This car surfaced in November 2017 in Cranston, RI with a price tag of $19,998 (see ad at the bottom). Disappeared from my radar a couple of times, and is now in Omaha, NE with a $4,000 price reduction – $15,998. From what I can see, the interior looks a little tired – is that a respray or melting plastic on the PRNDS console? Seats are weathered. It was a two-owner car – Brooklyn and Philadelphia, and me thinks a city car. And above all, it’s an automatic, albeit a DSG. Bummer. But so is Etta – my 911 CarMax unicorn.
But it is a real MK5 VW R32, with all-wheel drive, DSG sequential shift transmission, and a REAL narrow-angle VR6 250hp six cylinder power plant. The car does 0-60 in roughly six seconds – not terribly impressive by today’s standards, and handles well. And holds a ton of crap in the hatch. And, with only 5,000 imported, is a bit rare.  The car was $35,000 new. Not sure at $15,998 it will sell to an average buyer looking at GTI’s given it’s about the same in performance, and for folks in search of hot hatches there are hotter cars out there.  But there’s something special about stuffing larger-than-normal engines in cars, and maybe there’s an R32 enthusiast out there who will want this. It’s 10 years old, and the MaxCare warranty will cover it until it’s a whopping 15 years old, and easily another 100,000 miles. All around I’m thinking it’s a but of an affordable, vintage hot hatch for the right enthusiast? Find it here – if the link is dead the car is sold, on hold, or being transferred – again.
