So my beloved GTI finally sold today after nearly 2 months. I had only about 2 real inquires in 2 months probably due to lack of financing for many people on a 20K plus used car. Went to a foreign exchange student.Funny thing is even though he buys an 08 GTI in great condition he looks like the "poor kid" next to his buddies who all rolled up in 135 Coupes or loaded A4s to see the car.
Thought I'd share thoughts as I say good by to the car.It was much loved.
I bought it with 9 K on the odometer and put about 45K on it in 2 years.
The good: Turbo 2.0 is one of my favourite 4 cyl engines of all time. It has an almost V^ like feel with a broad torque band that you don't need to rev the whee out of to get moving.
The exhaust note is something I'll really miss especially the "burp" when you shift. The little bit of turbo whistle when you had the windows open was great also.
DSG- What can I say I've always been a shift it yourself guy. I'll probably go back to a stick on my next car but if I ever need to have an auto again it would be a DSG. Nice to let it shift itself in traffic. Fast shifts in manual mode and double clutch downshifts. Only things I'd change would be to miove the shfit paddels to the column so they don't turn with the wheel and maybe change the direction of the floor shifter so you pull back for an up shift.
Ride handling compromise- Once I shifted back to 17s the ride was never too rough and although it rolled more than I'd like due to its high CG it stuck like glue and never worried me.
Utility- A great comromise ofr people with kids. 4 doors, hatch lots of headroom.
HID headlights.- I am going to miss them big time. Not many cars below 30 K have them
Bad: 1 Warranty repair for an air conditioner part. Fix quickly but had it been out of warranty the labour would have been very costly the engine is really jammed in there.
Oil usage- Its not crazy like the my old RX7 but I would end up adding at least 2L between oil changes probably more. Mine was the early 08 with the FSI engine and they are known for this. The car (other than the aircon issue) was dead reliable but I don't know that I want to own an FSI with oil consumption, timing belt and cam follower issues down the road.
Rattles- The interior has high quility and mostly feels solid but I was never able to entirely eliminate rattles even after changing out the center vent putting foam tape etc in. The MK6 has a one piece dash that doesn't rattle .
Tire and engine noise- I hate that stupid noise tube that pipes engine noise into the cabin. If I kept the car I probably would have deleted it. Every set of tiers didn't take long to become noisy (even though I was careful about alignment) and there isn't much noise insulation in the wheel wells.
That's about it. The new MK6 is really tempting and I'd own another GTI (although not long term) in a second
Not sure what will happen next but it will be less expensive and complex than the GTI. Have to slog around in the 99 Maxima for a while I guess. Some good by pictures:
