by "zdkfocus" (zdkibler89)
Published 03/03/2017 at 08:57
by "zdkfocus" (zdkibler89)
Published 03/03/2017 at 08:57
Tags: Cars
; VW
; GTI
; GLI
; Jalopnik
STARS: 2
I have always wanted a GTI, so when I got a new job in November and had to give up my company car, I immediately started scouring all the usual sites. My problem was I hadn’t been job searching very long, and therefore hadn’t had much time to save up money. Compounding the problem was the question of how quickly my wife would find a job, and once she did, how much it would pay. Consequently, my budget for a monthly payment was low, at about $200. I could have swung more than that, but I’m financially conservative and I wanted to be able to continue saving a chunk even after adding a new car payment.
I learned something very quickly. A 2009 or later GTI (after they switched to the TSI from the FSI) with the service and ownership history to make me comfortable buying it was one of two things: 1) A unicorn, or 2) too expensive. Further complicating the matter was my demand for a manual and preference for a 5-door, rather than a 3-door hatch. Long story short, I never found one.
However! Glorious, infuriating Craigslist presented me with this 2008.5 GLI (TSI), 6-speed manual, one owner, full service history, 93,xxx miles. I don’t know what animal is rarer than a unicorn, but whatever it is, the metaphor applies to this GLI. 9-year old cars with full service histories and one owner are rare enough, and GLIs are much less common than GTIs, so I was thrilled to buy my top pick’s less loved step-sister for $7k. The guy even threw in his set of steelies for free, upon which I immediately mounted a set of Blizzaks I got on craigslist for $150. I had, after all, just moved to Western New York in late November.
Having been built in an era when the GLI was simply a sedan version of the GTI, my car is a joy to drive. The 2.0T engine has more power and smoothness than any car I’ve owned, the gearbox snicks cleanly from cog to cog, and the steering remains as tight and accurate as ever. The ride is a bit hard for my taste, but the chassis is stiff and the solid damping keeps you from bouncing from side to side like you would in a mid-90s pickup.
The interior is better built than any other compact car I could have purchased for $7k, and the sound system is excellent for a stock setup. I even get an aux port, which saves me the $200 I’d otherwise have had to spend on an aftermarket head unit. The seats are perfectly supportive and comfortable, and include the classic and charming tartan plaid that is the GLI/GTI trademark, and which only tasteless fools dislike. I also get a power moonroof, which I admit suffers from some used VW electronic quibbles. Namely, it will occasionally open itself while I’m driving without me having touched the dial.
Tragically, my car has also caused me a fair bit of pain. Weeks after I bought it, long enough to relieve the seller of any suspicion, but short enough to ask God what I’d done to deserve such punishment, the check engine light popped on. It’s timing was rather cruel as well, having popped on as my wife and I were headed out for a night in East Aurora, which if you’ve never heard of it is probably the best village in NYS.
After much Googling and forum-perusing, I brought it to the local dealer, praying none of the wallet-munching diagnoses the internet provided would be accurate. Alas, I received a phone call from the service tech informing me I had a busted rear main seal, and it would be $900 to fix. In denial and seeking a second opinion, I brought it to a Goodyear shop in town whose staff had impressed me with their service when they inspected my wife’s Fusion. To my dismay, they confirmed the diagnosis and one-upped the VW dealer by telling me I also needed a new PCV valve, which would run me about $400. I was not surprised, since most of the forum commentators who’d had leaky RMSs pointed to the bad PCV valve as the root cause.
I had them fix it, but kept driving it daily with the CEL on, simply because I didn’t comfortably have the cash to fix the RMS, having blown all our money on the move. That is, until the check engine light started flashing in my driveway before work, and I was left with no choice.
$1,400 later, my car was back, good as new. That was a couple thousand miles ago, and it still runs like a top, and gets 28 mpg average, despite my occasionally childish acceleration. I still love the car, and at this point I am sure my next car is going to be a GTI, as I’ll have had time to save and plan for it by then. Hopefully, an MKVII with the performance pack will be affordable when my GLI dies.
In the meantime, I’m just going to enjoy finally owning a car that’s fun to drive and doesn’t have a hatred-inducing flaw.