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vdk
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« on: June 23, 2008, 07:40:36 pm » |
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On April 18th (~3 months ago) at 6PM, I went to pick up the Rabbit from the dealership. The guys there were pretty nice overall, got $700 off MSRP and they offered to tint the windows for free but I kindly refused. So I got the Rab after test-driving quite a few cars: Lancer, Astra, Mazda3 Sport and Sedan, Matrix, Jetta, GTI. Test-drove most of them with both automatic and standard trannies. Why the Rabbit? I was looking for a hatchback. It's fun to drive character, room, versatility, performance, nice(st) interior, price (well, lease) won the day. PROS: - power, torque, 6sp automatic w/ Tiptronic - room, some nice (aluminum) touches inside - comfy seats - stable at highway speeds (and way beyond those) - no noticeable wind noise/road noise - blue/red interior lighting - price - ASR (apparently no one wants ESP so they don't order cars with it  ) - tuning potential  (18" rims + 1.5" drop coming soon) - stereo -10 speakers go a long way- - speed sensitive wipers CONS: - fuel economy (can't have the cake and eat it too) ~10L/km 90% fast-lane rush hour highway 10% off hours city w/ a pretty heavy foot. - Don't-wanna-grip Contis - so-so headlights (Xenons would've been nice) - only one set of rims available  And here's some pics, I was bored and the food was not ready. Please excuse the dirt, poor bunny hasn't been washed in 2 1/2 weeks.            
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Wolverine
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« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2008, 10:09:50 pm » |
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10L/Km is a bit too much, eheheehehe.  Very nice car, congrats. PS. Get xenons along with the 18", gonna be awesome. I just got a pair of xenons for the Polo, waiting for it to arrive. |
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"If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself and make a change."
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Spheric
Enthusiast
 OfflineVehicle: 2010 Golf Highline 2.5 MT
Location: Mississauga, ON
Posts: 360
 
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« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2008, 10:54:39 am » |
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Great report and pics. I'm actually thinking about getting a Rabbit and/or GTI (manual transmission) in a couple of years time. I noticed you mentioned you also test drove a GTI....how did that feel in comparison with the Rabbit ? Interesting you mention that the dealer said they don't get requests for ESP as an ordered option. Any reason ? Is ESP not really needed on smaller vehicles ? 8000 kms suggests your Rabbit is due for a service now. Let us know how that goes. |
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vdk
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« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2008, 01:25:08 pm » |
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Thanks guys.
The GTI is significantly more nimble than the wabbit (given that the GTI had 18" and the standard GTI suspension), it's also more powerful and there's more torque and it's noticeable. The seats in the GTI have more aggressive side bolsters that keep you in place better than the Rab's. The sticks in those 2 cars are not that much different in feel. The steering wheels in the GTI is just awesome, nice grip and all, it's also leather and has lots of useless buttons on it. You can also get leather seats on the GTI.
ESP will be made standard on all 2009 VW models, or so I heard. It is needed on any vehicle, small or large, but thing is it rarely does anything on a day-to-day basis. So people think it's useless, and it's not. The moment the ESP kicks in, it's too late for the driver to do anything, and that lil' program might save your a$$.
I'll have the service done tomorrow morning. I'll let you guys know how it goes.
All the best.
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johngenx
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« Reply #4 on: June 26, 2008, 04:43:53 pm » |
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One of my climbing chums has an 08 Rabbit, and he's logged 60K on his, and still loves it. (yup, 60K, he lives outside the city and uses it for his sales job) He traded out an Exploder, so no complaints about the fuel economy from him. Not a single CE light or other issue beyond some unusual tire wear (hopefully fixed by an alignment). Has VW exorcised their demons? Here's hoping... |
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No place I'd rather be...  |
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loser40
Learner's Permit
Offline
Gender: 
Location: West Sussex, United Kingdom
Posts: 114
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« Reply #5 on: June 27, 2008, 11:01:59 am » |
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vdk - I completely agree with what you're saying;
"It is needed on any vehicle, small or large, but thing is it rarely does anything on a day-to-day basis. So people think it's useless, and it's not. The moment the ESP kicks in, it's too late for the driver to do anything, and that lil' program might save your a$$."
I have ESP on my Golf (Rabbit) and it saved me from a serious accident.
To cut a long story short another motorist deliberately cut me up on the motorway while I was doing about 105MPH. He swerved in front of me the moment before I passed him, and if wasn't for ESP I'd definitely have rolled the car.
Trust me, doing 100+ MPH almost sideways in the outside over-taking lane isn't to be recommended.
M.. |
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« Last Edit: June 27, 2008, 11:06:48 am by loser40 »
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Forget "Top Gear" with the egocentric Jeremy Clarkson and his grovellingly emetic sidekicks "we're more important than the cars 'cos we unconvincingly laugh at one-anothers lame & poorly scripted jokes" crap. Fifth Gear is the best motoring program on TV. http://fifthgear.five.tv ...& click video |
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vdk
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« Reply #6 on: June 27, 2008, 10:13:55 pm » |
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simply put ESP is amazing when u need it the most... Went in for an oil change (im afraid to say SERVICE when inside a dealership) today... Cost me almost $110  but at least they washed the car ... |
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quadzilla
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« Reply #7 on: June 27, 2008, 10:43:47 pm » |
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Cost me almost $110 but at least they washed the car ... Next time tell them you will wash the car and reduce the bill by $70.  Pretty steep for only the 8K service but that is the price you pay to drive a German luxury car I guess. |
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How is it possible that after electricity has traveled through hundreds of miles of power line then hundreds of feet (or yards) of romex in our home, that changing the last three feet of wire with something exotic, expensive (cool looking, and packaged in a pricey box) is going to make a difference?
