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Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Mohsin on 05 November 2015, 11:58
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I've got 4 months left with this car (on lease) and I need to start thinking of what to get next.
I don't want to get another lease as I didn't like the idea of having to give it back so never felt like it was mine.
I don't want to buy new on PCP as I don't want to get stuck in that cycle of having to swap and change every few years.
I am leaning towards owning outright and buying used now and narrowed it down to a few options:
1. E90 335d
2. Golf GTI Mk5 Edition 30
3. 2011 E350 cdi (something inside me wants a bit of luxury!)
The Golf is the cheapest of the three and can be had for less than 10k for a decent one whereas the other two are touching around 15k for a decent one.
Fuel wise, the Golf would be generally the worst, but it is cheaper to buy.
What do you guys think?
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the edition 30 is getting old now a mk6 gti can be had for similar money have a look plenty out there :smiley:
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fair point...looking at them now and the Mk6 R is looking mighty tempting!!! These are slightly over budget starting at 16k but what a car!
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fair point...looking at them now and the Mk6 R is looking mighty tempting!!! These are slightly over budget starting at 16k but what a car!
and the 6r is decent sportback s3 money :undecided:
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I'd probably lean towards the 335d, load of torque, plenty of modification stuff on the net, relatively friendly owners forums and look nice too.
Downside - having to deal with BMW service departments if you go main dealer!
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fair point...looking at them now and the Mk6 R is looking mighty tempting!!! These are slightly over budget starting at 16k but what a car!
and the 6r is decent sportback s3 money :undecided:
Definitely not helping :undecided: lol
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I'd probably lean towards the 335d, load of torque, plenty of modification stuff on the net, relatively friendly owners forums and look nice too.
Downside - having to deal with BMW service departments if you go main dealer!
This is my initial favourite! No way, I would always go to a specialist independent for any work to be done!
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Out of those, the E90 335d would be my choice. Particularly an LCI facelift model in a Touring bodyshell. Loads of torque, properly fast but also a nice looking bit of kit.
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Will you be happy stepping back into older cars with more dated tech and interior, not that the cars mentioned are notably bad for this but 2005 design car compared to 2012-2013? is going to show a bit.
The BMW will only take a tune unless you remove the DPF whereas the petrols will be more straightforward for tuning, maybe have a look at the F Series 330d with the better 8 speed auto?
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Will you be happy stepping back into older cars with more dated tech and interior, not that the cars mentioned are notably bad for this but 2005 design car compared to 2012-2013? is going to show a bit.
The BMW will only take a tune unless you remove the DPF whereas the petrols will be more straightforward for tuning, maybe have a look at the F Series 330d with the better 8 speed auto?
I'm not one to be passionate about cosmetics, i.e. what the interior looks like, tech, etc. If it is good quality and generally a nice place to be, then that's okay with me. I've snooped around an E90 and yes, it is a bit dated but nothing that bothers. me. I'm more interested in what is going on underneath, i.e. the engine/transmission/how it drives.
Any car I get, the max. I will mod is a remap/exhaust. Nothing more.
I have looked at the F30s and these are over the 20k mark and I don't really want to spend that much! I do like them a lot but it's pushing the budget quite a fair bit.
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The interiors haven't improved that much in very up to date cars.
It's the vehicle electrics that have 'improved' massively with lots of extra pointless menus and some nice slick graphics on the displays.
Where I'd say you will notice a difference going back to an older car is who's owned it before you might not have loved it as much as you would have.
I'm not a betting man but I'd wager most ED30's will be getting a bit rough by now and most will have led a hard life.
If you can find a one or two owner peach that's not been thrashed or crashed then all well and good but you'll pay strong money for it. If you can find an example like that then it would be well worth the effort but it would be a lot of effort.
The BMW is a fantastic car but it's not a GTI.
You can have all the torque in the world and as many annoying gears as you like but it won't make a barge into a go kart.
I think Asker had the right idea having one of each in his family fleet (Ok he has an R not a GTI but it's pretty much the same difference really). The Golf for the twisty stuff where compact size and lower weight comes into its own and a big saloon for when you want comfort and a blast of torque.
There are literally dozens of decent performing cars for around £10k to £15k and there's no need to stay German.
Another thing to bear in mind saying you don't like handing them back after a couple years is that these cars are getting old and with bigger performance comes bigger repair bills.
If you want to keep a GTI, R, R32, F30 or whatever in mint condition it's going to have some big bills on top of regular depreciation. In the long term it'll cost you less than a new car but you'll also have more hassle. All well and good if you have lots of time and enthusiasm.
But would you keep an older car more than two years?
I personally keep an old car for doing all the crappy jobs I don't want my Golf to do, but I literally run it as on old sh!tter and it looks rough, despite getting looked after much better than the average old banger (I've always been a car person so my cars don't generally want for anything). I just run them until the MOT bills outstrip the worth of repairing it then I'll pick up another for another five to ten years...
But with my newer car I have no qualms in moving it on after a couple years.
Yes it's bloody expensive and a pointless waste of money for someone like me who does few miles and gets no company car benefits, but cars are like any modern throw away tech - they're getting overly complicated with cheap electronic proliferation.
If you like your cars, as most people on the forums do, then handing them back after a couple years should be no hardship as the world has moved on by then and there's another tempting model around. There are so many similar cars from similar manufacturers it shouldn't be a hardship to lease whatever the best deal is at the time for a year or two then move to something else.
There's no perfect answer.
How busy are you?
How much money do you have to spend?
How patient are you?
How OCD are you if you discover your second hand car has had a load of paintwork done that you didn't spot?
Do you know a good reasonably priced specialist to look after it?
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Enlightened by your post, Exonian. Much appreciated.
The thing is, all my previous cars were bought outright used, all of them I kept for 4, 5 years at a time except my type r. That I had to get rid of due to change of job which was further and getting married etc.
I chose to go lease this time round because it was a good deal and I've never done the "new car" thing before. It's been good but, I missed keeping a car for a while and doing stuff to it and not having to worry about mileage allowances.
I understand a used car will be a bit more hassle but I enjoy that. At the end of the day, that's our hobby right?
In terms of what sort of car I want specifically, I definitely want an auto next and I actually want to go down the more "barge" route. So don't mind if it doesn't perform as well in the bends. Obviously has to do okay but not the priority.
When you say doesn't have to be German, what do you have in mind?
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That's just the thing, I didn't have anything in mind - I was being totally open minded and had my VW blinkers off for a while.
Sometimes with used cars you'll just find a cracking example of something you'd not really considered come up for sale and suddenly you find yourself seriously considering a complete change of direction.
I was looking at your previous cars in your sig and thinking along hot hatch lines really.
I get what you're saying though. New cars are pretty much disposable items when it comes to leases and PCP's and its only now in later life I find myself looking at new cars having been through it all and tried most things.
From your requirements in that last post I'd say it has BMW 330d or 335d written all over it.
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Yep, totally get what you mean.
Yeah still thinking down that route...but who know what happens 4 months down the line, like you said, I might find something completely different that catches my eye!
Yeah, always had hatches but now I think I'm ready to go a bit bigger.
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At least if you decide a big saloon isn't for you a few months down the line you're not tied to a two year marriage to it.
And you've got four months to do lots of hunting and test drives.
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Yes, exactly. Ah the test drives, that's the fun part, right!! :grin: