Originally Posted by TheOtherDave™

With the old 8v motor?
If so, that's kind of surprising... it must have had a hard life.
I wailed on my Mk2 constantly and with regular maintenance, it ran strong and clean.

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At any rate, since the OP is talking about the new Mk5 "Rabbit", all I can really say is that I have my doubts about current VW reliability. :shrug:

From the sidelines, it seems to be a "luck of the draw" situation. If you get a good one, you're set... but if you get a dud that has problems early on, you're doomed.

For as much as VW is asking, I would pass... at least until they get a handle on their quality control issues again. I don't like the idea of rolling the dice when making an $20,000 "investment".