds nice but probably way outside my budget.

 

[CosmosMpower]

The performance package is the same across all years, it includes golf R brakes, an electronic LSD, slightly larger rear sway bar, and a superficial 10hp increase. In 2015-2016 you could get the performance package option, but in 2017 it came standard on at least the sport and autobahn, maybe SE. Generally the performance package seems very worth it to me, it's not much extra for some big brakes and an LSD.

Interesting I did not know the LSD is an e-diff, I thought it was a mechanical locking diff. Hrmm that might change my mind on that if it's torque vectoring or something similar.

I do like the big brakes though if I want to track the car every now and again for fun if the GT3 or M2 are not ready.

 

[CosmosMpower]

Sport is/was only offered in 2017. It also has the bigger R brakes in addition to what others have mentioned. LSD, Keyless entry, push button start, special wheels, 20 more HP, Tartan cloth seats, adaptive Bi-Xenon headlights w/LED daylight running lights

This seems to be the sweet spot model, you might be able to find a good deal, but you may have to travel if you can't find one local. Sport models w/DSG retailed just over $30K. Seem to be deals had for as low as $23K, but expect to pay about $24-25, unless you discover a great deal.

Great info, I've never owned a VW but this community is awesome!

The 2017 sport seems to have everything I want but I don't really want to spend 23k. I drive quite a bit for work so I'm going to put 20-30k miles on the car in a year. Seems smarter to buy a used car that's 40-50% off MSRP with some miles instead.

 

[ElectricEye]

2015 model Mk7's had issues with carbon buildup thanks to a compromised turbo design that was remedied in the 2016 models. Nobody's really had the time to push the Mk7 platform to incredibly high miles yet, but I haven't been made aware of chronic reliability issues with 2016+ Golf's.

Where did you hear this from?

 

[PLF8593]

I might be open to getting a new 2017 (s) for under 20 with a DSG vs a used 2015 for 14-15.

Can you point me to a dealer that has the best discounts?

There are thousands of 2017's currently sitting on lots throughout the US, and the 2018's are ~supposed~ to start coming through in the next few months. Deals can be found without trying too hard. The best deals are to be had in the Northern Virginia/DC area.

I definitely think it's worth your time/money to get a 2017 S model and maybe finance it a bit longer than getting a used car with 40k+ miles.

Look at every dealer in your area, and see the ones with the most amount of GTIs on their lots. Start asking for prices on specific cars, and whoever gives you the best deal, you can use that number and tell the others to beat that price. Keep workin em down till you're happy with it, then you've got a good deal!