4 questions about a new GTI

[billybobbovine]

Hey all,

My name is Scott, and Im new to this board. I live in portland oregon area and am looking into getting a new car. I have narrowed it down to the GTI and the 2008 WRX. The heart says GTI but the head sort of says WRX.

1 - one of the biggest concerns is mountain driving. Not daily driving in snow, ive read a bunch about that, but i cant find much on mountain driving. I would be going up to Hood, and i would buy full set of snows. So people who have gone skiing/boarding, how has your GTI faired?

2 - VW reliability. I know it has gotten better and i know the GTI is one of VW best. I know the 2006 had quite a bit of problems but ive read less about the 2008 and even 2007, so i assume its gotten better. So i guess the biggest question is, are VW that much more to fix than say a Subie? and overall what are peopels feelings onteh GTI's reliability? Also, has anyone had premature DSG failure or is that system fairly solid?

3 - Dealer service. Ive heard alot about how bad VW service is, can anyone recommend the best dealer in the portland area?

4 - was anyone else in the same situation? If so what swung you to the GTI?

Thanks for your help.

[<missing user>]

Obviously, my views are slanted. I live in Maine and my house has a steep driveway. The 4X4 Ford F150 couldn't make it up today. Tires. All about the tires. My VW goes anywhere I want it to (yes, within reason).
Years ago a friend bragged about their new Honda Civic and front wheel drive. I had an old BMW 2002 (model, not the year) and put on four good SNOW tires. The Honda was always getting stuck. I only got stuck when I went off the road to avoid a moose. It is also about your driving style. If you think AWD means go anywhere at any speed, stick to a bicycle! In my experience, and I do a lot of winter driving, I find the proper tires is more important than fwd vs awd. Last year I had a 2006 Rav4,6cyl,awd. My Farenheit outperforms it in the snow.
DSG? The more I use it the more I love it.
Cost to repair? You buying new or used? Lot of problems with older Subie engines. VW may have more little things. Quality? I test drove both a WRX and GTI back to back. Try it. The Subie may have more HP, but the VW is better as a daily driver.
My .02 cents

[banditscout]

I think you'll find that clay is entirely right. I am in NJ, and we get our fair share of snow each winter. My GTI is excellent in the white stuff, much better than my wife's mazda 3 which has much less power and a similar traction control system. Yes, VW's are also known for having small problems. I haven't had anything too major at all go wrong with mine, and this is my second Mk V.

[billybobbovine]

Thanks for the responses. I think in my head I know this, I just need to hear it validated by others with first hand experience. Anyways, about the snow tires, i was looking on tire rack and they have performance winter and studless snow/ice, so what is the difference? The site says they both qualify as traction devices in oregon.

[banditscout]

A snow/ice tire is designed specifically for snow and ice. A winter tire is designed to give the best all around performance in cold weather, be it snow, or otherwise. Winter tire compounds are designed to stay slightly softer in cold temperatures, unlike their summer bretheren that tend to harden up a bit when the temp drops. Since they stay softer, you have better traction on road surfaces, but they're also treaded so that you can plod along happily on snow and ice as well.

[billybobbovine]

So are you saying a snow/ice will perform better in the crappy weather, but not as well around town, and that the performance winter will thend to drive a little better on the dry but still perform well on the snow?

[banditscout]

Precisely!

[justn868]

So your looking a base wrx not a STI

[billybobbovine]

yea base. STI is too much money, too much risk to my license too

[VEGAS FAHRENHEIT]

Then definitely go for the GTI - I really hated the built quality inside and outside from the Subarus (my buddy has a WRX) - his manual is not very smooth either.
The GTI is a lot more comfortable (love the seats)

[billybobbovine]

Oh about the seats, though i think this is wrong i thought i read somewhere that the leathers were different from the interlagos? Is this true? and by different i mean larger bolsters?

yea i know what you mean about the subies tranny, was it an 08? i know they have improved it some, but its the only manual ive ever ground a gear in, it felt like it was in gear, but it definitely was not when i let the clutch out. But that tranny, in feel, and the fact its only 5mt is kidna a breaker

[VEGAS FAHRENHEIT]

Originally Posted by billybobbovine

Oh about the seats, though i think this is wrong i thought i read somewhere that the leathers were different from the interlagos? Is this true? and by different i mean larger bolsters?

yea i know what you mean about the subies tranny, was it an 08? i know they have improved it some, but its the only manual ive ever ground a gear in, it felt like it was in gear, but it definitely was not when i let the clutch out. But that tranny, in feel, and the fact its only 5mt is kidna a breaker

I have leather in mine, and it's the best seat I've had in any car so far

- his Subie is an '07

[Dragon]

BillyBob- Welcome to MFG

Here is a dealer recomendation for Portland: http://myfastgti.com/volkswagen/show...ghlight=dealer

[banditscout]

The seats feel essentially the same, but the headrests are different on the leather. The interlagos has more of a standard canted headrest, where as the leather has a straight headrest.

[billybobbovine]

ook thanks

[GTI@Last]

I was concerned about reliability. I spoke to a handful of friends who had owned VWs (Passat, Jetta, Golf, Cabroliet) at one time or another. Reliability was not an issue.
Seems that a lot of folks complain about their dealer service. Then again dealer service is a problem just about anywhere unless you own a Lexus. So far I'm happy with my dealer and their service. I've been in a few times and I always call my rep ahead of time. But I'm nowhere near OR, so this isn't much help.

[VEGAS FAHRENHEIT]

I am so lucky to have a good dealership (I know TOE goes to the same place - comments?)

My salesrep introduced me to the service guys and they take care of me. Always as promised and they live by the 'A' policy - any ratings below 'A' is a failure to them.

[billybobbovine]

I am from eugene and i would never buy from the dealer there. The service department is crap, they are joined with a volvo dealer and anytime we would take our volvo in they would find something that was "wrong" and needed to be fixed, we would take it to an independent mechanic and they could find nothing. and the sales are super aggressive. Went in drove a jetta in august, then within 2 weeks i got a call from finance and from the sales manager. About 3 weeks after that went and drove a GTI, the guy was nice, let me drive teh crap out of it, use launch control and redline and what not, got a real great sense of the car, but after that got another call about 2 weeks later with the guy being real pushy about when I was thinking of purchasing, trying to get me to come back in. about 3 weeks ago, my parents house got a call wondering if we were still interested (my dad had gone whith me on the drive and they took his number too) then thanksgiving weekend i got another call from sales telling me about a sale and that i should come in.