Potential Newbie Questions

[Nil Satis Nisi Optimum]

First off hi to all, I have been lurking on this forum for a few weeks now and I am due to order my company car this Friday and I am 90% sure that I am going to order a GTI. I have had a demo car for the last few days and I am loving it so far.  :grin, the handling is superb and it makes a great noice when pushing hard, brakes are pretty good as well.

Got a few questions to ask though:-

-The demo car I have is fitted with the 17's but I would be looking at getting the 18's purely for the looks. Will their be a noticeable difference in the handling and will it be more of a harsh ride going over speed bumps etc?

-I would like to get the factory fitted tinted windows and then get the front windows to match. Is it easier/cheaper to do it this way, or to just get them all tinted at the same time after I have got the car?

-Is it worth ordering the i-pod preperation, or should I just get the aux socket and plug and play my i-pod?

One thing I have noticed though is that the front window mists up easily, is this common?

Thanks in advance.

[Greenouse]

Firstly welcome 

In answer to your questions, I've not really driven too far in a GTI with 17's but can assure you the ride with 18's is more than acceptable. I drove a 5 series sport recently which crashed it's way through my normal journey to work, where the GTI wouldn't have a problem.

Im not sure VW have an option to tint the front windows due to legal issues. I have the rear tint's and it's worth doing! Just be careful if you do get the fronts done afterwards as the rozzers seem pretty hot on this at the moment. 

Easy answer to question 3, aux in! Don't wast your money on the I-Pod prep.

My answer to your question about the window misting up is one of two things. As it's a demo the inside of the window is probably dirty, the other being to check the air recirculation button isn't on constantly as this will also cause the car to steam up eventually.

[08micsta]

The search function is your friend. 

Welcome btw 

[ub7rm]

Interesting point on the windscreen misting up.  On Monday I took delivery of my red 05 GTI   and have noticed the windows seem to be steaming up lot more than they were in the mk4.  Though I think this may have something to do with having been testing the A/C and switching it off......always seems to cause the windows to steam up.

Loving it so far!

[Spaced]

Misting up could just be that the seats have been shampooed. BTW  welcome "Nothing but the best"

[Hurdy]

Welcome NBTB

The ED30 sits on 18's and the ride is slightly harsher than a GTI on 17's, but not irritatingly so

Factory fitted tints differ to aftermarket in the fact that the glass actually contains the tint rather than an aftermarket film having to be applied. The cost for factory rear tints is comparable with an aftermarket tint and will last the life of the car (unlike aftermarket ones)

IPOD prep is complete and utter cr4p! I had it in my car and was really disappointed that VW could even charge for such a p!ss poor piece of crud

Misting up will happen, but it is soon despatched by the climate control

Hope these help.

[Nil Satis Nisi Optimum]

Thanks for the replies everyone, btw my user name "Nil Satis Nisi Optimum" is the motto of Everton FC and means "nothing but the best is good enough", which I suppose is appropriate for this forum as the GTI is the original and best hot hatch! 

What I was saying about getting the windows tinted is that I would like to get them all tinted and I know that the factory tints are only from the B-column backwards because it is illegal to get the front windows tinted. However if I where to get the factory tints then I would get the front windows to match as I think that it justs looks stupid with just the back windows tinted and not the front. Has anyone got the factory tints and then had the front windows to match, and does anyone have a photo of this?

Also does anyone know if the GTI now comes with the touch screen radio. The demo I have has it but that has sat nav as well. A bloke at work has a touchscreen on his although he doesn't have sat nav, is it the same for the GTI?

Just remembered a few questions, how easy is it to retrofit the sat nav and what cost are you looking at?

Also cruise control is £250 as an OEM but I saw that you can get it retrofitted at a VW dealer for £160, any reason why it is cheaper to retrofit it rather than just get it OEM?

thanks

[stealthwolf]

RE: cruise control - what from I gather on the forums, factory-fitted means it comes with a 3yr warranty; dealer fitted is 2yr warranty

Tints - I think front windscreen is max 25% tinted and front doors max 30% tinted. This includes any tint already applied by the factory. Coppers have light meters to test the tints. Don't know how the black MKIV golf near me gets away with it. It's fully tinted all the way round (can't see to the inside) including lights! Looks beautiful though and was what I was thinking about before I fell in love with the mkv.

[Wh|t3R@bb|t]

I had my cruise control fitted by a mate...the stalk was £47 inc VAT as he works for VW!  He fitted it for a few quid and took him less than 20 mins.  Easy money for the old stealer....soooo glad I got mine fitted.  I bloody love it!  Thoroughly recommended.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Re the front window tints, as others have already said, any tint forward of the B pillar (over the allowed 30% tint or 70% light transmission) is illegal.  If you do tint them, you risk a minimum of 3 points and £60 fine (for each pane of glass), and you will invalidate your insurance - sorry, but IMHO, just not worth the risk, no matter how cool they may look.

As steathwolf stated, factory fitted cruise will get you the full three years pan-european warranty - whereas any retro fit or dealer fit and you will only get 2 years on the parts, and a UK-only 1 year warranty on the labour - and as I've personally found out to my disgust, Volkswagen UK dealer labour warranty is fcuking useless!