Almost said goodbye to VW yesterday.....almost

[fredgroves]

I don't think the price of the mk8 is going to please many. On top of any other things, i think the numbers are going to be not attractive to those used to the exceptional value we've seen with the 7..

We'll see, but everything remotely similar new is shaping up pretty steep.

[Watts]

As for me, with a massively heavy heart as I’m hugely fond of the vehicle and have personal incredibly sentimental memories that are directly as a result of my mk7 ownership, it looks like my time is about to draw to a close.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must write and tell you... “ as a historic character might scribe with his/her quill.

Moving on? What to?

[p3asa]

Old thread but I thought I'd just tie it off. Having PM'd Stevie (p3asa) a few times, I knew he was looking at an M135i as well, and am more than a little jealous that he's ordered his.....

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Mk7(.5) Its a great car that for me does everything.

The R is probably the longest I've owned a car and not had my head turned by other models, which for me says a lot.
It does everything I need it to do and more and if the Mk8 R had been announced / released I would happily have moved to that.

I don't actually have an itch to try something else which is probably quite blinkered of me but also speaks volumes for how I feel the R is just perfect but it is only 4 months off of 4 years old and it makes financial sense

I did get quotes for a new 7.5 R that are still in the VW system but the prices I felt were quite high especially given that would take me up to 12 years virtually in the same car!

2litre, 4wd, 300bhp, auto, hatch, something that could easily take the elderly relatives out on a drive without scaring them, something that would be fun round the twisties, something that wouldn't leave you embarrassed when on your own and the pimped up Corsa comes sneaking up the inside lane to the red lights knowing fine well the lane opposite has a parked car.
The Golf ticks all those boxes and more but on paper so does the m135i with a more modern cabin and better tech for more or less the same financial outlay as the R.

As for the £40k ved, its not something I'm happy about but its something I think will be coming all our way soon enough as cars are going up and up in price. I'm actually more concerned about buying new come Brexit.

[Exonian]

Moving on? What to?

No prizes if you guessed a 135.

After weeks and weeks of soul searching, looking at alternatives, negotiating, getting cold feet and so on I finally agreed a deal on a 135 early in the month but kept holding back.
Still in many minds about it, after 34 years at the helm of a VW or SEAT, aside from a couple very brief spells, I’m fairly certain being away from the VW Mothership my circuits will go a bit haywire very quickly so anything could happen in the near to medium future. My sons have both given me mere weeks before the BMW pod gets jettisoned.

After having a serious shortlist of cars that involved solely Golfs since the Mk5 days (yep, I was fully aware of everything else on the market and some models provided great attraction in certain areas but there was only ever going to be a Golf on my drive realistically as they’re etched through me like a stick of rock) and a string of Golfs going back before then (interspersed with a few hotter SEATs) I took the highly unusual step of taking a test drive in something else last year.
I’ve never test driven a car prior to that if I didn’t intend on buying one. There was just something about the M135i so I went to check it out, sometimes you just can’t explain these things.

I was quite prepared to wait a couple more years to see the 8R and S3 to reassess which one would follow the TCR if they proved a bigger draw than the BMW. Staying with a VW group car is my comfort zone.
With the spec it has my TCR offers everything on paper: rare but recognisable, unusually for me it’s full of options, I love the look of it (rear diffuser aside) I love how it drives, I love the interior, I love Dynaudio and CarPlay which are both things I’d never been bothered about before.
It’s no massive coincidence I’ve had five white Mk7’s on the trot, it feels like it’s been pretty much one car but different permutations just like an enthusiast buying one car and modifying it different ways over a period of time.
After seven years I’m far from bored of mk7’s, so much so that I recently considered a 20 plate R to replace the TCR, but at the end of the day there was no way I could justify spending another five or six grand for a one year newer car that felt retrograde in many areas (zero options and comparatively dowdy interior).

I want a car that doesn’t hurt my back to drive and I’d still like it to be fun to own.
I can’t just park the TCR up indefinitely until my back is better which it almost is but flares up when the TCR hits certain types of potholes or expansion joints.

So I’m going to give the 135 a go.
No PCP deals to hold me in, no affinity to BMW whatsoever, no itch to scratch.
Who knows how this’ll go but it’s all an adventure...


EDIT: having just read Stevie’s post above mine after typing it out it’s surprisingly similar in some ways so I have a feeling this might be a recurring theme with Golf mk7 owners to a smaller degree.
Funny old world.

[mcmaddy]

I still say finding a decent physio would have been cheaper. I've got chronic disc problems in my lower back and I can't say the TCR is worse than any other car I've driven. In fact I think the seats are way more comfortable than my previous mk7 GTi and gtd. Good luck with BMW though 👍👍

[dubber36]

So I’m going to give the 135 a go.
No PCP deals to hold me in, no affinity to BMW whatsoever, no itch to scratch.
Who knows how this’ll go but it’s all an adventure...

Just a thought, but seeing as you don't know how things will go (I guess a few of us are thinking that too), why not tuck the TCR away and get the BMW on a short term lease? Try before yo buy if you like.

