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Would you do it all over again?

RogueGTI

Ready to race!
Location
SoCal
I adore my 17 GTI Sport in the pure white (or candy white?)

I would definitely do it again. However the one source of pause and concern, the intake carbon gunking due to direct injection. Thats a real downer...

PS: still adore my mk6 Golf TDI MT6. At 163k miles, its still going strong, and ive turned it into a towing mule on occasion, hauling close to 3000lbs at times. Knock on wood, i still have big plans for it, but it has been a great car, and soooo easy for DIY maintenance also.
 
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Mk_GTI

Go Kart Champion
Location
Hellinois
Car(s)
2018 Golf R
Bought a used 2006 GLI that I owned for three years and 45k miles. That car was a pile of shit that cost VW at least $12k in warranty work. Sold it right after the warranty ran out.

Traded the GLI in for a brand new 2010 GTI. Still have the car after eight years and 119k miles. It's been pretty good so far, only left me stranded once when the OEM battery was at the end of it's lifespan and is now starting to nickel and dime with stuff breaking and the 2dr style is isn't practical anymore.

Time for the 2010 to go. Looking to buy a 2018 GTI SE next weekend. I tend to get bored with cars every three years or so, and figure since I kept the 2010 for so long and still enjoy driving it, the Mk7.5 can only be better.
 

Squishy

Ready to race!
Location
Barrie, Ontario
I like my GTI and don't regret buying it, there are a few things about it that annoy me but they are minor and overall I like the car. I am stock though.
 

dequardo

Autocross Newbie
Location
America’s Dairyland
Car(s)
‘21 GLI Autobahn GLI
I adore my 17 GTI Sport in the pure white (or candy white?)

I would definitely do it again. However the one source of pause and concern, the intake carbon gunking due to direct injection. Thats a real downer...

PS: still adore my mk6 Golf TDI MT6. At 163k miles, its still going strong, and ive turned it into a towing mule on occasion, hauling close to 3000lbs at times. Knock on wood, i still have big plans for it, but it has been a great car, and soooo easy for DIY maintenance also.
Pure White. No known issues with carbon buildup on MK7s.
 

BronxBomber

Ready to race!
Location
Orlando,FL
I was traditionally a VW hater. Being a Service Advisor at CarMax and having tons of pissed VW customers bringing their cars with a myriad of maladies, contributed greatly to my dislike of them. Always liked the styling of most VW’s GTI, Jetta GLI, CC in general. I’m coming from a highly modded Fiesta ST. Loved the Fiesta, but wanted to put down 400+ WHP and with the Fiesta that entailed going with an even bigger laggier turbo and MPI. Didn’t want to go through all the hassle. Read up on he MK7 GTi. Great reviews. Saw YouTube videos of them owning much more expensive and fast vehicles so I decided to give it a chance. 13k miles later, no regrets. Car is comfortable, has good cargo, fits 4 adults, has a nice interior, good tech, fuel efficient, fast/mod friendly, economical and handles well. Hey m officially a VW convert.
 

Wrath And Tears

Go Kart Champion
Location
Azusa, CA
Car(s)
17 Sport, 99 E36
I was traditionally a VW hater. Being a Service Advisor at CarMax and having tons of pissed VW customers bringing their cars with a myriad of maladies, contributed greatly to my dislike of them. Always liked the styling of most VW’s GTI, Jetta GLI, CC in general. I’m coming from a highly modded Fiesta ST. Loved the Fiesta, but wanted to put down 400+ WHP and with the Fiesta that entailed going with an even bigger laggier turbo and MPI. Didn’t want to go through all the hassle. Read up on he MK7 GTi. Great reviews. Saw YouTube videos of them owning much more expensive and fast vehicles so I decided to give it a chance. 13k miles later, no regrets. Car is comfortable, has good cargo, fits 4 adults, has a nice interior, good tech, fuel efficient, fast/mod friendly, economical and handles well. Hey m officially a VW convert.

