I'm getting that VWs are just not the quality product that they were when I was working on mid-80's and early 90's cars. My last "cool" VW was a 2001 Jetta GLi VR6, but I also ran into bad "German engineering" with a '96 Passat VR6.
So, what was the last classic era for the GTI and GLi? If I was going to find one to drive reliably, and tinker with, what years and models would be best?
1984. 
Purely based on my experience of the last 2 1/2 years, I would stop at Mk4. From what I've heard, if you take care of it properly the 1.8T is fairly bulletproof and the platform isn't needlessly complicated. A Mk3 can be very cool but also very hard to find if you don't want a project.
I don't have any real complaints with the 2.0L in the Mk5+ and mine is great for road tripping and commuting but doing work on the car can be a pain and parts are still pricey for a lot of things. Reliability wise, I had no serious issues with my '07 in the 2 1/2 years I drove it daily and put nearly 30k miles on it with trips across 4 states and track weekends. The headlights could use replacement, though, and decent aftermarket options would run $500+. The seats could use some reupholstering to fix leather creases, worn patches, and burst stitches but the covers alone would cost $1000 per seat. I mention these to make the point that even though my Fahrenheit is likely to be totalled by the claims adjuster from being rear ended (BMW), I do not want to really get back into a Mk5 due to the cost of the wear and tear.
I know people that say the Mk6 is a better car than the Mk5 but I think it loses that "classic-ness" in favor of modern features and design.
Error404 said:Purely based on my experience of the last 2 1/2 years, I would stop at Mk4. From what I've heard, if you take care of it properly the 1.8T is fairly bulletproof and the platform isn't needlessly complicated. A Mk3 can be very cool but also very hard to find if you don't want a project.
The irony here is that the mk4 pretty much cemented and created the poor reliability of VW's phenomenon. electrical gremlins, garbage window regulators, soft touch interior touch points that disentegrated, etc. etc.
The 8V mk2's and mk3's were much simpler (though VW figured out how to screw up reliable coils on mk3 8V's somehow), but the newest of those cars now come with the aging issues that come with any car that's more than two decades old.
The mk5's brought atrocious 2.0T problems which carried into the mk6's, where they infused them with garbage chain tensioners on the tsi models, fsi motors with known failing cam followers which require normal inspection, not to mention the failing PCV systems which lead to the rear mains blowing out. queue facepalm.
The mk7's moved to the new MQB architechture in 2015 which held rave reviews. Buying new as of 2018 brought along a 6 year, 72,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. The new GTI's also now have the "Performance Pack" as standard (big brakes, LSD).
So perhaps the most reliable VW to drive and tinker with is the newest one you can buy. ;-p
2018, when VW extended the powertrain warranty to 6 years/72k miles 
.
I’ve owned 8 Vw’s from aircooled to my half broke beater mk6 GTI. I’d stay away from the mk5 and mk6’s as the engines have some serious issues as xflowgolf posted. I’ve owned mk1’s and mk2’s (still have one of each) which are simple but unless you live in a place where rust isn’t a issue I’d stay away. Mk3’s are simple but also suffered rust and mk4’s started the electrical gremlin age of Vw’s.
So id buy new or near new.
1967 
David S. Wallens said:1984.
Literally came here to say this.
Ethnic Food-Wrap Aficionado said:David S. Wallens said:1984.
Literally came here to say this.
Except that was deep into the american built, square headlight, ghastly velour interior years. The last great rabbits were made in 78 
Except the GLI was still german quality so yeah.... 1984
The A1 was my favorite even though some of mine had charging issues. I liked my A2 GTI and GLI, but i had trouble keeping my daughters 91 Wolfsburg edition running. The only trouble i had with my 2001 VR6 GLi was a bad battery cable. That, and the interior smelled like Crayola crayons. My coworker put something like 300k miles on his A4 GTI VR6. I'd go for something like that if i could find an unmolested one.
Statistically, VW & Audi are actually quite a bit better now than they were 20 years ago.
1974. But thats just me.
For me, A2 was the last VW to roll off the line worth anything. I had an 88 Jetta that would. not. die. 450k, and before I sold it I did a water pump and pump housing, timing belt, and both front axles. Total parts cost $181 and I did it in an afternoon.
