Where would you go next...

bazz26

I've been insulted today by one dealer already so two days in a row probably won't phase me too much.

bazz26

carsfan2 wrote: »

Nice gti.
A world of difference from what you have and not all of it good in my view.
I’m predicting about 20k to change Bazz.

I'm expecting the same sort of figures to be honest but on the plus side the GTi is only 1 year old. And I've had three 5 Series in a row so maybe a dramatic change is good though my last switch to a VW wasn't entirely pleasant. It was way more unreliable than any BMW I've owned.

GustavoFring

I think you're going to be much better off trying to sell your own privately. You might get lucky and a dealer will buy it. I genuinely could see the saving being close on 5 figures with the cars you're looking at.

JoeA3

bazz26 wrote: »

I'm expecting the same sort of figures to be honest but on the plus side the GTi is only 1 year old. And I've had three 5 Series in a row so maybe a dramatic change is good though my last switch to a VW wasn't entirely pleasant. It was way more unreliable than any BMW I've owned.

You are used to comfort and refinement. A MK7 GTI is a relatively comfortable refined car but it’s a world away from the driving experience of a 5 series. You’ll have to try it and see if it’s for you or not.

bazz26

Yeah, I think selling privately is the way to go but not an easy task with a 3.0 diesel in today's world as Wailin found out. Alot of uncertainly around the economy and what way taxes on these cars will go in the medium term.

I've never actually driven a GTi so have no base of reference to go on for them. Have a few weeks of stay cation coming up so will need to fix that.

un5byh7sqpd2x0

What have you currently Bazz?

ReckedRob

Why not save yourself 10k and go a few years down? You could get a very nice 15/16 R for that money

If your not bothered about the 7speed dsg, digital cluster and mild face-lift of the 7.5 vs the 7 it seems mad to me to spend that much extra on an almost identical car with a few less miles

Looks great in grey, make sure you get the dynamic suspension, lose the wheels, not a tartan fan either

bazz26

bazz26 wrote: »

........

I've never actually driven a GTi so have no base of reference to go on for them. Have a few weeks of stay cation coming up so will need to fix that.

After a 5 series I don't think you'd take to one. Had one for a weekend and apart from the high speed capability I found it a bit meh despite it being a wonderful all rounder. No wow factor....... It's a golf etc etc

James Bond Junior

Curveball, an A45 or CLA45 Bazz? The local element won't know what it is compared to a a200 with AMG stuff stuck to it.

eljono

Bazz, I went from a 2015 2.2d XF to a 2016 GTI PP and have not regretted one second of it. The Jag, whilst a lovely car, just didn't offer the driving enjoyment I was after. Great ride and decent handling, but at the end of the day it was a large exec saloon designed more for wafting than hustling.

It was also quite a long and wide car which meant parking on the street was sometimes a pain and twice in less than a year it was damaged by other drivers in a multistory carpark.

The funny thing was that the Jag attracted a lot more comments and attention from neighbours than the Golf, I found that quite off-putting and like the relative subtlety that the Golf has. The only people who have commented on it to me are petrolheads who have an appreciation for cars.

I'd never been into VW or lusted after any of their cars until I drove a Mk7 R about 2 years ago, it blew me away with how well it drove. It really opened me up to considering a performance Golf which is what led to buying a GTI PP.

Have to say that it has been a pleasure to own; easy to potter around town in, cheap to run, practical enough to handle most situations and great fun when you want to give it the beans. The diff on the PP models is brilliant, took me some time to get used to it, but once you do, you can really lean on it and pull the car out of tight corners and even roundabouts. It's a nice way to enjoy the handling at lower speeds.

What surprised me in the Golf was just how good all the tech features are. Adaptive cruise is fantastic, I wouldn't run a daily again that doesn't have it. The different driving modes are quite well judged and having a customizable individual mode is great. Android Auto is the job for nav and music. The parking radar, reversing camera, dipped passenger mirror all make it an easy proposition to live with and I never feel like I've gone a class or two down, it feels like a premium product.

I'd definitely recommend a test drive, it's a very well suited car for Irish roads in my opinion and they seem to be holding their value quite well in the secondhand market.

JoeA3

eljono wrote: »

seem to be holding their value quite well in the secondhand market.

Residuals are very good on them if you choose wisely. If you buy a new 50k GTI it'll lose 20k in the first 2 years! But they really plateau out then. 3-6 year old examples seem to hover around the 25k bracket for a long time. A 2-3 year old one is fairly sensible choice, residuals wise.

Wailin

JoeA3 wrote: »

I cannot understand the fascination with 5 series’s in this thread, no matter the engine.. I had a G30 as a loaner for a couple of weeks. Lovely car, supremely comfortable and refined.... but... Each to their own of course!

Em, you do realise that some people need the space a 5 series provides? If I didn't need the space I'd have a 140i or 235i etc but it doesn't work for me, and a lot of people on here.

mickdw

Im not a fan of golfs at all. The money is crazy for new gti or better and you still have have a golf interior which might be good against its own class but its not a match for any audi or bmw.

maddness

Wailin wrote: »

Em, you do realise that some people need the space a 5 series provides? If I didn't need the space I'd have a 140i or 235i etc but it doesn't work for me, and a lot of people on here.

Completely agree with you. I don’t need the space anymore but if I did it would definitely be a 5 series. If I was lucky enough to get a 540i like Wallin I’d be over the moon with it. I Also had a new model 520d loan car for about a month and while it’s not very exciting it really is a seriously impressive car.
But hey, if we all liked the same things this thread would be a lot less interesting!

