Is this car a wise purchase?

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bernse

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2000
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Golf might be a better all around deal, but used VWs have always scared me for some reason.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
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Originally posted by: IgoByte
What sub-$7500 car would you guys buy if it were your choice?

98'ish Camry/Accord
'99-'00 Nissan Altima
And then what ever year Maxima I could get with that money.
 

IgoByte

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2001
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Originally posted by: vi_edit
Originally posted by: IgoByte
What sub-$7500 car would you guys buy if it were your choice?

98'ish Camry/Accord
'99-'00 Nissan Altima
And then what ever year Maxima I could get with that money.

I don't like the way any of the first three cars look, unfortunately. Neither has character unless modified, IMHO. The Maxima looks good, but it's less convenient than the Golf to park and consumes noticeably more fuel.
Your choices are good, though, don't get me wrong. Those are very solid, reliable cars.

 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
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If you want to put aside a little extra a month for "just in case" repairs, you can get a low milage MKIII GTI VR6 in your price range. I used to own one. It was a BLAST to drive. Nice sleeper car. Not many people think golf = quick, but the VR6 is a hard pulling engine.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
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Originally posted by: vi_edit
If you want to put aside a little extra a month for "just in case" repairs, you can get a low milage MKIII GTI VR6 in your price range. I used to own one. It was a BLAST to drive. Nice sleeper car. Not many people think golf = quick, but the VR6 is a hard pulling engine.
They are fun and definitely no slower than the maxima :D

 

IgoByte

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2001
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Originally posted by: vi_edit
If you want to put aside a little extra a month for "just in case" repairs, you can get a low milage MKIII GTI VR6 in your price range. I used to own one. It was a BLAST to drive. Nice sleeper car. Not many people think golf = quick, but the VR6 is a hard pulling engine.

Which car exactly is this? The Golf 3 VR6? Where can I find one?
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
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Originally posted by: IgoByte
Originally posted by: vi_edit
If you want to put aside a little extra a month for "just in case" repairs, you can get a low milage MKIII GTI VR6 in your price range. I used to own one. It was a BLAST to drive. Nice sleeper car. Not many people think golf = quick, but the VR6 is a hard pulling engine.

Which car exactly is this? The Golf 3 VR6? Where can I find one?
Mid 90's Golf GTI VR6. Check autotrader :)

 

IgoByte

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2001
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Originally posted by: Skoorb
Originally posted by: IgoByte
Originally posted by: vi_edit
If you want to put aside a little extra a month for "just in case" repairs, you can get a low milage MKIII GTI VR6 in your price range. I used to own one. It was a BLAST to drive. Nice sleeper car. Not many people think golf = quick, but the VR6 is a hard pulling engine.

Which car exactly is this? The Golf 3 VR6? Where can I find one?
Mid 90's Golf GTI VR6. Check autotrader :)

Thanks.
 

flot

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2000
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I've heard a lot of people recently who have pretty much sworn off ever owning a 2nd volkswagon. ??? Not exactly sure what the deal is, but overall people don't seem very happy with them lately.

As for the maxima - *I* suspect it has a timing belt, but not positive. 113k miles is not a lot for the Nissan 3.0 liter engine though - IMO that's one of the best built engines out there in general. Parts aren't unbelievably cheap, but they don't break that often, either. :) Of course, as with all things - how the car was driven and maintained will mean the most...

 

CFster

Golden Member
Oct 16, 1999
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Originally posted by: IgoByte
Originally posted by: CFster
Originally posted by: IgoByte
Well, they both seem to be pretty reliable vehicles. My father owns a 99 Maxima SE Limited and just crossed the 40K mark, and the car runs beautifully. Never had a single problem. He's owned a lot of different Golfs in the past and they were all very good. Also, the Golf does have the 80K mile powertrain coverage.


80K powertrain coverage only applies to the original owner.

It's transferrable... :)

Really? Never heard of that. Is it an aftermarket add-on warranty?

As far as I know VW's have a 10/100,000 warranty that's only applicable to the original owner. Then it reverts to either a 3/36 or 2/24 powertrain. Same with most other manufacturers that offer long warranties. That's how they do it - nobody keeps a car to 100K anymore.
 

IgoByte

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2001
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Originally posted by: CFster
Originally posted by: IgoByte
Originally posted by: CFster
Originally posted by: IgoByte
Well, they both seem to be pretty reliable vehicles. My father owns a 99 Maxima SE Limited and just crossed the 40K mark, and the car runs beautifully. Never had a single problem. He's owned a lot of different Golfs in the past and they were all very good. Also, the Golf does have the 80K mile powertrain coverage.


