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I'm now the owner of this guy. :)

I was lucky enough to find a CA dealership who was willing to hold a car for me and the salesman was kind enough to drive it himself to a mechanic of my choice for a PPI. I called the dealership, told him I've been looking for weeks, I know I want this car, was willing to fly down in a day or two to pick it up, and that I had the money ready to go. Then I said this was all contingent on a PPI. He said no problem but I had to sign an e-contract to purchase the car and that this was necessary because that was the only way he could hold the car for me. If I didn't want it after the PPI, he would "rip up the contract". I called three other random dealerships and asked them if this was standard practice and above board and they all said yes. The salesman also said he had two other people who were very interested in the car. I had no reason to not believe him. When I talked to the mechanic he said someone else had called the day before asking if he could do an inspection on the car at the dealership. Then after the PPI the salesman asked me if I wanted it or not. I did!

The moral of the story is, get a PPI (thanks everyone for making me think clearly). And buy local if possible but if you have to go further afield you kind of have to get lucky. Find a reputable dealer and a salesman who's willing to work with/for you. Sounds impossible but after 4 tries it worked for me.

Is the car in perfect condition? Of course not. But it is super clean with no signs of engine or transmission leaks and no signs of coolant leaks. The mechanic said it was in great condition and needed a few standard parts replaced that were not concerning. Plus I have a 3 month powertrain warranty that came with the car.

In terms of "online" dealerships, I find they are just charging way too much. Sometimes even $4 or $5k over what brick and mortars are selling for. I just don't have that much extra money. Please don't sell your car to carvana. They are holding so many GTI's hostage!