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Woo-hoo! First post in this forum!
I picked up my 2006 GLI last night. God, I love this car.
Stats
Salsa Red
Black interior with brushed aluminum accents
Package 2: heated leather seats, climatronic auto climate control, sunroof, XM stereo, 6 disc in-dash changer
Xenon headlights (love em)
17” alloys
Red painted brake calipers
Blue tinted windows
Monster mats
Buying experience
In two words, uneventful and casual. My dealership (Fred Vincent Mazda VW) is where I purchased Speed Buggy from in late 1998. I was working with another dealership but ultimately wanted to give the business to Fred Vincent. They matched the price I was getting at the other dealership, and after negotiating with VW threw in Monster Mats and the summer performance tires in addition to the all-season rubber I requested. I got a great price, two sets of and there really wasn’t much haggling. It was like having a conversation. Couldn’t be less stressful.
The Car
Wow. We were looking for an adult car to join the family, something practical, yet fun. I didn’t want anything too pretentious (not that we could afford a new BMW), but I did want something with style AND performance. I learned my lesson with Speed when I bought him mere months before the turbo model was released; it’s better to wait for the right car then settle for any car. I don’t think I can express how perfect this car is. My favorite features:
--The engine. Power when you need it, just about anywhere in the powerband. Smooth, quiet, and refined yet you still can hear the turbo. Great engine.
--The steering wheel. My major in college was Industrial Design; every thing you grip should feel as good as this steering wheel. It’s chunky at the 10:00 and 2:00 positions, meaty everywhere else, but slims down right above and below the 3:00 and 9:00 spokes; the perfect place to hook your thumb around while resting your elbow on the window sill. The flat bottom is just cool. The leather is soft and supple.
--The grille. Great style without being over the top. I saw three guys from our office on their way to lunch and look at the car. Not just glance at it or make a comment about it, but actually stop and really look at it. That’s a good sign that the perceived blandness of MK5 has been alleviated on this model.
--The black headliner. I think it’s rather silly to love this feature, but it elevates the sporty feel of the interior and will look clean for a long time.
--The aluminum bits. The brushed aluminum trim, the TT-style pedals, and all the little shiny accents are so cool.
--The XM stereo. This is my first experience with satellite radio and I may be hooked. There’s every station you can think of. Cleveland radio absolutely blows chunks; XM (or Sirius) is the perfect antidote to the mediocre mainstream stations.
--The Xenon headlights. They are so bright and safe.
--The leather bolstered seats. This is my first car with leather, and the smell is intoxicating! VW uses the best leather out there; it is so soft and supple. The bolsters keep you planted without squeezing you too tight (although I have a small to medium build).
There is one glitch. I was showing the car to my coworkers and mentioned the headlight washer system. I hadn’t yet tried it out, so they would be my first audience. They worked fine the first time, but when the passenger side retracted it leaked windshield washer fluid all over the ground from behind the fender liner. After some coaxing from my coworkers, I tried them again. The passenger side did not pop open this time and the fluid just leaked out from behind the bumper onto the ground. My initial thought is the supply hose popped off. The pressure from the washer pump probably causes the nozzle to extend from the bumper (much like a pop-up lawn sprinkler head) and since the hose came off, it won’t pop out. I’m going to poke around a bit to see if I can avoid a trip to the dealer.
Other than that, the car is phenomenal. I feel like I got a much more expensive car than what I paid for.
Sorry, no pics now, but I will have them this weekend! More updates coming soon!
I picked up my 2006 GLI last night. God, I love this car.
Stats
Salsa Red
Black interior with brushed aluminum accents
Package 2: heated leather seats, climatronic auto climate control, sunroof, XM stereo, 6 disc in-dash changer
Xenon headlights (love em)
17” alloys
Red painted brake calipers
Blue tinted windows
Monster mats
Buying experience
In two words, uneventful and casual. My dealership (Fred Vincent Mazda VW) is where I purchased Speed Buggy from in late 1998. I was working with another dealership but ultimately wanted to give the business to Fred Vincent. They matched the price I was getting at the other dealership, and after negotiating with VW threw in Monster Mats and the summer performance tires in addition to the all-season rubber I requested. I got a great price, two sets of and there really wasn’t much haggling. It was like having a conversation. Couldn’t be less stressful.
The Car
Wow. We were looking for an adult car to join the family, something practical, yet fun. I didn’t want anything too pretentious (not that we could afford a new BMW), but I did want something with style AND performance. I learned my lesson with Speed when I bought him mere months before the turbo model was released; it’s better to wait for the right car then settle for any car. I don’t think I can express how perfect this car is. My favorite features:
--The engine. Power when you need it, just about anywhere in the powerband. Smooth, quiet, and refined yet you still can hear the turbo. Great engine.
--The steering wheel. My major in college was Industrial Design; every thing you grip should feel as good as this steering wheel. It’s chunky at the 10:00 and 2:00 positions, meaty everywhere else, but slims down right above and below the 3:00 and 9:00 spokes; the perfect place to hook your thumb around while resting your elbow on the window sill. The flat bottom is just cool. The leather is soft and supple.
--The grille. Great style without being over the top. I saw three guys from our office on their way to lunch and look at the car. Not just glance at it or make a comment about it, but actually stop and really look at it. That’s a good sign that the perceived blandness of MK5 has been alleviated on this model.
--The black headliner. I think it’s rather silly to love this feature, but it elevates the sporty feel of the interior and will look clean for a long time.
--The aluminum bits. The brushed aluminum trim, the TT-style pedals, and all the little shiny accents are so cool.
--The XM stereo. This is my first experience with satellite radio and I may be hooked. There’s every station you can think of. Cleveland radio absolutely blows chunks; XM (or Sirius) is the perfect antidote to the mediocre mainstream stations.
--The Xenon headlights. They are so bright and safe.
--The leather bolstered seats. This is my first car with leather, and the smell is intoxicating! VW uses the best leather out there; it is so soft and supple. The bolsters keep you planted without squeezing you too tight (although I have a small to medium build).
There is one glitch. I was showing the car to my coworkers and mentioned the headlight washer system. I hadn’t yet tried it out, so they would be my first audience. They worked fine the first time, but when the passenger side retracted it leaked windshield washer fluid all over the ground from behind the fender liner. After some coaxing from my coworkers, I tried them again. The passenger side did not pop open this time and the fluid just leaked out from behind the bumper onto the ground. My initial thought is the supply hose popped off. The pressure from the washer pump probably causes the nozzle to extend from the bumper (much like a pop-up lawn sprinkler head) and since the hose came off, it won’t pop out. I’m going to poke around a bit to see if I can avoid a trip to the dealer.
Other than that, the car is phenomenal. I feel like I got a much more expensive car than what I paid for.
Sorry, no pics now, but I will have them this weekend! More updates coming soon!
