Car lovers?

Blind_Evil wrote:
ElectricPi wrote:

On the Mk7 golf platform, I can tell you that the stock US market side mirrors have huge blind spots. Fortunately, the fix is really easy; get imported genuine VW aspherical mirrors. I got a set made by/for VW China that I installed on my GSW along with my power folding mirrors from there. I think the R might already have power folding mirrors, and that is more a fun/cool thing than a necessity, but I wouldn't want to drive a Mk7 without the aspherical mirrors. The difference is enormous.

With any VW/VAG vehicle, getting a VCSD scan done by someone who knows what they are doing is not a bad idea. You can get a lot more info than a regular OBD2 scan. Also, just fun to be able to mess around with settings and customization.

Thanks for the tip. These?: https://www.shopdap.com/european-bli...

Yep. That's where I got both the folding mirrors and the mirror glass. My TDI GSW doesn't have blind spot monitoring, so I didn't get exactly those, but that's the item. there are a few variations for heated mirrors or not (I have that) and blind spot or not (I don't have that). Just make sure you order the one for how your car is optioned, and the install is super easy.

I took my kiddo out today and test drove the Golf R. I forgot to check if it was a manual or DSG and ended up testing the manual. I was amazed both that I still know how to drive stick after 7 years of automatics, and moreso amazed at how fun and fast the car is - I placed the order for the DSG as soon as I got home.

Congrats! They are great cars and I would go DSG too. Did you order a used one from like Carmax / carvana type or a new one?

A used one from Carvana. 2015 with 38k on the odometer. The local ones are all overpriced. New is out of my price range, and I find that prioritizing low miles over model year is beneficial if you end up selling before the loan is up, which usually ends up happening with me. I’m hoping this sticks though- it’s my first real enthusiast car, and I’d like to do a few things to make it my own.

There are a few sacrifices here- no sunroof, and no blind spot monitors, which is one of the few newer-fangled things I like in a car. Not sure you can add those.

My wife isn’t pleased with it, but I think she’ll change her mind. She’s stuck on flash and luxury brands. Also just hates the hatch body style.

Blind_Evil wrote:

My wife isn’t pleased with it, but I think she’ll change her mind. She’s stuck on flash and luxury brands. Also just hates the hatch body style.

If that's the case, why didn't you look at the S3? It's mechanically nearly the same car in a sedan. Same engine/trans/chassis (MQB).

I like a hatch myself and wish they'd have brought that version to the US, but if the wife was against one, I'd have looked at the other unless she was never going to drive it.

(I say that when my wife doesn't like my tendency to buy cobalt blue cars, yet I keep doing it )

EDIT: All that said, I think you're getting a cool car either way. Congrats!

I did look at the S3, just don’t care for it. The interior design in particular looks awful to me.

Sedan is also down on my preferences as far as body style. It’s kind of telling that I found the 2016 Jaguar XF, which is generally a looker, to lack in character.

I also wanted to avoid premium fuel, insurance rates, parts, etc.

On a more macro level, I would like to eventually have an Audi, but I’d rather it be a TTS, potentially convertible. Unfortunately the TTS examples I can afford right now share the interior design of the S3, and I really want something 4-door right now. I guess that’s a long way of saying that in 2036 when my kid goes off to college, maybe I’ll get a 2030 TTS.

Side note on wife, to demonstrate that she just doesn’t understand: when I told her I was getting a hatch she said she wished I got something like a Lexus CTh. While I admire the fuel efficiency, they may be the slowest modern car on the road.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I did look at the S3, just don’t care for it. The interior design in particular looks awful to me.

Sedan is also down on my preferences as far as body style. It’s kind of telling that I found the 2016 Jaguar XF, which is generally a looker, to lack in character.

I also wanted to avoid premium fuel, insurance rates, parts, etc.

You're not going to avoid premium on a Golf R vs an S3. Literally the same engine. If one needs it, so does the other. Not sure what they say, but I seem to remember both being 91 octane minimum when I looked at them, which is typical for forced induction.

Also, most of the parts outside the body and trim are the same, since again they are the same under the skin. Same engine, transmission, haldex, etc. Suspension may vary slightly due to weight differences, but not by much.

Funny though, sometimes there are parts on my S4 that are cheaper if I order the same part out of the Porsche catalog vs the Audi catalog. I'm sure there are anomalies all over. For instance, people sometimes upgrade the B8 S4's brakes to the brakes that are on the SQ5's or Macans. Same part other than paint but the ones for the Macan are cheaper.

