Sweet GTI!!

[atl-si]

My friend just bought a black 2002 VW GTI. All I can say is that thing sure has some gidy to it. Anyways, I notice that the GTI has a retractable steering wheel which is sweet and front seats that lift up when you crawl into the back. It also had back seats that folder over to flat which was also very nice. The best thing was the 17" wheels man. They looked awesome. He got that all for $17k w/ 9k miles. It's a very nice car and all but I wonder if it has any recalls or are there any issues with VW GTI? Just wondering I guess. Maybe some you guys out there who had one or currently owns a VW GTI can comment.

I'll try to post some pics.

[hamproof]

Proper term is telescoping :D . Tilt and telescoping is good. I believe GTi has seat height adjuster too.

[golferjn]

nice hatchback

[ssvr6]

Like all VWs there are 4 ways to adjust the seat.

Leg Room (F&B)
Seat incline (F&B)
Lumbar
Height (U&D)

VW only has a "pending" recall on the coil packs for the 1.8T and possibly one for the window regulators.


Steve

[SubliminalSi]

How much do new ones cost? I didnt catch if it was used with 9k or what?

[atl-si]

Originally posted by SubliminalSi
How much do new ones cost? I didnt catch if it was used with 9k or what?
It was used. He got it for around $17,000 with about 9,000 miles on it.

I wonder why our EP's don't have all the little tricks to it.

[King Kang]

Originally posted by atl-si

I wonder why our EP's don't have all the little tricks to it.

My guess would be because the ep is a cheaper car.

peace

[ssvr6]

I agree. Even the 337's Recaro seats have these adjustments available.

New 1.8t's with cloth and 17's go for 18.5 or so.


Steve

[RiceCzechs]

Most of the nifty features about which you speak are standard on the plain-jane Golf/Jetta, as well, which can be had for around $15-16k. You actually hit upon my two primary gripes with the EP's interior - it is more than a minor annoyance to have to reset the track position and rake on my seat every time I want to get my eight year old son in/out of the car. The passenger side is somewhat better in this regard (did they put it on the curb side on purpose, or is it the same in LHD cars, and not moved out of laziness?), but still annoying.

The telescoping wheel is a great idea, and should be had on the EP as well.

One other gripe, while I'm at it: VW has a "winter" package available for about $120 which includes heated mirrors, windshield wiper fluid nozzles, and best of all, bun warmers. 'Round here in Ohio, that's a real plus.

That said, on the GTI in general, you'll have to be more specific. Does he have the VR6, or the 1.8T? (yes, you can get either). The 1.8T is a nice, flexible motor with 180hp (older ones have 150hp), and the current VR6 spits out an even 200hp. The 1.8T has a surprising amount of torque for such a small lump, and is reassuringly tractable at slow speeds, though VW as a rule makes a lousy manual gearbox.

Reliability-wise, everyone is correct in that the 1.8T has the coil recall issue that has affected TONS of cars (my father has a 1.8T Jetta GLS which has had its coils fail). Reliability in truth doesn't appear to be VW's strong suit, though I've heard of people having trouble-free ownership experiences, and others that border on the nightmarish. On the whole, I would say that our EPs (and Hondas in general) are quite a bit more reliable as an aggregate, though everyone has different experiences. My father has been quite frustrated with his Jetta's spotty reliability, though to be fair most of the time the problem has just been the standard OBD2 related garbage - O2 sensors going, check engine lights, etc. That sort of stuff tends to happen quite a bit more on cars these days (regardless of brand) because of the hairtrigger OBD2-mandated emissions monitoring equipment. Still, its behavior has been annoying, and he is right to have a few gripes. Still, it drives very nicely and the interior quality and thoughtfulness is definitely a couple of grades higher than the EP's. Whereas the EP's interior feels like its pricepoint, the VW tends to make one feel like they spent 10k more than they really did.

Ok, that's my rant...
:confused:

[minimay7]

1.8T would be my choice of VW... R32 sounds sweet... But, I rather spend that much money for STI. Anyways... Golf in general is a sweet looking car.

But, with that said, I gotta say that the car that started the spirit of GTI lost it's very soul of being GTI.... um... does it make sense?

In my opinion, I think EP is closer to the original vision of why small compact hatch back was so cool in the first place... Well... except the fact that It is on teh big side.... Independant suspension with telescoping steering wheel does sound good...

But, one other reason I chose EP over 1.8T was the maintenance cost. Those VW might sound like a deal... But, when you have to start replacing even small plastic parts, they are expensive and takes long time to get hold of the parts.

But, overall... I think they are both wonderful cars. VW/Audi's 1.8 turbo engine is tried and proven engine!!

[atl-si]

Originally posted by RiceCzechs
That said, on the GTI in general, you'll have to be more specific. Does he have the VR6, or the 1.8T?
The dudes got a 1.8T. Well, I guess Honda has better quality in the long run. Although, I wished maybe Honda would put more detail into the EP to make up for the non K20A2 engine.;)

[RiceCzechs]

True dat. Honda could have quite easily dropped the car an inch and included at least 16" wheels and tires and the JDM bodykit at a bare minimum of cost, and likely would have sold 30%+ more than they have thusfar on North American soil. It baffles the mind that they didn't at least take care of the wheel/tire/suspension issue on the '03 when they must know how poorly they've been selling.

That's alright with me, though... I like having a (relatively) rare car. I drove to Michigan last weekend, and didn't see another EP the entire time I was there. In fact, I've gone an entire week without seeing another one, unless I drive by the dealer's, that is... The only reason this will upset me is if poor sales kill the EP prematurely, and stunt the possibility of future performance editions....

:eek:

[ep pilot]

Advice coming from a previous 2002 1.8t Jetta owner here. I would not send my worst enemies down to buy a new Volkwagen or Audi product. My car put me through the worst year of owning a new car. From day one with the Jetta, my car had a bad differential, VW swapped it for a new one. Putting the trans back together some how the failed to lube it properly and wore out some bering at only 1200 miles!:mad: Then my window fell and shattered in the driver door (fixed) and two mos later the passenger window fell into the door, but didn't break (fixed) My coil packs left me stranded 200 miles away from home, and from then on the engine began to comnsume oil. The piston rings where replaced incedently around the time my transmission entirely failed. Upon getting a new trans in the car, the dealer gave the car back to me, the next day my A/C quit working, and ended up leaving the A/C condenssor fan running all night draining the battery!!! To boot the 1.8t engine is not that powerful. It's has adequate torque at low speeds, but frankly my 2.0L Si feels just as torquey and quicker for some reason. Also I am proud to site, I have had my Si five months and have had not one problem. I will likely never own anything Volkswagen again.


-Ryan