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Hatchbacks Volkswagen Rabbit New Rabbit Owners - give us your report!
208 messages, Last post on Apr 29, 2008 at 5:17 PM
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hey all! and thanks for the info eldaino and sharpedgeshurt! i have my bunny now! all paperwork like title transfer and insurance is over with and i get to now enjoy the rabbit in all its glory! its a 2 door sage green automatic. i wanted to fill you all in on the great buy i got it at. please PLEASE dont take it as bragging, i just think we all should know great deals are available if we have the patience for em. ive loved the rabbit since i first saw their new model but never thought i could afford one. low and behold on craigslist i found a private seller needing to sell this bunny asap bc she was moving out of the country. it was only bought this last oct. and still under 5yr warranty. i was able to talk her down to 13500. i feel so lucky about it! what a blessing! so far in the two days of driving it ive been oober please with the handleing and of course the car itself!!just washed it tonight and i hope me buying a 5dollar gallon of soap isnt going to cost me and my baby's paint!!
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Replying to: o_rabbit (Jul 11, 2007 12:20 am) congrats and enjoy! |
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Replying to: eldaino (Jul 09, 2007 9:45 am) 5,000 miles is a long way to go between oil changes, particlularly if you have some city and short driving trips mixed in with it, but with synthetic oil should have some margin for error. 10,000 mile oil changes leave little margin for error (and also assume a VW spec'd synthetic oil, not just any old synthetic oil). Remember that at least one oil change a year is required under the "time or miles" alternative. Finally, with "every 3 months" oil changes becoming a thing of the past, there is no one looking at tire pressure and fluid level checks besides you. Owner's manual service recommendations PRESUME a monthly check of the items listed in the manual. These are very minor checks, but how many owner's actually still do them? Does it matter? Ask owners of Ford Expeditions who had tire blow outs due to underinflated tires. Ask Camry and Sebring owners with sludged engines. Don't believe all the hype about "maintenance free." Even my toaster needs to have the crumbs dumped out once in a while or in becomes a fire hazard....
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Replying to: micweb (Jul 11, 2007 3:55 pm) you sound like the guy from the vw dealer that told me he reccomended 5 k oil changes no matter what,...and then dropped it to' man, you should just come in every 3k! thats the way to do it! i've seen to many sludged engines!' Yeah. This is the same guy who told me my 20k service was x amount one time and then 2 weeks later, it was 150 bucks more for no reason. there is no need to change your oil any sooner than what vw themselves says needs to be done. The manual does NOT give a substituion of synthetic oil is not avialable, and i only use the vw spec/approved one. i do perform the fluid checks and check my tires regularly, i just wont be taking my car to the dealer every 10k not when its just, check this/check that. on the big ones where there is some more extensive work and things that need to be tested, i can scrounge up the dough to do so. (i.e. the 40k service.) but aside from that i'm good.
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Replying to: eldaino (Jul 12, 2007 7:19 am) I've always found it funny that all Canadian manuals follow extreme conditions (I'm not only talking VW here), whereas the moment you get across the border, it's back to the normal conditions. Since my climate (Toronto) is roughly the same as that of New England and other northeastern states, there should be no reason why that which applies to one shouldn't apply to the other. Whatever the reason, I think that changing oil every 5000mi is a good idea anyways. As far as fluid checks and tire pressures, every owner should do that on their own anyways. I could get on a rant about how owners "expect" their cars to operate maintenance-free in perpetuity, but I'll resist. |
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Averaging right around 24mpg after two tanks of gas and have driven around 550 miles with a little over 600 mpg on the odometer total. (I drive at least 500 mi a week). I've noticed my radio jump up in bass for a split second when merging on to the 134 in Taluca Lake today so I will have to turn that automatic radio adjusting thing off. Also: my dealer didn't tell me that the lumbar support knob on the passenger seat was broken. I'm guessing it was broken when they gave it to me, because a friend of mine who is an Audi owner (and was my first passenger) with the same kind of seats accidentally pulled the knob out. I will be taking it to the dealer soon for a repair. It doesn't bother me too much since I am never a passenger in my car, and so long as they fix it without hassle. The "Gorrilla gear" mats in my car are vey cool. but I notice there are little twistable knobs on the floor of my car that look like they're for the mats, and you slip them through on holes in the mat, and twist them so that the mat stays in place. My Gorrilla-gear rubber mats with the rabbit logos do not seem to fit very well over these. Any suggestions? I'll probably ask my dealer when I bring it in to have the seat fixed. Still love the car and all it's odds and ends, the 10 speaker system in the 4 door is freaking great and the car is getting more fun to drive every day. I am still driving very conservative, and when I start the engine cold it's RPM's are pretty high and I let it warm up. Once or twice even after waiting for the RPM's to drop when I shift my automatic tranny from park to reverse it makes a little bit of a grinding noise, but then seems to run just fine. Hopefully just part of breaking the engine in! |
