Bringing a little life into this one...again
I thought I had seen some posts some time ago regarding the VW GTI. I searched for GTI but didn't see any. My google foo is not strong....
Have an opportunity to buy a 2013 GTI 4door, auto transmission with 140,000 on it at the low end of Blue Book and in decent shape.
Looking for something to run back and forth to the sEWeR, my truck has been hit-&-run now twice in the employee parking lot there. Also the VW would get better mileage.
Anyone have experience with this ride?
If the price is right, it's hard to beat. I have a 2016 GTI. I think in 2012 they fixed the potential timing-chain-failure-eat-the-engine bug, but you'd have to double check that. Not a guarantee that it WOULD happen to you (if your car was older) but it's an expensive gotcha that that car is vulnerable to. The motor is a lot of fun - stomp on the gas and the turbo spins up quick and the car livens up quite a bit. Low, handles great.
This is my 2nd GTI, but third Golf, and I had a couple of Jettas in the past, too.
In the beginning, I was slightly concerned about maintenance for this GTI - my old '87 was pretty reliable until it ate the clutch.
I bought the current 2016 GTI almost 4 years ago with 55K on it. It's got 120K on it now and the only thing I've had to do are regular oil changes, tires, and replacing bulbs. I did do the plug wires at 100K per spec but I don't necessarily think it was required at the time. I haven't noticed oil burn....I just have the oil changed every 5000 mi and it's been happy. I bought a small tire inflator that I keep in the back and check the pressures regularly - it definitely affects the mileage, but that's most cars, yeah? Probably coming up on brake pads and maybe rotors.
The DSG is fine - I never use the paddle shift features, just treat it like a normal automatic. It's a bit aggressive at idle if you don't keep your foot on the brake but other than that, it's fine. It's a great little car, I basically drove it to/from JYO every day and now to/from IAD. Get 34.6 MPG average. Fold the seats down and it's cavernous. Have hauled plywood, 2x4s, groceries, just about everything....it's got amazing capacity, and when the seats are in normal position, it's a humane position for passengers. It's easily the best bang for the buck I've ever had in a car.
Love the car. The only thing that would prevent me from getting another one when it dies is a suitable EV, and that only because there's a LOT of charging stations in the employee garage at IAD.
