Selling my mk5 to buy a mk4 GTI, stupid?

[Jimp]

I'm on the hunt for a power upgrade for my daily driver.
Doing some research on my car insurance for when it's up for renewal I have discovered that I could insure a mk4 GTI, specifically a 1.8T with 150hp, for roughly the same as I'm insuring my 1.4 75hp (exciting) mk5. If I kept the mk5 my insurance premium would drop ~€300 a year but since I can still afford the current insurance rate loosing the price drop isn't that big a deal. A mk5 GTI would be awesome but it out of sight for a long time due to both purchase price and huge insurance costs.
With the money from the mk5 sale I'd have enough to get a mk4 GTI that is in good condition with a solid 1-2 grand minumum left over for upgrades/maintanence. Fuel costs would be about the same since the mk5 is too heavy for the 1.4 engine to be fuel efficient. Hell, might even gain a few mpg  Tax cost would be a small bit higher, but not by much.
In terms of build quality the mk4 is pretty solidly built and I've driven one before and it was nice. The mk5 interior is nicer (imo anyway). Exterior looks are both good imo, though the ladies seem to love the mk5. Mk5 has a higher safety rating, though the mk4 ain't bad either. In terms of power and fun though there is no comparison, the mk4 GTI will blow the small engined out of the water.
If I go for it and everything goes disasterously wrong with the mk4 and it gets stuck on the driveway waiting for repairs I still have my Vento hibernating safely at my Dad's place so I wouldn't be without a car.
Before anyone suggests a TDI of some kind for a power upgrade without the insurance cost rising, mk4 and mk5 TDIs are blacklisted here for insurance and have big insurance loadings because of all the chavs crashing them. Alternatively an Audi A3 with the same engine would cost less than the mk4 GTI on insurance, but there are basically none around.
So, is it a stupid idea to buy a car 4-6 years older than my current one or does it make some kind of sense?

Too long won't read: Is it a stupid idea to sell my 1.4 mk5 to buy a 1.8T mk4?

[mortygt140]

keep the mk5 and wait till you can afford the gti mk5 instead of selling the mk5 and getting the mk4, I think you might regret it in the long run.

Even though the mk4 is a good car the mk5 is better and newer and will be less to maintainkeep

Darren

[DanoGTI]

stick with the mk5 imho.

No offense to the mk4 boys, but I never liked the gti mk4. LOVED the GTi TD - mate has one, and it's a fantastic piece of kit.

All imho.

Dan

[stealthwolf]

I wanted a 1.8T GTI. Ended up buying a mk5 

[daviescotland]

imo, keep the mk5. It is your decision though, as long as it makes ye happy

[Jkctr]

I could have bought a mk4 gti anni and went with a mini as it was a better buy

The lesson is; dont buy a mk4 - even a mini is better 

[winrya]

I have a standard mk4 as a loan car today. It rides well, is well built but it's awful to drive. Rolls badly and has really vague steering.  Perfect car for a to b transport who those who want a reliable car but if you like cars I'd imagine you'd very quickly want to move it on

[sambo]

Mk4 reliable, you are joking right?

The engine and box will never let you down but everything around it will fall off or apart!  :embarassed:

Take a look on the mk4 section for the endless list of common faults!

Good fun cars once you've spent a few grand on the suspension, remap exhaust and wheels though! 

Sam

[Wayne]

Go for it.

[ub7rm]

The handling of your 1.4 mk5 beats the arse of a mk4 GTI.  In standard form they are not good.  I traded up from a 1.8T and although the extra power of the mk5 was / is great fun its the handling IMO that makes the mk5 so good.  I had a loaner derv mk5 from the stealers once and was surprised how little difference there was in handling from the 'cooking' model to the GTI.  OK it was a bit softer and rolled a touch more and I didn't exactly push it but it wasn't night and day like I thought it would be -still excellent so I guess the same is true of your 1.4.

Easy to remap a 1.8T up to about 200bhp but like Sambo says you will be plauged by niggly little shyte like windows dropping / endless cycles of lambda / maf / vacuum hose / DV / coilpacks / heatshields coming loose / rear axle bushes / throttle body needing cleaned / secondary air pump / EGR system faults (I had all the above in a two year period - the garage got to recognise my voice as soon as I said hello...)  I agree that the basic engine / turbo / gearbox is bullet proof but the sensors etc aren't.  The 1.8T (AUM engine anyway) has a pretty complex vacuum system and a tiny hole in any of the hoses robs your boost and is trick to track down.

Stick with what you've got for a couple more years and then pick up a nice Mk5 GTI.