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is this feature not standard on two doors? i havent noticed my music changing in volume
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Replying to: o_rabbit (Jul 12, 2007 10:35 pm) sharpedge: i've got the monster mats, they are rubber, and they fit just fine into the little plastic parts on the floor. |
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Since Saturday my wife and I are proud owners of a new 4-door manual, black Rabbit. It was a tough decision considering all the makes and models available in our desired (albeit stretched) price range, but ultimately we were won over when we took the bunny for a test drive. The only options we decided to splurge on are the sunroof and 16 inch alloy wheels, but with so many standard features we needed nothing else. In the end we got an excellent deal and were able to spend a bit more on extended warranty, paint and interior protection (10 years), and ding/dent/crack/whatever-God-throws-at-you protection as well. In the end, our total came out to around $21000. As part of dealer incentives we also have 3 free oil changes and free car washes for a lifetime. They filled up our tank, and with 26 miles on the odometer, we were out of there. And with not a moment to spare; ours was the only manual on the lot (it wasn't even ON the lot; it was inside the showroom and they had to move it out for us) and there was already another couple there ready to buy! My wife is an expert with a manual transmission, but I've never driven one except to practice in a parking lot in her 1992 Celica AllTrac (an exceptionally bitchy, unforgiving, and overall pain-in-the-ass transmission). But in this car the transmission feels so beefy and forgiving, and gear changes are literally under your fingers (short throw stick adds to the sporty feeling), that after 3 days I feel that the panic of street driving is starting to recede. And although many reviews (see Motortrend for example) complain about the engine being "thrashy", my wife can coax the most beautiful gutteral purrs out of that puppy. She even attempted to race a WRX from a light, and although we lost (naturally, the other car had twice the hp), our Rabbit kept itself composed and didn't whimper for a second. Which leads me to believe that it's all about how you drive it, and perhaps some editors' abilities to drive a manual leave much room for improvement. After owning a 2000 Hyundai Accent for 7 years, driving is once again become pure joy. Especially those quick trips to the store, with no fewer than 6 lights and stop signs in between, where I can revel in the fun of changing gears when I want to and practice my starts/stops. And we're still amazed by the whole "Raumwunder" characteristic: inside the car feels as spacious as an Accord or a Camry, yet outside the dimensions are smaller even than our old Accent. The black color and low stance give it a solid look, and the quality of its construction is felt throughout. Even the instrument panel is simple, friendly, and economical, and lacks nothing that the competing Japanese cars offer in their cluttered interiors. Anyway, I can continue with superlatives for a long time. Not to say that I don't have my critiques, but for the amount of money we spent we really feel like we got the perfect car for our current and near-future needs.
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Sorry in advance for another wordy post. I have reached the 1,000 mile point and my car is officially broken in 1 week and 4 days from purchasing it--averaging a little less than 24 mpg for now. It looks like my current tank is going to be significantly better MPG then my previous three. On the Tips and Advice section of the manual page 11 it says that for the first 600 miles that you shouldn’t drive any faster than "3/4 the top speed on the speedometer." My speedometer goes up to 160mph. Did this mean that as long as I lay off the gas, and made sure not to drive any faster than 120 mph for those first 600 miles I was breaking the car in nicely? And for the last 400 miles (600-1000 mi) I could’ve been gradually pushing the engine to its top speed, or it’s maximum permissible RPM. This was obviously meant for autobahn regulars?? I guess I was driving ULTRA conservatively keeping it under 80mph as often as I could remember. Now that I’m broken in, I find myself easily accelerating to nearly 90mph without even realizing it. I have 16 inch alloy rims, and drive with low AC on and still can’t believe how this vehicle is so quiet and smooth at high speeds. I’ve often got to rely on my cruise control, or be constantly check my speedometer to make sure that I am not driving at felony speeds on the Orange County and Los Angeles freeways. (When I manage to drive without traffic of course.) I Still have not taken my Rabbit in to the dealer to get my passenger seat fixed, but will eventually get this handled. My girlfriend along with one of my carpools that suffers from back pain enjoy the heated seats. They still seem like an unnecessarily posh standard feature on this car that just gives me a guilty smile when I think about them. There is absolutely NOTHING else out there in this price range that offers this hahaha. Eldaino: My Monster Mats must either be different, or need or have something removed in order to snap in to place. The holes that line up with the knobs on the floor seem much, much too small. They are the rubber mats with the rabbit logos on the sides, one more thing I’ll have the dealer check when I finally get a chance to bring my car in.
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