Well guys, after toying with the idea of a used GT or a used Challenger, I stopped myself from making a bad decision and went with a new car with a warranty that I know hadn't been beat on or in an accident, but more importantly would be cheaper on insurance, gas, and the payment (keep in mind I bought the wife a brand new car 6 months ago as well). Since buying the wife's Beetle in July I have been looking at VWs, and in the end I couldn't get a GT just the way I wanted it without spending more than I could comfortably afford for new or with low enough miles for used (and I REALLY like the '13 over the '11 and '12). On the other hand, I could buy a VW the way I wanted it with all the options, and it still cost me less than a Stang/Challenger, and was new with a warranty to boot. Not to mention what I went with is better for snow, and overall just makes for the ultimate, comfortable daily driver. I'm pretty happy with my choice, since I still have my Camaro for a toy anyway. I also got a better rate being a new car. I got this car for over $500 under invoice, and 0% for 60 months. Can't beat that, no sir.
I went with a 2013 Jetta SEL w/Nav. It has navigation (duh), push button ignition with the keyless access where the key never leaves your pocket to unlock/start/stop/lock, Fender 9 speaker stereo with subwoofer (400W I think?), sunroof, bluetooth, iPod hookup (good riddance FM transmitter trash), heated power seats w/lumbar, heated mirrors, soft touch dash, sport seats, all that good stuff. It's the same 2.5L 5-banger that's in my wife's Beetle and has the same traditional 6-speed auto (prefer over a dual clutch tranny and its expensive flushes and quirky behavior). Free maintenance for three years and the engine and tranny are well proven bulletproof bread and butter VW components that are dead reliable and cheap to own. It's got a sport mode and manual shifting if I feel like it, but a slushbox is nice for DD traffic.
I originally wanted white on black or platinum gray on black, but platinum gray on black is virtually non-existent in SEL trim and I only found one about 400 miles away. There were some white ones around, but every single one had a messed up tow hook cover on the bottom of the rear bumper. A small thing I know but it would bother the hell out of me to buy a new car and know that I was paying for less than perfection, especially since you could see it from ten feet behind the car. I could've factory ordered or had the dealer bring in another from out of state, but I didn't want to go that route just to wait all that time and find that that wasn't any different than local ones with issues; I wanted to get something on the lot so I could check it out before doing anything. Luckily VWs really don't have any options, everything is built into the trim levels. The options are just dumb things like a first aid kit or rubber floor mats, etc.
I got wind of a black on black one that was still in it's factory plastic/vinyl wrapper at a new VW dealer that opened two weeks ago, which is where my Beetle salesman ended up at. I was kind of ehh on black again but I'll take care of it and it was perfect, and knowing nobody had ever even touched the paint made the deal easy to do. I also have a heated garage at the new place we are moving to in two weeks and a garage at work so it shouldn't be too bad. Even have a car wash bay in the garage at the new apartment so I can wax all year long.
Anyway here are some shitty iPhone pics from today from when I found it and when I took delivery. It took like three hours to prep it. Overall I'm pretty happy with it and am glad I went new with a warranty and don't have to worry about anything. Bottom line, this car was just more affordable and within my means and had the most features. Next time around maybe I can do a new GT Premium, but for now this will do just fine.
Pics!
I went with a 2013 Jetta SEL w/Nav. It has navigation (duh), push button ignition with the keyless access where the key never leaves your pocket to unlock/start/stop/lock, Fender 9 speaker stereo with subwoofer (400W I think?), sunroof, bluetooth, iPod hookup (good riddance FM transmitter trash), heated power seats w/lumbar, heated mirrors, soft touch dash, sport seats, all that good stuff. It's the same 2.5L 5-banger that's in my wife's Beetle and has the same traditional 6-speed auto (prefer over a dual clutch tranny and its expensive flushes and quirky behavior). Free maintenance for three years and the engine and tranny are well proven bulletproof bread and butter VW components that are dead reliable and cheap to own. It's got a sport mode and manual shifting if I feel like it, but a slushbox is nice for DD traffic.
I originally wanted white on black or platinum gray on black, but platinum gray on black is virtually non-existent in SEL trim and I only found one about 400 miles away. There were some white ones around, but every single one had a messed up tow hook cover on the bottom of the rear bumper. A small thing I know but it would bother the hell out of me to buy a new car and know that I was paying for less than perfection, especially since you could see it from ten feet behind the car. I could've factory ordered or had the dealer bring in another from out of state, but I didn't want to go that route just to wait all that time and find that that wasn't any different than local ones with issues; I wanted to get something on the lot so I could check it out before doing anything. Luckily VWs really don't have any options, everything is built into the trim levels. The options are just dumb things like a first aid kit or rubber floor mats, etc.
I got wind of a black on black one that was still in it's factory plastic/vinyl wrapper at a new VW dealer that opened two weeks ago, which is where my Beetle salesman ended up at. I was kind of ehh on black again but I'll take care of it and it was perfect, and knowing nobody had ever even touched the paint made the deal easy to do. I also have a heated garage at the new place we are moving to in two weeks and a garage at work so it shouldn't be too bad. Even have a car wash bay in the garage at the new apartment so I can wax all year long.
Anyway here are some shitty iPhone pics from today from when I found it and when I took delivery. It took like three hours to prep it. Overall I'm pretty happy with it and am glad I went new with a warranty and don't have to worry about anything. Bottom line, this car was just more affordable and within my means and had the most features. Next time around maybe I can do a new GT Premium, but for now this will do just fine.
Pics!
