[EverthingIsTerrible]

I have been driving for nearly 30 years. I have never once burned a clutch out. Ever. SO I hear you on the wear, but this is NOT a matter of wear.

They should definitely drop it and inspect for free, not make you pay for it and then go from there.

 

[2000JettaGLXVR6]

I have been driving for nearly 30 years. I have never once burned a clutch out. Ever. SO I hear you on the wear, but this is NOT a matter of wear.

I hear ya. My 17k mile Cayman clutch/flywheel grenade'd. Nobody wants to believe you though when you tell them. :laugh:

 

[Maximum_Download]

I will just say this and then I will leave this topic alone:

The dealer has been excellent so far to work with, and is taking my side. My issue is with VWoA, and always has been.

But buyer beware. If this is how they are going to treat someone who is on their 5th VW, doesn't abuse his car, and doesn't modify......

 

[2000JettaGLXVR6]

OP's list is a little depressing IMO.

The E90 over a MK7 GTI? Realllly?

Comparing a Sentra to a GLI?

IMO the car ticks all the boxes is 4-Door MK7 GTI lol.

 

[EverthingIsTerrible]

maybe he doesnt need 4 doors or 2 doors but 3! OP get urself a veloster

 

[2000JettaGLXVR6]

Mini Clubman

4 years old, 35k miles, manual, 5 doors, great tech, drivability, $14k

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/794361809/overview/

Upgrade to the S, $16k

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/777826203/overview/

There's just too damn many freshly used cars from 2016-2018 in the 14k range to consider an old crusty-ass 15 year old E90 even if you'll save half.

 

[2000JettaGLXVR6]

2016 BMW X1, no manual, no care. Worlds beyond an E90.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/799074926/overview/

 

[mrothwell]

G37 or, more realistically at this budget, G35 sedan is a great option. Probably the best.

I guess maybe an Accord Sport could be decent too.

The main problem with the G37/35 is that the manual sedans are super rare, and most of them have NOT aged well. They've got the WRX syndrome, all used examples are beat.

 

[mrothwell]

2016 BMW X1, no manual, no care. Worlds beyond an E90.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/799074926/overview/

What is wrong with you? :sly:

 

[SICKVDUB1]

OP's list is a little depressing IMO.

The E90 over a MK7 GTI? Realllly?

Comparing a Sentra to a GLI?

IMO the car ticks all the boxes is 4-Door MK7 GTI lol.

It all depends, what Sentra you compare it too. Advanced or Basic sentra, i laughed too... but when comparing the Nismo vs the GLI, things start to get closed by.

Even with the 2.0 on stock form it is a little bit faster the GLI than the Nismo (tune is a different story and even then with just a tune and fmic and CAI you can achieve 230-240whp), the interior is where the GLI shines vs the Sentra, even though the sentra has the recaro with alcantara, the infotainment just killed that interior. Interior space Nismo is bigger, trunk they are fairly big on both of them, maintenance and insurance made the Nismo a better choice for me. I could have gone with an plebian A3, or a GLI (dealership didn't want to find a brand new one for me, i was purchasing when they decided to kill the MKVII GLI) and since i wanted an all around car (baby hauler, toy for me and road trip vehicle) i was steered towards the Nismo, quiet frankly it hasn't dissapointed and even on a small mexico run i did with a guy with a tuned Bettle, and exhaust the sentra kept up with it he just got me by a fender, (his was DSG) i have the 6sp.

Like i said i know people hate on Nissans, but just like with me, you can at least give it a try, i know i did and i haven't regretted it one bit. Even a few months ago while my brother was buying his vento i went in to take a look at the GLI and the interior room was a tad bit smaller compared to the sentra wife and i agreed that we did right not waiting for the newer GLI since i got a pretty nice discount on the Nismo. Which is also another great point, i've seen guys over at the FB group purchasing below MSRP without much effort.