80K powertrain coverage only applies to the original owner.

It's transferrable... :)

Really? Never heard of that. Is it an aftermarket add-on warranty?

As far as I know VW's have a 10/100,000 warranty that's only applicable to the original owner. Then it reverts to either a 3/36 or 2/24 powertrain. Same with most other manufacturers that offer long warranties. That's how they do it - nobody keeps a car to 100K anymore.

I'm not certain, but according to the seller it has a transferable 80,000 mile powertrain warranty. I have yet to find out the details on that.
 

SammyBoy

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2001
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I'd get the golf :) I'm partial though, i have a mark3 golf vr6. It's got 144k on it but i'd still take it over the maxima :)

Look around for a 97 or so GINSTER YELLOW GTI VR6. If you don't like ginster you don't deserve it, haha ;) I've got a 96 Sequoia green 1 like I said and I love it.

Anyhow, you should be able to swing a 95-98 GTI VR6 for around 7k with maybe 90000 on the clock. Check vwvortex :)

If you don't need a car bigger than the golf, I'd go for the golf, out of those 2. The 2.0 engine is weak though, you won't have the same fun experiences as I have with my car. muahahha :)
 

CFster

Golden Member
Oct 16, 1999
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Originally posted by: Skoorb
I decided to do a search and the 1996's VQ does in fact have a timing chain :)

Yes, and they still do to this day.

The only problem Maxima engines ever have is if you don't maintain them properly. If sludge is allowed to build up inside the engine then the hydraulic timing chain tensioners don't work right and you end up with a rattling timing chain and possibly an engine that's running rough or skipping. And it's a hefty bill to repair or replace that chain - the book gets almost 11 hours for the job.

But other than that they're pretty bulletproof.



 

Thegonagle

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2000
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Golfs aren't great (far from it, in fact), but no car with 113,000 miles is going to be trouble free either. OTOH, $3000 is a lot less money to blow than $7500, and it's only three years older. Without seeing and driving both cars, they both sound like they could be good deals.
 

IgoByte

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2001
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Originally posted by: SammyBoy
I'd get the golf :) I'm partial though, i have a mark3 golf vr6. It's got 144k on it but i'd still take it over the maxima :)

Look around for a 97 or so GINSTER YELLOW GTI VR6. If you don't like ginster you don't deserve it, haha ;) I've got a 96 Sequoia green 1 like I said and I love it.

Anyhow, you should be able to swing a 95-98 GTI VR6 for around 7k with maybe 90000 on the clock. Check vwvortex :)

If you don't need a car bigger than the golf, I'd go for the golf, out of those 2. The 2.0 engine is weak though, you won't have the same fun experiences as I have with my car. muahahha :)

Fun would be nice, but I'm a new driver and don't think I should get a GTI or anything that's overly powerful for that matter. I'd wait til I get some experience and then buy something sporty. I'm thinking I'd drive this Golf until 2006/2007 and then get a 1 or 2-year old Golf 5 GTI. Also, the Golf 4 is a safer car than the Golf 3. It has front and side impact airbags and it also has some amenities and more interior comfort than the Golf 3.
 

IgoByte

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2001
4,765
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Originally posted by: Thegonagle
Golfs aren't great (far from it, in fact), but no car with 113,000 miles is going to be trouble free either. OTOH, $3000 is a lot less money to blow than $7500, and it's only three years older. Without seeing and driving both cars, they both sound like they could be good deals.

Not having seen the Maxima is my problem. I'm worried about rust on the bottom of the car. It's pretty cold & wet in Boston, after all, and if I were to buy this car, the arrangement was that I go up to Boston with registration done, so I'll have spent close to $500 before I even saw the car.
 

Thegonagle

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2000
9,773
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71
New driver? Get the older car. BTW, the Maxima is quite powerful, but the handling isn't great in stock format. It's a bigger car, so it's not fun enough to drive (except in a straight line) that you'll get carried away all that often.
 

wasssup

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2000
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Originally posted by: Thegonagle
New driver? Get the older car. BTW, the Maxima is quite powerful, but the handling isn't great in stock format. It's a bigger car, so it's not fun enough to drive (except in a straight line) that you'll get carried away all that often.

