MonkeyMD wrote:
Just curious. I have heard of wheels swapped between different trims as well as seats from dealer, especially if advantageous to dealer. Can you not make that part of the deal. Swap out your GTI seats for Wolfsburg seats (not sure if they're heated though.
It might be an option in some places, but the dealerships here in North Texas weren't able to help me do that. I wanted a more comfortable seat without the high bolsters on the seat cushion because I like to sprawl my legs out, probably the result of many years of riding horses and motorcycles and driving trucks with expansive seats - I am kind of bow-legged. The only way I can get comfortable in my GTI is to position my left foot close to the seat so that my left knee is up to clear the boster, but that still leaves the bolster "point" grazing the back of my left thigh.
I tried industriously to get the dealers to swap seats for me, no dice. In fact it was claimed that I could not even buy a separate TSI type seat through the dealership and have it installedr. Had a couple of service guys tell me that such seat swaps HAD been done by other dealers but I couldn't find anyone to do it. They mentioned that if you did swap them you had to have the car "coded"
to recognize the change.
I even had one salesman take the car to an upholstery shop to see if they could modify the seat to remove the bolsters, they told me it would require significant butchery because of the way the seat frame / bars under the cushion were arranged. They quoted a price of $1200 with no guarantee on looks or comfort, completely experimental so I finally gave up and just got the car as is. The bolster is also one of the main reasons I went with the DSG instead of the manual I originally planned to buy, figured it digging into my thigh would be a constant pain in the ass (so to speak) when clutching but with the DSG I can keep my foot propped up most of the time.
I waffled on buying the car for a long time because of the seats (literally months) but I am glad I took the plunge, I have adapted to the seats and it is much more comfortable now than when it was fresh off the lot. Just wish I didn't have to pull over and get out of the car when an "adjustment" is required.
I am very pleased with the car as is, but if I could have gotten it configured the way I really wanted (plaid cloth seats with no bolsters, manual transmission, Fender stereo, no sunroof) I would be in total love I think...