Used Volkswagen Golf GTI for sale near Forest Park, IL under $40,000

On August 9th, 2025, a family member requested my assistance in purchasing a car at McGrath Acura dealership in Westmont, Illinois. Our salesperson George provided exceptional support and enthusiasm throughout the process. Although the exact color we desired was not available, George diligently demonstrated alternative options while his manager searched for the desired vehicle. Their joint efforts culminated in a remarkable outcome. After careful consideration and negotiation, we ultimately selected the available alternative. The conversation with George, the manager, and George, our sales representative, was highly enjoyable. Both individuals demonstrated expertise and provided comprehensive answers to our inquiries. They genuinely prioritized our satisfaction. I highly recommend McGrath Acura to anyone seeking an Acura vehicle. Make sure to talk to George in sales!

Great experience, quick to set up, check in and out and everything was quoted with pricing. Time was appropriate for the amount of work done

Bought my Golf R in 2019 and have referred several friends and family since. Had a good experience from start to finish. Have had my R serviced here since with no issues.

Absolutely fantastic service from Kelvin. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking to buy a car.

The car meets a perfect speed standard for specific drivers, if you want power when you need to pass somebody or just got a nice long road you want to open it up on, you can do it, very well if I must say, the 2.0t is a amazing motor overall, so many different things you can do with it power wise, just overall a great balance car, butttt your back seat is not the best in a 2 door, which is what I have lol, oh well

My daughter went to buy a car here with Chase and I’m glad to say that I had not to worry about her coming back with a bad deal! He ensured that she finds the car she wants. Thankful for Chase guidance and patience in the process to ensure that I was also satisfied and gave the go on everything. Good job my guy!

GTI's do almost everything well. Economy, performance, flexibility, holds value, road car, back roads car, safety, comfort, feature-laden and now almost $10K less than the price of the average new vehicle. Two minor flaws IMO. All GTI's should have Golf R climate controls. Standard controls too confusing and fussy. Rather set it and forgot it. DSG is "still funky after all these years." Don't get me wrong, the lightning quick shifts and in-traffic ease are compelling, but DSGs can be clunky and feel strange at low speed and can't yet read all of your intentions correctly, thus some odd decisions/shifts on occasion. Not a fault, just a thing. Otherwise brilliant. GTI is among the contenders for "best" mass-produced combustion engine car of all time. Yes, that good. If shopping the used market, I would strongly suggest one try to get a Performance Package car. Much better brakes that won't need brake service as often and stop better. Also, the electronically controlled differential aids both traction and handling.

Worked with Chris on purchasing a vehicle. Very up front and fair. Also addressed all of the concerns I had with the vehicle I was interested in. Excellent experience on this purchase. Would highly recommend this dealership.

It’s simply the most fun you can have with your pants on! Add an APR Stage 1 tune for a lot more giddy up and go. In town MPG 28-29. Interstate MPG 38.5. Other highways up to 44 MPG.

Nice experience with David Campos, Kevin Boyle, and Barb Smith. Straight forward pricing . They swapped a battery prior to test drive. Able to do paperwork quickly.

Overall, this is one of the best cars I have ever owned. This car hugs the road while providing the opportunity to be a real daily driver. Fast, refined, and full of options which accommodate any driving style. If I have one complaint, it is - yes the same as so many others - the infotainment system. The base model gives you a better feel and option for using actual knobs for some of the specifics, which I find somewhat ironic. If you can manage to get past the infotainment system, you’ll love this car.

⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5 Stars) I had a great initial experience with Highline Autos. The transaction was fast, smooth, and professionally handled. The team—especially Zuhair, the owner, and the young Ghalib—was responsive and knowledgeable, making the buying process straightforward and low-stress. Their professionalism and business reliability stood out during the deal. However, about a week later, I was disappointed to discover that the tires on the car I purchased were leaking. Upon inspection, it turned out that plugs had been used as a temporary fix rather than properly addressing the issue. This was unexpected and concerning, as I had hoped for greater transparency regarding the vehicle's condition. While I appreciated the efficiency and service during the sale, I hope the team takes this feedback seriously and ensures that future vehicles are fully inspected and represented. I’d encourage potential buyers to have a thorough inspection before finalizing a purchase.

