As Dieselgate roars on - GTi/GLi with warranty?

I know this is an age old question, but I am seeing multiple 2013 and newer GTi's and GLi's with under 50k miles touching as low as $15k around my area. I guess all the leases from 2-3 years ago are getting turned in and starting to pile up. Some are CPO and carry the 2/24k limited warranty (a little more expensive), but some are at non-VW lots for even less.

I believe I'm not the only one with a PenFed relationship, and looking at their Route66 Extended warranty information here leads me to believe that for an extra $1,400 I could get a full warranty for another 5 years (or until 100k).

Is there something not to like here? I'm okay with my current 06 TL, but it has been nickle and diming me and I think a 4 door GTi or GLi with DSG could be a hoot for, what, under $300 a month fully covered?

For similar money can you get a Focus ST or WRX? DSG is sort of overrated, my current Jetta is a DSG and in hindsight I wish I had (well just not gotten a TDI but thats another matter) gotten a real manual.

ST's and WRX's are trading hands for much more money, at least higher than I would want to finance. There also appear to be a lot less of those out there versus the vee-dubs.

Interesting take on the DSG, I was seeing it as a best-of-both-worlds (that the wife could drive in a pinch) option.

I guess the big question becomes what is the resale in 3, or even 5 years. I doubt it could be worse than a current 2010, but those appear to be pretty cheap too.

Used 15k BMW?

I've had 5 VW products and they are nice enough cars, but just not on the same level as other offerings for similar money.

I've pondered this myself. Doing much more driving for work these days, and while my Honda Fit is a great car, it just isn't made for freeway long-hauls. The GTI seems like it would be a much more comfortable upgrade without breaking the bank in upfront cost or fuel economy, but I'm still leery of VW. Dieselgate has distracted from the timing chain and cam issues that the gas models were having; I always thought it spoke volumes that VW's CPO warranty is only 2/24k whereas almost everyone else's is 7/100k. Very well may end up with a Volvo C30 instead.

If you are looking at ANY VW with a TSI engine, get the cam chain tensioner inspected (there is an access hole to do this on the front cover) to make absolute sure you have the most recent variant installed. The most recent part number ends in -K I believe. If not, INSIST that the seller change this out before buying the car - or budget $$'s to do this yourself as part of the price you set, as previous version are prone to failure, which means valves hit pistons, etc., etc. The upgrade to the latest tensioner is a $800 - $1200 service, nearly all labor, FYI.

Don't take the seller's word that they have the new type tensioner. I'd gladly pay $50 - $100 to someone who knows how to check this out before agreeing to spend any $$ on a VW (or Audi, for that matter) with a TSI engine.

More info a humble mechanic . com if interested (not affiliated with this site in any way, hope I'm not violating any forum rules by posting this ... but it is great info for VW owners.)

If you have to ask, I've got a 2011 GTI that I love driving, but will be forking over the money to do this upgrade over the summer, as that is when my factory powertrain warranty runs out. Yee ha ... I am thrilled about this, VW !!! (Not really ....)

Personally I'd rather have something like this for around that price.

http://annarbor.craigslist.org/cto/5525367001.html

In reply to Storz:

As someone who has owned and maintained six BMWs in the past, the prospect of potentially equaling my monthly payments in maintenance costs isn't a particularly enthusing one! I would not have another used BMW as my daily driver. With a warranty sure, otherwise no way.

Part of the point here is that with the GTi you'd be getting a bumper-to-bumper warranty for an additional 5 years (or until 100k miles) for just $1,400 on top of the purchase price from the Credit Union.

So something breaks (tensioner, etc.), not my problem. Credit Unions will offer extended warranties on some BMWs, etc. but you're paying more for the warranty.

I am thinking of this approach as the "easy" button to having a fun daily for not a lot of scratch. I know the biggest issue with VW's is reliability, so if you get the extended warranty from the CU and eliminate that possibility then I would think you'd be home free.

Am I missing something? Would the warranty fight me tooth and nail to cover mechanical issues? They paid up multiple times on the wife's C240 way back when, so I tend to look favorably on them.

