02-01-2017, 04:04 PM
With the kid coming along, I was "relegated" to driving our Clubman as a daily driver. It was a fun car for about the first two years, but it grew a bit tired over the last two years. Wow... didn't even realize we've had that car this long. Anyway, the things that annoyed me about Mini really started to pile up during my daily commute. Perhaps the most egregious is it's sprung way too stiff for city driving, especially one that still has cobblestone and concrete roads (in places). Combine this with runflats and you've got a car that is pretty jarring to drive with a nasty habit of wheel spin and torque steer going up some of the steep hills in this city. As in, it was not uncommon for the wheels to break loose and compromise your ability to steer the car if you hit the right/wrong patch of road. Other annoyances are a nigh impossible time of getting a kid in the backseat with the suicide third door, a lack of bluetooth audio support, no heated seats, road noise, and doors that are long enough that your choices during egress are rest them against the car next to you or have them snap back and try to kill you while you're exiting the vehicle.
There were some things the Mini did right. It was good for squeezing through small openings in traffic/garages and we often parallel parked in spots that other cars simply wouldn't fit in. It was an incredibly efficient use of space; we packed it full of stuff more than once for camping trips, etc. Unfortunately, these were not enough to overcome the shortcomings... especially with the CPO warranty expiring in a few months. Data point: The ignition coil went bad a few months ago, even though the car was only five years old and had ~40k miles. It would have cost $1,000 to replace it.
So, a few months ago, I started looking into replacements. Requirements included:
> Wagon, five door to be exact
> As similar in size to the Clubman as possible
> Not slow, slushy, or lame
> Automatic (don't hate; I commute 3.5 miles in a hilly city, drive 2500 miles/year, and I have a 3-pedal 911)
> Back up camera
> Heated seats
> Bluetooth audio
> As close to $20k as possible
> At least a three year warranty
There was only ever one choice.
I looked around at small hatchbacks and the GTI kept showing good reviews and topping "best of" lists. It really didn't hurt that VW's still dealing with dieselgate fallout and prices reflect that. I'd planned to get a 2016 CPO, since that's my MO, but prices for '16s were in the $20k-$21k range and VW's CPO warranty doesn't really extend the original warranty (which is lame). In my search, I stumbled across a couple new '17s in the boonies (read: Bend, OR) that were listed in the $22k-23k range. Nothing in/near Seattle was even remotely close, until two weeks ago when I spotted one in Olympia, WA (60 miles away) listed at $22,750. It turns out that had the $1000 VW loyalty cash added, which wasn't applicable. After all that was worked out, I got a written price quote from the dealer in Olympia and emailed it to the dealer near my house. They originally dismissed me, but a few emails and head fakes later, they agreed to honor the price because I "work for Amazon and we have a partnership agreement." I ended up getting it for $23,757, which I'm happy with given MSRP is $27,500 and TrueCar is $25,775. I put $10k down, which is about what I think I'll get for the Clubman S (42k miles).
Overall, I'm impressed with the car I got for the money. The fit/finish is really nice and the interior is far more my style than the cartoonish one the Mini has. I've literally put 20 miles on it, so I don't have a lot of feedback about the drive. I can say it feels WAY faster than the 30 extra hp would suggest. The lag is about 1/3 that of the Mini and the shifts seem relatively seamless by comparison. The bullshit the Mini did driving up hills and over rough road is non-existant... so much so that my wife commented the GTI seemed way more stable than the Mini after a single one mile ride. I have one complaint, so far. The side bolsters are pretty dramatic; I'm wide enough that I can't press my back flat against the seat back - have to angle ever so slightly. I'm up ~20 lbs where I was this time last year and ~40 lbs where I want to be, so it's 100% my fault and I'm hoping this is added motivation to make it a short term issue.
Plans:
> Tint
> Gas
> Drive
> ????