Now I love "high-speed cornering" as much as the next guy, but lets face it, this is america and all i see are straight lines to drive on. I'd go for the maxima...my parents still have their '93 maxima which they refuse to let go of until it dies (odometer died at 138k miles, but we think it's about 150 by now) and it STILL runs strong (even though my sister and I learned how to drive on it and yes, even abused it occasionally). The engine is so awesome, it's seriously smooth as silk... Highway passing is really fun too (this is coming from a civic driver :)).

But as the above poster mentioned, hitting the corners isn't fun (at least in our '93 with dead struts --- it bounces like crazy); i'm not sure how the suspension is on that '96 (is it an SE? if i remember correctly those have always had the better, stiffer suspension setup).

Also, though VW's are supposedly fun to drive, their build quality (supposedly) sucks.

GET THE MAXIMA.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
It will probably be rusted a bit given where it's coming from. In terms of repairs you just don't know. I bought a 93 sentra with 142k 2 years back and repairs have been minimal.

In terms of power the maxima will smack the golf on the straight end. It's similar to a VR6 on straight (though I do recall my friend's 94 or 95 VR6 with a 5 speed being a touch faster than my dad's 95 maxima gxe with a 5 speed), but a vr6 golf slays that maxima in the corners.

Anyway all that said the most irresponsible driving I ever did was in a 95 maxima gxe. It did not handle well, but it's a very powerful car and being a teenage male with a deathwish I drove it to its limits. The GXE and GLE both will skitter around corners when near the handling limit and if you're not ready for it you can lose control. The SE does have a better suspension setup to counter this.

I'd recommend checking insurance. I bet that maxima will cost more than the golf, unless you go only with comprehensive and ship out on collision. For a $3k car that would be ok, but for the golf (slower one you're considering) you'd need full (for peace of mind), so in that sense I doubt the max would cost more.
 

crypticlogin

Diamond Member
Feb 6, 2001
4,047
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Not having seen the Maxima is my problem. I'm worried about rust on the bottom of the car. It's pretty cold & wet in Boston, after all, and if I were to buy this car, the arrangement was that I go up to Boston with registration done, so I'll have spent close to $500 before I even saw the car.
Have you asked them about any rust? Or better yet, have you asked them to send a few pictures of the areas you want a closer look at? That would probably be the simplest, quickest, and cheapest way to get over that hurdle. Plus, if they balk at any detailed pictures, I would personally pass it over since there's obviously something the seller doesn't want you to see.

Oh yeah, the Golf. IMHO, I would tend to stay away from the Golf because of those things you read about, but take it if it's the ONLY car that interests you. Plus, you excluded the late 90's Accords and Camrys, and I think that's a mistake in putting that much more value on aesthetics than reliability. I'd pick a car with average looks over one with character if it means an average lower cost of maintenance.
 

CChaos

Golden Member
Mar 4, 2003
1,586
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Well, judging by some of your responses in this thread (first car, small is better for parking, mpg concerns, reliability), I'd say set your budget and get the lowest mileage Honda Civic you can find. Yes it will be a point A to B machine or an appliance if you prefer, but it will be cheap, small and will offer great fuel efficiency.

I had a VW until a few months ago and my biggest problem with them was the level of service I recieved from the dealer. It was appalling. Most of the reliability concerns involve coil packs and window regulators. The way the coil pack issue was handled by VWoA left alot to be desired and has really hurt their reputation in this country. Grumpy VW owners probably love the car and hate the company.
 

IgoByte

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2001
4,765
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76
Here's an update: The seller [of the Golf] has really been great throughout and has done what he could to accomodate me as much as possible. I met him yesterday and he seems like a cool dude. So, I asked more questions yesterday, thought about this and that, etc. I called him about an hour ago and asked him just to verify the transferable warranty (because of a mention here), and to his surprise his 80,000 mile warranty turns into a 50,000 mile warranty in the case the care changes hands. That's really retarded and I'm not about to dish out $7500 + all the applicable taxes and fees for a Golf whose warranty expires in 02/04. It just seems like too big a risk after what I read here...
Anyway, as it stands now, it'll be the Maxima GXE from Boston, assuming I can get more details about it (in the form of pics of the areas of concern). I'd love to get something like the VR6, but I can't seem to find a decent deal on from from a private seller... I'll post a FS thread here and see if anyone in the area has one...

You guys make a good point about cars and your recommendations are certainly sound. Honda, Nissan & Toyota certainly make some reliable cars. I'd loe to take over my dad's 99 Maxima SE Limited (that's the car I've been driving), but who knows when he'll get his Ford van and I need a car relatively soon.

Anyway, I really appreciate all the advice, and you certainly managed to influence my decision...