I've had 4 BMWs in the past that served as daily drivers, one with 276k on the clock and none ever gave me any real troubles...that said he is looking at GTIs with a warranty, so the same could be applied for used BMW.

A DSG was fun to drive when I did it. Plus one on individuals not proficient with a manual being able to drive it.

So many better choices.

iceracer wrote: So many better choices.

Yeah, I think you're right. I've never owned a VW product so it seems intriguing, but then again I could go in a lot of other directions and probably have more fun.

I can't help but relate car buying to the stock market. It seems like gas VW products are being brought down for no good reason along with the diesels, so would appear to be a great buy, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is worth it.

CobraSpdRH wrote: It seems like gas VW products are being brought down for no good reason along with the diesels, so would appear to be a great buy, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is worth it.

I just sold my MKV GTI to a private party because trade-in values were hilariously low. Gas VW owners are the ones that will ultimately suffer; TDI owners will get buybacks or retribution of some sort. Gassers get terrible depreciation and "incentives" to buy another. As a long-time VW enthusiast I'm pretty turned off from the brand at the moment based on how they have handled the situation.

Would I own another GTI in the future? Absolutely - they are still one of the best blends of sport, comfort, and pseudo-luxury on the market. But... never, ever again without a warranty. In one year (<5k mi) of ownership I had to deal with the timing tensioner, failed ABS pump, failed CV, failed DV, and more.

Even if you're willing to roll the dice, I wouldn't touch a GTI older than 2013. They sorted out the tensioner issue in mid-2012 so you'd be insulated from an automatic $1400 repair.

CobraSpdRH wrote: Interesting take on the DSG, I was seeing it as a best-of-both-worlds (that the wife could drive in a pinch) option.

When it works it works great. When it ages it doesn't always age well. I've had to deal with some real PITA DSGs in the past few months.

Knurled wrote:

CobraSpdRH wrote: Interesting take on the DSG, I was seeing it as a best-of-both-worlds (that the wife could drive in a pinch) option.

When it works it works great. When it ages it doesn't always age well. I've had to deal with some real PITA DSGs in the past few months.

Any details? One of these is on the short-list, though it would likely be a 3-year lease if we go this route.

They just get... goofy. Weird lags when shifting, failure to engage clutch packs sometimes, an Eos completely kicked our, our trans guys, and the local dealers' collective asses when a replacement trans refused to take an adaption for no apparent reason...

Prototypical wrote: Would I own another GTI in the future? Absolutely - they are still one of the best blends of sport, comfort, and pseudo-luxury on the market. But... never, ever again without a warranty.

I will add "practicality" to sport/comfort/luxury.

This is my first VW (2016) and I will be watching maintenance closely. It may be the first time in my life I purchase an extended warranty. I've had easier cars to maintain but man do I love this car (Golf R). I came from a Subaru and I thought AWD or RWD was a necessity. But if I had to downsize I'd probably go GTI.

jv8 wrote:

Prototypical wrote: Would I own another GTI in the future? Absolutely - they are still one of the best blends of sport, comfort, and pseudo-luxury on the market. But... never, ever again without a warranty.

I will add "practicality" to sport/comfort/luxury. This is my first VW (2016) and I will be watching maintenance closely. It may be the first time in my life I purchase an extended warranty. I've had easier cars to maintain but man do I love this car (Golf R). I came from a Subaru and I thought AWD or RWD was a necessity. But if I had to downsize I'd probably go GTI.

I would absolutely buy a Golf R, add on the extended warranty, and drive happily it until expiration. It's not even that the cars are difficult to maintain, it's that certain failure-prone parts can be absurdly expensive. The ABS pump assembly on my outgoing GTI was $2200 for the part alone. On a car with a $5500 trade in value, that's insane. The only reasonable solution was a used part which comes with its own pitfalls.

I'd say get the warranty and enjoy the hell out of it! The resale on Golf Rs makes investing in the warranty a lot easier to stomach too.