[vj123]

Little bit of colors from Michigan fall.

[vj123]

Christmas came in early this year.

I was planning to upgrade my stock tires sometime this year and I had zeroed in Continental ExtremeContact ultra high performance all season tires based on my previous experience. Continental typically offers mail in rebate offers couple of times a year. They had this offer once this year during summer and i was expecting one more rebate before the end of this year. I was checking their webpage periodically and they offered $70 mail in rebate beginning 1-Nov. I placed an online order on the same day. TireRack offers next day delivery and i received the tires pretty quick.

For the past month or so, i was tracking AWE track exhaust prices on several known sellers. Early this week, i found a seller who had listed this product for a great price. Their online price was way better than any of the other sellers and infact better than 15% discount which AWE offers during their Thanksgiving sale. I gave a thought for day and placed the order on the next day. To my surprise, the seller shipped the product on the same day and i receive it in two days.

I will update the thread once i install them on the vehicle.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Wonderfully presented report: well done and thank you!

i wish we could see this car in India. In fact, I wish we could see even a basic-model Golf in India!

[vj123]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Wonderfully presented report: well done and thank you!

i wish we could see this car in India. In fact, I wish we could see even a basic-model Golf in India!

Thank you. Yeah it should be a great vehicle for the Indian market.

I came across news articles that (link below) next gen GTI might be considered for Indian market. Hope those rumors come true.

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...r-india-414176

[Thad E Ginathom]

Even the Polo GTi was just a marketing blip here. And VW seen uncertain even with the Polo.

[vj123]

Definitely. Polo GTI doesnt have any history or legacy associated with it. Also i dont think VW was serious about that model anyways.

Indian customers will gladly welcome expensive vehicles if things were done right. Mustang's success is one such example.

[vj123]

First snow of the year came along with a storm.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Wow... That's just amazing to see! My mother country is England, and I do miss snow... But now I am adjusted to the climate of Chennai I don't think I could stand the temperatures of a snowy day.

[vj123]

Yeah it looks great in pictures.

Life was a little hard when i moved to Michigan for my graduate studies after spending all my life in Chennai. But i have got used to it and infact prefer Michigan over warmer options in US as one can experience all four seasons here.

[Jeroen]

Thanks for a very interesting and well written article. I love the way of buying cars in the USA. It is so convenient.

They often say you can not go wrong with a VW Golf GTI. But I think it doesn’t do justice to these cars. Admittedly, they can be a bit sparsely equipped, but they are great car and make for great drives too

My eldest son has the Golf GTI MK IV, which is probably the least desirable. I drove it the other day for an hour or so. This car is about 20 years old, with 250.000 km on the clock, but it still goes like stink. No rattles, no squeaky panels. It is very well put together and it still drives really well too.

Enjoy the GTI and enjoy the States!

Jeroen

[vj123]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Thanks for a very interesting and well written article. I love the way of buying cars in the USA. It is so convenient.

Being an enthusiast, its good fun to buy a vehicle in US. But i believe people in Europe are spoilt with choices than US buyers.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

They often say you can not go wrong with a VW Golf GTI. But I think it doesn’t do justice to these cars. Admittedly, they can be a bit sparsely equipped, but they are great car and make for great drives too

My eldest son has the Golf GTI MK IV, which is probably the least desirable. I drove it the other day for an hour or so. This car is about 20 years old, with 250.000 km on the clock, but it still goes like stink. No rattles, no squeaky panels. It is very well put together and it still drives really well too.

Enjoy the GTI and enjoy the States!

GTIs have come a long way with past generations. Current MK7s have an extensive list of equipment in it (as listed in my window sticker) and will satisfy an buyer. VW did miss out few options like heated steering, memory seats, cooled seats, auto dimming RVM even on higher trims but none of these would be a deal breaker for most people.

I could have waited to get an MK8 in a couple of years with all of the latest and greatest goodies but i prefer having a vehicle with less technology. Also current platform is one of the most reliable Golfs ever produced.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by vj123

Being an enthusiast, its good fun to buy a vehicle in US. But i believe people in Europe are spoilt with choices than US buyers.

We do not get the true American brands here in Europe. And I am happy to report that we have managed to live without them quite happily🙂.

Compared to the USA, most Cars in Europe are frightfully expensive. And nobody buys a car of the forecourt, because dealers do not stock cars. On the upside you can customize your car by choosing each and every option seperately. The down side is on average you end up waiting for 4-6 months easily to take delivery.

