Just turned 30K on my 18 SE 4 MO, oil changes at dealership every 10K and just replaced the rear brake pads myself. That's it - has been a reliable, comfortable car with a great size to mpg ratio.
For pads I went with OE quality ones as they were under half the price of VW and a decent brand.
114k still on factory brakes all around!
After 70K miles of fun driving, I finally replaced my front brake rotors and pads...3mm left on the pads LOL. I got Zimmermann Rotors($180) and Mintex pads($45) and couldn't be happier. In fact, this set-up feels a lot better than the OEM bite and feel plus the massive reduction in brake dust.
I recently got a pair of pretty rusty 325 calipers for £50 (mine are the smaller ones from a 316) and sandblasted them back to clean metal. Then painted with high temp paint and rebuild kit £30 (pistons, seals, guide pins, bleed valves etc). I was pretty happy with the result which cost me around £100 for the pair. I then went with mintex discs and pads and a full set of braided brake lines my mate had. Full refurb prolly cost me £300 and are significantly better than they were but I don't think they will be as good as a 4 pot setup.
My 06 GTI had the rears wear out at 70k. The fronts lasted until 135k. I was completely dumbfounded that the rears wore faster and the fronts lasted that long. I replaced everything with OEM parts and am experiencing similar wear on the new stuff.
As stated, installed new Mintex front pads and I believe I installed correctly. rattle only occurs when not braking, when brakes applied immediately disappears.
Here is a shot of the front brakes. They're quite worn, below the legal acceptable thickness for a Phaeton and showing hairline cracks on the inside, the pads are also fairly shot.
Whenever I talk to people they don't say too much about reliability, but what they do say is how they hate the maintenance costs with VWs. $100+ oil changes, paying for maintenance items off warranty at dealer (brakes), etc.
I saw the same thing on our car. We are right under 4K miles and it seemed very ODD to me. Also def a lot of break dust. I have to wash the car/wheels at least once a week because they start turning dark grey.
Write your review
Help others - share your experience with this part.
Voted AGAINST engine oil RAVENOL on the rating page
The brake pads OEM Alfa Romeo got the first review!
The tires OEM Fiat got the first review!
The ABS unit OEM FORD got the first review!
For oil additives LIQUI MOLY already 25 reviews.
For tires GISLAVED already 25 reviews.
In the rating best cabin filter already 13 brands participate!
In the rating best shock absorbers already 13 brands participate!
In the rating best fuel pump already 5 brands participate!
In the auto rating shock absorbers for Ford Ranger already 20 brands participate!
In the auto rating headlights for Volkswagen Golf already 5 brands participate!
In the auto rating tires for Toyota Corolla already 50 brands participate!
For cabin filter Fram already 25 reviews.
Voted AGAINST engine oil RED LINE on the rating page
Voted AGAINST engine oil PENNZOIL on the rating page