Even later A2s I won't touch. Once you get into the rounded body lines, I turn away. Once you get to the 98-03 stuff, that is the darkest of dark ages. VW held onto parts rights forever, and that same $181 bought you.... the oil vent hose. Not kidding.
My son still has my old 91 GTI 16v. Id take that on as a resto project but he wont part with it.
Aircooled , 1967 ,
Watercooled,,,,,,Rabbit pickup......or first generation Cabrio or 1984 GTI
or cheap autobahn cruiser a mid 80s Golf diesel that got 50 mpg plus that I borrowed from my friend
1993 was their only good year
There was a good year for VW?
codrus said:Statistically, VW & Audi are actually quite a bit better now than they were 20 years ago.
So has GM, but the fear and bad taste of previous bad designs lingers long.
cdeforrest said:1967
Literally came here to say THIS
So far I love my '19 Golf R. Huge warranty, 6yrs/72k miles, no cam followers. I suppose I'll see how it treats me but for quite some time if something breaks the dealer fixes it for free.
My A2 2l 16v GTi needed the head rebuilt at about 120k miles. Other than it, it was pretty reliable. I had one of the first Mk4 GTI VR6's and it was a first year model, with the expected issues. I dumped it.
Haven't had any experience with the Mk5,6's, they have well known issues but if you keep on top of them you should be ok.
My impression (largely backed up by a good friend who's an indie VW tech) is that VW hit a slump after the Mk2 that they didn't really recover from until the Mk7.
Mk1: mostly solid, simple
Mk2: mostly solid, simple, basically an improved Mk1
Mk3: somehow rusted even worse than the Mk1 and Mk2, serious transmission and build quality issues
Mk4: no comment required, admittedly a very ambitious move upmarket for the time, for better and for worse
Mk5: somewhat of a rebound from the Mk4, but many new issues caused by DI engines (carbon fouling, HPFP cam follower, timing chain tensioner grenade, rear main seal blowouts)
Mk6: better overall build quality than the Mk5 but TSI issues persisted until 2013-2014 updates (carbon fouling, HPFP cam follower, timing chain tensioner grenade, rear main seal blowouts)
Mk7: Gen3 EA888 engine eliminated many of the above problematic parts, and as the earliest Mk7s get up there in mileage indications are that VW FINALLY fixed the above TSI issues, general opinion is that they are a huge improvement over predecessors
As a previous owner of the most notorious VAG product to ever exist (see screen name) my 2007 B6 VR6 Passat wagon seems positively Buick-like in its reliability. Bought in 2012 with 65k on the clock it’s suffered from one compressor failure, one blown fuse in the fuel system, and one catastrophic timing chain failure (hydraulic chain tensioner failed and took out the valve train).
Aftermarket extended warranty took care of the compressor and the engine. Car now has 149k on it and we drove it to Florida and back last month. It’s awesome!
I have to admit I like VW's. I had an 86 Gti 8v. My son has it now. It has 200k plus and the one thing that will kill it is rust. I currently have a 97 Jetta GT 2.0 8v. Its pushing 270k. Yes the coil would go bad. And all the crappy aftermarket replacements too. Solved that with a junkyard coil from an earlier year that has a huge built in heatsink. But other than that the car has been mostly reliable. My son also has a 2005 GLi 1.8t. His coils went bad once. Upgraded replacements fixed that. His door cards have upholstery trim falling off. But all in all a good car.
Maybe my family and I are just lucky with VWs. But is is only a representation of 3 cars on the whole.
Our 2001.5 Passat went 100k miles with just basic maintenance. Our 2005 Audi A4 1.8T tiptronic went 90k miles with basic maintenance. I've put 100's of thousands of miles on Audi's, B5, B6, B8, UrS with just basic maintenance.
These are good cars that don't suffer neglect well. If you maintain them, you'll be ok.
That said, if I had the money, I'd probably buy a used Mk7 GTi vs a Mk5 or 6
swampyankee said:I'm getting that VWs are just not the quality product that they were when I was working on mid-80's and early 90's cars. My last "cool" VW was a 2001 Jetta GLi VR6, but I also ran into bad "German engineering" with a '96 Passat VR6.
So, what was the last classic era for the GTI and GLi? If I was going to find one to drive reliably, and tinker with, what years and models would be best?
None?
Growing up we had an early 80s rabbit and it vapor locked every time we took a road trip in the summer. What a POS.
They only used to be reliable in comparison to the utter trash Detroit was producing.
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