At $6,356, Could This Dealer-Offered 2012 VW CC Be A Pretty Good Deal?

There's a discrepancy in the ad for today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe VW. The description states it's an automatic, while the pics clearly show it's a much rarer stick. Let's see if the seller's been more accurate in setting their price.

It's possible to be "between a rock and a hard place" or perhaps, "between jobs." Both of those are bad, and in fact, being "in between" often carries a negative connotation. That was proved by yesterday's 1999 Honda Civic Si as it was seen as too old to be a rational daily driver and too young to be a classic. Existing in that in-between netherworld, one thing it was seen to be was too expensive at its $9,999 asking. That gave the tweener a 75 percent Crack Pipe leaning loss.

How much of a stickler are you for accuracy? Do you deride the inclusion of an amuse bouche as a full course in a multi-plate meal? More importantly, how do you feel about the automotive description Coupe?

The word derives from the French Coupé, a term describing a "four-wheeled closed horse-drawn carriage for two persons inside with an outside seat for the driver in front." In automotive parlance, the term Coupe was long used to describe a closed-roof car with two doors.

Its definition was widely accepted as indubitable, and no-one initiated fisticuffs over arguing any contrariety.

That all changed in the fall of 1962. That's when Rover introduced the P5 Mark II Coupé which had a rakish roof and... (gulp) four doors.

Okay, I'm a purist and however much I kitten the P5—and I do like it a whole lot—I still don't accept the idea of a Coupe with more than two-doors. That's just bad juju.

That's why I take issue with today's 2012 Volkswagen CC. Oh, not the car itself mind you, just with people calling it a four-door coupe owing to its sexy Flanders roofline.

Fortunately, in VW parlance, CC doesn't stand for Coupé Coupe as you might imagine, but for Comfort Compact, which is almost equally as befuddling. Regardless, the CC is once of the best looking cars in VW's lineup—or was, as Volkswagen has finally kicked it to the curb in favor of the soon to be released and awkwardly named Arteon.

It's also one of VW's most extravagant. That's because while based on the platform of the B6 Passat, the CC stretched more than two-inches longer while offering up fully one less seat inside.

It's that extravagance that doomed the CC as good looks couldn't overcome the car's inefficiency in the face of the similar and more capacious Passat. Still, the CC soldiered on for fully nine model years. Along the way it further eschewed its heritage by dropping the Passat from its name.

Over the course of that time it was made available here in the States with a turbo 2-litre four, or an optional 3.6-litre V6. This one carries the 200 horse EA888 four and, in another example of frustrating inaccuracy, a six-speed stick that's described in its ad as an automatic. Well, in one of the ads.

You see, the dealer selling this CC demands a bit of work to uncover its particulars. They have two ads on Craigslist, only one of which carrying a price. The other notes the salient fact that it's a stick. They also list the car on their dealership page, where it's listed at another, even lower price. Argh!

Perhaps it's worth the effort. You might also not have been aware of just how rare a stick shift CC is in this market. Most carried either the Aisin six-speed automatic, or similarly be-cogged DSG.

The car itself seems less oblique. There's a modest 106,000 miles on the clock and the Platinum Gray Metallic paint appears to be without notable flaws. The car carries its factory Phoenix wheels which also look to be in okay shape. Even the headlamp covers, often a sore spot on these cars, seem clear and clean.

The interior presents equally well with cornsilk and black leatherette upholstery for its four lightly sculpted buckets. The dash is pure Passat, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it carries one of VW's excellent infotainment systems in the middle. A booty call reveals a capacious trunk with a pass-through for long cargo in between the rear seats.

The title is clear and the selling dealer describes the car as being in SHOWROOM CONDITION, but then again, of course they do.

As I noted I had to do some digging to find the car's ultimate $6,356 price. Now it's time for you to dig down into your soul and decide if that's a decent asking for a VW CC in this shape and sporting a rare as hen's teeth stick. Perhaps more importantly, you'll have to choose whether or not its worth it for a car with four doors that's positioned as a Coupe.

You decide!

South Jersey, NJ Craigslist (dealer ad), or go here if the ad disappears.