WHY did you buy your VW [insert model here]

[Tk_mkv1]

One of my friends that I graduated from high school with had a Porsche 911 in college. Another had a M3 and the vehicle I liked the most was a NSX owned by another friend. To people like them, I'm sure a GTI would be considered cheap.

This, there was a kid in my high school who had a Mercedes SL500 as his first car. Also my local community college has bunch of asian kids driving Nissan GT-R's, and since I live in DC suburbs, theres lot of kids with diplomat plates, from 7 series, AMG mercedes, range rovers (including a custom painted one), ZL1 Camaro's, STR8 GC's, etc. I remember back in 2010, I was filling up and there was an asian kid pulled up in a GTR, he had a scratch on his side of the car and his mom in a 1999sh Toyota Sienna came as they probably gonna drop the car off at the body shop.

 

[Kellogg]

So in May of 2014 the wifey needed a new ride, so a shopping we went. Every salesperson at every dealership directed every conversation at me to the point where I just disconnected myself from the whole situation, I didn't even test drive any of the cars (this is for her not me you jacka$$). She was underwhelmed by everything she had picked. She wanted a sporty, small SUV so I recommended a Tiguan (VW was never even on her radar). She drove one and instantly fell in love. Sold.

So after the whole ordeal I really just wanted to test drive something, so I figured I'd take a GTI for a spin. I found a white, four door, 2011 at a local dealership and decided to play a salesperson for a test drive. Pulling up to the dealership I saw a white four door mk6 out front, walked over to it and realized it was a 2014 at a ridiculously low price.

Turns out that someone picked up the car on an option contract and couldn't secure bank financing. Called my banker to see what options were available for financing and they referred me to their car locator service. I gave the gent the specs on the car and the price they were asking and he told me I would be an idiot not to snatch up the car.

And like that I was the owner of a "used" 2014 GTI with 1300 miles on it and have loved every minute of it.

 

[ChrisB1]

Where you at in Louisiana? You may have already told me but I have a bad memory lol...

Lafayette.

 

[funkymcbain]

Always wanted a GTI but up to MK5 they were garbage (aside from the original MK1 and ok MK2). A4 had seen it's glory days so I traded it in and bought the GTI used. Love the GTI, especially with the Uni Stage 1+ on it

 

[blingdub]

it's a bit of a weird story for me because it's not really logical.

my parents had a mk3 golf, and we had that thing while i was still a kid. in high school i drove my parent's old buick century (5th gen) and my friend drove his parent's accord (4th gen). when he totaled it, he got a brand new RSX type-s 1st gen. that was a sweet car, but i guess for no reason than to cheer on a different team, i picked VW. the ironic thing was that i didn't even like the looks of the mk4 or the mk5.

fast forward to college and i found myself needing a car. a family friend worked for a honda dealer so i got a used 96 integra with ~60k on it. while that thing never left me stranded on the road, all things considered it was pretty unreliable, and had to be fixed on a regular basis. after moving for a job, i sold it.

fast forward to today, i'm a new father now so 4 doors is a requirement. i was gonna keep it really simple at just lease a new honda fit. but the wife didn't like the looks of it and didn't want to drive a "soccer mom" car. so i was like, "well what do you think of the GTI"? she liked the looks.

so we started looking for used GTIs. looking back now it was incredibly stupid and foolish....but we found a used GTI 2011 with 70k on it that was walkable distance from our place. so we walked there, with baby/stroller and car seat, to test drive the car.

it was love at first site; they detailed that thing to perfection. when i got in the car, i was trying to find reasons to hate it. the salesperson said "everything is exactly where it needs to be". and i was thinking to me, yes, yes it is -- so damn comfortable.

on the test drive, there was a small ramp to a highway section, so i floored it there and the rest is history. drove it home that night.

shortly after, coil packs gave out and stranded my wife on the highway . i actually already ordered replacement packs/plugs while this was happened, but i'm no mechanic, and the MFI was like "GET THIS FIXED NOW YOU IDIOT", so i did. mechanic replaced all spark plugs and coil packs.

not 3 days later it misfires again and the check engine comes back on. i bring it back and they couldn't find anything wrong with it, but the sure thing to figure out why is the take the manifold off. i tell them to go ahead, and while they're at it to do some carbon cleaning. turns out my fuel injectors were clogged with carbon, so they replaced all 4. luckily this was covered under VW's extended 120k warranty.

car's been rock solid since. got bitten by the mod bug, and now i have a modshack intake, uni stage 1+, and trying to convince myself not to waste money on new rubber...