 

[TheLateGTI]

Funny that the clutch has been brought up. I was just telling my wife that the MKVII clutch is super weak. It is one of the cons for the car and even though I don’t do burnouts or abuse it, it still is a concern for me knowing that it will fail relatively much shorter than other clutches.

My dad’s 190E with over 300k when I started driving it back in HS was still original. I expect clutches to last a minimum of 150k.

Sorry to hear about your 12k mile Golf R with a bad clutch. I would feel disappointed in VW and VWoA with how the materials used and the customer service. I hope you can find a solution that you can live with and continue to enjoy your R!

 

[Slipstream]

Hahah :laugh: Lease was up , but yea I should have just kept it! But honestly the height of a the SUV is what we enjoy the most. Taking a baby in and our of the car sucks when you have to hunch down. You'll know soon enough Congrats btw:beer::beer:

He's going to get a ride in the GTI every day on the way to daycare. I'm hoping you're wrong. :laugh: Thanks! :beer::beer:

I get it, but the car has 12,000 miles on it. There's no excuse for clutch slip. Period. And there's plenty of evidence both here and on the FB pages that the clutches are weak.

VW wants me to pay $1500 to drop the trans, with no guarantee that they will warranty it. Sorry, not doing that on a $40,000 car that's effectively brand new still.

At that point, you'd be better off just getting the clutch done proactively somewhere else and swap in a beefed-up aftermarket option. Assuming you're planning on keeping it, of course.

I wonder if the Golf R is more prone to premature clutch failure (vs. the GTI), due to the increased power output?

 

[Stevo12]

When going car shopping, try going in with the car seat and stroller you’re going to use, if you have it or can borrow from a friend. Based on my experience with the Mazda3 we had before our son was born I am gonna say the ATS is a non-starter. Fitting an adult in the back seat is not the same as being able to fit a rear facing seat and then being comfortable in the front seat. In the Mazda, my knees were wedged up against the dash, and I’m not a big guy (5’9”)

I get that fun to drive is still a factor, but the ability to fit (or not) the baby and related big-ticket items will outweigh any minute gains in steering feel or dash stroking abilities. That’s why in my mind, a GLI beats a 5dr GTI in daily usability. And I’m saying this as someone who’s looking to get one once Jr. is out of daycare/stroller/rear facing hell.

C300 can save me 6-7k, and thanks to the poster above that posted the race car. Tranny and engine are stock but I heard that suspension and brakes are from C63 for that race car that has thousands* of hours on it and the owners find it reliable.

I’m very familiar with this car and you are right, there are a lot of hours and trick work in some areas of the car like the C63 brakes; suspension is Bilstein club race coilovers and the control arms are standard pieces with spherical bushings). My favorite bit is the Mk60 standalone ABS system.

But all that aside, having driven a standard W203 as well, if you’re considering an E90 street car, a manual W203 should be a strong consideration given the similarities between the two. The W203 is a very underrated platform. If you find yourself straying from the manual-only requirement, the C350 Sport is 300 hp of reliable NA goodness. Not as good as an M-sport, but it won’t have any of the N54/N55 drawbacks.

 

[TheLateGTI]

When going car shopping, try going in with the car seat and stroller you’re going to use, if you have it or can borrow from a friend. Based on my experience with the Mazda3 we had before our son was born I am gonna say the ATS is a non-starter. Fitting an adult in the back seat is not the same as being able to fit a rear facing seat and then being comfortable in the front seat. In the Mazda, my knees were wedged up against the dash, and I’m not a big guy (5’9”)

I get that fun to drive is still a factor, but the ability to fit (or not) the baby and related big-ticket items will outweigh any minute gains in steering feel or dash stroking abilities. That’s why in my mind, a GLI beats a 5dr GTI in daily usability. And I’m saying this as someone who’s looking to get one once Jr. is out of daycare/stroller/rear facing hell.