The engineering and design are outstanding . The driving experience is very special for this price range. It’s real fun to drive. It’s an icon. Let down by quality issues unknown to Japanese vehicles and ridiculous service and repair costs. I love the car but dread any encounter with the dealer in North Tampa.. I think their service charges are equal to BMW and Mercedes.

We purchased a 2019 Jetta from them. They made the process very easy and efficient. Asim Syed was our sales person and Anthony Pociask was the manager. we made the deal on a Wednesday and picked the car up the next day. everything was ready for us and it took 1.5 hours for doing the finance deal, and getting a tour of the car, and them making sure they answered all of our questions. In case you are wondering, Yes I would highly recommend them to a family member :-)

If you are looking for a car that is tame when you want it to be but sporty when you put your foot down than this is the car for you. The styling, functionality and drive all come together to provide a fun to own, slick car.

Purchased a car from this dealer everything went smooth. Sales persons were polite no hassles would buy again from this dealer. Car was just as ad stated.

Enjoy everything about this car except the terrible ride. Overall spring-rate is great for the track but not a normal street or highway. Looks cool but rattles your eyeballs even when driven gently. We've owned 3 GTIs since '87 and enjoyed all except for this ride issue. It also causes the sunroof screen to vibrate open as you drive.

It is a fun car to own, great gas mileage and even if your not going to turn it into a rice burner it is still a awesome little car and gots alot of power, you can get around all these slow idiot drivers that seem to be all over the place. The interior is nice and comfortable, I have already took mine on a trip to Cali and no comfort issues, smart with mechanical other than stuff that should of been taken care of by the dealership on their "certified pre-owned inspection" but that is a dealership laziness issue so stay away from Larry H Miller Volkswagen in Avondale and you should be ok. Look forward to many many years & miles behind the wheel of my car and would recommend this car

I bought a 2011 VW Routan from Auto Gallery. Steve went above and beyond to make my car buying experience painless and easy. Great guys to work with. Will recommend to friends and family.

If you can find the Sport trim on the 2017 GTI, I can’t recommend it enough. Boost in horsepower, upgraded brake system, upgraded differential and dynamic bi-xenon headlights easily make the upgrade from the standard GTI S a no-brainer. By far and away the best car I’ve owned.

Purchased my Jeep Grand Cherokee from Jim and James. Truly amazing individuals. Very straight forward, honest dealership. Financing was a breeze and my vehicle was very accurately described.

The car is really fun to drive, I am glad with this purchase. I would recommend to family and friends. Great experience, all the way around.

We had a very good experience here at Budget. Harrison was very helpful and knowledgeable. Everyone was friendly and accommodating. Will refer others and come back again.

Although I purchased this car and have not yet taken delivery, this will be my third VW and have driven several other GTI's (including the one I am waiting to have delivered). One of the major reasons I have stuck loyal with VW is the bundle of performance, comfort, affordability, and reliability. Yes, there are production cars that will beat the GTI in all of these categories, but where one of these cars boasts it lacks in another area. For the GTI, it is a very well-rounded package! I could go on and on about specifics of the car, but I feel the easiest way to get an idea or feel for this vehicle, is to go hands-on playing through the ins and outs of the car, every feature and option, including the interior, exterior, and driving. Then, go into any other comparable car and count how many times you say to yourself "well the GTI had that..." Before reading on, please note that I live in New England and although I have spent most of my life (winters more specifically) driving FWD cars, AWD is certainly a "nice to have." In my opinion, the biggest flaw of this vehicle, is the lack of AWD on the standard GTI trim levels. YES, you could upgrade to the Golf R, but if you are simply looking for AWD without an extra 100 horsepower, then it may be very difficult to justify the extra $$ you will be dishing out. I rated the exterior styling as average, not because I dislike it, but because VW certainly did not go to any extent to make the car flashy or over-styled. Although the appearance is fairly basic, it is still aggressively styled. I would love to be able to say more about this car, but without having more seat and hands-on time, I feel as though I have given all I have to offer. Definitely go and test drive a GTI and find out why it is such a hot-selling car!