> Profit
![[Image: 16402556_10154080678836744_4139940643264...e=5918DB18]](https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/16402556_10154080678836744_4139940643264859878_o.jpg?oh=12a298f6429d350086317d7c50c7e852&oe=5918DB18)
![[Image: 16487078_10154080678266744_1702328480798...e=59159F63]](https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/16487078_10154080678266744_1702328480798480746_o.jpg?oh=a75070f33b82586138ddd58419c55843&oe=59159F63)
![[Image: 16402726_10154080678596744_3044459851776...e=5917D00B]](https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/16402726_10154080678596744_3044459851776105331_o.jpg?oh=be60741a4c0dee517cdd816febd1d83e&oe=5917D00B)
There were some things the Mini did right. It was good for squeezing through small openings in traffic/garages and we often parallel parked in spots that other cars simply wouldn't fit in. It was an incredibly efficient use of space; we packed it full of stuff more than once for camping trips, etc. Unfortunately, these were not enough to overcome the shortcomings... especially with the CPO warranty expiring in a few months. Data point: The ignition coil went bad a few months ago, even though the car was only five years old and had ~40k miles. It would have cost $1,000 to replace it.
So, a few months ago, I started looking into replacements. Requirements included:
> Wagon, five door to be exact
> As similar in size to the Clubman as possible
> Not slow, slushy, or lame
> Automatic (don't hate; I commute 3.5 miles in a hilly city, drive 2500 miles/year, and I have a 3-pedal 911)
> Back up camera
> Heated seats
> Bluetooth audio
> As close to $20k as possible
> At least a three year warranty
There was only ever one choice.
I looked around at small hatchbacks and the GTI kept showing good reviews and topping "best of" lists. It really didn't hurt that VW's still dealing with dieselgate fallout and prices reflect that. I'd planned to get a 2016 CPO, since that's my MO, but prices for '16s were in the $20k-$21k range and VW's CPO warranty doesn't really extend the original warranty (which is lame). In my search, I stumbled across a couple new '17s in the boonies (read: Bend, OR) that were listed in the $22k-23k range. Nothing in/near Seattle was even remotely close, until two weeks ago when I spotted one in Olympia, WA (60 miles away) listed at $22,750. It turns out that had the $1000 VW loyalty cash added, which wasn't applicable. After all that was worked out, I got a written price quote from the dealer in Olympia and emailed it to the dealer near my house. They originally dismissed me, but a few emails and head fakes later, they agreed to honor the price because I "work for Amazon and we have a partnership agreement." I ended up getting it for $23,757, which I'm happy with given MSRP is $27,500 and TrueCar is $25,775. I put $10k down, which is about what I think I'll get for the Clubman S (42k miles).
Overall, I'm impressed with the car I got for the money. The fit/finish is really nice and the interior is far more my style than the cartoonish one the Mini has. I've literally put 20 miles on it, so I don't have a lot of feedback about the drive. I can say it feels WAY faster than the 30 extra hp would suggest. The lag is about 1/3 that of the Mini and the shifts seem relatively seamless by comparison. The bullshit the Mini did driving up hills and over rough road is non-existant... so much so that my wife commented the GTI seemed way more stable than the Mini after a single one mile ride. I have one complaint, so far. The side bolsters are pretty dramatic; I'm wide enough that I can't press my back flat against the seat back - have to angle ever so slightly. I'm up ~20 lbs where I was this time last year and ~40 lbs where I want to be, so it's 100% my fault and I'm hoping this is added motivation to make it a short term issue.
Plans:
> Tint
> Gas
> Drive
> ????
> Profit
'76 911S | '14 328xi | '17 GTI | In memoriam: '08 848, '85 944
"Here, at last, is the cure for texting while driving. The millions of deaths which occur every year due to the iPhone’s ability to stream the Kim K/Ray-J video in 4G could all be avoided, every last one of them, if the government issued everyone a Seventies 911 and made sure they always left the house five minutes later than they’d wanted to. It would help if it could be made to rain as well. Full attention on the road. Guaranteed." -Jack Baruth
"Here, at last, is the cure for texting while driving. The millions of deaths which occur every year due to the iPhone’s ability to stream the Kim K/Ray-J video in 4G could all be avoided, every last one of them, if the government issued everyone a Seventies 911 and made sure they always left the house five minutes later than they’d wanted to. It would help if it could be made to rain as well. Full attention on the road. Guaranteed." -Jack Baruth
![[Image: C4kha4x.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/C4kha4x.gif)
![[Image: 264cfc000bc7c456baea69aead99417a.jpg]](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/26/4c/fc/264cfc000bc7c456baea69aead99417a.jpg)
![[Image: Colin_Farrel-Disgusted.gif]](http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/2013/06/Colin_Farrel-Disgusted.gif)
