AngryScientist 

OK - we just had the honda fit topic, and i assume i can do the same with my gti - does anyone own a fifth gen. gti and fit their road bike in the hatch upright on a skewer with the front wheel removed. it fits in sideways no problem, i just dont know if i have the height clearance for the saddle upright?

Youngin

I've fit my 59cm Bianchi into the back of our Beetle if that helps.

fauxto nick

I have a MKIV GTI 337 and I just took the seats out and laid down a carpet to fit the back and i can put my bike in there both wheels on (54 & 56 cm). I checked out the MKV GTI's and with the seats in the space is roughly the same, taking out the seats isn't hard and if you don't transport people it might not be a bad idea.

Only problem in this equation is you have to own a GTI which is a bad idea in general.

That being said anyone want to buy my GTI.

fauxto nick

Srry re-read your post and no i don't think it would fit standing up, in fact I know it wouldn't even with my seats out. Sell your GTI.

Nbois

New Beetle here as well. Front wheel off and rear seats down the bike fits on it's side in the hatch nicely.

My friend has a new GTI and he does the same with his (and yes, I realize I didn't answer your question to standing it up...).

You could just lower the seat each time if you really want to stand it up. Put a small mark on the seatpost so it takes just a quick adjustment to the line when you take it out and you're golden.

Upgraded the Yak roof rack recently though to fit the Beetle. Well worth the money, FWIW.

kaNUK

They don't even fit in our MKV Passat wagon standing up without taking the seat out (or all the way down). On the upside I can fit a couple of frames and associated wheels behind the back seat. Blankets and ability to work quick-release skewers is required. I hardly ever resort to that though, as we have 4 fork mounts on the roof.

kaNUK

Mattlikesbikes

Hey AngryScientist you do get around don't you

AngryScientist 

wow - having problems with yours? knock on wood, i love my gti and its running flawlessly. i do all the maintenance myself and am pretty religious about it, hopefully it continues to treat me well.

I was hoping that the bike would fit upright, but it sounds like a no-go. damn.

AngryScientist 

ha, it took me a minute to put this all together, but yes, yes i do.

Noles Fan

mkiv gti here.

even with one wheel off you can barely fit a bike lying down in the back with the seats down (not out.) i cant see a mkv being much bigger.

paul_858

Don't know about inside... but here's my buddy's MKV w/2 on the roof, and 3 off the back

AngryScientist 

^^ thats a sweet set-up. yakima stuff is top notch.

fauxto nick

After 80 thousand miles it becomes an increasing chore to maintain, if you can repair cars really well you'll save some money. Here's a list of things I've done in the last two years.

Multiple Coil packs
New Steering Rack
Suspension mounts (already had been changed once)
Tranny Rebuild
CV Boots (had previously been replaced post 80k)
New Tie Rods
Needs New Clutch
Catalytic is starting to go haven't changed yet
Front struts (made it 120,000 miles!)
Countless tubes have dried out and cracked causing the car to break down and need to be towed because of instantaneous fluid loss
Suspension fork bushings wore out and vibrated the steering linkage loose over the course of 2 or 3 days
Electrical issues with the brake lights
CD Player crapped out and the radio goes in an out intermittently
Glove Box handle broke
Valve Cover Gasket

Before 70-80k though the thing was AMAZING never broke down outside of a dead alternator and a lose engine dog bone both easy cheap fixes. I grew up around German cars and we have seen a decrease in longevity and quality in modern German cars, especially Mercedes. GTI was a great car but unless I was a real wrench I wouldn't keep any German car past 70-80k.

pkpsu

No offense to you GTI owners out there but the majority of you (typically college kids like myself) seem to put those cars through absolute hell, including a friend of mine. Seriously, when do you ever not see a gti jump off the line a stop light like they are on an indy track. You treat any car like that and your asking for repairs.

AngryScientist 

not me, i'm practically an old man by college kid standards. I treat my cars like children. I had an audi with the 1.8t which i traded in with 200k on the clock, and it still ran beautifully.

pkpsu

good to hear, I'm speaking in terms of my own experiences. It is a nice looking car.

avduka

hey fauxto nick sorry to break it to you buy your gti was either made in mexico or brazil therefore its not a real german car.
the new gti's are mede in germany
I ve worked as a valet parking attendant for 6 years and drove a lot of fancy cars.. lamburghini, ferrari, porche bentley, almost everything ever made and there is nothing that comes close to german engineering.

if it aint dutch it aint much!

avduka

by the way 180k on my 1.8t passat (made in germany) lol
driving it from coast to coast in 2 weeks

ted ward

Engineered in Germany, made in Mexico. How can you blame Latin America for the notorious MK IV coil packs designed and manufactured by Bosch? Did they put them in wrong?

Also, I think Germans consider themselves more deutsch than dutch

Klein

Whoa..... Dude. I haven't had near the trouble with mine. It's an '02 GTI VR6 and I bought it new. I guess it's an old car now but other than 2 oil pans that was driver error (flying through the air), I haven't had much trouble. I did have the catalytic go but it was covered. I also put a shine suspension on it and thought about a skid plate but blew that off. And yes, I drive it like I stole it but at least I'm focused on where I'm going.

mrvrsick

90 Honds Civic Si... I've put 3 road bikes in the back with the seats down. Waaay cheaper to maintain than a VW (coming from a Mk3 VR6)

avduka

brazilian and mexican vw plants are notorious for manufacturing v dubs with electrical problems that dont happen on german engineered vw
so who knows maybe they didn't run the wires correctly
saying still goes:
if it aint dutch it aint much!

H1449-6

+1. I'm on my fourth VAG vehicle (actually the current one is my wife's 03 Passat V6) and they start to become a bit of a money pit around that mileage. Hers is at about 55K and we'll look to replace it next year, most likely.

Drives like a champ for now, though.

I have my eye on an R32, but as someone else pointed out above, you have to be pretty careful about buying a used one, since they tend to get thrashed by youngish drivers.

paul_858

Unless you live in cold climate and deal with snow a lot, MKV GTI is a much better buy than the R32.

H1449-6

I live in Chicago, but I do have a 4x4 SUV for winter driving. I'll look at the MkV GTI.