09 Mazda 3 or 09 VW rabbit

[Reyan]

If you live in South Florida and choose the Rabbit pm me I can give you a good deal. If you choose the Mazda I can get you a good deal also.

 

[Reyan]

Being an ex VW owner, I feel responsible to chime in. It depends on how long you want to keep the car. VW comes with 3 yr maintenance free plan. Afterwards, you're on your own. VW parts are CRAZYYY expensive. I don't like leaving broken things unresolved, so on average I spend $500 every time I replace ONE part.

On the bright side, I would say VW has more of a solid feeling when you're driving it. Mazda is on the light side, but that saying, the HP difference won't matter that much because of their respective weights.

Oil filter for Mazda $4-$5. $8 for VW if you buy in bulk.

All in all, it depends on your needs and what you're willing to sacrifice. PM me if you have anymore questions.

The warranty is the same 3/36 b2b 5/60 powertrain except vw have free maintaince for the 3/36.

 

[justanothermp5]

not sure if you bought a car already cuz i dont feel like reading this whole thread

but get the VW, its got a 2.5l 5cylinder engine and vw's last a long ass time

i have an 84 rabbit that im rebuilding right now and all the engine parts look almost brand new after 200k, cept the camshaft that is....

 

[Scorpeo]

I know this thread is a bit old so you've probably made your choice already, but ... I had a 82 VW Rabbit that my parents bought new, and then after 8 years, they gave it to me to drive in college. I loved that little rabbit, had no problems whatsoever until I cracked the block (forgot to put the mix in the radiator and just had water). I don't know if they make them the same now, but mine was a diesel and I got absolutely awesome mileage and it just kept chugging along.

 

[p5stockr]

well, based on simple studies done by consumer reports, VW has had numerous "least reliable" ratings. The Jetta has been one of the worst so far, claiming least reliable small car for a few years in a row. I think the 2007 consumer reports testing actually had 3 VW vehicle's in the least reliable categories, passat, Jetta and toureg. VW bug was also on previous years' lists. There are always exceptions but generally speaking they are less reliable than american cars according to the studies.

I've been studying these " reliability ratings" for some time, and I have come to the conclusion that they are simply calculations based on some reports obtained by customers and from service records such as recalls or simply TSBs for minor problems, and are then published by writers that try to tell you what to buy even though they don't know their ass from a hole about cars..(moon)

 

[Olestra]

The warranty is the same 3/36 b2b 5/60 powertrain except vw have free maintaince for the 3/36.

Wow, I didn't know VW has that in the states.
We don't get that in Canada.
We get:
4-year/80,000 km new vehicle warranty
12 months/20,000 km adjustments
5-year/100,000 km powertrain warranty
12-year, unlimited distance warranty against corrosion perforation

As for owning a VW, my brother has an 02 Jetta and he was scared of the horror stories he read about online but bought one anyways.
His car has been relatively problem free except in the first year, he had defective coil packs causing loss of engine power. He limped in to the dealership and got them replaced under recall.
He just now has been getting the "starter squeel" - the starter makes a high pitched squeeling noise when starting the car and is known issue but supposedly doesn't affect anything negatively.
We'll see what happens once he passes 100k kms...

My 06 Mazda3 has been problem free.