Finally got a car (2014 GTI) for my spouse after a long hunt...

[StealYourFace]

The ideal car was an e91 328i sport/stick. Despite me being a sales mgr at a local hyundai store that is part of a very large group, I couldn't find one and The prices have gotten unreal on those, and 90% of them are xi/automatic which was not going to happen. A GTI was always a consideration, especially after having a 2009 4 dr/dsg I took on and brought home for a few days. The car was just too hammered and old to buy.

The deal: After well over a year of shopping, we finally landed on this very clean 2014 GTI Drivers Edition DSG. We really wanted a stick, but fortunately the DSG is pretty awesome and engaging, and my husband is a bit less hung ho about cars than I am. Plus this car is loaded- NAV, leather, roof and has 20,000 miles of factory warranty left. One owner car and very obvious that it was loved. I got the car for what the store in my group took it in for, which was about 60% of retail nada, and we got under 3% financing so the payment is less than most families cell phone bill

The car: What a fantastic all around car. I prefer rwd, 3 peddles, and NA... this car is none of those things... but I love it. Very responsive motor with awesome power, incredibly sharp front end/steering, flat cornering, nice grabby brakes. Very fun car that I bet wouldn't be bad on track. Wonderful fit and finish with a beautiful interior and many very nice small touches. I spent an afternoon to detail it - clay/2 step paint correction (not pictured) and the car looks new. Even the picture of the car before I detailed it looks good, and the paint was very contaminated/ in need of correction. The panel gaps are even and tight, and the paint quality is awesome.

It needs a set of PSS, the OEM tires are very noisy and numb, even tho they have 50% meat left, and I would like to get a set of Audi TT front control arms which are apparently alum and provide a little camber. Other than that and a set of snows it won't need any mod for our needs.... although ARP st 1 is so so tempting.

Anyone looking for a great all around car should consider one of these.

[W///]

Nice car! I'm a big fan of hatchbacks!

Didn't realize the E91's have gone up in price by that much. Shame as I'd love one, but I know I would have had to pay big bucks for a RWD 6MT.

[FriskyDingo]

Very nice choice. I just bought a 16 GTI w/ Perf Pkg a month ago and absolutely love it. Wanted another 335i, but couldn't find the right E90 car, and the new ones just don't do it for me. Drove a GTI and new my search was over pretty much instantly. So far, don't regret it one bit.

[DC-T]

Got an R for the wife as a runaround. Awesome cars.

[FriskyDingo]

Originally Posted by DC-T

Got an R for the wife as a runaround. Awesome cars.

My wife likes my GTI so much I'm already contemplating handing it over to her and picking up an R for myself. I'm curious to see if the R400 comes to fruition. Word is they are working on it.

[turbo_joe]

A buddy of my just picked up a 2011 328i Wagon 6spd M Sport package. Had to fly half way across the country to get it from a private seller. Pretty cool car.

The 2014 GTI is a nice car and has lots of potential should you over want to throw a tune on it or anything. APR Stage 1 tune (no supporting mods needed) brings the car up to 236whp plus they have a trans tune that is really nice for the DSG.
https://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_u...tsi_trans.html

[StealYourFace]

^^^

I would love to drive a car with the dsg tune, I bet it's spectacular.

VW stuck an h20 pump and a new turbo on it (recall, and warranty) last week - the car was only hitting half it's targeted boost. God damn it runs great now. Its good on gas if you can keep your foot out of it, but that's not easy!

[turbo_joe]

Originally Posted by StealYourFace

^^^

I would love to drive a car with the dsg tune, I bet it's spectacular.

VW stuck an h20 pump and a new turbo on it (recall, and warranty) last week - the car was only hitting half it's targeted boost. God damn it runs great now. Its good on gas if you can keep your foot out of it, but that's not easy!

Water pump is the most common issue with them. Then intake manifold runner flaps are known to fail. And the stock coil packs fail around 50k on most of them. Everyone swaps the Audi R8 coil packs, they are the same price but higher quality.

My old set up was making 360whp on 100oct and 330whp on 93oct. Super fun cars.

[dragonsi]

Congrats, GTI's are great cars. My brother has a 2008 DSG GTI, and I enjoy every chance I get to drive it!

[Ric in RVA]

A car for your Spouse?....Good trade!!!!



<rimshot>

[StealYourFace]

A little update on the GTI after almost 3 months and 5000 miles.

Great car all around.

It had a little antifreeze drip and a check engine light shortly after we got it. Took it to VW, they age us a loaner o questions asked. The H2o so pump is now warrantied to 120k/10 years so no issues there.
The turbo apparently had a waste gate noise that set off the knock sensor, so they replaced the entire turbo, ok with me. Ran great after that!

The OEM Perrelli all seasons howled like crazy despite lots of trad left, and would set off the abs on moderately hard braking. There was also a slight clunk in the front that sounded like a bad end link. DCT service was also due.

I replaced the shit oem tires with a set of Pilot Super Sports, the end links with a set lf lemforders ($40 for the pair, lifetime thru FCP) and did the DSG juice with Pentosin Synth and oem filters.

For me, maintaining a car is a pleasure, and I like to get the best bang for the buck by keeping them forever (see my 175k mile 330i).

The fresh PSS totally transformed the car with the quiet grip they are known for, the old tires were such garbage and the new ones so much better it felt like I put a fresh set of shocks on the car! The oem size PSS was .4" taller diameter, and 2 pounds less than OEM, so I expect a little more mpg on the high way. The endlinks got rid of the clunk and combined with the fresh tires tightened up the front end turn in. The car handles and drives just fantastic for oem suspension, wrong wheel drive car (sorry, I had to).

The biggest shock was how much the fresh DSG fluid/filters changed the way the tranny behaves. Quicker, smoother engagement, less overall harshness. I imagine the next change will occur 10k miles sooner than called for just to be on the safe side. Take off from a start is more predictable, shifts smoother, and downshifts quicker.

The car gets driven mostly highway at 70mph during the work week, mixed in with a little stop and go driving, and averages between 27-28 mpg. However, the second you have a little fun with it, you can watch the gas gauge drop! When you really get into the the boost the factory tune must be a bit rich, because the car can be a oral pig on bass when driven lively. That said, it will likely see an arp tune for both the motor and gearbox.

All around, satisfying driving car and a very, very good purchase for our needs.

[F80Dreamer]

Nice car, I actually plan on getting one down the road as a daily so I can keep the miles down on my F80 when it comes in. I have also heard that the gas mileage is great on these gti's.