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.