Trading in the TCR will realise a loss, trading in a BMW in 6 months time will realise a second loss. However if you've rented the BMW and don't gell with it, you've lost the monthly payments, but still have the TCR, which won't be worth all that much less than it is now.

I'm sure Monkey will be along after putting the numbers into a spreadsheet and tell me that my way cost 2 and 6 a fortnight more, but I'd rather do that than tie my cash into something I might not feel right with.

[CookieMonsterGTi]

Have to say its interesting hearing how many folks when they look to move away are looking at the BMW.

I come the other way (albeit from the previous m135i), and there's a bunch of things I miss from it, but a bunch that I am now enjoying with my TCR.  However, I think if I was to change from the TCR it would most likely be to an A35.  The only reason I didn't was at the time the numbers were quite different in the TCRs favour.

Just wondering why people are looking more the the BMW, is it the contributions?

*Hope you like the BMW - did you spec adaptive suspension for your back?

[fredgroves]

Bmw... Available now. Can test drive. Next generation on from mk7 in nearly every way.

It's also very golf like. Actually really a golf with a BMW badge.

On the flip side, ugly mk8 that has been delayed and delayed. Still no gti demonstrator to drive, still no date, still no price.

Basically anyone considering a change in 2020 couldn't buy a new gti.

Come 2021 will we see the same noises? I'm not sure. I think it will depend largely on the price of the mk8. I've said this for a long time now... A meaningful few grand less would fix the problem for vw but... Not gonna happen I expect.

On the BMW forums there are threads about what you had before and nearly everyone is a former golf owner...

[Exonian]

I still say finding a decent physio would have been cheaper. I've got chronic disc problems in my lower back and I can't say the TCR is worse than any other car I've driven. In fact I think the seats are way more comfortable than my previous mk7 GTi and gtd. Good luck with BMW though 👍👍

Thanks 
The problem is the suspension settings rather then the seats.
I don’t think a physio would make any difference, it’s a pain that comes on suddenly then goes again but is 95% better now. I managed to move a hefty small tree 60 feet a month or two ago which blistered my hands more then it hurt my back so it’s definitely on the mend!

It’s the way the DCC seems to be smooth, smooth, smooth then a sudden jolt over a sharp ridge that is the trigger. It’s the same walking, absolutely fine for weeks and weeks then a sudden change of direction and “ouch”.

Just a thought, but seeing as you don't know how things will go (I guess a few of us are thinking that too), why not tuck the TCR away and get the BMW on a short term lease? Try before yo buy if you like.

Trading in the TCR will realise a loss, trading in a BMW in 6 months time will realise a second loss. However if you've rented the BMW and don't gell with it, you've lost the monthly payments, but still have the TCR, which won't be worth all that much less than it is now.

I'm sure Monkey will be along after putting the numbers into a spreadsheet and tell me that my way cost 2 and 6 a fortnight more, but I'd rather do that than tie my cash into something I might not feel right with.

I definitely don’t want yet another car on the drive for however many months. I don’t have the time or inclination to clean and maintain that many.
If I could find the right short term lease deals I’d do that all the time and never buy a car aside from keeping a little runabout (which I always have) for the menial jobs.
I always bought cars with cash or bank loans as that gave me the flexibility to modify, but I’ve done the modifying thing to death so just want a standard car that gives me 90% of what I require.

Have to say its interesting hearing how many folks when they look to move away are looking at the BMW.

I come the other way (albeit from the previous m135i), and there's a bunch of things I miss from it, but a bunch that I am now enjoying with my TCR.  However, I think if I was to change from the TCR it would most likely be to an A35.  The only reason I didn't was at the time the numbers were quite different in the TCRs favour.

Just wondering why people are looking more the the BMW, is it the contributions?

*Hope you like the BMW - did you spec adaptive suspension for your back?

The last thing I wanted in the BMW was adaptive!

I’d say buying new the BMW probably has the most attractive offers but I’ve not really looked into buying a new A35. A colleague at work was looking into one last year so I did a fair bit of research for him but the car didn’t ever really appeal to me for some reason. The dash graphics etc are cool on the Merc.


I think it’s probably because the BMW is the most Golf like in feel (solid), has the best PCP deals (probably) and the extra torque over the VW and Merc makes the engine feel strong in everyday driving which is the biggest draw for me as someone who always remapped a turbo car for better mid range pull.

I expect a hell of a lot of Golf owners nabbed an A35 when their PCP’s and leases were up.

For me, right now it’s possible to get a well loaded 6 month old 135 for sub £30k probably as a direct consequence of the cheap deals to buy new. I’ll take that.

[monkeyhanger]

If you stay with VAG, it's got to be an S3, the new A3 is miles better looking than the Golf 8, don't know yet whether the A3 has been cheapened in any way as I have briefly seen a demo driving out of the local Audi dealership as I was on my way in.

Who mentioned spreadsheets? I do all those sums in my head. Don't know how I ended up in QA rather than an accountant!