CLUB B5 - VW Passat Page

The Replacement Driver by rpaller
October 04, 2004

The seed was planted a few months ago while stopping by the dealership to check out the Phaeton they had sitting on the lot. From the outside looking in, the VW Phaeton was the crème of the crop when it came to luxury and refinement. Understated and elegant, the Luna Blue Klavierlack Phaeton would slip through the downtown streets of Grand Rapids and no one would notice, except maybe one or two enthusiasts with a trained eye. It was love at first sight. However, a quick check of the bank statement showed that even with my near perfect Beacon score there is no way I was going to be approved for a 65K car unless I could mortgage it over 15 years. I knew VW Credit didn't have 15 year loans either, damn. I am sure this Phaeton will find its way into the loving driveway of some East Grand Rapidian soon enough.

A quick glance at the wife shows that I have still have time on the patience meter, so I stroll down to the Deep Blue Pearl R32. Now this car looks like it means business. The König sport seats look as if they fit like a nice pair of driving gloves. I can only dream of what the 3.2l VR6 sounds like at WOT. But seeing remembering the Backseat Driver Found sitting in his car seat playing with his shoe laces quickly dashed any hopes that this car would grace my garage anytime soon.

As I was looking over the interior of the R32 I began to wonder to myself why hasn't VW introduced a true sport edition of the Passat. Sure I could raid the parts bin on my own and add a Votex kit, sport springs, struts, 17" Charleston or Cappezio wheels. But then I remembered that trying to set that money aside from kids clothing, sports equipment, diapers, school supplies, and general home improvement would take years to acquire all those goodies. I sure hope the rumors of a R-line Passat for the next generation come true, it will sure be a gem.

Then as I see my loving wife growing more and more impatient with me, I saw it, a Platinum Grey GLI. I motioned to my wife to allow me one more minute before she smited me as I stood there on the lot. Seeing this GLI, visions of the MKII GLI and GTI began to dance in my head. I have always loved those cars and wanted to see VW introduce something similar and special to their product line. The GTI 337 and 20th Anniversary editions were great for the Golf, but the Jetta was left out until now. There was the Votex kit, sport exhaust, lowered stance, 18" BBC RC wheels, Recaro seats, 6-speed transmission. It was a miniature Passat W8 Sport edition right before my eyes. (Atomicalex: Passat GTO <wink>) The ball was set in motion right then and there, a mere 30 days ago. I told my wife as I returned to the car, that I had to have one.

Roll time forward about a month. Its is a Friday night and I was coming off the expressway after my hour long trip home from work. There is a funny groan in the front end of my car that was seemed tied to the speed of the engine. Immediately my mind went to the timing belt tensioner. At 67K miles I thought she was going to give up the ghost right then and there on the off ramp. I immediate go into "limp mode", nurse it home the remaining three miles and assess the damage in your driveway. As I go to turn off the off-ramp the engine was still running and didn't seem to be missing a beat, odd. Then I realized that I was struggling to turn the wheel and it clicked. The power steering that had just been repaired back in April was out again. As soon as I was a on a straight stretch of road I whip out the cell phone. I had my service advisor on the phone immediately and arranged to have my car back in to get fixed again. (Previous thread explains the gory details, I will save you the details)

After barely making it into my development and ultimately my driveway, I decided Saturday morning that it is time to call VW Roadside Assistance. There is no way I am fighting this thing back to the dealer. I show up there and my wife prods me to take another look at the GLI. Could it be that she approves? I tell her there is no way I am driving the GLI because if I do, I am taking it home. I settle on test driving a 2004 Passat Variant 1.8T with a 5 speed. Needless to say, it was very nice. The aftermarket 17" wheels made a difference in handling and the 1.8T had ample power when mated to a 5 speed. But deep down inside I knew I wouldn't be happy. Sure the Passat was a sleeper, but there was a demon lurking inside and it was the GLI haunting me. I went home without test driving the GLI. Monday rolls around and I call the salesperson that took me out in the Passat Variant.

So began the negiotation process. They were quick to meet my price expectations on the GLI, however the trade-in of my Passat proved to be a sticking point. Edmund's appraisal software assumes we live in utopia. The trade-in value of my car is what they were selling for on the dealers lots. KBB was even optimistic when compared the apparent black book and auction lists that the used car manager had in his office. Needless to say there was a huge gap in what I wanted for my car and what the dealer was ready to give me. Thursday night I emailed the salesperson what it would take for me to trade in my Passat and buy the GLI. I knew that they wouldn't accept my offer as it was pretty darn optimistic, borderline high balling the dealer. By Friday of that week I had come to grips with the fact that the GLI was not destined for my garage and had ordered my 18" Enkei MM2 wheels for the Passat. The sales manager calls me on Friday morning to find out why I wasn't going to buy the GLI. I explained that I was pleased with the selling price of the GLI but I couldn't bring myself to eat the depreciation on the Passat that I had just bought 1.5 years ago. I continued to tell Gary that I knew they had to make money on both the GLI and the eventual sale of the Passat, so I knew given the things they had to replace on the Passat, that they weren't going to make much money and hence weren't going to move on their final offer of KBB trade-in. I thanked both the new car sales manager and salesman for their time and for taking care of me regarding the loaner car for the duration of my Passat's power steering saga. I told him when it came time to replace my wife's leased Trailblazer we would be buy to see what VW had to offer next summer.

Much to my surprise, no more then two hours later the salesman calls me back with surprising news. The new car sales manager and the used car sales manger more or less accepted my counter-offer on the trade-in of my Passat. While I had already come to grips with not getting the GLI, I had to decide what I wanted. The GLI was back haunting me and the wheels and tires for the Passat were on a truck heading to the local Discount Tire. I took me a couple hours to finally decide...

I brought home the GLI last night without ever test driving her. I took delivery with 25 miles on the odometer. I am sure the GLI will provide me the same joys the Passat did and more. The Recaro seats fit like a glove. The 18" BBS wheels with Goodyear F1 rubber stick like glue to the on ramp. The turbo is quite noticeable with the radio off and the sport exhaust sounds great!

The overall transaction was rather smooth and the business manager did not pressure me into any snake oils or magic paint sealants. Betten Imports did a great job on the sale and I hope it continues on in the service department.

I plan to continue to frequent this site as I can't bring myself to live on the MKIV forums on the "other site" alone. This place is filled with great individuals who have shared a great wealth of information with me. I can't thank you enough.

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