Used 1998 Volkswagen GTI Consumer Reviews
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Great little car
I bought mine new back in 1998, expecting to keep it a few years. Almost 14 years later it's still going strong and I still like it. The good things about it are that it's fast, quick, and nimble. The seats are form fitting and keep you from moving around. Repairs have been rare, but fairly expensive when they came. The strangest one was the replacement of the thermostat, which 1 garage couldn't even find, and that the dealer replaced for $450. In general, though, it's been very reliable. The only down side to it is that you feel every bump in the road. That gets annoying after a while.
Fun to drive
I've owned this car from 19K miles to 240K. Overall this car is extremely fun to drive and handles exceptionally. The drive train is solid and at 240K miles my car still doesn't show any signs of weakness or burn any oil. I still haven't needed to replace the clutch or do any transmission work either. The dash and controls are built well and aren't cheap and plasticy like many cars that came out during that time. However, there has been a TON of stuff that needs constant attention outside the main drive train which seemed like it was built so cheaply it was designed to fail.
The German Escort
The car is essentially a German version of the Ford Escort. It's: *cheap *small *good fuel economy *hatchback *should be fairly reliable
my review
very simple. this car has been great, but that maybe because i don't drive it very far on a daily basis.
Buy It Unless You Are Broke
All I am going to say is 170,000 miles of FUN! That is right, 170,000 miles and all it took was regular maintenance. If you buy it you will need to put money in it (don't buy it if you are broke). Maintenance is pricey, but you can do most of it yourself. BTW, this is one of four VWs I have had.