6
In the market, test drove a 2011 GTI and a 2011/2015 WRX. I'm shocked
- Thread starter Sonnytron
- Start date
For my 40th birthday in February, I was looking to purchase my first ever new car. I test drove the Focus ST, Mazdaspeed 3, Civic SI and the GTI. What you said about it being a mature car is completely true. It is not the fastest of the bunch, but it is the most civilized and offers the highest end feel. I ended up with the GTI and couldn't be happier. Congrats.
Just wanted to update you guys:
I picked up a MK5, 2008 GTI 6MT with just under 60,000 miles on it from CarMax. It's true it's not a MK6 and it's also a little long in the tooth but this car felt perfect to me for a variety of reasons:
It was single owner lease owned and has service records at every interval. Oil changes and inspections at every stop. Every oil change was done at a VW dealership and it's had zero modifications on it. No funny noises, starting hesitation or anything. Car feels and looks great.
It was about $5,500 under what a similar equipped MK6 GTI would cost me. (And maybe almost $8000 under what an ST or $10,000 under what a WRX would have)
They offered me a great financing rate and threw in a year of Sirius, a full tank of gas on the house!
I was going to post this in MK5 but they still haven't activated my account. It seems kind of stupid, no offense to MK5 administrators but requiring an administrator to actively give you permission even after you registered and clicked the link in an email is completely stupid as a process. Kind of makes me regret not getting an MK6 since this forum seems to move faster lol.
Here she is!
Also I wanted to close out a few things that were kind of left in the air:
Regarding the Focus/Fiesta ST, someone else eloquently put it that any car I get other than the one I had would feel like a rocket and that's true. I heeded what was said here and tested the Focus ST/Fiesta ST. They're fast too but they didn't 'feel' any faster than this car did. On the contrary, the car that 'felt' the fastest of all the ones I tested was actually the Fiat 500 Abarth. In reality, the relationship I have with my car depends on a variety of things but the most important one is that I'm happy when I drove it. I wasn't even shopping for a GTI when I fell in love with it and that means something to me. It means that I went to dealerships predispositioned to prefer the WRX, Focus ST and Mazdaspeed 3 but a car I didn't even research ended up grabbing my attention. Some of you who switched, have owned a GTI for many years. If I wanted the fastest car under $30,000, I would've just gotten a used 2011+ Mustang GT which puts beatings on E90 M3's. I wanted a driving experience.
Regarding the GTI's power. This car feels like a rocket but I want to be mature about how I own it. I want to get the valves cleaned, make sure it has the latest parts (DV, PCV, catch can) that will keep it reliable before I throw a tune on it. I also want to get used to the car stock. I'm not going to keep it stock, but I'm definitely going to be cautious, careful and NOT cheap about what I put into it. The money I put into it will be reflected in the money I get back from it and I want to get back more than or as much of what I paid for it. Probably the greatest thing I read, which made a lot of sense after I read it was that tires should be the first modification and the reasoning was "the tires are what connect you to the road". So that will be my first "mod".
Thanks for the words guys! I'm gonna go for a drive! I already love being in this car and it's gotten complements already! :3 It was my birthday present to myself. My first "new" car (I know it's used but it's the first time I ever got a car from a dealership on my own with a warranty, financed under my own name).
I picked up a MK5, 2008 GTI 6MT with just under 60,000 miles on it from CarMax. It's true it's not a MK6 and it's also a little long in the tooth but this car felt perfect to me for a variety of reasons:
It was single owner lease owned and has service records at every interval. Oil changes and inspections at every stop. Every oil change was done at a VW dealership and it's had zero modifications on it. No funny noises, starting hesitation or anything. Car feels and looks great.
It was about $5,500 under what a similar equipped MK6 GTI would cost me. (And maybe almost $8000 under what an ST or $10,000 under what a WRX would have)
They offered me a great financing rate and threw in a year of Sirius, a full tank of gas on the house!
I was going to post this in MK5 but they still haven't activated my account. It seems kind of stupid, no offense to MK5 administrators but requiring an administrator to actively give you permission even after you registered and clicked the link in an email is completely stupid as a process. Kind of makes me regret not getting an MK6 since this forum seems to move faster lol.
Here she is!
Also I wanted to close out a few things that were kind of left in the air:
Regarding the Focus/Fiesta ST, someone else eloquently put it that any car I get other than the one I had would feel like a rocket and that's true. I heeded what was said here and tested the Focus ST/Fiesta ST. They're fast too but they didn't 'feel' any faster than this car did. On the contrary, the car that 'felt' the fastest of all the ones I tested was actually the Fiat 500 Abarth. In reality, the relationship I have with my car depends on a variety of things but the most important one is that I'm happy when I drove it. I wasn't even shopping for a GTI when I fell in love with it and that means something to me. It means that I went to dealerships predispositioned to prefer the WRX, Focus ST and Mazdaspeed 3 but a car I didn't even research ended up grabbing my attention. Some of you who switched, have owned a GTI for many years. If I wanted the fastest car under $30,000, I would've just gotten a used 2011+ Mustang GT which puts beatings on E90 M3's. I wanted a driving experience.
