Author Topic: Car Buying Advice  (Read 3411 times)

Offline crashdb

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Car Buying Advice
« on: May 16, 2011, 08:03:05 PM »
I'm about to go crazy with this decision and no one locally is much help.  I'll tap the brain trust here and see what y'all come up with.

I'm looking to buy a 2011 VW GTI.  This will my third GTI and my fifth VW.  I'm sold on the car except I can decide which transmission to get.  I've test driven the manual and the DSG.  The stick is fun, but I do have to fight a little traffic during my commute.  I've done the commute on the C14 many times so I have "some" idea of what owning a stick automobile would involve.  I test drove the DSG tonight.  The pros of this transmission is that it gets a little better gas mileage than the manual.  It's also a hair faster.  It has the paddles behind the wheel to shift manually and it'll actually function close to what a manual is like.  It holds gears and only seems to downshift for you when coming to a light.  It also blips the throttle during downshifts. 

I'm ever-so slightly leaning toward the manual.  I'm just wondering how long it would be before I got tired of the clutching and the shifting.  I'm not as young as I once was.  But even though I'm 38 I'm only on my second automatic vehicle.  On the flip side I wonder how much I would really use the paddles and stuff. 

Help me out here!  I'm just looking for some angles that I may've missed while thinking about this.  Okay.......go!
I feel like a new person!

Offline sherob

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Re: Car Buying Advice
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2011, 07:10:39 AM »
I like manuals in little cars...  you can get a bit more performance out of them with it... engine braking is great too with snow.  But now you have the DSG, which I hear some good things about... so you get the best of both worlds... except the added weight of the automatic.

I used to live in the Houston area, ~30 years, had a stick in an Ford Escort, Toyota Pickup, Toyota Camry, Plymouth Arrow, Nissan Frontier, Kia Spectra... and a GMC Sierra.  So driving in traffic was a given... LOL!!!  :o
Rob
Brighton, CO... missing Texas!

Offline ManWorkingH3r3

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Re: Car Buying Advice
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2011, 07:44:17 AM »
Manual transmission for me.

Might be simpler to service in long run, lower maintenance costs than DSG.

Driving manuals for 39 years, 52 now.  (Growing up on farm used tractors and pickups driving way underage to do so).  Harder to find economic cars with manual transmissions.  Driving Honda 2001 Civic with 5-speed and cruise control.  Best of both worlds there.

Now just have to find a good cruise control to put on my 2001 C-10.  :)
2001 ZG1000-a14  - a.k.a. Blue Streak  COG#9292

Offline CrashKLRtoConnie

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Re: Car Buying Advice
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2011, 08:17:29 AM »
A few thoughts....

If the stop and go traffic is more that 30 minutes a day, I would go with the automatic. (rain + darkness + bad / texting drivers + std transmission = no fun)

I find more std transmissions only get better mileage on the freeway in top gear. (of course I like to wind the gears out on a std .. more fun)

Stds are more fun if you drive fast.
2008 C14 GTR1400 AKA "Connie"

Offline crashdb

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Re: Car Buying Advice
« Reply #4 on: May 18, 2011, 12:39:26 PM »
Welp, I went to the dealer last night with my heart set on the manual.  By the end of the night they had talked me into the DSG.  How?  The saleman let me take it out for a test drive by myself.  I flogged the hell out of the car and determined that I actually liked the DSG.  Long story short:  I got an amazing trade-in, a great price for the car and a low interest rate.

This morning on the way to work I was in stop and go traffic.  I knew I had made the right decision.  Thanks for all your input!
I feel like a new person!

Offline sherob

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Re: Car Buying Advice
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2011, 01:13:25 PM »
Enjoy the new toy!  ;)
Rob
Brighton, CO... missing Texas!

Offline Jeremy Mitchell

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Re: Car Buying Advice
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2011, 01:29:09 PM »
You couldn't have gone wrong either way you went.  The DSG is a great "slushbox".
Keeping the economy going, one tank of fuel and two tires at a time.

Offline crashdb

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Re: Car Buying Advice
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2011, 02:00:56 PM »
Oh I plan on it!!   ;D  My license may have problems with this though...
I feel like a new person!

Offline SteveJ.

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Re: Car Buying Advice
« Reply #8 on: May 18, 2011, 02:26:01 PM »


Now just have to find a good cruise control to put on my 2001 C-10.  :)

Here ya go...

http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=422
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Offline booger

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Re: Car Buying Advice
« Reply #9 on: May 19, 2011, 10:23:43 PM »
A few thoughts....

If the stop and go traffic is more that 30 minutes a day, I would go with the automatic. (rain + darkness + bad / texting drivers + std transmission = no fun)

I find more std transmissions only get better mileage on the freeway in top gear. (of course I like to wind the gears out on a std .. more fun)

Stds are more fun if you drive fast.

I drive stop and go in Houston, Tx. traffic for 45-60 minutes a day and don't even know that I shift.