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My next vehicle purchase - fun vs responsibility vs stupid

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TridenT said:
Looking around.

VW Golf GTI, TDI. I've driven a 2003 1.8T GTI before. It wasn't a bad experience. Cupholders suck ass and the stock stereo is a bit finicky but not too bad. I was driving it for 500+ miles at a time and some short around town trips. I didn't mind it. It was older and had been abused, so it wasn't a great experience in terms of shifting.. (The syncros were fucked. It felt cool to hear the turbo and feel some kick but I couldn't shift because the syncros were totally in bad shape. And the kick ran out real fast after 40mph but that's okay...)
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I'd avoid german cars, especially volkswagen unless you want a constant future headache on your hands which judging by your threads, just may be your ticket to getting permanently banned what with the whining and complaining about your car.
 
I have a 2007 E92 335i with 73k miles on it. Everyone is correct about the BMW. Be prepared to budget $1k a year on maintenance. Doesn't necessarily mean you'll use that every year but the potential is certainly there.
 
CropDuster said:
I have a 2007 E92 335i with 73k miles on it. Everyone is correct about the BMW. Be prepared to budget $1k a year on maintenance. Doesn't necessarily mean you'll use that every year but the potential is certainly there.
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Unless it's a year when the turbos go out- they've come down drastically in price in the last several years but it still won't be a pleasant bill, especially if he has to pay someone else for labor.

I still kinda want one, though. 😛
 
Yeah. I think the BMW just isn't where I want to be for the moment.

I'm gonna try to get a 4-door 2012 vw gti with automatic and sunroof. Preferably with dynaudio. Indifferent on leather and nav package. (Wth slight lean towards cloth because of heat and my experience of cloth lasting better)

I found one for sale near Phoenix that was a 2-door. Very tempting. Had everything I wanted I think but two door. 🙁

I want to compromise but I can't. I need four doors. And I want 2012 (there are significant improvements made from 2010 to 2012)
 
Zenmervolt said:
$100 says he ends up running whatever he buys into the ground through lack of maintenance and general abuse just as he did the Civic.

ZV
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If that is his plan then I would not suggest a VW. In fact, I wouldn't recommend a VW to anyone looking to buy a car but especially not to someone who doesn't want to spend thousands of dollars repairing it over 4-5 years of ownership.
 
TridenT said:
why?
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"You don't know the first thing about fixing a car! Boy! You need a role model!" - D. Astricky

57863151.jpg
 
Still looking at MK6 GTIs.

It's hard to find one that is automatic, 4 door, decent price/mileage/condition, and with a moonroof. I'd like one that is all stock too.

I did find a fully loaded one in SF for a decent price and even a nice color but I can't meet the guy anytime soon. 🙁
 
You have a pretty narrow criteria. I see 221 automatic MK6 GTI's with 4 doors, less than 75K miles, and sunroof nationwide (on AutoTrader) so you can't figure there are going to be a lot within 100 miles of any single location.

They're priced from $14K to ~$27K...not sure what you consider a "decent price" but you may be looking for a while unless you're willing to travel.
 
SearchMaster said:
You have a pretty narrow criteria. I see 221 automatic MK6 GTI's with 4 doors, less than 75K miles, and sunroof nationwide (on AutoTrader) so you can't figure there are going to be a lot within 100 miles of any single location.

They're priced from $14K to ~$27K...not sure what you consider a "decent price" but you may be looking for a while unless you're willing to travel.
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It's pretty reasonable criteria though. 4 door version (because practicality), decent mileage/condition/etc because I want something that will last some miles, sunroof is totally reasonable (basically not a super base model), and an automatic. (Which is a bit more difficult because apparently 50% are sold with manuals. Manual is okay but just not for how I'm going to be driving a lot of the time. (simple commutes, traffic, etc.))
 
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TridenT said:
It's pretty reasonable criteria though. 4 door version (because practicality), decent mileage/condition/etc because I want something that will last some miles, sunroof is totally reasonable (basically not a super base model), and an automatic. (Which is a bit more difficult because apparently 50% are sold with manuals. Manual is okay but just not for how I'm going to be driving a lot of the time. (simple commutes, traffic, etc.))
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Get one of these. That'll last a few hundred thousand more miles.
 
