My 2006 GLI!!!

[silverspeedbuggy]

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!

[ASurroca]

Excellent! I saw one at the dealer when I dropped my Beetle off the other day. the GLI fixes everything that bothered enthusiasts on the base-model Jetta.

Something I just thought, though. I'm driving a B6 Passat 2.0T this weekend (Alpha Driver program) and when you put it in "Sport" mode, it hauls. If the Jetta is heavier than the new Passat, does this mean that a Passat in Sport mode will out-accelerate a GLI?

Naturally, the handling has got to be where the GLI will win everyone over, if it's anything like the adored-by-the-press MkV GTI.

Get ready to have more fun than should be legal

[silverspeedbuggy]

Here are some pics I'm "borrowing" from this past Saturday's Cleveland GTG. Thaks Tom (Fowvay) and Pete (pdoel)!!!

[silverspeedbuggy]

D'oh!

[silverspeedbuggy]

I guess I'll attach them:

[Deserion]

I'd hit it.

-Des

[Fowvay]

Oh boy.... I can't thank you enough for bringing your GLi to the GTG. My wife won't shut up about how sex-ah hot your car is and how she absolutly positively has to have one.

Wait... what am I bitching about? This is a good thing.

[maximum_velocity]

tuesday i stopped at the dealer and saw the GLI...

not a car since 98 with the NB.. has got me all excited

well they are locating one with what i want in it...

prolly get mine next week...

am keeping the NB tho... now i will really be able to play with the engine and everything else

[silverspeedbuggy]

Originally Posted by maximum_velocity

tuesday i stopped at the dealer and saw the GLI...

not a car since 98 with the NB.. has got me all excited

well they are locating one with what i want in it...

prolly get mine next week...

am keeping the NB tho... now i will really be able to play with the engine and everything else

That's EXACTLY what happened to me! Bought my Beetle in 98, added the GLI to the stable this year.

I've had the car since September and I still am impressed by it. When will you pick yours up? What color and options did you get? Manual or DSG?

Keep me posted!

[zaplarry]

does your fancy new Jetta have automatic dimming outside mirrors? Remeber during the break-in period not to go over 110 miles per hour.

[coolblu]

Silverspeedbuggy,

I've been having so many problems with my 2004 NBC 1.8T, that I'm considering switching to the GLI.

Do you mind if I ask what you ended up paying for it? My dealer has them tagged at about $28-29k for the automatic.

Thanks.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Originally Posted by zaplarry

does your fancy new Jetta have automatic dimming outside mirrors?

Nope, no new Jettas have this feature. I think some have the auto dimming rear view (interior) mirrors, but not the GLI.

Originally Posted by zaplarry

Remeber during the break-in period not to go over 110 miles per hour.

No problem there, I don't speed and the car is now past the break-in period!

[silverspeedbuggy]

Originally Posted by coolblu

Silverspeedbuggy,

I've been having so many problems with my 2004 NBC 1.8T, that I'm considering switching to the GLI.

Do you mind if I ask what you ended up paying for it? My dealer has them tagged at about $28-29k for the automatic.

Thanks.

Sticker was $27,900 for my PKg 2 car with Monster Mats and Trunk Liner. I negotiated a clear bumper protector from the Driver's Gear catalog to be included. I also negotiated for the all-season tires (the car was equipped with summer rubber)

I offered $26,500 MINUS my VW loyalty bonus ($500) for a price of $26K plus tax, title, license. The dealer swapped out the tires, so in addition to everything else they threw in the summer rubber as well!

Others may say I could have gotten it for less, but I am happy with the price and with the 4.9% financing I got at the time.

I hope this helps!
--Chris

[SPIRU]

Sweet man, looks great! Congrats!

[silverspeedbuggy]

Oh yeah, I also have a thread on the GLI in the "Photos: Other Rides" area. Included there is a long write-up I sent into AutoWeek magazine about my experience thus far with the car that could give you more info.