Why a GLI?

"PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power" (petarvn)
10/05/2015 at 08:55 • Filed to: None

$23,034.56.

(taken the day I bought her. I almost bought that white GTI over her...)

This is the exact amount of money my family handed over to our local VW dealer on August 16th, 2014 to get my first car; a 2012 VW Jetta GLI Autobahn, with (ironically enough) 23,034 miles on the clock.

But ever since I got it, I’ve noticed an issue.

Every day or two, I’d see a car.Not one car, but a car. E46 M3. Mazda RX8. Audi S4. Ford Mustang etc. And I’d think “man, I could have bought that instead! Why didn’t I?”

And I’ll be honest, for the first few months of ownership, that was my mentality. I began to dislike the fact it was FWD. I complained about it “only having 200hp” I even wanted to trade her for an E36 M3.

But then I realized.

If I wanted the other cars, I could have bought them, but I didn’t. I overlooked the performance and the “cred” of these cars for my GLI. And you know what? I’m glad I did.

When I started molding my car in to what it has become, I realized. It’s more than just my first car. It’s the right first car.
It’s done everything I’ve ever asked it to do, with no complaints at all. Sure, sometimes I was just plain stupid with it (like tray drifting at 2AM on a summer night? or maybe getting her coated in mud and dust while playing around in a gravel parking lot and large grassy field) but it never complained, and let me be a stupid kid with it. Heck, it even kept me safe when I got rear-ended some 2 weeks ago; an accident which resulted in me not having the car for 12 days!
Because of these things, Christine and I have formed a special bond. The kind of bond only my fellow gearheads can understand. I can tell if something is off just by the way she accelerates, or by the faintest rattle or pull at a certain speed. This car became more than a car to me, and because of that it became the best car in the world for me.

Sure, an E46 M3 beats it in every aspect, except for one. My love for an E46 will never be as great as my love for this car.

So whenever I’m asked “why did you buy a jetta?!” i respond with “because I wanted it, and I don’t regret my choice. It may not be the fastest or coolest, but goddammit it’s mine and I love it like no other.”

Sure, one day she will be replaced by something, her spot in the driveway taken up by another piece of metal and soul waiting to be taken out and driven. But whatever car that is; whatever name it bears and whatever numbers it has, it will never be able to match my first, and most important car.

To quote moog from MCM “your car is your story, so don’t let anyone else write the book for you.” This quote resonates with me a lot because of the questions I get about why I got it. It doesn’t matter what car you bought. if you look back at it when you get out of it somewhere, it’s the right choice.

And I’ve looked back every time ;)

DISCUSSION (14)

Sam > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/05/2015 at 09:05

Why did you buy a Jetta?!

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/05/2015 at 09:08

That’s not irony, it’s actually more of a coincidence

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/05/2015 at 09:08

“why did you buy a jetta?!”

I actually get the same question.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/05/2015 at 09:11

I’ve spent most of this weekend riding around in my co-workers GLI at h2o (we carpooled) and they’re every bit as awesome as I remember. It is seriously the only other car I considered when I got the Beetle.

TractorPillow > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/05/2015 at 09:16

The answer to your question is “who the hell cares, my parents just spent 23k on a car for me!”

jariten1781 > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/05/2015 at 09:42

Whenever I get a new car I perform an unnatural action: I self-impose that I will not look at other cars as a potential purchase for ~1 year. That gives me enough time to see if I bond with the new car or not. Works pretty well to stave off buyers remorse since, in the past, for the first number of months all I’d see is the idiosyncrasies (as faults) of the car I bought and the ‘potential’ (without fault) of the other options I had. If, after a year or so, there’s still no connection I look at cuttin’ bait, but that usually doesn’t happen.

Your boy, BJR > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
10/05/2015 at 10:19

Haaaa

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/05/2015 at 10:20

You know, if I changed around GLI to M3 and the knacks against the car to what bothers me about mine, this pretty much covers my experience with my car. It’s my car, it isn’t perfect, but it’s mine and I love it.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/05/2015 at 14:29

I'm sure everyone on here agrees, but you can love your car no matter what you drive, even if it's a PT or an Aztek. I've got a 7 year old minivan with 70,000 miles and I love it to death.

touring the brook - now with ZHP! > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/05/2015 at 17:55

This car has the touring the brook stamp of high approval.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Sam
10/05/2015 at 17:59

This guy.

if you must know; I got it because it was the right mix of fast, stylish, spacious, efficient and fun for me

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
10/05/2015 at 18:05

honestly, I had the same thing... they had a fully loaded R-line in tornado red in my dealer when I got my GLI. it was a bit out of my price range to get then, but if they had a more basic one, I would have considered it

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
10/05/2015 at 18:06

Potato, tomato.....

same thing :P

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/05/2015 at 18:15

Nope, not even close