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articsteve
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« Reply #8 on: June 27, 2008, 10:54:02 pm » |
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It's the German spec oil they mandate. It's $100. for an oil change at any VW dealer. First at 8000 km, next at 16,000 km and the next at 32,000 km. I'd think they'd be better to go every 8,000 km with a good regular oil and charge what Toyota and Honda do. |
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“Frankly, we are not going to ever defeat the insurgency,” Billions for jets and pennies for vets; Harponi is MAGNIFICENT.
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dr_spock
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« Reply #9 on: June 27, 2008, 10:55:30 pm » |
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One has to be willing to pay in order to play with Euro.  |
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JSCC
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« Reply #10 on: June 27, 2008, 10:58:01 pm » |
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simply put ESP is amazing when u need it the most... Went in for an oil change (im afraid to say SERVICE when inside a dealership) today... Cost me almost $110 but at least they washed the car ... ~$100 sounds right, it'll be every 16,000km from now on. So double the price of Toyota, Mazda but also double the mileage, so saving half of your time. |
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2011 MB C300 4Matic (Tenorite Grey)
2010 MB C300 4Matic (Iridium Silver)
2002 VW Jetta 1.8T GLS Sport Luxury Leather package
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articsteve
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« Reply #11 on: June 27, 2008, 11:01:45 pm » |
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I could check receipts but too lazy, but I think it's one at 8000 and the next at 16000, then 32000. |
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“Frankly, we are not going to ever defeat the insurgency,” Billions for jets and pennies for vets; Harponi is MAGNIFICENT.
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mmret
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« Reply #12 on: June 27, 2008, 11:10:42 pm » |
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simply put ESP is amazing when u need it the most... Went in for an oil change (im afraid to say SERVICE when inside a dealership) today... Cost me almost $110 but at least they washed the car ... ~$100 sounds right, it'll be every 16,000km from now on. So double the price of Toyota, Mazda but also double the mileage, so saving half of your time. $110 is more like 2.5x or triple, no? Is this synthetic oil at least? |
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Have: 06 TSX, 07 Z4 3.0si Roadster
Sometimes Borrow: 11 GLK
Had: 01 GrandAm, 07 Civic
Dream: SLS AMG
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dr_spock
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« Reply #13 on: June 27, 2008, 11:13:48 pm » |
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I could check receipts but too lazy, but I think it's one at 8000 and the next at 16000, then 32000.
You have a good memory. That's what is listed in my Bentley VW Service Manual. First one at 5000 miles (8000 km) and every 10000 miles (16000 km) there after. I do 2 oil changes on my Honda for every one on my VW. |
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articsteve
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« Reply #14 on: June 27, 2008, 11:16:05 pm » |
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Is this synthetic oil at least?
German spec, group 4 supposedly |
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“Frankly, we are not going to ever defeat the insurgency,” Billions for jets and pennies for vets; Harponi is MAGNIFICENT.
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articsteve
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« Reply #15 on: June 27, 2008, 11:21:21 pm » |
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You have a good memory. That's what is listed in my Bentley VW Service Manual. First one at 5000 miles (8000 km) and every 10000 miles (16000 km) there after. For the Rabbit I'm saying 2 every 8,000 km and then every 16,000 km after that. Don't know what the time interval is.  If it's a year then I wouldn't be too wild about picking up an urban driven used Rabbit that has had only I oil change in one year at 16000 km. |
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“Frankly, we are not going to ever defeat the insurgency,” Billions for jets and pennies for vets; Harponi is MAGNIFICENT.
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JSCC
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« Reply #16 on: June 27, 2008, 11:21:48 pm » |
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Is this synthetic oil at least?
German spec, group 4 supposedly
I used Castrol every 8000km on my 1.8T.  |
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2011 MB C300 4Matic (Tenorite Grey)
2010 MB C300 4Matic (Iridium Silver)
2002 VW Jetta 1.8T GLS Sport Luxury Leather package
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vdk
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« Reply #17 on: June 27, 2008, 11:46:10 pm » |
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Yup it's synthetic alright. Castrol Synthetic SLX OE 5W30 . Next service in 8000km (or 1yr) and 16000km(or 1 yr) from there on... Not whining or anything... you gotta pay to play... and the car's been great so far. They didn't charge me for the wash but they charged me 83 cents for windshield washer |
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quadzilla
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« Reply #18 on: June 28, 2008, 08:27:30 am » |
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simply put ESP is amazing when u need it the most... Went in for an oil change (im afraid to say SERVICE when inside a dealership) today... Cost me almost $110 but at least they washed the car ... ~$100 sounds right, it'll be every 16,000km from now on. So double the price of Toyota, Mazda but also double the mileage, so saving half of your time. $110 is more like 2.5x or triple, no? Is this synthetic oil at least? Mazda charges < $40 for an oil change. Synthetic or not, it is still really expensive. |
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How is it possible that after electricity has traveled through hundreds of miles of power line then hundreds of feet (or yards) of romex in our home, that changing the last three feet of wire with something exotic, expensive (cool looking, and packaged in a pricey box) is going to make a difference?
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Serniter
Auto Obsessed
OfflineVehicle: 99 Protege 1.8 ES
Gender:
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 788
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« Reply #19 on: June 29, 2008, 11:38:33 am » |
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Do all VWs use 5W30? I thought the turbos use 5W40. This is one aspect of German cars I don't like: special engine oil and radiator fluid. In Europe it may not be a problem where VWs are common, whereas here (NJ), only VW dealers carry the coolant and there are limited options for 5W40. |
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Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.
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