2014 VW Jetta GLI Edition 30 -- First Shakedown on Angeles Crest Highway 

Why can't WRX's just be more affordable?

Thanks, man. Felix Holst - Director of Hot Wheels Design in on Saturday, June 21. Going to be a unique one - he's been blabbering something about bringing some surprises . . .

+euromutt1982 Yea but still disappointed. Remember when they went all out for the MK4 GLIs? This is just not the same GLI it was years ago, not so much more premium over the regular models now. Hoping the MK7 jetta will change that.

A little late, but I was thinking the same thing. In addition starting with the 1.8T SE and SEL models in 2014 all Jettas have the multilink steel rear subframes with control arms. 2013 was the last year to see the 2.5 with the torsion beam rear suspension. That steel is terrible. It is one thing holding me back from a Volkswagen. I don't want to pay $20,000 for a rust bucket. A better question would be whether or not the GTI from 2015 has aluminum or steel.

You are in a great place - especially being able to visit both Italy and Germany so regularly! Thank you for your service . . .

This is where my passion for cars and my cheapness diverge. NEVER lease. NEVER. I don't care what your fancy tax planner tells you. You ALWAYS pay too much for a car if you lease it. Now, the easy answer: If you MUST have a new car, do A LOT of research, find the best price you can and put AT LEAST 25% of the purchase price + taxes down in cash. That aside, the much preferable way both as a car enthusiast and for financial planning: The 100% down plan on a used car. Buy the most desirable, most reliable & most interesting car you can afford with cash. However, just like with the new car, do A LOT of research. Find 10 copies of the car you want in your area (short of a Morgan Aero Super Sports with a stick, this should be easy to do). Doesn't matter what it is as long as it fits within your parameters. Call all 10 owners, ask questions about the car and if all seems OK over the phone, offer a fair but low market number contingent on a mechanic inspection and reinforce that you have cash. 9 will tell you to piss up a rope. One will accept your offer over the phone. Go see the car and if anything pops up, deduct it from the offer. By then, you will have gotten yourself a screaming deal on a car blessed by a mechanic you trust. Now, here's the trick: Only drive the car for about a year. DON'T put a lot of miles on it. If you put more than 15K miles a year on car - you need a different plan. After the year, if you were reasonable with the miles and took good care of the car, you will be able to sell that car for little to no loss. If you REALLY do it right, you will make a bit on each transaction. In that same time, you are to save money to ADD to your next car purchase. So the plan is that you start to snowball more money into the car you actually want while preserving the value of the car you have. I have done this since my second car (got my head handed to me in depreciation and then some on my first car) and turned a US$3,000 Pontiac Fiero with 90,000 miles (which I loved) into a brand spankin' new Lotus Elise (which I would marry:)) Some disclaimers: This takes A LOT of time and patience. This is not for everyone. Yes, you can buy a new car but be prepared to lose money on depreciation and you absolutely have to love the new car you buy.

Occams Razor In reality, my advice comes from actual numbers - not my cheapness. Take a look at any financial publication you want, they all agree that leasing - while very convenient and with lower start up costs - is the most expensive way to acquire/drive/use a vehicle. Just do the math on the money you spent over the past 22 years. Let's say your payment averaged about US$400/month during that time. The total of those payments was US$105,600. Let's further assume that the cars you have been leasing have been about US$25,000. Now if you bought those cars new and paid cash and only drove them for 3 years each - that would have been about 7 cars - 7.3333 to be exact - with a depreciation of about 50% or US$12,500 on each over those past 22 years (I am WAY overestimating the depreciation as 50% is usually what a 4 + year old car is worth). For a total of US$91,250. Now the main thing to consider is that even after spending that amount on the new cars you still would have a vehicle - in this model - worth US$12,500. So let's say you walk away and move to a place where only bicycles are allowed, you would have spent a grand total of US$78,750 for the SAME cars you leased for US$105,600 - translating to a 34% premium for the convenience of the lease. Now, if you go into understanding that and are willing to pay for the convenience - great. Keep in mind, in cases where service plans are part of the cost of the car - like Mercedes & BMW - you get those no matter how you pay for the car. Where my cheapness comes in is actually NOT the 34% savings. It's the opportunity cost of the money. Let's take that same 22 year period of US$400/month payments - I won't even consider the fees involved like bank charges & wear and tear - had you invested that over the same period and got even a terrible rate of return of 5 % average per year (even with 2008 - markets have returned better on average in that same period) you would have had US$191,741.60 in cash in the bank. So in reality, the convenience charge is not 34% premium over the cash buyer example, rather it's the lost investment income - in this case US$86,141.60.

+Catch the Wave :)

Sorry to hear the news . . . This was shot in mid May 2014.

HIGHLY suggest you read the thread below on this topic (starts with J.B. Robertson). . . Your future retirement savings and financial freedom will thank you . . .

MotoManTV Hey MotoMan. While I understand your logic, your method has too many variables to consider that an ideal approach( maintenance, agreed selling price, time to sell and demand for your car to name a few) . Savings such as 401-K and immediate savings for emergencies should ALWAYS come first before even considering car purchases. The money put towards cars is after that fact. If payments are apart of disposable income, then there should be no issue with leasing a vehicle. We all waste money day to day...if yours isn't on cars, then its something else :)

Nope . . . was speaking German: dreißig = Thirty

MotoManTV oh okay my apologies, it sounded it bit like tredici

MotoManTV Yeah, but you said "edizione dreißig" which would explain why roninglx was confused, since you combined Italian and German words in your phrase. The word "edizione" is most definitely Italian, and in no way resembles German. The actual German word is "ausgabe" and the entire phrase should be "ausgabe von dreißig" just fyi. ;)

Explain the pros and cons plz.

Well . . . as a self admitted Lotus guy and a distance runner . . . I kind of prefer my women to 'add lightness' . . .