What Would You do?

[vbrad26]

I am not going to be in the market for a new car for at least another 3 years.
But that of course never stops me from thinking, "what if?".
Having said that, I'm about 99% sure my next car will be the MK8 when it comes out in (presumably) the next 3 years.

So let's play a game. GTI or Golf R?
Now let's just make it easy and say the cost of the GTI out the door is $30k and the price for the Golf R is $40k, so here we have a difference of $10k.

Do you go ahead and buy the Golf R and enjoy it for what it is and MAYBE slowly mod it here and there?
OR
Do you buy the GTI and take that $10k and do coilovers, wheels, tires, exhaust, tune, BBK kit, seats, etc.?

Basically, if you HAD to spend $40k, would you buy the R? Or would you buy the GTI and start going to town on it right away with $10k in upgrades?
(let's go ahead and assume we will be keeping a powertrain warranty intact, so no bigger turbo and if it is a tune it will be APR+)

So assuming there has not already been a thread like this, lets hear it...

 

[7umberjackZac]

Op modding your car is illegal and dangerous. Not to mention would void the warranty. Why would anybody buy a new car to then spend 10k on it?

When you take into account depreciation and the lower modified car value. God forbid someone hits you, you'd likely loose out on 20k after 1 year.

Buy used, go drive both.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[vbrad26]

Uh, was that sarcasm?
Hard to tell on the internet...

 

[Jozooka]

$10K in mods on a brand new car seems like you're buying the wrong car.

If you really love modding, wait and buy a used GTI, keep $5k as your own personal "warranty" and you'll come out ahead dollar-wise.

APR Plus doesn't give you the green light to put on whatever mods you want and still have coverage.

 

[GoatPowder]

So that was an odd response from an "automotive enthusiast" board...

OP, it's your money, buy whichever you like. I bought a GTI to have the budget to "tweak" what I didn't like about the car without breaking the bank.

My question is what do you want to ENJOY from the car?

If you want to have a little modded hatchback that'll carve any corner (with a few mods) go GTI

If you want to smoke Mustangs from a dig (with a few mods) go R

The only point I'll throw to consideration: if you do your own wrenching go GTI, the AWD makes every aftermarket part just a little more time consuming...

 

[robertinohio]

I considered the R but went with the GTI for one reason, sunroof. I missed not having a sunroof. Looks like your in FL. I would much rather have a sunroof I could use in sunny FL vs 4WD. If they start selling the R with a sunroof, I would lean towards the R. Until that day, GTI is the way to go. Plus you can spend some money on tires, rims, etc.

 

[seanmcd1]

I am not going to be in the market for a new car for at least another 3 years.
But that of course never stops me from thinking, "what if?".
Having said that, I'm about 99% sure my next car will be the MK8 when it comes out in (presumably) the next 3 years.

So let's play a game. GTI or Golf R?
Now let's just make it easy and say the cost of the GTI out the door is $30k and the price for the Golf R is $40k, so here we have a difference of $10k.

Do you go ahead and buy the Golf R and enjoy it for what it is and MAYBE slowly mod it here and there?
OR
Do you buy the GTI and take that $10k and do coilovers, wheels, tires, exhaust, tune, BBK kit, seats, etc.?

Basically, if you HAD to spend $40k, would you buy the R? Or would you buy the GTI and start going to town on it right away with $10k in upgrades?
(let's go ahead and assume we will be keeping a powertrain warranty intact, so no bigger turbo and if it is a tune it will be APR+)

So assuming there has not already been a thread like this, lets hear it...

Only you can answer this OP...

 

[golfdave]

easy answer.....test drive both then make mind up

two totally different cars..one is FWD the other is AWD & has more weight over the rear due to AWD system...

You could get a GTI & spend £10k on it & it would still drive differently to the "R"...you could fit the same parts (more or less) to the "R" & it would still drive differently to the basic GTI...

Personally I'd have the "R"...almost bought the estate version that we get...but I can't stand DSG...& no manual made in estate "R"..

 

[TheGreekFreak]

Some mods are a must for me whether I bought the GTI or R, so I factored them into my budget. The R would have put me well over that with those mods.

Still, there are days when I wonder if I should have increases my budget a bit, got the R, and just modded it a much slower pace. I generally keep my cars for a while so this might have made more sense. If you don't plan on goiing beyond apr+ or tracking the car, the R makes less sense imo.

An R with a garrett turbo and all the supporting mods is a reallyyy appealing option and I doubt that power would get old as fast as front wheel spin would. Still love the GTI but the further I get into the rabbit hole and weigh my power upgrade options, the more I wonder if I should have just started with an R...

 

[vbrad26]

Maybe I did not fully explain the point of this thread...there is no point.
It is just for fun. No I am not doing this nor am I considering to do so.
I was wondering what people thought would be a better car...a GTI with 10k in mods, or a lightly modded R? That's it...
So with that being said, I think it would be more fun to have a GTI with $10k in mods, vs an R that is practically stock.
This was just for a bit of discussion, I am not seeking nor wanting advice.