With that awesome mod list I assume you would spank the pants off your old ST?
 

ecsta

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Toronto
Car(s)
2017 R
(My R is stock just cosmetic mods)
Honestly i used to believe that the "VW CEL" meme was exaggeration, after owning one for 2 years i've had more CEL's than the entire 12+ years and counting ownership of my previous car (KIA SUV). Been at the VW dealership for issues so many times i know everyone by their first names.

That said i still absolutely love the car and i would buy another VW GTI/R in a heartbeat. I would definitely never recommend a VW to a non-"car guy".

I think if i was doing it over again i'd buy a year or two used since my VW warranty has been pretty useless.
 

Rafiki76

Ready to race!
Location
Los Angeles
Car(s)
MKVII GTI
I would have to say no.

That being said I truly love my GTI and it's a great car, but I don't want another VW. There are small problems and a lot of annoyances with it.

The DSG while a fantastic transmission for spirited driving, clunks on upshifts and downshifts and is awkward to drive under 10mph on street because it doesn't want to drop into first.

The engine is decent for it's class but not quite as fast as I would like stock and a tune would void warranty. I'm still most likely going to tune it though.

The engine heat-soaks a lot stock, the wheels are too small stock, and there are a lot of rattles.

And it's FWD...

I love my GTI and I'm happy I got one, but I wouldn't buy another probably.
 

Clem604

Autocross Champion
Location
Vancouver BC, Canada
Car(s)
2018 VW GTI
I would say no I don't regret it one bit. When bought my MKV GTI new 11 years ago I was hooked on the first drive and knew I would keep the car for a long time. Fast forward 11 years, I traded my MKV GTI back to the dealer I purchaed it from for a MK7.5 GTI. So far the car has far exceeded my expectations and it still has the thing about my MKV that I loved so much, the "fun factor".

 

BronxBomber

Ready to race!
Location
Orlando,FL
With that awesome mod list I assume you would spank the pants off your old ST?

My Fiesta ST was pretty quick for its weight. 2,720 lbs laying down 294whp and 292 wheel torque. That said, my GTI in its cure state would beat it especially with DSg
 

DucatiSSsp

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Seattle, WA
Definately not do it again! While most cars will have a few teething(creak & rattles) issues, I've had issues with the original 2017 SE and issues w/ paperwork getting done between VW, the dealer and the credit union(BECU) on the replacement 2018 Autobahn.
While many will say I scored on getting a Autobahn and longer warranty out of the deal, I feel I did not "score" that good of a deal.

Here's the major bullet points of ownership:

* Bought a 2017 GTI SE on Dec. 14th, 2017

* Returned to dealer next day for three days due to lot boy scratching the hood while washing it. Picked it up on the 18th.

* On Friday, Dec. 22nd, w/ 290 miles on the odo, warning light for low oil pressure came on. Called VW and was towed in on the 27th due to holiday and weather.

* Dealer notified me on/about Jan 3rd that my car needed a new motor and turbo.

* Got VW Care involved Jan. 5th, after lowball compensation offer from dealer.

* VW care notified me Jan. 16th that I would be getting a replacement vehicle.

* Got all the paperwork done during the week and the long wait for the new car began.

* After 6 weeks went by, i started sending emails as to the progress of my new vehicle.

* Got responses that it had left port and was in transit. Couldn't tell me when I would have my car though. Finally after a week, I was told that the paperwork was being sent to the dealer on the 13th of March and I should be in my new vehicle by fri the 16th. Dealer sat on paperwork and did not pick up the car until Tues the 20th. Car looked great, I was finally happy driving home...or so I thought.

* After the next couple months, i started to get notices from the credit union for proof of Ins. for the 2017 SE......WTF! CU says that they never got the paperwork. Sent multiple emails to VW care and finally got a response that the dealer failed to complete the paperwork and is now being processed.

* Another notice and i call VW care and they tell me they just sent it to the CU.
called the CU to let them know what was going on.

* Another notice in mid June and I go down the the local CU and a gal makes some phone calls and puts notes in my file........OK, now hopefully I can rest assured and enjoy my car.

