south african mk4

[Damo88]

Hi all,
Im looking at possibly getting a mk4 gti and one i found is dated 2005, i put it through the vin decoder and it says it is a South African build.

Are there any differences between the German and South African built models? Has anyone experienced a difference in build quality? one thing i have noticed is a different design air vents on the dash...

any knowledge/ experience out there?

[dylan8]

do the air vents fold flat? If so, most likely bora one...

[Fizz]

I think the SA GTI's have leather interiors as standard

[Damo88]

No the vents don't fold flush and the interior is cloth...

[04BLACKMAGICGTI]

my gti was built in south africa and seems to be the same as any other gti ive seen before, the only problem with my car is the door seal leak a bit when it rains but other than that its pretty good quality

[geoff_gti]

Pretty sure my MY03 GTI was build in South Africa too. Don't quote me but production may have changed locations when there was a model refresh, MY02 I think. A few things changed- seats, dash cluster.

[YellowDieselGolf]

My 2002 build MY03 GTI was built in Wolfsburg.

I'm pretty sure leather was never a standard feature. VW was dropping features as the years passed in order to lower the price. The sunroof became optional and Recaro's were replaced with generic sport seats. Leather was a $3000 option when I bought my car IIRC.