Hail and Farewell Part 1

For as many years as I have been in the Military we have always had what’s called a “Hail and Farewell.” This is an event where we greet newcomers to the unit and bid adieu to those that are leaving the unit and hopefully going on to bigger and better things.

Well it’s time for me to say Farewell to a few good friends of mine who over the years have served me very well and with honor. First I will start with the relative new comer. My 2000 VW Passat. When I got back from Korea in November 2007 there was limited time for me to make my arrangements in TX and report to Fort Gordon GA. Therefore I didn’t have time to get the Grand Am repaired to make the 1100 mile trip from Killeen to Augusta. So I did what most red blooded American Soldiers would do………..I bought a new (new to me that is) car. For me it was love at first drive. I have always been a fan of the VW Passat and the test drive didn’t disappoint. It was smooth and responsive. The suspension was firm and it handled well. Making my usual test run to Copperas Cove and back the car hit 130 mph (don’t judge me!) with no problems and felt like it really wanted to be in its home country on the Autobahn.

Back at the dealership all of my terms were met on Friday and they wanted to do a once over again and really detail it and I would pick it up on Monday. When I picked it up on Monday it was like we had known each other for years. One thing about me with cars is I have to “feel” as if I am a part of the car. Ergonomics are a big part of a car purchase for me. So my first stop was to Best Buy to take out the horrible factory (it was probably pretty good in 2000) head unit and replace it with something that was Satellite and iPod ready. At that point that was all that I needed.

On the drive to Augusta everything just felt so right. I was even running with a new charger thru ATL at about 120 mph at 3 am with no one else on the road and it never at any point felt like the car was struggling to keep up. The only problem that I had with my Passat was that it was so easy to speed in because it never felt like it was actually going fast. It was so comfortable at 80 and above. Good thing that I have a good radar detector!

Over the course of the next year or so I began to make small but meaningful (to me) upgrades. One was to switch out the American factory light switch with a European one. The difference is that the American version only has 2 settings; either lights on or lights off. The European switch gives the option to turn on just the parking lights if you wanted to. Then we had to get rid of those cloudy 2000 stock lights and replace them with something more clear and vibrant. Next was to replace the factory tail lights and then change the bulbs from regular to LED’s. Took off the tall center mount antenna and replaced it out with a stubby. I changed the stock side markers from cloudy clear to black. I installed an AlienTech window controller which allowed me to control the power windows AND Sunroof with the factory key fob. I installed a brand new coolant reservoir along with a brand new bank 1 catalytic convertor. Then was the mother of all upgrades. The silver carbon dash kit. The reason that this was the mother of all of the upgrades is because I originally had a wood grain interior. Well I couldn’t just overlay the carbon fiber on top of the wood so I needed to get all of the wood grain pieces in plain black first THEN overlay that with the silver carbon fiber. Well that task took me about close to a year. I had to order various pieces for the car from GERMANY!!! Since they didn’t offer the GLX in any trim other than the wood grain in the US.

After effectively putting about 39,000 miles on the car from November 2007 until the great trade-in on May 29^th 2009 (got max value on the trade-in thank you!!!) it was time for me to say goodbye. Many of you know about the follies that I had here in Augusta with the dealership and the money that they would charge for certain services. One reason was because they were the only VW dealership within at least 100 miles and they were the only ones in town with the tools to work on a VW. You know that you can only hear someone tell you that such and such service will cost you $800-$1200 so much before it starts to get on your nerves. So that’s why the car had to go. It was to the point that I would hemorrhage money for simple things like a damn coolant flush because for a VW you need special tools.

Well now it’s in the hands of someone in TX and I can tell them that they are getting a hell of a car and I know for a fact (I called around) that they have no less than 7 VW dealerships in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area and a few more VW tuner shops. Getting work done for the next owner would be a snap. So to my friend I say goodbye and thank you for your service.