Next car purchase following Mk7/7.5?

[Yusee]

After having a catch up read of the thread it’s good to see it’s still going strong several days later.
Loads of good insights from different angles all still pointing to how good a car the 7(.5) GTI still is and how good value they are for what you get as a package.

Wherever anyone stands from a personal viewpoint on a mk8 GTI/R there’s no denying how expensive a well specced new one has become compared to the deals going on 7.5’s a few short years ago before the world fell on its arse.

Now, being a peasant I know nothing about Porsches, but decided that as a well specced GTI or moderate R is knocking on £45k to £50k I’d have a look and see what a 718 is nowadays. I had in my mind around £60k starting price bearing in mind an RS3 is that sort of level and TT’s probably not far off.
I fired up the Porsche configurator and was surprised to see a 718 starts around £47k.
I don’t know what sort of power they have or what kit you get or how you’d fit grandma in the back or your 2.4 metre decking planks but it’s food for thought.

Interesting post! Never ever thought a new Cayman (however basic) could be bought for 47k. This actually looks a bargain compared to everything else on the market at the moment. Unfortunately still massively too much for me to consider though! I always used to buy outright a 12 to 18 month old GTI for no more than 22k (which is my limit!). Now 22k doesn't seem to buy much at all

Putting aside the issue of inflation, it also illustrates how the golf gti has changed over the years.
No longer an ordinary hatchback with a slightly tuned engine and suspension, these are now pretty sophisticated cars.
That’s a real shame, imo.
Golf gti brand new in 1988- £11,500 . Adjusted for inflation that’s £26k.
You can’t buy a brand new golf gti for that money now.


Just out of interst, does anyone know how much you could expect to pay for a brand new basic manual gti ( with discount??)?

[Watts]

Drive the Deal says £31900 after discount for a standard car in the 'free' colour. Just over £36k list.

[Yusee]

Thanks Watts. That’s more than I expected

[Exonian]

It’ll be interesting to see how the new Type R Civic launches at price wise. Much less gaudy than the previous gen and has a proper gearbox.

https://youtu.be/Sa5a0wMVGDY if you can stomach an excitable American


Going back to the Cayman, Meister, with inflation running at 10%+ your £22k is depreciating quite rapidly even allowing for car market weirdness forcing prices sky high. To move forward you’d have to swallow your principles (as I did too) and borrow money or settle long term with what you have.

On the assumption you can stomach a PCP then a used Cayman actually stacks up well £ for £ compared to a used GTI/R when comparing respective main dealer deals. I just sat and ran some figures.

Interest rates on personal loans can still be had at quite reasonable APR rates though, even if mortgages and PCP % rates are creeping upwards.

[clubsport]

It's a nice idea that you can buy a new Cayman for £47,700....... See how it goes?

With the dealer allocation, it is hard work to get a dealer who will sell you a car at the lower end of the range (margin?).

Then try to buy a base car, from a depreciation point of view, the dealers like to think they will have the car back at some point as you move up the range, it;s hard to sell an aspirational base car on for top money. The insistance is that you have to spend some money on extras to save money down the line.
Even things such as parking sensors, folding mirrors & adaptive cruise we get as standard on a mk7-7.5 GTi are additional cost options.
Assuming you start with a paint upgrade, then add in features you expect on your GTi, you could soon be at £52k, with £55k easily done, a lot of money for the base car with a 2.0T, 300 Bhp and a manual gearbox?
Of the many sayings you hear in the Porsche world, one usually rings true, "There is no such thing as a cheap Porsche!"

[Exonian]

I’d be shooed out of a Porsche showroom with a broom as soon as they clapped eyes on me I’m sure.
I can understand their attitude and I’d not want a standard spec car but I’m sure costs could be kept reasonable so long as you only picked items you actually needed rather than showing off with your chequebook buying a load of frippery.
It was the affordability of used examples that surprised me more. What also surprised me was how many examples had multiple owners.

I didn’t seriously think many people would buy one over a Golf, I was highlighting more how much Golfs are now compared to a bottom end Porsche.
Still, 300PS in a low slung not overly heavy mid engined car isn’t too shabby. Most of the driving aid crap I’d happily forego but bits that actually added to driver enjoyment I’d plump for. Manual gearbox - tick.

[P6GTD]

This is quite an interesting conversation.

I think the hidden problem with Porsche are the running and espec servicing costs. I wonder if that is why quite a few seem to have had several owners in a low mileage. I think people who may not even know that much about cars get sucked in because they like the dream but can’t hack the reality.

Being of a lazy disposition I browse performance cars on Cazoo and Cinch. They show v clearly how many owners a car has had and fascinatingly the date and mileage of the last service and the current mileage.

Some of these are a horror show which bears out that my suspicion on Porsches maybe applies to other cars too regarding some short term owners.

One advantage of “non prestige” performance cars are that you pay non prestige labour and parts rates.

So here is the GTI’s secret weapon…….respected “wine” reputation at modest “beer” costs.

Boom!

[clubsport]

Look forward to your base Cayman experience & selling it on?

I don't mean to be blase, but having owned Lwt 911 for last 29 years and driven many variants of Porsche, I don't really see the marque as aspirational anymore. The latest variants are built in greater numbers than when they were a premium product.
It's good to have a goal, I bought a new 911 20 years ago, just so I could tick the childhood dream of ordering a new car to my spec, I had it for 9000 miles over 14 months and sold it through a Mclaren F1 dealer for £4k profit, I then bought a secondhand air cooled RS as I felt that was what Porsche was all about!
I haven't been tempted to buy a new one since then despite having the opportunity to drive friends GTS, Spyder, GT3/4 & RS, most have sold their newer cars with an old school Porsche being retained. 

[clubsport]

This is quite an interesting conversation.

I think the hidden problem with Porsche are the running and espec servicing costs. I wonder if that is why quite a few seem to have had several owners in a low mileage. I think people who may not even know that much about cars get sucked in because they like the dream but can’t hack the reality.

Being of a lazy disposition I browse performance cars on Cazoo and Cinch. They show v clearly how many owners a car has had and fascinatingly the date and mileage of the last service and the current mileage.

Some of these are a horror show which bears out that my suspicion on Porsches maybe applies to other cars too regarding some short term owners.

One advantage of “non prestige” performance cars are that you pay non prestige labour and parts rates.

So here is the GTI’s secret weapon…….respected “wine” reputation at modest “beer” costs.

Boom!

In recent years Porsche have a 2 year service interval, with the 4 year service being quite costly, plugs, belts etc...You see cars for sale before the 3 year warranty is up & are a year away from the more costly service..... if you don't spend the money at that point, it usually costs you more in depreciation than if you had?

[Exonian]

So here is the GTI’s secret weapon…….respected “wine” reputation at modest “beer” costs.

Boom!

Nail on head!

To be honest I’ve never looked at these new fangled sites like Cazoo or Cinch.
I’m old fashioned and prefer a very occasional browse of good ol’ Autotrader.

To be honest the mere thought of Cinch brings images of that Rylan creature into my head which, along with Porsche owners calling their cars pork, makes me want to 

Look forward to your base Cayman experience & selling it on?

Alas, although I like the thought of that challenge I’ll pass on it 

Once upon a time I could probably have afforded a decent Porsche but I was boring and blew it on a bigger house, chopping and changing Golfs and holidays.

Unfortunately I’m not a futures trader/IT Professional/Barrister/train driver/dentist/pilot/brick layer so these things are beyond my aspirations now.

I do get that proper Porsche enthusiasts love the older stuff.
Character and useable performance.
An old friend of mine is/was a PCGB member and has owned his 944 for over 25 years.