American dealers have done away with this option and delivery time nonsense. They stock their forecourt with fully loaded cars. Basic cars are for whuzzs.

Of course you went a slightly different way. But many American will just go out for a bit of shopping on Saturday afternoon and come home in a new car. It is relatively cheap, credit available on premises and you drive out with a car from the forecourt. If you want to order something special (e.g. a particular colour, you are in for some trouble, cost and lead time).

Our local Ford dealer in Kansas City would not even take individual orders, to much hassle. He had hundreds of cars in his forecourt and could have you in and out in under 60 minutes! Appraisal of your car, sales talk, credit talk all paperwork on the trade in and the new one all in under 60 minutes. That was his add slogan. We will have you in a new Ford in no time!

Jeroen

[vj123]

Hahaha, the other side is always greener.

US market is totally unique like you have mentioned and buyers are totally impatient. If the dealer doesnt have a vehicle of their choice, they are going to walk into the next dealership and drive out with a brand new vehicle. Because of this, most dealers spec their inventory with "usual" combination to appease the masses.

VWoA doesnt offer many options on GTIs and as a result both of my GTIs were from dealer inventory. All of my other vehicles were custom ordered as i am particular about the features in my vehicles. Wait time kills but its all worth it when you see the final product specially built for you.

[vj123]

Tire upgrade:

I was able to install my tires last saturday. I have already shared my buying experience in Post #17 and the vehicle had 2375 miles on the clock when the tires were installed.

Whenever i had upgraded my tires in the past, we would drive down to TireRack (largest online tire retailer in US) headquarters located in South Bend, Indiana. It is a 3.5 hours drive from my place and we would make a good road trip out of it. TireRack does not offers appointments and its first come first served basis. As a result, we have to start early in the morning and reach the destination through Interstate highway. Installation would be done by noon and we would drive back along the Historic Michigan Avenue (US Route 12) which zips through scenic countryside. Since it was the last weekend before my India trip, i planned to install my tires in a nearby tire installer (Discount Tire). They do have Roadforce balancing requirement and I have been happy with their service in the past.

They open their shop by 8:00 on saturdays and i was there by 7:30 to avoid the crowd. I was fourth in the line and there were close to 15 people behind me by the time they opened their counter. Since we were expecting a snow storm this week, everyone had planned to take care of their tires before that. Installation went smooth and i was out within an hour.

Real world difference:

Continental ExtremeContact tires brought a day & night difference from stock Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS. Stock tires have ok traction under dry conditions but it was terrible under rain and snow. They would lose traction and spin whenever i perform a quick launch from red light even under slight wet conditions. I have got stuck a couple of tires in snow with my stock tires in my previous GTI. I have so much confidence after installing the Contis. Only downside is the fact that they have a softer sidewalls and doesnt perform great while cornering. Not every product in the market is perfect and the advantages which it brings in outweighs the negatives by a huge margin. I am very happy with the upgrade.

[vj123]

Exhaust upgrade:

I was eyeing for an exhaust upgrade from the time i bought this vehicle. There is a large number of options in the market but i was eyeing AWE track exhaust similar to that of my previous GTI as i liked it overall even though its priced on the higher side.

AWE has the following options (from civil to disobedient in the below order):
Touring Edition with factory downpipe
Touring Edition with Performance downpipe
Track Edition with factory downpipe
Track Edition with Performance downpipe

Since i am not planning to have a ECU tune which would void VW's People warranty, downpipe was out of question and Track exhaust with factory downpipe was my preference.

I was waiting for 15% discount which AWE offers every Thanksgiving but was checking online prices of various vendors everyday. By early Nov, i came across a vendor who was offering Track exhaust with diamond black tips for a deal and it was even better than AWE's thanksgiving sale. After making sure that the vendor is legit, i placed the order on the following day. To my surprise, they shipped the exhaust on the next day (actual product was directly shipped by AWE) and i got the product at my doorstep in the same week.

I installed the exhaust in my previous exhaust in my friend's fully equipped garage. This time i did it in a nearby shop as i had a busy schedule at work and also i was travelling to India by the following week. The shop took a couple of hours to install it and everything went as planned. I disabled the artificial noise generated inside the cabin by Soundaktor using OBDII device on the day before exhaust installation.

Real world difference:

Even though i prefer something louder, AWE track exhaust with stock downpipe is a great setup for a DD. Its not that loud during cruising but opens up when you drive hard. AWE product quality is top notch and they also offer great customer service.

Unboxing:























Post installation: