Yuck VAG.
I recently went through this. Hatches/small cars were heavily inflated. I found Accord Euro to be a good deal. CL9s easily go for less than $10k, I bought a base CU2 for $11k last year (130k km, serviced at Hani's or whatever that Honda garage near Cabra is called). My cousin picked up a half decent CL9 for $7k.
Auto or manual, (if looked after) reliable, can get the luxury with sunroof and HID headlights.
I bought my black GTS-t Type M for $6k back in the day, was immaculate and stock. R.I.P.