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Originally posted by Hedge
Alright, good stuff. How much should i be looking to pay for a 1994 talon tsi awd with 195 000km on it? the guy says it grinds a bit going into second when you shift fast, but not when you shift slow(not sure what would be happining). It looks to be in great shape with sunroof and tint, no rust at all.
Oh man. That's metric and shit. What's that? About 120-140k miles? If it's truly cherry, I'd probably expect it to go for somewhere in the $5-6kUSD range. As mentioned, the most desirable combo is the late 92 AWD 6-bolt/4-bolt combo. If it's not this combo, you could talk him down a bit.
Personally, I'd talk him up about maintenance. When did he do the timing belt? Did he do it or did he have a shop do it. You gotta ask that the right way. No A or B, here. Did YOU change the timing belt, or did you have someone else do it?
You're trying to discover how much he knows about the car. If he goes into all about how he did the timing belt, the pullies, tensioner, and removed the balance shaft with a kit from the dealership at xx,xxxkm, then you can be pretty sure he did the work. This is important because you want to know more about this notchy 2nd gear issue.
If he sounds like he knows all kinds of stuff about the DSM and does a lot of work on it, he better have a better excuse than "Shift it gently 'cuz I don't know why it's doing that." Know what I mean? It could be shifter bushings at the shifter or on the trans, it could be a fluid leak, it could be a 3-Mile Island waiting to happen two weeks after you write the check and he's hoping you don't know any better.
Depending on how much work you're going to have to do to the car once it's yours, you can negotiate him down. Don't low ball him if he's legit, knows his shit, and the car is really clean. If you do your homework, you can tell if he's trying to pull one over on you and you can base a lower offer off how much risk you want to take with the project.
Back to your original question, though, Here's my take on "quicker."
1G - Quicker to build into a monster. Older, cheaper price and insurance, lighter weight. Bigger turbo, but lower compression ratio and less aggressive ECU maps. These are like the F-4 Phantom Jets back in 'Nam. They're ground pounders. They're tanks. They take well to just about all the shit you can do to them and even the dirtiest, most-dented-up, beat ass 1G AWD commands respect on the street because everyone knows that a beat up 1G AWD still on the road probably has more money under the hood than on it. If the AWD 1G in question has a horsecock shift knob where the antenna used to be, walk away, son. Walk away. (Dude.) 
2G - Quicker car in stock trim. Newer design benefits from improved aerodynamics, increased compression ratio, and sharper ECU maps from the factory. Turbo is smaller, but overall power was increased over the 1G cars. Downsides are increased weight and less elbow room in the engine bay for grease monkeys. These are the B1 Bombers back in Desert Storm. Sleek, sexy machines designed with the latest technology for high speed pursuits. These guys are a bit more delicate and involved than the old F4s, but they are more luxurious and sexy-looking (from a design stand point, Diceman - we all know the 1G brings the stiffeez) while still delivering a serious payload to the enemy. Because these models are more prom queen than the tomboy 1Gs, you lose the respect if you let the looks slide. A faded 1G usually commands some respect. A faded 2G is a mark of shame. Flirt with the well-built 2G if you like, but don't come crying here when he takes your number and never calls you.
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