SOT: Considering a MK2, 3 or 4 VW GTI for my new DD, Give me the good, the bad, and the ugly... Options

[Gint]

I don't want to spend a fortune and I don't buy new cars anymore anyway. I like the fact that I can get into cars I've always liked without losing my shorts or spending a a ton of cash. I have a 914, a 4WD truck and a DD (the DD will be replaced with this car) so absolute dependability isn't the most important factor as I can deal with one car having a little down time.

I've been wanting to get an old water cooled VW again for quite awhile. While I'd prefer a MK1 Scirocco or GTI, they aren't exactly plentiful anymore. So I'm looking at the later GTIs. Of course a Scirocco wouldn't be out of the question either. But I can go as late as the early MK4's GTIs. I've heard different things about the reliability of these cars, but I respect most everyone's opinion here and know a lot of you guys have probably owned a few of these. So give me the run down on the different years and their strengths/weaknesses?

[Scott S]

Hi Mr Gint -
I had a MKI and a MkII Gti. I beat the living crap out of both cars and in the case of the MkII I commuted from Conifer to Boulder in it for years. Other than the normal maintenance stuff, I rarely had an issue. Burned up some clutches doing autocross and IT events - never really broke anything. The only time I was ever left stranded was when I had a fuel pump fail in the MKII. My wife at the time drove the MKII GLI - same deal - no issues.

My mom bought a MKIII Jetta and it was a TOTAL POS. I dated a gal inbetween wife 1 and 2 who had a MKIV and it too was total junk. My brother married a gal with a IV and that car was always in the shop. Piles of electrical and oxygen sensor issues on both cars. Mom also had one of the earliest TT's and it went through 4 radios, 2 guage panels and had other electrical issues as well - and she put maybe 2-3 thousand miles per year on the thing.

I would look for a 1992 2.0 16v GTI - they were cooooool.
Always wanted a scirocco (I or II) but not only was I too tall, but the insurance was a monster when I was in the 18-25 yr old age group - you shouldn't have that problem............... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)