Regarding the GTI's power. This car feels like a rocket but I want to be mature about how I own it. I want to get the valves cleaned, make sure it has the latest parts (DV, PCV, catch can) that will keep it reliable before I throw a tune on it. I also want to get used to the car stock. I'm not going to keep it stock, but I'm definitely going to be cautious, careful and NOT cheap about what I put into it. The money I put into it will be reflected in the money I get back from it and I want to get back more than or as much of what I paid for it. Probably the greatest thing I read, which made a lot of sense after I read it was that tires should be the first modification and the reasoning was "the tires are what connect you to the road". So that will be my first "mod".
Thanks for the words guys! I'm gonna go for a drive! I already love being in this car and it's gotten complements already! :3 It was my birthday present to myself. My first "new" car (I know it's used but it's the first time I ever got a car from a dealership on my own with a warranty, financed under my own name).
Last edited:
93serprise
Ready to race!
Awesome choice, and a very nice looking car if I might say so myself. All that matters in the end, is that you are happy with the car that you will be driving daily. I had my mind set on a 350Z before I purchased my MK6, and I definitely have not regretted it at all. My GTI was the first car that I have purchased/financed by myself as all, and I get a feeling of satisfaction with that as well. Stay around in the forums 
You will learn a lot from the guys here. Take care and happy driving !
You will learn a lot from the guys here. Take care and happy driving !
Congrats on the purchase. Carmax is honestly a great place to get a car from I had a wonderful experience purchasing my first car (mk6). It too was the first car I have financed under my name. Enjoy and remember you got 5 days before you can switch to a MK6 :laugh:Just wanted to update you guys:
I picked up a MK5, 2008 GTI 6MT with just under 60,000 miles on it from CarMax. It's true it's not a MK6 and it's also a little long in the tooth but this car felt perfect to me for a variety of reasons:
It was single owner lease owned and has service records at every interval. Oil changes and inspections at every stop. Every oil change was done at a VW dealership and it's had zero modifications on it. No funny noises, starting hesitation or anything. Car feels and looks great.
It was about $5,500 under what a similar equipped MK6 GTI would cost me. (And maybe almost $8000 under what an ST or $10,000 under what a WRX would have)
They offered me a great financing rate and threw in a year of Sirius, a full tank of gas on the house!
I was going to post this in MK5 but they still haven't activated my account. It seems kind of stupid, no offense to MK5 administrators but requiring an administrator to actively give you permission even after you registered and clicked the link in an email is completely stupid as a process. Kind of makes me regret not getting an MK6 since this forum seems to move faster lol.
Here she is!
Also I wanted to close out a few things that were kind of left in the air:
Regarding the Focus/Fiesta ST, someone else eloquently put it that any car I get other than the one I had would feel like a rocket and that's true. I heeded what was said here and tested the Focus ST/Fiesta ST. They're fast too but they didn't 'feel' any faster than this car did. On the contrary, the car that 'felt' the fastest of all the ones I tested was actually the Fiat 500 Abarth. In reality, the relationship I have with my car depends on a variety of things but the most important one is that I'm happy when I drove it. I wasn't even shopping for a GTI when I fell in love with it and that means something to me. It means that I went to dealerships predispositioned to prefer the WRX, Focus ST and Mazdaspeed 3 but a car I didn't even research ended up grabbing my attention. Some of you who switched, have owned a GTI for many years. If I wanted the fastest car under $30,000, I would've just gotten a used 2011+ Mustang GT which puts beatings on E90 M3's. I wanted a driving experience.
Regarding the GTI's power. This car feels like a rocket but I want to be mature about how I own it. I want to get the valves cleaned, make sure it has the latest parts (DV, PCV, catch can) that will keep it reliable before I throw a tune on it. I also want to get used to the car stock. I'm not going to keep it stock, but I'm definitely going to be cautious, careful and NOT cheap about what I put into it. The money I put into it will be reflected in the money I get back from it and I want to get back more than or as much of what I paid for it. Probably the greatest thing I read, which made a lot of sense after I read it was that tires should be the first modification and the reasoning was "the tires are what connect you to the road". So that will be my first "mod".
Thanks for the words guys! I'm gonna go for a drive! I already love being in this car and it's gotten complements already! :3 It was my birthday present to myself. My first "new" car (I know it's used but it's the first time I ever got a car from a dealership on my own with a warranty, financed under my own name).
Winner winner, chicken dinner.
Hence my level of care I'm going to take. I'm under the belief that 2008 FSI's have most of the 'issues' worked out because VW made revisions from 2006-2008 to take care of common issues.
But regardless, I'm taking her to a shop next weekend to get a full on "tuner" inspection after I figure out the best Audi/VW shop in San Jose and I'm going to schedule a valve cleaning, catch can install and DV/PCV update.