I've had my GTI for sale the past month and have made a conclusion that it takes a true car enthusiast to really drive a manual properly from what I've seen from the people who have come out to test drive it. I had one fellow come out, I would estimate he was around 45 or so with his family who mentioned he had a Golf that was one year newer than my GTI, yet for some reason literally asked how everything in the car worked as if he had never looked at a car like this before. I'm talking everything from him asking the question of whether or not the sliding cover that you pull back and forth for the sunroof can be slid back. Everything last little thing. Any how on the test drive as soon as we pulled out of the driveway he shifts quickly out of first gear to second going maybe 5 miles an hour. The engine lugs and you feel the vibrations until it starts to build up some rpm's. Then when we get to a steep hill going about 30 miles an hour or so and he decides it's time to through into fourth gear. Wow. The engine almost dies and we just about come to a stop. I'm riding in the back seat and feel the engine lug really bad and all the vibrations because of it. He must have had to just about floor it or slip the clutch a long way to get going again because he did not downshift and the car was under 2k rpm. Any how after that test drive which turned out to be an HOUR LONG the guy tells me that his wife who he is buying the car for(who did not go with us on the test drive let alone even look at the car or ask any questions) was not even looking car a like this!! Why on earth did you even come out and look at it then!?! What a big waste of mine and his time. I couldn't even believe that he said that because he acted like he was so interested in the car asking how everything worked and wanted to go on this really long test drive. I mean he even went to the extent on pulling the panels off the back that expose wiring to have a look. Not a bad thing by any means, but usually is not something that somebody does unless they are really interested. Then after almost two hours of all that he tells me his wife who he's buying the car for is not even looking for a car like this in a way like I already knew that or something. I guess that's why she didn't bother looking at it or ask any questions at the beginning.

Then there are other people that never downshift, or simply just put the clutch in at 45 miles an hour and ride it and the brakes all the way to a complete stop. I actually told the guy who did that if he downshifts, it extends your brake life dramatically. Who would have known? You also see other people who don't shift when they can or put it in a higher gear when they can. Say we're going down the road at 45-50 miles an hour and they still have it in third gear and the rpm's are 4k. Why not put in fourth? We're not on a racetrack. I mean I'd much rather see an engine be revved than lugged, but there's really no reason to keep the engine at a real high rpm when going down a straight road when you could have it in a higher gear.

Maybe I'm just too picky and maybe it's just my luck of people who can't seem to drive a manual properly who have come out to see it, but in my opinion it takes a real car enthusiast who cares what they're doing to drive a manual properly.

I did end up selling it last Friday to the guy who doesn't downshift. Now in search for a Tacoma.

Ouch some real idiots. I sometimes don't down shift and coast since it's better for clutch and tranny when you think about it, I rather prolong the life of those than my brakes since it's easy for me to change those. But I can downshift and I don't like leaving an engine revving high when there's no reason to, waste of gas and more stress on the motor. But WTF, that guy was retarded, makes me think he made up the whole wife thing and doesn't have a GTI and just wanted to see how it was cuz he was old and never had a fun car...