Hi am wanting to buy a hatchback around the 12,000 dollar mark. Are vw golf's any good! I have always owned nissan's and am not sure whether to go for a european car. It needs to be under 100,000kms and 2000 or newer in years.
the-lada-dude,
Nov 19, 1:43pm
Oh no !shit not again. youv'e just gotta start your own web site jazz !
shelleigh,
Nov 19, 4:44pm
It's always interesting to see how long it takes to find VW threads lol
OP after asking for advice on here, reading many reviews including on the UK Top Gear website AND talking to others, I'm looking at getting a Mk5 Golf wagon next year.
thejazzpianoma,
Nov 19, 9:13pm
Running slow today! Yes, buy the Golf. My advice is stretch your budget just slightly and shop around so you can get a MK5 model. Then you have a car thats significantly better than what most brands are selling new for your budget. Nothing else comes close in a hatch for that money, go for gold!
Also, given your budget is what it is the 1.6 FSI is probably for you, both because its usually what you get at the entry level price tag and also because then you won't have to pay for a cambelt on top of the price again. I am usually a 2.0 fan but getting into a MK5 as opposed to MK4 is really whats important here.
ava3,
Nov 19, 10:28pm
thanks for the advice jazz. Any advice on the altezza Gita on what they are like
mugenb20b,
Nov 19, 10:51pm
Very good cars, but a tad pricey and over rated. I've driven a few, and liked the non turbo 6 cylinder model best, nice seats, controls positioned perfectly, but I didn't like the speedo cluster. Stay away from all the ones that were raped by boy racers (lowered, chrome mags, big bore, etc.) Get a stock, unmolested example if you choose to buy one.
thejazzpianoma,
Nov 19, 11:30pm
The Golf wins hands down for having a much better transmission (this is important as it transforms the whole car) better economy/power and generally more car for the money. For the same price the Altezza is a very old technology car, its no where near as good a value and its over hyped and over priced to say the least.
A $12'000 Altezza would be a great car if it was half the price.
msigg,
Nov 20, 2:12am
Altezza are very good reliable cars, they go well and look good too. They do hold there price for a reason. The golf is a good car to, a we bit smaller though.
horsepower7,
Nov 20, 2:21am
haha i wouldnt buy a golf, hate driving them! altezzas are better
mapman,
Nov 20, 1:46pm
The Golf wins hands down at breaking down. The Altezza Gita 3L leaves the Golf for dead, every way you look at it. Modern VWs are sold worldwide in huge numbers and they have a poor reliability record. Toyotas and Lexus (The Altezza is a Lexus with a Toyota badge on it) are sold in massive numbers and both have a reliability record at the highest level. So if you like wrenching a lot or getting your car fixed by a mechanic, by a Golf. If you like trouble free motoring, performance and comfort get a Altezza GITA 3L. Golfs are cheaper because they are a cheaper car. Sort of like compering the All Blacks to the Romanian national Rugby team.
thejazzpianoma,
Nov 20, 1:58pm
ava3, the above (mapman in particular) are resident anti-euro trolls. (just look up some of mapman's exploits in other threads).
There is absolutely nothing wrong with VW Golf reliability, its much on a par with Toyota's Avensis for reliability. The Lexus the Altezza is based on was a particually reliable car (beat pretty much everything) but you are looking at older imports for the same money so its unlikely to offer better reliability than the still very reliable newer Golf.
In short there are a bunch of "dealer type" haters on here who just try and wind me up. Ignore them.
We have had 4 MK5 Golfs/A3's in the family those offering loud negative opinions from the sidelines usually have none. Because the Golf is easily proven better on paper in every aspect they try and attack the one area that's hard to prove and scares people. reliability.
Basically any vehicle with a reasonable level of sophistication that scores under 100 is very good for reliability.
scoobeey,
Nov 20, 2:04pm
Google are vw golfs reliable.Theres your answer.If you do buy keep a wad o cash for mechanic:)))))
thejazzpianoma,
Nov 20, 2:07pm
. oh yes and prepare for the retaliatory rubbish that usually follows my rebuttal. Shame these people forget that someone is trying to make an expensive buying decision and their cheap shots are just unhelpful.
