04' GTI 1.8T vs. 11' Tiguan SE 4Motion

While I am meticulous about maintenance it’s no mystery that I haven’t had the best of luck the last few years with my car. After having a series of issues thanks to a bad mechanic that lead to a very costly repair I have been on the fence about keeping my car. On a recent routine trip to a new awesome mechanic it was brought to my attention that there were a few areas of concern. 5 things were looming and would need to be addressed in the up-coming months. Those were a bubble in one of my tires, worn & loose strut mounts, a worn catalytic converter, brakes on all four wheels, and some rust starting to show on the front left fender.

After a quick calculation and calling around for prices I had a decision to make, invest $2500 to make my car whole again or evaluate replacement options. According to KBB, Edmunds, and NADA my car was worth somewhere between $2000 and $4000 so investing another $2500 didn’t make a lot of sense.

Having decided that I would replace my car I wrote a list of the pro’s and con’s with my current vehicle. Pro’s: Fast, fun, sporty, easy to drive, fuel efficient. Con’s: low to the ground, small cabin space, 2-doors, no sunroof, 2-wheel drive. These are just a few examples of what I listed. This allowed me to decide that on my new car there were a few must haves. I wanted a larger 4-wheel drive vehicle that would maintain a decent MPG but would allow me more cabin space. I wanted it to have 4 doors and come with a sunroof.

Having loved the feel of my car I evaluated getting a new version of the GTI but I just felt the cost was too high for a car that lacked a few things that were important to me. VW wasn’t letting me walk quite yet thou. They had an alternative that seemed to meet all my needs. That perfect fit is the VW Tiguan.

Not ready to spend a ton of money on a new vehicle I put my retired father to work locating the perfect used Tiguan. He found a possible option in Quincy, MA just a few miles from where I had bought my current car. Along with my parents we made the hour long trip only to be disappointed that this dealer had misrepresented the vehicle. He claimed it had a clear car fax and that it had never been in an accident but the obvious indicators that it has not only been in an accident but a bad one dashed any hope that it would be the next car for me.

Since we had driven all that way I suggested stopping by the local dealer and seeing what they might have. Not much I would learn and the sales guy was definitely you’re typical snake oil salesman. He showed me one 2011 Tiguan S and went through a pretty impressive walk around of the car showcasing its construction and safety before we headed inside to talk numbers. We went back and forth about 4 times before it was obvious that a deal wasn’t going to happen.

After leaving there we started the long ride home and alone the way stopped at 2 more locations. What I learned was that the Tiguan S wasn’t going to be the car for me. I wanted a Tiguan SE 4-Motion. The price difference was minimal to upgrade to the full awd option and most of the SE models come with a full panoramic sun roof.

2011 VW Tiguan SE 4Motion

At the last dealership I found the perfect car. A Certified 2011 Midnight Blue Tiguan SE 4Motion with Navigation and the Panoramic Sunroof. Of course with all perfect options the price was less than perfect. I was hopeful however that a deal could be made. Sadly it wasn’t meant to be and we left. After a few days I got a call to see if I had any question or if I had given their offer and thought. I was honest with the sales guy that we were 2k away from where I wanted to be and if he would meet in the middle we could make the deal happen.

Unable to make any promises he took my offer to the bosses and when he called back he was able to come $500 bucks closer but would repair a few things that I had pointed out with the car that needed to be done and throw in a few extra’s. Given that those repairs/extras were well over the remaining $500 difference I agreed and left him a deposit.

Today I picked up the car. I will need to return in a few day’s for my registration and an inspection but I couldn’t be happier to have closed the deal and gotten the car I wanted. My parents were equally as please to see me in a larger and safer vehicle.