Faults:

I have had to replace a few fuel injection sensors on the engine. This has been more precautionary than anything else (not trusting 18 year-old sensors). The exhaust has broken welds twice.

General Comments:

Having always owned old Detroit muscle, I decided to give in to my fiance who is a Volkswagen "nut".

I have been pleasantly surprised with the performance.

Gas mileage ranges from 33 to 34 MPG in mixed driving. Not bad for a car of its age.

I always get a laugh out of parts store employees who have no idea what a Scirocco is.

Faults:

I have had very few problems with my Scirocco. The fuel tank was leaking when it was above 1/2 full. After some haggling and running around, I got a dealer to replace the whole tank for free under a recall. The hardest part was finding a dealer that was willing to do it. I offered one guy some money under the table, and then once the keys were in my hands, asked him what kind of fruit basket he wanted. VW of America informed me that these dealers are under contract to do these types of jobs.

Currently I think I need a new ignition switch, new relay for the rear wiper and maybe a better ground cable for the battery.

The mods that I have installed include the following :

4 to 2 exhaust manifold from an MK1 Rocco.

Tech Tonics dual down pipe, catback 2 inch exhuast, & DynoFlow muffler.

14 inch GTI *snowflake* wheels (stock was 13in.)

Euro headlights (so much brighter)

Momo steering wheel and hub.

Kamei golf ball shift knob.

Just got a new suspension too, but went the more economical route. I put KYB gas shocks and left the original stock springs.

General Comments:

I love this car.

It drives like a dream and is perfect for NYC. Parking is easy to find and it doesn't look too attractive to a thief. I gotta get a low temp fan switch because it gets hot in stop & go traffic during the steamy Summertime jams.

The body is pretty clean too with just a couple of minor rust spots.

Faults:

Replaced:

- alternator

- distributor

- starter

- spark plug wires

- various hoses

- drive flange (out of differential)

- fuel pump

- front struts

- tires

- valve cover gasket

- timing belt

- other small things.

Good maintenance is absolutely key to longevity, no matter what one drives.

When I bought this car, maintenance was terribly neglected, hence the large initial investment in repairs.

General Comments:

This car is 15 years old and still outperforms many sports cars of today (ie. Honda).

The car is easy to work on as the engine bay is not cluttered or crammed.

Gas mileage is between 6 and 7 l/100km on the highway (even at 140 to 150 km/h!!) and about 8 l/100km in the city!

It is still easy to find factory parts or good German OEM parts.

My engine has 200,000 km on it and the compression reads 175 ± 5 psi on all cylinders. New engine spec for this is 145-189 psi according to Bentley!