I’m very familiar with this car and you are right, there are a lot of hours and trick work in some areas of the car like the C63 brakes; suspension is Bilstein club race coilovers and the control arms are standard pieces with spherical bushings). My favorite bit is the Mk60 standalone ABS system.

But all that aside, having driven a standard W203 as well, if you’re considering an E90 street car, a manual W203 should be a strong consideration given the similarities between the two. The W203 is a very underrated platform. If you find yourself straying from the manual-only requirement, the C350 Sport is 300 hp of reliable NA goodness. Not as good as an M-sport, but it won’t have any of the N54/N55 drawbacks.

OK, now I am intrigued. How are you so familiar with that car?

 

[absoluteczech]

I'm hoping you're wrong. :laugh: Thanks! :beer::beer:

At first it will seem as if I am, but as they get heavier , then I will We also keep our son in the middle. If you kept them on the sides I could see it being a lot easier.

 

[Stevo12]

OK, now I am intrigued. How are you so familiar with that car?

I was involved with those guys back when we built that car and campaigned it in AER. Car wasn’t my brainchild though, so I can’t take credit for the trick stuff that’s done to it, but I’ve got a good amount of my time into it from wrenching to crew support at races. It’s been a phenomenally reliable race car, but it hasn’t seriously campaigned since 2018. The FCP guys turned pro in 2019 with the TCR series and the MB has been brought out as a party piece on occasion. Life’s also gotten in the way as I’ve moved, changed jobs with more travel, and had a kid.

I will say, the durability of the car has impressed me. As I said, the engine and trans are 100% stock pieces, and if you’re not familiar with AER, it’s 6-8 races per year and 16-18 hours of racing each weekend. All of our stops were gas-and-go, the engine never consumed oil or gave us any problems. IIRC back when they bought the car it had I think around 20K miles on it, and I believe it’s somewhere between 30K or maybe even north of 40K on it, so it’s got a lot of race miles on it.

Working on it is like working on any VW or BMW. Pretty easy if you have the right tools - E-torx, allens, torx, and triple squares abound.

As I said, it’s also a pretty good street car. For one of the races at Summit Point, I rode to/from there and CT in the back of a W203 street car they had, a C300 4Matic. I’d also driven W203 rental cars back when I drove for Enterprise, again they compared very favorably to the contemporary E90 BMW. Manuals were only in the C300, but the FCP guys had no trouble finding the car they turned into the racer in NYC

 

[N2OInferno]

The ATS is going to be tight, if it fits at all. I'd be in a 2.0 ATS today, except that I found out test driving them last summer that with me (6'2") in the driver seat, my oldest (9) has to have his feet pinned under my seat if he's behind me. My youngest (5) couldn't reach the floor, and his feet stick out into the seat back because of the angle of the floor, so he was forced to sit cross legged in his car seat. He wasn't happy about that, so I passed on it. I can't imagine a rear-facing car seat fitting and the person in front of it being comfortable. I was honestly surprised at the lack of rear seat room.

 

[chris89topher]

sleeper pick here - top-line 2.0T B6 Passat WAGON....cargo for DAYS. Fun with a tune / suspension + excels in the looks department. 14k should get you a mint one with low mileage.

if the wife doesnt want a wagon, then a B6 sedan...the trunk is still huge...pic of my old steed. really enjoyed it.

Untitled by peterszew, on Flickr

This makes me miss my 2010 Passat. I loved it. Ugh.

 

[TheLateGTI]

Talking with a dealer and hoping to schedule a test drive by flying down to a southern state.
Found a car that looks clean in and out with some higher miles. So it's looking like I am going down the road where I go with an older car and pocketing some money rather than making a lateral move. Waiting to hear back about placing a refundable deposit.

 

[SICKVDUB1]

Talking with a dealer and hoping to schedule a test drive by flying down to a southern state.
Found a car that looks clean in and out with some higher miles. So it's looking like I am going down the road where I go with an older car and pocketing some money rather than making a lateral move. Waiting to hear back about placing a refundable deposit.

What car is it and how did it go?