Glad it ended well and you guys were alright. Luckily I don't have to deal with mountain roads in winter conditions as Delaware is very flat. If I want some "mountain" roads I can drive up to PA for some summer fun.

I think it would be a good tradeoff as well. This is on my list of upgrades.

You will be glad you did lol!! They are the bomb as ash put it :) I should move mine to the glovebox with the wheel lock so I have it if I get a flat again.

 

I'm just not a big fan of the standard Dallas (?) GTI wheels. The Rabbits's black spoked wheels are much cooler I think. I took these photos today:

 

Agreed!

Hard to believe, but our next service on the Golf will be at 50,000 miles. For anyone wondering if VW's are complete piles, I'd have to say no. It's gotten this far with zero malfunctions or recalls. Not that 50k is any kind of test, but so far so good.

Have two things that will need to be addressed in the near future though. 1. The front brakes are shot. Decided to just let the gouged rotor thing play out and they are no longer working well. 2. There's noises coming from the front suspension. Honestly sounds like the drivers side front strut is blown, but just seems way too early for it to need struts. Have to inspect.

 

Also stopped by the Hyundai dealer to see the new Veloster. Probably a plenty fun drive and the price tag is attractive, but its styling doesn't turn my head. The crushed down rear roofline seems to be in vogue everywhere, as are gaping open-mouth grilles and strange faux black ports at the corners front and back.. I'm happy that VW stylists have shown some restraint on these.


Hyundai Veloster 2019

 

That squashed rear leaves little to no headroom. Cars like the VW CC and Mercedes CL kind of started the trend, but sitting in the rear of those is NOT fun.

 

Wow, the miles sure do add up quickly. We have about 23K Miles. Our brakes have suffered the same fate as yours and shimmy badly on heavy applications. You can really feel it through the steering wheel. And our can't-find-2nd Gear problem continues, though we're getting better at working around the problem (bring the shifter perfectly straight back). The Dealer told me to kiss a goose when I mentioned these. We'll live with the crappy rotors until they're done and I'll seek something better.

I completely agree with out you on the anti-VW reliability bias I read. I think most of these "contributors" are living in a decade long ago or are just parroting others. Nonetheless, the overcast should serve as notice to all manufacturers that consumer relations matter greatly and that poor quality and claim denial will eventually dig a hole deep enough to bury a brand.

 

I completely agree with out you on the anti-VW reliability bias I read. I think most of these "contributors" are living in a decade long ago or are just parroting others. Nonetheless, the overcast should serve as notice to all manufacturers that consumer relations matter greatly and that poor quality and claim denial will eventually dig a hole deep enough to bury a brand.

And I agree with both of you. My 2013 GTI is my first experience with a water cooled VW. To be honest I was a bit worried about reliability, but coming from a 2006 MINI Cooper S I figured it had to be better than that. At 45,000 miles my VW has cost me nothing other than normal maintenance. While my wife's MINI continues to bleed cash at an alarming rate.

 

Ooof, I hadn't thought about that. I'm sure it steals a lot of luggage room on Crossovers and SUVs too.

Being a Nissan Frontier owner, I should be enamored with the 370Z, but the styling with it doesn't grab me like it should. The VQ engine is of excellent design (I have a VQ-40 in my truck and the Z has a VQ-series too) and I'm sure the Z is a hoot to drive. I'm glad that Nissan has resisted making it longer and wider, a fate that's ruined many vehicles in this era. I read that the Golf MK8 will be longer and wider and I fear it'll look like a station wagon when they're done.

I do like the looks of the Miata MX-5 RF (with the retractable hard top). I might stop by my Mazda dealer and snap a few shots if they keep one outside.

 

Drove a new (rented) Mazda3 Sedan this weekend. When we narrowed our shopping list in 2017, the Mazda3 was the primary competitor against the Golf. The Mazda3's scorecard suffered from a dull, low-tech dash (the upper trim packages are better with this), a less inspired interior and a much less cool looking exterior. Upon driving the Mazda, I just learned that it also lacks the Golf's lock/unlock feature where a touch on the door handle is all that's needed. The Mazda3 has keyless start, but you have to take the fob out of your pocket to lock and unlock. What's the point in keyless start when you have to mess around with the fob anyway?

 

I completely agree! On some Ford, GM, and Ram's it's even worse. They have auto start, but you then have to put the key in the ignition and turn the key. Just silly.

Our Golf got it's 50,000 mile oil change today. All is well still. Plenty of minor stuff, but the car runs like new and is doing well. Hope it continues.

 

If we could do a [Like] here, I'd do it -- 50,000 Miles on your Golf and going strong. Excellent! Our 2017 is at 23,000.

 

Some time ago here I mentioned that my daughter's 2013 Fit has what I think is a front engine seal leak and signs still point to it. I just remembered that when we bought the (used) car, the crankcase was overfilled by a quart or more at a Ford Dealer and driven about 500 Miles before we bought it. (per Carfax).

The engine is supposed to take 3.8 Quarts and the Ford Dealer filled it to 4.8 or maybe even 5.0 Quarts. Could this have ruined the front main seal?

For the record, I drained out the excess oil on the day we brought the car home.

 

I guess it's possible, but just not sure.

Maybe if it made the oil pressure higher? Just not sure.

 

Thanks GAFIT. I'll continue to monitor the leak; it's no worse than it was and is pretty minor. I've determined that it's definitely not at the drain plug or oil filter.

 

I'd be surprised if being a quart over filled on oil would do that, but you never know. Sometimes assorted seals weep a bit for no good reason.

 

I have read and heard from people that over filling the oil increases oil pressure and can blow out seals. This is a theory on why the GTI rear seal can go out.

My wife and I took a nice long drive in the GTI and she really liked the German driving experience. She is really liking the Tiguan at the moment and once she gets tired of the old Pilot I would consider getting one. It has the same TSI 2.0 in it so it would make maintenance easier. I would like to wait and see how the GTI holds up though. She said the Pilot could give up at any moment (07 with 143k miles). I gave her a look and she said "oh I'm sorry it's a Honda it will go forever" in a sarcastic kinda way. I laughed and said exactly :)

Hope y'all had a good Easter.

 

I took a hard look at the Tiguan's when I was there for an oil change. Lots to like and lots of vehicle for the money compared to most.

If our Golf continues to be good, I would definitely consider a Tiguan for the replacement.

 

I see a lot of new Tiguan's on the road. They seem to be selling well. I sat in one at the dealer & did a walk around. Seems nice, but it is too large for me. We get a longer wheelbase Tiguan here compared to the other side of the pond.

I like the previous gen. That one uses the same engine as my GTI. I'll just hang onto my GTI, I like it & it's been a good car.

What causes the rear main seal to leak on the MK6 is a failed PCV. It's an easy change out & I plan to do it proactively on my car.

Have a good week guys.

 

Looks like the standard Golf is being dropped from the lineup.

https://jalopnik.com/volkswagen-to-k...-an-1834506685

 

Wild! I would be surprised if they don't keep offering the Alltrac here. I like that model. Heck, I like all of the models.

I'm glad to have our 1.8t Golf Wolfsburg. It's kind of an oddity. Overall, it's a pretty nice package.