3 cars - threatening to sell GTI

[Snoopy]

Im not a subscribe myself to the change incase something fails club and keep paying out £300 a month for the latest model when after a few months of saving those  payments it would cover any suprise maintenance costs from an independent garage anyway, but thats just me.

[Yusee]

MPVs and SUVs are completely different types of car that appeal to completely different types of buyer.

I have an Alhambra. Masses of room for a family of 6 to go on long touring holidays, swallows anything you may wish to take to the tip ( much more than any estate), and huge flexibility.

You can't do that in any SUV, nor any estate car for that matter.

But how often do you go on long touring holidays or go to the dump? It's the same as people buying Range Rover's, Tiguan's etc and saying it can go off-road, but how often does it? You're better off buying something for how you will use it for 95% of the time rather than the 5%.

I'd look at what people with company cars that do large distances everyday use, which tends to be Passat Estates, 3 series etc.

The car you buy must do whatever you need it to do, even if that need is only occasional.
So if you need a car that has to take the family once a year to France/Italy, then it must be able to do that.
Not the same as saying "my car can do something... though i'll never use it for that"

But you're right in suggesting that no car does everything well- so buy something that works well most of the time.

That's also why you can make a perfectly good case for having many cars in a household- and why OP's question is an interesting one.

Keep the golf!

[Yusee]

Im not a subscribe myself to the change incase something fails club and keep paying out £300 a month for the latest model when after a few months of saving those  payments it would cover any suprise maintenance costs from an independent garage anyway, but thats just me.

Not just you. I agree completely.

[fredgroves]

Im not a subscribe myself to the change incase something fails club and keep paying out £300 a month for the latest model when after a few months of saving those  payments it would cover any suprise maintenance costs from an independent garage anyway, but thats just me.

Depends on whether its your transport you need for work or not... I can't afford the downtime, so pay to have a car that should work every time i turn the key (well, press the start button now)

[baka]

I'd be inclined (as previously suggested), to keep the GTI and lose the Polo. I know it means the other half knocking around in it, and it's not as cheap to run. But the GTI is the perfect everyday performance car and having it as the second car seems a good compromise. If you still want access to something fun and engaging when the mood takes you.

You own a GTI, you're on a car forum, so there's definitely some petrol in your veins. If my only choice of motors was an cooking model Polo and a MPV, I would be a sad man.

[Snoopy]

Im not a subscribe myself to the change incase something fails club and keep paying out £300 a month for the latest model when after a few months of saving those  payments it would cover any suprise maintenance costs from an independent garage anyway, but thats just me.

Depends on whether its your transport you need for work or not... I can't afford the downtime, so pay to have a car that should work every time i turn the key (well, press the start button now)

Our Toyota didnt start within weeks of getting it due to the battery. Never not had the leon start in 16 yrs of using it to commute or visiting clients. Brand new cars within the first few years of ownership having issues or niggles are the ones that have caused us inconvenience with visiting dealers multiple times for diagnostics then multiple fix attempt visits wasting our time which actually costs us money due to time away from working. I dread when we get a new car because more often then not it causes us inconvenience this way.
For years now I've worked on if it works why change it. My own personal experience is we always have downtime with new cars and very little with ones we already own. Other people including family do it differently each to their own and all that.

[Snoopy]

I'd be inclined (as previously suggested), to keep the GTI and lose the Polo. I know it means the other half knocking around in it, and it's not as cheap to run. But the GTI is the perfect everyday performance car and having it as the second car seems a good compromise. If you still want access to something fun and engaging when the mood takes you.

You own a GTI, you're on a car forum, so there's definitely some petrol in your veins. If my only choice of motors was an cooking model Polo and a MPV, I would be a sad man.

Another vote for this.
If you are asking the question here you already know you want to keep it or it would have gone already.
Therefore either get the other half a car the size the family needs or give her the GTI. Time for you to sit her down and have the talk .

[Exonian]

With my dreadful track record of buying and selling cars on a whim I’d be the last person to listen to but…

The option of selling the car right now would have its attractions. Decent market value and avoiding potentially expensive maintenance costs if you have the misfortune to suffer some common issues.

But there are things about the GTI that will have gotten under your skin. Not just its looks and performance. The little things such as the driving position and general tautness and stability of the chassis and steering even when just pootling around. Those little characterful bits of trim everywhere that help make the car what it is. Even those little plaudits about the car you get from time to time from people when they see you get out of the GTI. These things add up and will make you miss the car in far more ways than you’d ever have imagined.

Instead you’ll climb into a soulless box each day, which you might appreciate for its practicality but there will just be that nagging feeling all the time that this isn’t “you”.

[GTIBug]

Hey folks - thank you for the well thought through and candid replies. What a decent crowd! I’m scouring other car forums in my car search and find others can’t match this on friendliness and being informative.

I’m not ready to let go of the GTI just yet. We are not cash rich by any means, and now with two kids, I am wrestling with the idea of keeping her on a practical (boring) level. However, in six to twelve months time I might change mind (unless someone else chips in sooner with a major showstopper!). In the meantime, we’ll get a good deal selling the old 12 reg (but sturdy) Polo and getting a mid range diesel Korean carrier with a remaining 3.5y warranty. I couldn’t face trading in a GTI for that ...would be heartbreaking! Plan in two years may be to get a nice spec Skoda Superb estate if on two incomes but tempted to move towards Japanese as fed up of Vag recurring issues even as generations evolve.

Golf has only 20k on the clock, been driven well and with care. Timing belt and pump not changed (risky, I’m aware), but had the manifold flaps go, seal speaker and tailgate grommet leak damage (had to strip the car interiors to dry ), new AGM battery fitted. Most of that over 2020-21 as she’s been great otherwise up until lockdown mk1. It’s just such a fun drive. No mods or remaps and I’ve had the coolant housing and thermostat checked for leaks (looking good) as part of the mani changeout, and inlet valves cleaned. Any urgent TLC I should be looking to do over the next 6-12 months if I keep her?

Thanks again.

[GTIBug]

I’ll try to get round to replying to some of the more specific q’s that followed my OP