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Good start for Stock upgrade

DSC808

Autocross Champion
Location
HI State
Car(s)
2016 GTI SE MT
Surprised no one mentioned a JB4. You can use the Map 1/2 for ease of use or play with Map 6 ( lower boost down low to save the clutch and more boost in the midrange for power). If you decide to get a flash tune you can just unplug and sell the JB4. It’s not as smooth as a flash tune but better than buying twice and loosing some cash in the process.
I also just happen to have one for sale…. 😬
 

mrmatto

Autocross Champion
Location
Jacksonville, FL
Car(s)
2024 GTI DSG
Surprised no one mentioned a JB4. You can use the Map 1/2 for ease of use or play with Map 6 ( lower boost down low to save the clutch and more boost in the midrange for power). If you decide to get a flash tune you can just unplug and sell the JB4. It’s not as smooth as a flash tune but better than buying twice and loosing some cash in the process.
I also just happen to have one for sale…. 😬
I was really close to buying a JB4 for the reasons you mentioned. You can find them used for relatively cheap, you can get a pretty good power bump, and you can do a lot of tweaking and customizing if you're into that. And then, in the end, you can sell the hardware.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Easily recouped. Quickest used part sale you'll experience.



IE is probably the worst I've seen. Hard to find people who even have 034 tunes but there's a reason for that.



The cons to APR have already been laid out. You have to visit a dealer, they're charging you like it's still 2016, and there's no upgrade path as they've abandoned anything with a downpipe. You sell the car, you're out the full price (and no one's paying you more for a tuned car, so have fun paying for labor to get your stock tune back).
If that wasn't an issue for you, cool, don't care. Simply trying to give OP facts without simply telling him to buy whatever I bought (which you and the Uni guy are both doing).
What does it cost to flash back to stock from an APR tune?
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
From what I've seen and experienced, anywhere from $0 to ~$150. Depends on the dealer.
I have Cobb but it someone just wants a stage 1 tune and doesn't want the hassle of reselling the AP then APR is still a good choice.
 

mrmatto

Autocross Champion
Location
Jacksonville, FL
Car(s)
2024 GTI DSG
I will add this, lest anyone accuse me of fanboying for APR: When I bought my GTI, the VIN already had an APR tune. So all I had to do was pay $99 to transfer the license and then I could flash any APR stage 1 variation I wanted at the dealership. Hard to beat that deal for some fantastic tunes. If I was coming at it completely from scratch? I probably would have used a JB4 for a couple years and toy around with some things, then decided on a proper tune. I like to tweak things and play with things, so probably would've gone the Cobb AP route.
 

wasbaggedonce

Autocross Champion
Location
PA
Car(s)
2020 GLI Autobahn
Bags.

Also I personally prefer Unitronic to APR simply because I can flash it myself from home. However, if APR added at-home flashing as an option, then I’d go with them.
 

tigeo

Autocross Champion
From what I've seen and experienced, anywhere from $0 to ~$150. Depends on the dealer. I think most people just leave the tune on when selling, at least based on FB and Reddit posts lol.
Yep b/c why flash to stock....you can't sell it. Let the new owner have some fun and if you sell privately, it can add some value to a buyer looking to tune it or even if they aren't, it's more fun for sure!
 

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Location
Virginia
Car(s)
7.5 GTI
X2 bags
Congrats! You’re now Playing the game
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Yep b/c why flash to stock....you can't sell it. Let the new owner have some fun and if you sell privately, it can add some value to a buyer looking to tune it or even if they aren't, it's more fun for sure!
Why can't it be sold after flashing back to stock from an APR tune? Several guys in this forum bought CPO cars that had previously had an APR tune on it and then didn't find out it had been tuned until giving their info to APR to ask if it had been tuned. And the dealer who sold the CPO car said they didn't know anything about the APR tune.
 

tigeo

Autocross Champion
Why can't it be sold after flashing back to stock from an APR tune? Several guys in this forum bought CPO cars that had previously had an APR tune on it and then didn't find out it had been tuned until giving their info to APR to ask if it had been tuned. And the dealer who sold the CPO car said they didn't know anything about the APR tune.
No I mean the tune, not the car. Why flash to stock? Just sell it as-is/tuned.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
No I mean the tune, not the car. Why flash to stock? Just sell it as-is/tuned.
Ok, I misunderstood. Then I would only flash back to stock if it hurt the odds of selling it. Selling to Carvana remove the tune. Keep the tune and sell it privately could either help or hurt the sale price.
 

GTI Jake

Autocross Champion
Location
Charlotte, NC
Ok, I misunderstood. Then I would only flash back to stock if it hurt the odds of selling it. Selling to Carvana remove the tune. Keep the tune and sell it privately could either help or hurt the sale price.

No third party dealer would know if it was tuned or not, VW dealerships even miss that lol.

Someone traded a C6 Vette to Carmax with a clapped out 5.3 (pickup truck engine) and they didn’t realize it. Those lots look at the body, paint, and KBB & nothing else.

For how the C6 went from shitbox to 7 second shitbox see Cletus McFarland lol
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
No third party dealer would know if it was tuned or not, VW dealerships even miss that lol.
Right I've seen dealers miss it. One of them was the CPO dealer who had flashed the APR tune in the first place. I would remove the tune or leave it but be up front about it. I don't know if Carvana has something in their contract that could void the sale if it was detrimental having had the tune on it.
 
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