Valid argument on the interior. Part of the reason I went S4 vs S3 was there was no front cupholder that could hold a large tumbler like a Yeti, as the dash curved over the cupholders in the S3. Seems like there was a bit more room in the back on the Golf R seats, but I could be wrong on that.

As to the TTS, I thought the TT was cancelled at the end of this gen's lifecycle? (BTW, it's also that MQB chassis that the S3 and Golf share). You'll probably have something small and electric that eventually takes its place.

Oh maybe the TT is ending, dunno.

Sucks about the gas but 91 is better than 93. Round these parts it’s about 3.50 vs 4.00 a gallon. At the end of the day I just don’t find the S3 visually appealing.

This is the S3 I looked at: https://www.carvana.com/vehicle/1908791

The interior design just bugs me from an aesthetic standpoint. The passenger side of the dash needs some kind of detail added. Also, and keep in mind this is purely subjective, I feel like the body style just doesn’t lend itself to the stubby size. I just admire the shape of the Golf R more.

Another issue is, I think, interior dimensions. I haven’t looked at them but the Golf was roomy inside, whereas every compact sedan I’ve driven felt too tight for me and my wife. Lexus IS most recently, but BMW 3 series, and Mercedes CLA over the years.

Edit: yeah looks like 2 inches of headroom, and inch of legroom in the Golf R, and equal on the shoulders. Cargo capacity isn’t even comparable of course. I don’t remember if I mentioned this up thread but I want my car to handle more of the family duties so I’m not stuck driving whatever boring car my wife is in at any given time, every weekend. So the storage is important. The Golf actually has more space than her GLC.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Oh maybe the TT is ending, dunno.

Sucks about the gas but 91 is better than 93. Round these parts it’s about 3.50 vs 4.00 a gallon. At the end of the day I just don’t find the S3 visually appealing.

91 is considered "premium" in some parts of the country (CA for instance). I don't think any cars require 93. Mid-grade is normally 89.

Here we get full 93.

Sounds like you got the car you wanted. I'm a bit envious, as I kind of think my heart said Golf R or S3 vs my car. I do like the hatch body better personally.

If I stay in the VAG realm, I could see myself going used S5 next time to get the hatch.

A guy at work has an S5 sportback, white paint over red leather. It’s nice but I think he’s logged a ton of miles because he commutes from quite far away. And the longer I look at the interior, I don’t think I could live with bright red for the long term.

Blind_Evil wrote:

A guy at work has an S5 sportback, white paint over red leather. It’s nice but I think he’s logged a ton of miles because he commutes from quite far away. And the longer I look at the interior, I don’t think I could live with bright red for the long term.

Like this for reference:

IMAGE(https://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sites/5/2017/03/2018-Audi-S5-front-seats.jpg)

I looked at a white BMW M235i with red leather and really liked it. Then I talked to friends that had BMW's about how much it cost to maintain them, and went with another expensive to maintain German car. But one I felt like I could work on enough myself.

I like a little color. But I haven't had to live with it for several years to see how it would be day to day.

I also looked at a Cadillac CTS Vsport that had the baseball glove colored brown leather. Wouldn't be something I would have thought I would like at all, but I LOVED that interior color.

IMAGE(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b7/7e/95/b77e95cd0864d4d6b2029e6c720ae396.jpg)

Interesting, a 2014 Vsport was my second choice when I bought the Jag a few years back. It was a black interior too similar to my existing Cadillac, and wife didn’t like the lack of a sunroof, so I skipped it. With that interior I might have chosen otherwise.

Very rare nowadays, I gather.

My delivery got delayed from tomorrow to Wednesday morning and this is torturous! First world problems, but still.

Tomorrow we go pick up a Rav4 Hybrid. Lots of options because we want the lane assist and dynamic cruise control. Not my first choice (I was angling for a full plug-in e-vehicle) but as it's for my wife and mom-in-law I don't get a say

Bought through Costco's vehicle purchase program so a reasonable price between invoice and MSRP and we even got more for our 12 yo Mini Cooper than we expected. So all-in-all a good deal for a car that should last us 10+ years.

