any ideas?

[bassman]

i am researching in cars because i am planning on getting one within a year. anytime between September-a year from now....

I am just about 17 years old, part time job, but during the summer i will try to work more, possibly full time to m ake some cash.

I have been looking into VW, Audi, and a few others.
I am trying to find a nice car, nice interior, a nice looking exterior, and i want it to be semi-quick. i am not all into racing, but i do love driving fast.

VW seems like its the best car for the money. I am interested in the Golfs or GTIs.. I REALLY WANT THAT R32...but it cost way too much for me.

My limit will probably be about $14000. I will try to make a down payment of about 6-7 grand so i can have lower car payments since i am going to be off to college not too long after i get a car.

I also want a fairly new car (00-04) because i am not getting a car with racked up miles and somthing old.

What do you think? Do you have any ideas for me?

(i was also checking out that Golf V... that miight be a possiblity, but it will probably be a little more than what i really want to spend...)

[GTI20thAEinDE]

Something around '01 should run close to that 14k mark you are looking for depending on options. If you plan on keeping the car stock, I'd recommend a Mk4. However, if you plan on modding the car, go for a good condition Mk3 and you will have extra money to put into upgrades.

If you do get an 01 or 00 1.8T with 150hp instead of the 180hp in 02 and up, you can always get a chip for ~500 which will give you gains to what the 180hps would see so don't worry about that if you are.