Granite_StateDisagree completely. First, trade-ins are a rip off themselves. Second, having driven my 04 gti for almost 4 years now and putting over 45,xxx on it since I bought it at 146,XXX I'd say the worst thing that has happened was having to replace the rotors and upper strut mount. My car (in NH) is almost rust free and never gives me an issue. Plus, there is an incredible wealth of knowledge online and almost any problem you may run into has an answer and usually a DIY associated. I hate when people say VW's are unreliable because it is simply untrue. If you maintain a VW properly it will run well into the 200,000, especially a TDI. The fact is that Audi's have almost indentical components to VW's, so saying an Audi is less likely to break down and is less expensive to fix is also flat out wrong. Too much misinformation is every VW thread I see on here...
agreed. ive put close to 60 000km, going on 170000km on my 07 gti in the three years ive owned it, and the biggest issues i have had are radiator puncture, cv boot tear, ive done the timing belt service, and soon ill be doing my brakes for the first time since ive owned it. two out of the 4 are self inflicted, while the other two are regular maintenance items that youre going to have to do on any car.
also on the vw/audi comparison. EXACT same parts, the few differences being awd drivetrain vs fwd, and the logitudinal engine vs transverse. a3/a4 to golf/gti/jetta/gli/passat in the same model years have many of the same parts across the varying platforms the biggest difference in cost of maintenance is going to be having to maintain an awd drivetrain, and brakes/tires/wheels that are going to wear differently than a fwd drivetrain, but that also is going to be found across any fwd to awd drivetrain comparison. if anything, the audi with the longitudinal engine is going to be easier to do the timing belt service, in that its far more easily accessible by taking the front bumper off than it is to have to jack the engine, undo motor mounts, and contort your hands and the parts around to make them fit.
that being said, the gti will be a more affordable car to maintain in that there are less serviceable drivetrain parts that can and will eventually go bad with high milage