TridenT said:
It's pretty reasonable criteria though.
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Yeah but it's a relatively low volume car...it doesn't matter how "reasonable" your criteria are, if there aren't many cars that meet them, they're going to be hard to find. And if your budget is indeed the $15K mentioned previously - good luck! You may get lucky but if you need a car soon, I would recommend getting a generic, easy-to-flip car (Accord, Civic - gasp!, Camry, etc.) that holds its value in the meantime. Then when your dream car pops up, sell the soccer mom car and get the GTI.

I hope it works out for you, being pinched to buy a used car sucks.
 
Civic, Accord or Camry will happen one way or another; mark my words. We played this game last time around with a foregone conclusion.
 
TridenT said:
It's pretty reasonable criteria though. 4 door version (because practicality), decent mileage/condition/etc because I want something that will last some miles, sunroof is totally reasonable (basically not a super base model), and an automatic. (Which is a bit more difficult because apparently 50% are sold with manuals. Manual is okay but just not for how I'm going to be driving a lot of the time. (simple commutes, traffic, etc.))
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builder's triangle bro

qqq-300x249.jpg
 
Went and test drove a 2013 GTI, 4-door, automatic. However, it had a previous owner who had done extensive modifications. Lowering springs (much lower, passed the shoe test!), new exhaust, APR intake, and a tune.

Walked out not impressed. It felt so bulky inside that car (wheel felt quite large in the hands) and I had to be cautious because it was so low (and not my car). It gets up and goes okay but I don't know... maybe it was the modifications but it felt very imprecise. The braking was difficult. I'd go from nothing to super hard bite for the pressure applied to barely giving anymore... It made moving the car very jerky. I couldn't slow down at a stop light with light pressure. I'd go from what felt like nothing to the car jerking. It felt very binary and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just the fact it was a car I hadn't driven.

The throttle response was similar. There was very little from 0-75% throttle. Pretty much all the response came out at 90-100% throttle. And then it was okay but I couldn't hear the engine or the exhaust much even at 100% throttle. (You could definitely hear it outside the car though) It didn't help that the AC was on 100%. It definitely gets up to speed quickly enough but not to a point where I'm impressed.

I walked away not feeling impressed or even connected with the car.

I might buy another civic. I might not. It's hard to test cars here in Phoenix beyond straight line performance and whether or not it has a decent alignment. This car also liked to pull to the right slightly just going down a road and then torque steer was also a thing. The traction control kind of did its job but it felt intrusive most of the time. It made the car jerk around quite a bit.

EDIT: I also think it had a tint job. It was quite dark inside the cabin.
 
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TridenT said:
Went and test drove a 2013 GTI, 4-door, automatic. However, it had a previous owner who had done extensive modifications. Lowering springs (much lower, passed the shoe test!), new exhaust, APR intake, and a tune.

Walked out not impressed. It felt so bulky inside that car (wheel felt quite large in the hands) and I had to be cautious because it was so low (and not my car). It gets up and goes okay but I don't know... maybe it was the modifications but it felt very imprecise. The braking was difficult. I'd go from nothing to super hard bite for the pressure applied to barely giving anymore... It made moving the car very jerky. I couldn't slow down at a stop light with light pressure. I'd go from what felt like nothing to the car jerking. It felt very binary and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just the fact it was a car I hadn't driven.

The throttle response was similar. There was very little from 0-75% throttle. Pretty much all the response came out at 90-100% throttle. And then it was okay but I couldn't hear the engine or the exhaust much even at 100% throttle. (You could definitely hear it outside the car though) It didn't help that the AC was on 100%. It definitely gets up to speed quickly enough but not to a point where I'm impressed.

I walked away not feeling impressed or even connected with the car.

I might buy another civic. I might not. It's hard to test cars here in Phoenix beyond straight line performance and whether or not it has a decent alignment. This car also liked to pull to the right slightly just going down a road and then torque steer was also a thing. The traction control kind of did its job but it felt intrusive most of the time. It made the car jerk around quite a bit.

EDIT: I also think it had a tint job. It was quite dark inside the cabin.
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why did you test drive this car? It has nothing to do with a stock gti.
 
michal1980 said:
why did you test drive this car? It has nothing to do with a stock gti.
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I didn't know about the lowering springs and exhaust until after. I thought the only modification was an air intake and maybe an apr stage 1 tune.

Apparently not... the guy who had it previously was about to go to stage 3 from what I could tell (larger turbo, etc.). I think the car was close to stage 2 if not at it already.

This test drive got me in a weird fit and wanting to look at Mazda Miatas now...
 
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