Wailin

mickdw wrote: »

Im not a fan of golfs at all. The money is crazy for new gti or better and you still have have a golf interior which might be good against its own class but its not a match for any audi or bmw.

50k for a golf is just nuts, no matter the engine...

JoeA3

Wailin wrote: »

Em, you do realise that some people need the space a 5 series provides? If I didn't need the space I'd have a 140i or 235i etc but it doesn't work for me, and a lot of people on here.

Yeah of course I do - I needed the extra space myself for a few years, hence the 4 series and the wife has a similarly sized car. Just find it hard to get excited about cars in that segment (well, lotto money RS / M cars aside of course), thats all. As I said, each to their own.

maddness

Wailin wrote: »

50k for a golf is just nuts, no matter the engine...

A new Golf R DSG is cheaper than a basic 520d. I know what I’d rather.

Wailin

maddness wrote: »

A new Golf R DSG is cheaper than a basic 520d. I know what I’d rather.

Yes fair point. But the mk 7 golf gti was around 40-42k originally I believe, if not cheaper. The 5 series has always been at a premium price point throughout it's history. I just don't get where VW can justify 50k for the gti.

drunkmonkey

mickdw wrote: »

Im not a fan of golfs at all. The money is crazy for new gti or better and you still have have a golf interior which might be good against its own class but its not a match for any audi or bmw.

It's not trying to be though, golf gti/r is a throw around pocket rocket. It's not a luxury motorway cruiser. I've had two 530d's, M3, two GTI's, Nissan Sylvia, Subaru Sti to name a few. My current MK7.5 GTI tuned within reason is one of my favorites, I loved the STI but it had an awful habit of attracting blue lights, the GTI, STI and my old friends RS Turbo were the best handling cars I've experienced.
I feel younger driving the GTI, I've test drove a new 5 series since and hated it, felt like a pair of oversized clown shoes.

I think your completely wrong to try and draw the parallels between all these cars. They each have their own personality.

drunkmonkey

Wailin wrote: »

Yes fair point. But the mk 7 golf gti was around 40-42k originally I believe, if not cheaper. The 5 series has always been at a premium price point throughout it's history. I just don't get where VW can justify 50k for the gti.

£30,000 punts sounds better. Agree it's over priced but it's in the Legends club and that comes with a premium, I was behind a Lamborghini Huracan the other day, everyone on the street was looking at it, they also kept looking at the GTI behind it.
Of all the cars i've had no other has sparked so much conversation with random strangers, everyone wants to talk to you about their time with one, it's a legend amougst cars.

carsfan2

I have had a few 5 series and a couple of gti's most recently a mark 7.
I agree with Drunk monkey they are different classes of cars and it boils down to personal preference and requirements.
The mark 7 attracted attention and comments from enthusiaists and unwanted attention from boy racers and scum bags unfortunately.
No doubt the gti is a more fun car to drive when you wring its neck on a cross country blast but just going from A to B on a commute the 5 is easier going.
Price wise, all cars are getting more expensive so a 50k GTi is a fact of life I suppose however the 5 has not increase in price at the same rate.
That gti Bazz linked is a good car at a not crazy price in my view. As ever cost to change is the key and also whether it is the type of car you want.

Wailin

Lads, of course a gti is a sportier handling car than a 5 series, i never stated otherwise. 50k is too much for one though and I don't care what reasons people come up with to justify it.

drunkmonkey

Wailin wrote: »

Lads, of course a gti is a sportier handling car than a 5 series, i never stated otherwise. 50k is too much for one though and I don't care what reasons people come up with to justify it.

It's way too much I agree with you. Well specced 5 series it outrageous new as well though. 50k buys a lot of car, is this the same one that was for sale earlier in the year https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2016-bmw-f80-m3-dct-431hp-carbon-ceramic-brakes/25503200

Wailin

Yeah I spotted that up again, it's the one I test drove. Savage car but wouldn't touch that particular one outside of the bmw 2 yr warranty.

digiman

The cost to replace those breaks with the same ones would put you of using your breaks!

ReckedRob

I'll never understand anyone taking a new low spec car vs a much higher spec 2-3 year old, just does not compute

I get the new car bit, and the speccing it yourself bit, but with a low/mid spec and higher depreciation what's the point?

Thats a bit of a sleeper M3, not very obvious, I'd prefer the estoril blue

Mickiemcfist

Wailin wrote: »

Lads, of course a gti is a sportier handling car than a 5 series, i never stated otherwise. 50k is too much for one though and I don't care what reasons people come up with to justify it.

You're forgetting what the actual cost is though, depreciation. A 50k 5er will cost you a lot more than a 50k Gti or R over 3 years.

Aron722

Seems like a lot here had or have bmws , going by the form a 520 is good but if dont need the space what would you go for 318, 320d ? Or anything else?

Paul Kiernan

Aron722 wrote: »

Seems like a lot here had or have bmws , going by the form a 520 is good but if dont need the space what would you go for 318, 320d ? Or anything else?

5 series depreciate more and are readily available in the UK so are better value at anything from 6 months old up! Depending on your driving patterns I'd recommend a 530e or 520d if you do a lot of miles.

drunkmonkey

Aron722 wrote: »

Seems like a lot here had or have bmws , going by the form a 520 is good but if dont need the space what would you go for 318, 320d ? Or anything else?

Depends on how much you want to spend. 5 series isn't more practical than a 3 series, you can't let down the back seats in most 5 series it was an optional extra which can be a pain if you don't have a second car. Personally I'd go for something with a bit more poke than a 318, 320d. 330e, 330d perhaps.