Anyhow, thats it from me. I will let you use your own mind to sort the wheat from the chaff. there is no point in my even bothering to read their usual pointless reply's. If you need further help from me just start a thread with my name.
scoobeey,
Nov 20, 2:10pm
no jazz just many people that have owned them with reliability issues.just google:))))
mapman,
Nov 20, 2:27pm
Please don??
scoobeey,
Nov 20, 2:31pm
+1:)))
mapman,
Nov 20, 2:34pm
Said by the man who loves promoting what he likes and hates anybody who begs to differ.VWs have been going down hill for years. To be fair most car manufactures stopped making reliable cars years ago. Parts are manufactured to fail and that keeps their spare parts industry going. Plenty of money to be made there and VW makes plenty. Honda & Toyota makes money by selling cars that don??
morrisman1,
Nov 20, 2:41pm
I never thought Id ever agree with mapman but most definetely do on this point.
prepare for jazz to talk about how the golf is reliable considering the equipment level which will basically be an admission that it does break down more and has more useless stuff weighing it down
smac,
Nov 20, 3:07pm
One thing to note here, doesn't matter who's reliability data you use, there is zero point in considering it at the manufacturer level. Every manufacturer makes the occasional dog, and most make a gem. It's more about where the power plant is sourced from, where they pinched the suspension design from , who did the electronics etc. Using the link above, Toyota has cars with an index as good as 24, but their worst is 100. I've never seen the point in ranking manufacturers.
Also to consider - the Warranty Direct data is weighted by cost of repair - so more expensive models, which have more expensive parts, get hammered in the ratings, even if they are just as reliable. I would argue that if you are able to buy a more expensive model, the fact it costs more to get the same job done is irrelevant It might be that the dealer simply charges more.but you can't tell looking at that survey. What would be more interesting to assess to me would be the actual repair event rate.
Very difficult to get an objective read on all of this.everyone publishing data has their own soapbox.
shelleigh,
Nov 20, 3:34pm
I was speaking with a lady recently who has a Golf hatch. Her husband has one too and they really love them. Have had no problems with either of them. As with ANY vehicle I would be buying, I will be making sure any Golf I look at buying has FULL service records. So often when a vehicle of ANY make is unreliable, it's because it hasn't been well looked after. Too many people who fail to service their vehicle on time/properly are very quick to blame it on the make of the car.
trdbzr,
Nov 20, 4:33pm
Read the Consumer NZ report on car reliability and you will see the Golf rated as one of the most unreliable cars. The most reliable ones as usual was the Corolla.
trdbzr,
Nov 20, 4:43pm
Also the Altezza was built to compete with the 3 series BMW and it did a really good job of that. It had a far better interior, better ride quality, decent power, reliability and IMO better looking when compared to the 3 Series.
shelleigh,
Nov 20, 4:44pm
It's always interesting to see how long it takes Jazz to find VW threads lol
OP after asking for advice on here, reading many reviews including on the UK Top Gear website AND talking to others, I'm looking at getting a Mk5 Golf wagon next year.
thejazzpianoma,
Nov 20, 9:13pm
Running slow today! Yes, buy the Golf. My advice is stretch your budget just slightly and shop around so you can get a MK5 model. Then you have a car thats significantly better than what most brands are selling new. Nothing else comes close in a hatch for that money, go for gold!
Also, given your budget is what it is the 1.6 FSI is probably for you, both because its usually what you get at the entry level price tag and also because then you won't have to pay for a cambelt on top of the price again. I am usually a 2.0 fan but getting into a MK5 as opposed to MK4 is really whats important here.
Also, don't even listen for a second to any silly "european car" wives tales you might hear. The Golf is super reliable, parts are easily available and cheap and its significantly more car than anything out of Japan for the same money.
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 25, 1:15pm
ava3, the above (mapman in particular) are resident anti-euro trolls. (just look up some of mapman's exploits in other threads).
There is absolutely nothing wrong with VW Golf reliability, its much on a par with Toyota's Avensis for reliability. The Lexus the Altezza is based on was a particually reliable car (beat pretty much everything) but you are looking at older imports for the same money and the cheaper cousin not the genuine "Lexus", so its unlikely to offer notably better reliability than the still very reliable newer Golf.
In short there are a bunch of "dealer type" haters on here who just try and wind me up. Ignore them.
We have had 4 MK5 Golfs/A3's in the family those offering loud negative opinions from the sidelines usually have none. Because the Golf is easily proven better on paper in every aspect they try and attack the one area that's hard to prove and scares people. reliability.
Basically any vehicle with a reasonable level of sophistication that scores under 100 is very good for reliability.
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