I wish my wife would have a look at the RAV4. She is concerned because Kanye West spoke ill of it in one of his songs -_-

I test drove a RAV4 Hybrid the other day and really liked it, but the dealer was asking well over MSRP. And this morning, I test drove a Hyundai Tuscon Hybrid, which was also great. It's not easy even finding one to test drive, because they're selling before they hit the lot. So again, quite a bit over MSRP. Bad time to catch the new car itch.

Picked it up and drove it back ~1:30hr trip. Nice car. Still learning all the features, but it has reasonable handling ; is nice and quiet; and the nav system is easy enough to operate that even my mom-in-law could make it work.

Could have done without the extra warranty hard sell but that's dealerships for you...

Yeah that’s one thing I’ve really enjoyed about Carvana. It’s like making a more complicated Amazon order, rather than the usual car shopping experience.

The Hyundai dealer a few towns over is selling everything at $2,500 over MSRP. “Market adjustment” is how they label it.

https://www.salemhyundai.com/new-inv...

My 2013 VW GTI's DSG slipped out of gear today. Dropped into neutral with no warning while in low gear. Either its just old fluid (was actually scheduled for replacement) or it's a $2k mechatronics unit. Heading in Wednesday for a look see. The service guy was trying to say I just knocked into manual mode. No, unfortunately. I wish!

How many miles on it?

Blind_Evil wrote:

How many miles on it?

40k, but its a 2013. I have a 1.5 mile commute

Blind_Evil wrote:

The Hyundai dealer a few towns over is selling everything at $2,500 over MSRP. “Market adjustment” is how they label it.

Ha, I might have gone for it if it were just $2500.00.

Yeah I have a 2013 focus st and just had my electrical steering give out recently. The whole steering assembly has to be replaced which is 3k. I have a 140k on mine but still enjoy driving it. Had to pay it - I don't want a new car payment just yet.

My 2009 Hyundai Elantra is... boringly reliable.

Oh, I had to replace the battery once.

My dad visited this weekend and for his trip he rented a car. A Charger ScatPack. 392 Hemi with 485 hp. i drove it - its fast but not really a comfortable drive lol

karmajay wrote:

Yeah I have a 2013 focus st and just had my electrical steering give out recently. The whole steering assembly has to be replaced which is 3k. I have a 140k on mine but still enjoy driving it. Had to pay it - I don't want a new car payment just yet.

I am hoping in this case that it's just the fluid falling out spec due to aging and not the clutch pack or controller. It's on point for mileage but my driving habits are out of the norm so the fluid is quite a bit older than would be typical.

imbiginjapan wrote:
karmajay wrote:

Yeah I have a 2013 focus st and just had my electrical steering give out recently. The whole steering assembly has to be replaced which is 3k. I have a 140k on mine but still enjoy driving it. Had to pay it - I don't want a new car payment just yet.

I am hoping in this case that it's just the fluid falling out spec due to aging and not the clutch pack or controller. It's on point for mileage but my driving habits are out of the norm so the fluid is quite a bit older than would be typical.

One thing I learned when researching my Audi is that the DSG's are very maintenance dependent. Also, sometimes the mechatronics might just be a board that dies, even though the dealers will try to sell you a big replacement.

Good luck.

Agathos wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

The Hyundai dealer a few towns over is selling everything at $2,500 over MSRP. “Market adjustment” is how they label it.

Ha, I might have gone for it if it were just $2500.00.

We had to buy my wife a new car recently and very nearly got a Hyundai Palisade, but the dealer wanted $9500 over MSRP. Other dealers said that was the highest they had heard - but no other dealer within a couple hundred miles had one we were willing to buy (options and color).

She ended up getting a Volvo for MSRP.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
Agathos wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

The Hyundai dealer a few towns over is selling everything at $2,500 over MSRP. “Market adjustment” is how they label it.

Ha, I might have gone for it if it were just $2500.00.

We had to buy my wife a new car recently and very nearly got a Hyundai Palisade, but the dealer wanted $9500 over MSRP. Other dealers said that was the highest they had heard - but no other dealer within a couple hundred miles had one we were willing to buy (options and color).

She ended up getting a Volvo for MSRP.

I'd open up my search to nationwide on a new car if I was in the market and local prices were jacked up like that. You could ship a car for way less than some of these markups being described.

I did try looking pretty far afield, like North Carolina, but the Hyundai tools don't make it easy. Still never found one.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I did try looking pretty far afield, like North Carolina, but the Hyundai tools don't make it easy. Still never found one.

If Hyundai site doesn't work, go to cargurus.com, then use "Nationwide" as a search radius.