MK4 Jetta GLI?

[E30 Wagen]

Not necessarily looking to buy one but ran across a few on CL and they suddenly seem not so terrible for a FWD car from the early 2000's. 6 speed manual, nice Recaro seats, and crisp German body panels for ~$5k. I've seen one of these do very well at an autocross once. Or are these one of those cars that, once it hits a certain mileage, seems to self destruct? I've got 4 crappy e30s and I'm thinking about unloading two of them to get something "nice."

[GillesBigCowboy]

I think all the early GLIs were VR6: nose-heavy, but nice sound. I had an 02 GTI, and it was wonderful on the highway. I will always have soft spot for Mk4.
1.8T nevar looz

[alB5]

Yes the 2004+ were specifically modified with the recaro seats iirc. Different valences and are much more sought after.

[S14pwrdE30]

Buddy had an 04.5 GLI that he bought new off the dealer lot as a garage queen. Transmission started leaking at 18k miles, they replaced the whole thing under warranty. At 25k miles, all the fins on the water pump decided to disappear so his car overheated leaving him stranded on the side of the road. Mileage obviously wasn't a factor, it was just a pile of garbage from the day it rolled off that assembly line in Mexico.

[Boise]

I daily drive a MK4 Jetta GLX with a VR6, and I have always been happy with it. Its been my go-to for 6 or 7 years, but it does have its nuances. I tell people that it was "designed by Germans and built by Mexicans, and a few things were lost in translation". Its mechanically fantastic, but the electronics are awful. I like mine and I plan on driving it for a few more years, and I have always had a place in my heart for MK4's and I would KILL to have a GLI!

[ginonj]

I know plenty about them. The one your looking at has the 1.8T engine. That means, timing belt and water pump every 60k miles and 3k oil change intervals with 5w-40 only. Other than that, awesome cars. Tuning options are endless for that motor. Keep up on the maintenance, and its an awesome daily driver/weekend track car. It is FWD, which is the only real downfall. They last a long time. If you have any questions post here or send me a message!

[noahb]

I had an 01 GTI with a 1.8t. Loved that car, perfect pizza car. It had about 210k on it when it it got hit by a curb. It was well taken care of and ran absolutely perfect at that mileage. Very sad because it seemed to have a lot of life left in it and I really wanted to see how far that peppy little motor would go. But it was all for the better because I bought an e30 right after that:)

[Julien]

so wait which is best 1.8T or vr6














teehee













I had a 20th (gti with similar recaro/6 speed package) and loved the crap out of it. apr ftw. they aren't any less reliable than an e46 or e39 etc

[matthugie]

I DD an 1.8t MK4 with those recaros and it's fantastic. APR stage 1 tune and you'll be faster than a stock e36 m3 while maintaining stock drivability and ~30 mpg. If it's been riced out or not maintained you may have your hands full, but if it's a clean relatively stock car then you'll probably be ok.

[BobombETA]

I've DD'd a 2000 Jetta VR6 for the last 37,000 miles. They do make a lovely sound, but like others have said, the engine bay is pretty cramped. Overall 7/10, would bang. It is going to be retired to winter duty only as soon as spring hits though because M3.

[P Arkus]

Only up until 2003 where the Jetta GLI's a VR6. In 2004 and 2005 (called the 2004.5), they introduced the Jetta GLI as a special edition Jetta with only 1500 available in North America I believe. Don't quote me on these numbers as really its not the main point of this post.

The main point is, they came with unique bumpers, a 1.8T, 6 speed transmission, recaro's and a few other goodies. As said before, they are very reliable cars as long as the previous owners have kept up on the maintenance. The "1.8T NEVRLOSE" is definitely a great engine, and can be done up for pretty cheap. In fact with the options in bigger turbo's and tuning, they can be made to be quite fast and fun. Only problem is putting that power to the ground with the FWD.

I have a few friends with the GLI's and can definitely vouch that they are good cars. Just make sure you treat them right ;)