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OP: I'd buy the newest GTI or GLI you can get for your money.
Actively shopping for a GLI for my daughter (in MT) and i'm having PTSD from the days of getting my 911... i've tried to place an order and have had 3 dealers say "we get what we get, call me in a few months"
Not a model or year specific case.
Older German cars will unload your wallet. Do some Google searches on repair costs, common problems etc. A retired service manager at a Mercedes dealer who I knew where I used to live told me that owning an older Benz or BMW is giving your service dept access to your bank account whether you realize it or not. There are many who will agree with this from personal experience.
I hope things work out for you as you seem convinced that this $5,000 car is a gem.
The TSBs on a 20 year old Benz have to be 50 pages long lol. At 5k it's prob fine but I wouldn't risk it personally. At 5k give me a 2001 Honda Civic. Might be the most reliable car of all time, and parts are dirt cheap, and everything can be DIY.
I love how the GTI/Rs drive but not a fan of VW reliability. A friend of mine has a well taken care of, five year old MT GTI and he recently had to put about 6k into it. It’s only got about 65,000 miles on it and this year he has had to fix a coolant leak, oil leak and the turbo went out on him.
Actively shopping for a GLI for my daughter (in MT) and i'm having PTSD from the days of getting my 911... i've tried to place an order and have had 3 dealers say "we get what we get, call me in a few months"
Great first car and good for you for going manual. It's crazy that most young people either don't know how to drive or don't know how to drive standard.
Sorry to hear about your situation. It's rough out there. I'm sure your number will come up soon enough.
Originally Posted by minn19
I love how the GTI/Rs drive but not a fan of VW reliability. A friend of mine has a well taken care of, five year old MT GTI and he recently had to put about 6k into it. It’s only got about 65,000 miles on it and this year he has had to fix a coolant leak, oil leak and the turbo went out on him.
I have a 2006 2.5L Jetta that I bought in 2009 and never managed to get rid of it. Other than service, I've changed the suspension and muffler. That's it. I think a lot of it depends on the vintage.
Great car! I had a 430 AMG cab around that vintage. Can't believe you can buy those things for that cheap now. What a steal!
I recently sold my clk55 AMG...the 430 engine just has AMG trim but was not an "AMG"...no such thing as 430AMG...but don't want to insult anyone here, don't want to get into a p....g contest, nor steer it in another direction...just clarification...this topic has been beaten to death on the MB forum.
Last edited by tomtomtomtom; 02-15-2023 at 06:26 PM.
I recently sold my clk55 AMG...the 430 engine just has AMG trim but was not an "AMG"...no such thing as 430AMG...but don't want to insult anyone here, don't want to get into a p....g contest, nor steer it in another direction...just clarification...this topic has been beaten to death on the MB forum.
None taken. Correct 430 with AMG package. Not a 55AMG. It's not the MB forum and this comment was made in passing. I don't think anyone cares here unless we're talking pcars.
I have a 2006 2.5L Jetta that I bought in 2009 and never managed to get rid of it. Other than service, I've changed the suspension and muffler. That's it. I think a lot of it depends on the vintage.
Wish I and my friend had your VW luck. Granted this was 20 years ago but I had a 01 VR6 Jetta that was my only lemon I ever owned. I still remember the Golf loaner they gave us broke down while our Jetta was in the shop. His is a 2017 GTI.
Anecdotes aside, they always rank at the bottom for reliability. Great driving cars, but be ready for the maintenance bills more often than not.
Wish I and my friend had your VW luck. Granted this was 20 years ago but I had a 01 VR6 Jetta that was my only lemon I ever owned. I still remember the Golf loaner they gave us broke down while our Jetta was in the shop. His is a 2017 GTI.
Anecdotes aside, they always rank at the bottom for reliability. Great driving cars, but be ready for the maintenance bills more often than not.
Perhaps I did get lucky. It can't be fun to have a lemon.
It's a bit of an alcoholic with how often it likes a drink at the station, but between this and the 911, I truly feel I have two of the best automobiles on the planet.
Not a model or year specific case.
Older German cars will unload your wallet. Do some Google searches on repair costs, common problems etc. A retired service manager at a Mercedes dealer who I knew where I used to live told me that owning an older Benz or BMW is giving your service dept access to your bank account whether you realize it or not. There are many who will agree with this from personal experience.
I hope things work out for you as you seem convinced that this $5,000 car is a gem.
I'm not rich, but $5K is within my gamble range. Even before I was as comfortable as I am now, I almost pulled the trigger on a Mercedes wagon for a couple of thousand. It ran fine and everything worked. If anything expensive went wrong, I could call the junkyard to come and take it for a song. If the OP likes his Mercedes as an actual beater and is prepared to ignore the little stuff and walk away if big stuff happens, I say good on him.
A big-block 8.1 Suburban like mine is within the $10K to $15K range now, although they are difficult to find. To quote Jay Leno, "it's a Chevy and I can fix it with a hammer." Showing a little rust. It still can do a surprising range of things that a car or pickup cannot. It gets better gasoline mileage than my Chevrolet-Kodiak-based Gulf Stream with the same drivetrain, but that's not saying much.
I'm not rich, but $5K is within my gamble range. Even before I was as comfortable as I am now, I almost pulled the trigger on a Mercedes wagon for a couple of thousand. It ran fine and everything worked. If anything expensive went wrong, I could call the junkyard to come and take it for a song. If the OP likes his Mercedes as an actual beater and is prepared to ignore the little stuff and walk away if big stuff happens, I say good on him..
This exactly. The car is sorted, I know the owner, and it passed the eye test. $5k - if something expensive happens I junk it and move on. Originally was looking to spend more but this fell into my lap.
This exactly. The car is sorted, I know the owner, and it passed the eye test. $5k - if something expensive happens I junk it and move on. Originally was looking to spend more but this fell into my lap.
Not my beater, but I was originally expecting to spend more for a Cayman, but this one fell into my lap
I just picked up a pre-own 2020 M2C as daily while my 992 is reserved for weekend and then some.
With the G87 coming out mid 2023, you can get a pre-own F87 fairly reasonable.
I had a HS slicktop 6MT that I traded last fall for my 992. Fun cars. And I took a bath on it. Bought it at peak of 2022 insanity and then sold in fall. Paid 68, traded it for 55.5 (though 8% sales tax savings put it at 60k)
02-15-2023, 01:40 PM
