Picked up a new toy...

[NJGOAT]

Well, I ultimately decided to pass on the M3 I was looking at and ended up making an impulse buy. So, instead of the S4 I had originally been thinking about, I ended up with a 2005 VW Jetta GLI. I picked it up for an absolute steal and the car is extremely well put together. So as to not be accused of taking credit for someone else's work here is what it has done:

APR Stage 3+ kit.
APR FMIC
Custom 3" exhaust with Magnaflow muffler and a high flow cat.
Peloquin gear driven LSD.
Kevlar clutch w/ stock flywheel upgraded with ECS tuning bits.
Bilstein PSS9 coil overs.
F&R adjustable sway bars.
Upgraded bushings throughout.
14" Brembo GT brake kit w/ matching rears, stainless lines, Porterfeld R4S pads.
18" BBS RS-GT rims w/ Michelin PS2 tires.

I know the original owner of the car and he is an Audi/Porsche master tech. He did all the work himself and sold the car to pick up a BMW. His only reason for selling was that he was tired of it. The car has some minor cosmetic flaws (rock chip and a small dent in the quarter panel near the rear passenger door), but is in great shape overall.

I plan to fix the minor cosmetic issues and then upgrade the sound system (the stock unit sucks). As it currently sits it is putting ~340 to the wheels. I can't add much more power without risking failure, so I will be looking to upgrade the motor to a 2.0 stroker over the winter with the ultimate goal of getting 400 to the wheels.

[CHAOS]

you went from m3 to s4 to jetta? lol i gotta ask...

WHY?! lol

[poisonivory]

05 GLI FTW!!! the 04-05 GLI Jetta is best looking VW ever made IMO. In for pics

[NJGOAT]

Well, I was shopping for cars through a wholesaler friend of mine. I was limited to choosing cars he had in stock or what he could get at the auction. I wanted something fun and moddable that also had room for the kids. I was heavily leaning towards a S4 when the M3 came available. The M needed more work than I was willing to put into it, so I passed and decided that I would wait for a S4. When I passed on the M he told me about a Jetta that he just picked up. At first I laughed at him and said no thanks. He replied by handing me the keys and a dealer tag and said take it home for the weekend and then tell me what you think. I drove it for the weekend and was hooked. A ton of power (for a Jetta) when needed, but it still got 30+ mpg on the highway. It also had 4 doors and enough trunk space for the kids crap. Once I talked to the previous owner and found who he was and everything that was done to the car it was a slam dunk. It also didn't hurt that I picked the car up for 13k, which is well under MSRP on a stock '05 GLI, let alone one with almost $20k worth of mods. I figure that I'll play with it until I get tired of it and sell the car as is for a profit or part it out and trade it in.

[07mkvgti]

I guess ill see it at cherry hill mall for a ci meet.

[arkadyzv]

Holy **** 13k? My friends has an 06 APR Stage 3'd GTI he was wanting to sell for around 28k, and he got offers in the 20+ range. If you got that for $13,000 then its a deal and half, how many miles are on it?

[C'DALERIDER]

oh hell,, 13k is a steel. Good luck.

[Turbo s60R]

i need pics asap!!!!

[coleycole]

[marshallpre1]

I'll buy it off you for 14K!

[amit]

SICK!

I love GLI's. One of the most fun vw's I've ever driven. Turbo spools sooo quick. Post pics!!

[james_ls]

[NJGOAT]

Here is the link to the internet sale for the car. It has a whole bunch of pictures. I need to get some taken after I give it a bath.

http://www.skymotorcars.com/showroom...etta-Sedan-GLI

[poisonivory]

verrry nice!!! have fun with it!

[sweetmeat]

You can get Stage 3 S4s for a few grand more nowadays, and still get 30 mpg with more power.

I average 31 on the highway with my AWE S4.

Nice looking car though. congrats.

[coleycole]

nice pick up!!

[poisonivory]

Originally Posted by sweetmeat

You can get Stage 3 S4s for a few grand more nowadays, and still get 30 mpg with more power.

I average 31 on the highway with my AWE S4.

Nice looking car though. congrats.

really?? i just a did a quick online search for 2005 S4's and the cheapest one i found within 50 miles was $26k and had 55k miles. Anything with 30-35k miles is $30k plus.

He paid half that for the GLI and less miles. It's a damn good pickup if you ask me.

[sweetmeat]

that is for B6 S4s. I was talking about the B5s (00-02). sorry

[NJGOAT]

sweetmeat, I really did consider a B5 S4 at one point. For all practical purposes my A6 is nothing more than a longer B5 S4 (same engine, drivetrain, suspension, brakes) so I am very familiar with their potential. The issue I ran into is that all of the B5's out there were extremely high mileage and still demanding a premium.

For example, I could have gotten a 2001 S4 stock for the mid-upper teens. Stage 3 cars were selling for the low-mid 20's in good condition. Either way I would have been buying a 7-8 year old car with 80k+ miles on it for a large chunk of change. When it comes to that age and mileage, you end up having a very hard time getting financing for that car. If I had a large chunk to put down, it could have been done, but I didn't have the extra cash. That pretty much led me to consider a B6 S4, which is essentially the car that I decided not to buy in favor of the Jetta.

A B5 S4 is definitely a car I would love to own one day, but the deal I got on this car was just too sweet to pass up and keep waiting on something else. Not to mention that if I go ahead and upgrade the motor to a 2.0 stroker (very cheap to do), the additional stength on the bottom end allows me to go much higher on the power, even up to S4 levels in a lighter platform with less drivetrain loss.

[05Accent]

i love the GLI's