Hey all. New to the forum, and hoping to get some information/advice. Been looking into purchasing a 2001 Golf GTI, but as I've never owned a VW before, I figured it'd be best to know a bit more before making the jump.

I have heard that VW parts and maintenance cost more than on other vehicles. How true is this? I would imagine that common situations, such as an oil change, would not cost much more than for other vehicles, but I am just curious. Is this rumor true?

Also, I'm just a little curious in terms of reliability. I know that a lot of that has to do with how the owner takes care of the vehicle, but is there a glaring difference in reliability of a VW versus other brands, like Toyota, Dodge, Ford, etc.?

For those who may wonder, I am not 100% set on choosing what I mentioned above, I just typically have a taste for older vehicles rather than new ones. A co-worker owns a 2001 Golf GTI and I'm a big fan of it. It looks nice, and as I'm currently in a hatchback (2001 Focus ZX3), I would like to stick with something similar to what I have now. I did consider a newer Focus hatchback, but I'm not a huge fan of 5-door hatchbacks, or 4-door vehicles for that matter. I have looked at newer Golf GTIs, but something about the 2001 design just stands out to me. I like it a lot more than the newer design, although I wouldn't be completely against the newer GTIs.

Can anybody comment on differences in terms of expenses/reliability between maybe a 2015 GTI and a 2001 GTI? Any advice/tips/recommendations overall in owning a VW would be greatly appreciated!