* Last Friday, the 13th, I get notice that they have tacked on $5400 for Ins. to cover my loan. Call the Loss dept. and explain, reads the notes in my file and calls the title dept. After 1/2 a hour, she says I'm all cleared up. "ignore the last letter"!

* Sat the 21st, I get my CU statement and my loan amount has increased by $5400.......WTF????? :eek:

* Tomorrow I will go down to the CU and prolly spend another hour and a half trying to get things figured out. :confused:

* All in all, I would rather have a good running '17 SE due to the headaches of the replacement vehicle. And yes, I do like driving the GTI, but have not had a good ownership experience at all. :rolleyes:
 

jevenator

New member
Location
San Diego
(My R is stock just cosmetic mods)
Honestly i used to believe that the "VW CEL" meme was exaggeration, after owning one for 2 years i've had more CEL's than the entire 12+ years and counting ownership of my previous car (KIA SUV). Been at the VW dealership for issues so many times i know everyone by their first names.

That said i still absolutely love the car and i would buy another VW GTI/R in a heartbeat. I would definitely never recommend a VW to a non-"car guy".

I think if i was doing it over again i'd buy a year or two used since my VW warranty has been pretty useless.

I think that's pretty scary to buy a new car and then be able to have so many CEL's. That's not normal or is it for VW? I am a car guy and don't mind doing DIY stuff but things like that's gonna blow is it just rare occurrences? Like DucatiSSsp also just recently above me having to get an new car cause there was a major problem with his SE...
 
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lukiefred

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Nashville, TN
I would have to say no.



That being said I truly love my GTI and it's a great car, but I don't want another VW. There are small problems and a lot of annoyances with it.



The DSG while a fantastic transmission for spirited driving, clunks on upshifts and downshifts and is awkward to drive under 10mph on street because it doesn't want to drop into first.



The engine is decent for it's class but not quite as fast as I would like stock and a tune would void warranty. I'm still most likely going to tune it though.



The engine heat-soaks a lot stock, the wheels are too small stock, and there are a lot of rattles.



And it's FWD...



I love my GTI and I'm happy I got one, but I wouldn't buy another probably.



Wait, huh? The engine doesn’t want to go into first above 10mph?? What transmission DOES want to?? Every car I’ve ever driven, downshift into first is violent above 10mph. This car has more than enough torque to be in second at a crawl.

Also the wheels are too small stock? Huh? So you want heavier 19’s? That will slow it down more?

Every turbo car heatsoaks. My ‘08 335i sedan did in summer quite often, was pretty apparent when merging sometimes.

And lastly, if you want RWD, then buy that. A silly point.


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lukiefred

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Nashville, TN
I would absolutely again. Interior is top notch, engine is smooth for its power output, it handles terrifically, and looks pretty decent. What’s not to love?

Ok, there are some minor things that aren’t perfect on this platform, but none that would derail my purchase...

...Especially on a 1-2 year old used autobahn for half the MSRP. All these guys buying new apparently have $$$ to waste on depreciation. : /


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RogueGTI

Ready to race!
Location
SoCal
Wait, huh? The engine doesn’t want to go into first above 10mph?? What transmission DOES want to?? Every car I’ve ever driven, downshift into first is violent above 10mph. This car has more than enough torque to be in second at a crawl.

Also the wheels are too small stock? Huh? So you want heavier 19’s? That will slow it down more?

Every turbo car heatsoaks. My ‘08 335i sedan did in summer quite often, was pretty apparent when merging sometimes.

And lastly, if you want RWD, then buy that. A silly point.


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No big deal to me, but just wanted to say, getting into first above 10mph shouldnt be a problem at all. I tend to double clutch, but a synchromesh trans or auto/DSG should still be able to do it fairly easily without anything but a rev match.

Separately, the complaint about the dsg not shifting into first BELOW 10mph, is kinda weird because on my DSG at least, theres a lot of "blend" between stopped, 1st and locked into 2nd. If I actually want to be "in gear" in 1st or 2nd, i use manual mode.
 
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