 

[oatzel]

I had a 65 mile a day commute in Los Angeles traffic, and my b7 s4 avant was approaching 90k miles. Between the cost of gas and the cost of repairs it was killing me.

I've always liked the GTI and decided I wanted to get an R. But after test driving it and the GTI with DSG, I decided on the GTI, mainly because it isn't really much slower, gets better mileage, cheaper to mod, and for me, the DSG makes more sense.

Been really happy with the GTI.

 

[Cisco Kid]

Was in market for a new or slightly used car. Decided I wanted something smaller than a sedan. As soon as I sat in either the gti or TDI I was sold. The Civic SI was nice. Also the Focus was fun to drive. The fit and finish of the cabin sold me at first. Bought a new '13 Autobahn coupe last April. Would have preferred to lease, but it was out of state, and was told I could only buy.

Love car, but as anticipated, it's kind of a tease driving it in NYC. Too slow, and the roads and streets are near Third World status. Now the weather is warm I can take it upstate and enjoy it more. But with these crap road surfaces here, I can see how these VWs have electrical and rattle noise issues down the road. Im on my third front tire already.

Hopefully, this one will hold up long term.

 

[Cisco Kid]

Being a native New Yorker, I can accurately say the roads here are the worst ever! My GTI is constantly bumping , banging along, no matter how careful I drive.

 

[CMGTI]

Wanted a little better MPG but still have fun driving. For some reason, I thought of GTI's. Never had an european car before. So i got my 2011 in January. Traded it in my Lightning for one.

 

[funkymcbain]

Being a native New Yorker, I can accurately say the roads here are the worst ever! My GTI is constantly bumping , banging along, no matter how careful I drive.

Ya it's pretty bad in NYC but with the population and the amount of road there is to service it's expected. I can't imagine having to drive on those roads with low profile tires day in day out. You might do well getting some 16" rims and letting the tire eat up more of the dumps. That or you need a 1970s Caddy

 

[cobie56]

Ya it's pretty bad in NYC but with the population and the amount of road there is to service it's expected. I can't imagine having to drive on those roads with low profile tires day in day out. You might do well getting some 16" rims and letting the tire eat up more of the dumps. That or you need a 1970s Caddy

Not so sure nyc has a " road excuse". Ha ha. I lived there for many years and now regularly drive in montreal, and considering montreal' s much worse winter weather i find roads in both cities to be equally bad.

 

[rx4brdm]

Practically growing up inside of VWs are part of the reason. My mother had a 71 Super Beetle, uncle had a 72 Bus, then we got an 82 Vanagon. The 71 became mine in 1989.

One of my friends neighbors had a MkII GTI and that started the infatuation with the GTI and hatchbacks in general. Tried getting a MkIV VR6 GTI in 2002 but it just didn't work out. I decided my 06 WRX was cursed, 4 accidents (not at fault), tranny went out just before powertrain warranty expired, and 5 years is usually my limit on cars.

So after a test drive in 2011 the decision was made on the GTI.

 

[Cisco Kid]

Thanks for that tire tip Funky....yes...a 70s Caddie...or a monster jeep.

 

[Mudkicker]

In the early 90's the first time I saw a Corrado I fell in love. I was in my late teens and broke! Fast forward to 2003 and I purchased a '93 VR6. As much as the Corrado is an unreliable mess, the driving experience got me hooked. In 2006 I leased a 2.5 Rabbit. Horrible underpowered engine with bad gas mileage and atrocious rev hang, but the ride quality, comfort, finish, and brakes were great. Lease was up and I bought the GTI in 2011. I could not be happier to be honest!
Here is a pic of my two dubs...

 

[scirocco16V1]

Bought my '11 GTI because VW isnt interested in selling me a Scirocco.
3rd GTI
Could have been 8th Scirocco