Communicated with John Leno from the Schaumburg facility online. John understood my needs and responded quickly with Jeeps to review - after a bit of humming and hawing on my part, I changed my mind to trucks. I found a truck at another facility, John had it tranferred and within 2 days my soon to be truck arrived - and it is a beauty. John was training Matt and they both demonstrated immense knowledge throughout the interaction and I appreciated the ease of communication (not pushy). I cannot comment on the financing portion of the transaction, but closing went just as smoothly with Hubert and his supervisor. WHile impressed with my transaction I was also impressed with the amount of time that was placed on the training of new employees, or employees transferring. While yes my truck need a repair on the fog lights, it is covered under their warranty, I am highly impressed with my experience. From walking in the front door, to having John take my picture of me and my truck with a giant yellow ribbon... every individual at Carmax truly made the buying and trading experience a wonderful experience. Team Schaumburg, keep up the great work, each of you understand the true meaning of Customer Service, and that is important to some customers like me who still cherish old school values.

this car is amazing for the price point its currently sitting at, coilovers and new tires and you can hit corners at 80mph. pretty decent gas milage too

They are best. Given outstanding service. We Highly recommend them. Find a beautiful car Dealer.

From the moment I met Sales Executive Kelvin , I felt I was in good hands. He was warm and welcoming, making the entire process smooth and enjoyable. Overall, it was a professional and genuinely positive experience.

So to start this off, I own a 2017 VW GTI in SE trim, with the performance package, 6 speed manual transmission, and leather interior. I bought it used with 28,000 miles. I use it as a daily driver for my hour long commute to work and occasionally take it to the local racetrack for track days. As a commuter car, it's ride is a little harsh because of the performance pack's stiffer springs, but that helps with the racing and overall it is still very comfortable. When driving reasonably I have peaked with 48.7 miles per gallon AVERAGE (WITHOUT HAVING AN ECO MODE!) over a one hour and 15 minute drive, but in the 6,000 miles ive owned the car (including racing), my overall average for ownership is right at 32mpg. As for performance goes, it is NOT a straight line speed car. Its much quicker than you would expect it to be, beating some r/t and 392 v8 chargers/challengers on quick 'zero to speed limit' pulls, but again without modification its not spectacularly fast. But this car is AMAZING for cornering, that is hands down where you will have the most fun in this car. I still have the OEM Hankook tires on it and even though they're a basic all season, this car has some phenomenal grip. Normal highway onramps and offramps you can reasonably do double, sometimes close to triple the recommended speed. Maintenance is typical german car standard; expect routine maintenance to be reasonable, but big jobs will be a lot more expensive than American or Asian cars of similar style. The upside though is if you keep up with regular maintenance, you should have very few problems. Change your oil religiously to oem standards and you'll avoid many problems as so many systems on the engine are run off oil pressure, including the timing which is very important for VW engines. The interior is very understated and everything has a place, all of the materials feel very nice and well made. The infotatiment has quite a few options and features, it's definitely worth taking some time to learn it. Overall it is very intuitive and easy to navigate. Android auto/Apple car play is not wireless on this model year, but works phenomenal and I have grown to only use that for my media and navigation. Being a 2017, this is offered with drive modes and normally the GTI has Eco, Normal, Sport, and Custom. Being a performance pack you get Big brakes, stiffer suspension, a few more horsepower, and a sport display including various temperature gauges, a g force gauge, and a boost gauge. The performance package GTI does NOT have an eco mode, but in Normal mode its still very efficient. The drive modes change throttle response, engine noise, steering response, and suspension feel. Honestly, I'd buy this car over and over again if given the chance. If you're considering it, go drive one and take some corners quickly, you'll fall in love. Its practical, reasonably quick, and very very easy to live with every day.

Made me feel like family as soon as I walked in very helpful and accommodating to my needs didn?t feel rushed at all great staff and location overall.