« Reply #27 on: 08 January 2016, 19:43 »
Despite the craziness (which we'd pretty much expect on here anyway) this is quite an interesting thread.
Everyone has different circumstances and like any hobby it can get a bit out of hand and become a bit of an obsession. I've had way too many cars in my life over the years and like Ian I went through a stage with my first mk6 of buying a pretty standard one and then adding retrofits as it was pretty easy and gave me a challenge and a bit of a project. I'd always had a bit of an alloy wheel obsession anyway and went through no less than seven sets on that car! Some of them were bought but never fitted. To an outsider that sounds like a) a massive expense and b) just plain crazy. But actually from my standpoint it cost money yes, however none of the parts were bought new and each time I bought something I sold something so costs were quite well balanced. Allowing for the fact that tyres wear out in use anyway and each purchase was carefully made only at the right price so the 'old' parts could be sold on for a decent price too the costs weren't horrendous by any means. The time invested was significant I guess but that's irrelevant as it was good fun and I learnt lots. And I didn't have to buy a new set of tyres for any of my cars for years and years!!!
Steve (p3ssa) mentions £6k as a ball park figure but with the current chaos it would actually be quite interesting how the figures would actually pan out right now as I think the current situation where the cars still have a pretty decent used value on paper versus the new car incentives VW are offering might make a surprising 'once in a lifetime' chance for a few lucky owners.
This situation will be very short lived while the market settles down and once VW find a direction past the current almost (stage managed) panic.
Early on in the thread Watts had a good point which is one I always stick to once I've bought a car - STOP LOOKING!
I generally have at least a six month blinkered period before I even look at the market again when I've made a car purchase. Once the six months are up I tend to start planning the next move for a year or two down the line.
My R was a bit of an 'accidental' purchase that wasn't planned and I broke a few personal rules with it but I have (so far) no regrets and love driving the thing. I'm pretty sure it'll be the last time I buy a car of this type so I'll make the most of owning it which is something I've regrettably not done with a few of my cars.

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‘25 8.5R, ‘23 8R, ‘20 8CS, ‘19 135iX, ‘19 TCR, ‘17 Ed40, ‘17 GTD, ‘15 7R, ‘13 GTI PP, ‘11 GTI, ‘09 GTI, ‘98 Ibiza Cupra, ‘05 GTI, ‘06 Polo GTI, ‘04 GT TDI, ‘05 Fabia vRS, ‘02 GTI T, ‘03 Ibiza TDI 130, ‘01 Leon 180, ‘89 mk2 16v, ‘99 Ibiza TDI, ‘96 VR6, ‘98 Ibiza TDI, ‘92 VR6, ‘88 mk2 8v, ‘92 Polo G40, ‘91 mk2 8v, ‘89 mk2 8v, 205 GTI 1.9, ‘83 mk1 GTI, ‘80 Scirocco GTI, plus some others I’ve forgotten