Automobiles

I’ve owned seven GTIs since 2001. Except for one that had an issue with the timing belt and that I sold to my mechanic- they’ve all been stellar in terms of reliability. My 2008 was an R32 which would have been THE best car I’d ever owned were it not for one fatal flaw. The R32 was practical insofar as you could lug bikes- it had lots of power and that engine is probably my favorite VW engine ever. The car also had all wheel drive, looked great but not too Hong Kong racer in white- and it had cool stuff like launch control.
The only issue was the transmission. The DSG shifted great and had paddles which I never got used to using so I’d always just use it in automatic. This took away all the fun for me and I got rid of the car within 6 months of having it. I got what I paid for it in trade towards a 2008 Mustang Bullitt.
I’ve come around a bit. My Tacoma has a slush box as does my Cayman. Neither has a transmission anywhere near as nice as the R32 had. Still- my only recommendation is to avoid an automatic because it takes away from the involvement that makes a GTI so much fun. A big torquey muscle car or Merc.AMG OR Bimmer M5 might be fine and fun with an automatic- but in a GTI it’s just dumb. These cars are fun and involved. They’re not especially fast and even a great slush box turns them back into a regular econobox that is slightly easier to pass people on the highway with.
The other thing is that by 2008 GTIs has changed their suspension design to something more like a BMW. This meant that suspension mods for the first time in GTI history more often than not don’t make the car drive worse! In all previous generations- lowering the car and stiffening up the front end made the cars understeer more.
I’d say you’ll be well served by an 08 GTI. I’d happily own one- and i’d Even dare say that a manual GTI would be more fun than my slush box Cayman. (My gf needed to be able to drive it- so I compromised. I also rent it on Turo which helps pay for it- but the tiptronic really sucks for a sporty underpowered Porsche- I screwed up honestly just like I did with the R32 except this time- I’m going to hold on to it. )
Oh! If you are looking for something to compare it to- check out the previous generation’s 24v VR6. That was the best GTI I ever owned. That engine- especially with a vf-engineering chip and a CAI that put the filter in front of the right front wheel- was amazing. The 1.8t was a great engine too- but that weird hens teeth 24v vr6 was special.

Adventure vehicle phase 2

https://i.imgur.com/dN8agOK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/F5HeoA7.jpg

Still needs a bit of work on the interior...

Trying to work a GT3 manual deal. It's a lot of work !

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Originally Posted by Lionel

Trying to work a GT3 manual deal. It's a lot of work !

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I'm excited for you. Dang, that would be awesome.

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Originally Posted by Too Tall

I'm excited for you. Dang, that would be awesome.

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The test drive of my friends GT3T really messed with my head. Dealing with dealers is not ultra fun though.

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Originally Posted by j44ke

Friends have both a current Fiat 500 and an original Fiat 500 and both are sitting up on blocks in the garage due to various problems. So in that sense, the new one is an authentic reproduction.

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The original Fiat 500 (the ones up to 1973) is incredibly simple and can be fixed by anyone with basic skills and a handful of spanners. The new 500 are modern cars, full of electronics that you can't repair with pliers and start the engine with a broomstick.
They're safer, though, and the body won't disappear before your eyes due to rust. Also you get heating that doesn't come directly from the air cooling ther engine :laugh:

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Originally Posted by Gattonero

The original Fiat 500 (the ones up to 1973) is incredibly simple and can be fixed by anyone with basic skills and a handful of spanners. The new 500 are modern cars, full of electronics that you can't repair with pliers and start the engine with a broomstick.
They're safer, though, and the body won't disappear before your eyes due to rust. Also you get heating that doesn't come directly from the air cooling ther engine :laugh:

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Additionnally the oldest one felt like driving a kid pedal car. The new one feels like driving a delivery van that wouldn't have that generic grey dahsboard.

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Originally Posted by sk_tle

Additionnally the oldest one felt like driving a kid pedal car.....

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Dimensions are pretty much there. But a kid pedal car doesn't go to 120km/h, unless you're going down a cliff.

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Originally Posted by Lionel

The test drive of my friends GT3T really messed with my head. Dealing with dealers is not ultra fun though.

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how much dealer mark up are they doing?

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Originally Posted by Gattonero

The original Fiat 500 (the ones up to 1973) is incredibly simple and can be fixed by anyone with basic skills and a handful of spanners. The new 500 are modern cars, full of electronics that you can't repair with pliers and start the engine with a broomstick.
They're safer, though, and the body won't disappear before your eyes due to rust. Also you get heating that doesn't come directly from the air cooling ther engine :laugh:

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The first car that I bought with my summer earnings was a used 1968 Fiat 124 Spyder that had been tuned. Went like stink when it was in my hands. But it was in the shop pretty much weekly. It was at the ripe age of 16 that I learned Fiat stood for Fix it again, Tony and if I was going to mess with cars I needed to figure out a way to make more money than the then current situation.

While up in the Saratoga NY area for a charity ride, saw a plethora of stuff in various stages of repair. These are only 3...one just parked at a farmer's market, one in a store (I don't know how you get the rust off an old Model T), and one on the street that brought back memories of my Dad....

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c2fce161_c.jpgIMG_1174 by Jon Mandel, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c9204c6c_c.jpgIMG_1167 by Jon Mandel, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3153f648_c.jpgIMG_1172 by Jon Mandel, on Flickr

Saw a boatload more on our ride, but since there seems to be Porsche lust going on here at the moment I will just leave you all with the above reminiscences.

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Originally Posted by jerk

how much dealer mark up are they doing?

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On the touring about $15K to $20K. Winged versions are mostly at MSRP.

Interesting. I'd be prone to telling them to go fuck themselves and giving my money to someone who actually wants to work with you to get you an awesome car rather than some ritzy dealer who is ordering stock with $3000 colored seat belts. Many of these dealerships are horrible. I went into a Porsche dealer near me- and the guys working there were not only not kind- but they were also arrogant, really bad at their jobs as salesmen, and worst of all not enthusiasts at all. it's pathetic when some dumb guy like me walks in off the street and knows more about the product they're selling than they do. i do not as a rule EVER get into pissing contests with sales folks- nor do I ever act like "expert guy" and i am the world's worst negotiator when it comes to the dealership haggle- but I showed up in a Porsche and walked around for twenty minutes before anyone even talked to me. I get that I have tattoos and might not look like someone who could afford a pot to piss in- (and I can't!) but you never know. I sell really expensive dumb shiite for a living and you can never make an assumption.

Sorry for droning on about nothing. Lionel: Forget the GT3 Touring. Buy a RUF instead:

https://user-assets-unbounce-com.s3....R4dnYH%2Bdw%3D


or better yet buy a Singer!


Actually both of those make a GT3 look cheap. Maybe you could come around to the fact that a wide body Porsche needs a wing or else it looks like a bloated frog- and the absurd wing on the regular GT3 is part of the fun.

I do love that Touring though. It's really nice.

The base simple 911T is a hell of a car too. Although it is really funny that it has lightweight glass and doesn't even have door handles (it has straps! fukcing fabric straps to close the door!!!) but then you can get heavy 18 way adjustable seats and boat anchor stupid sound systems. only Porsche!

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Originally Posted by jerk

...I went into a Porsche dealer near me- and the guys working there were not only not kind- but they were also arrogant, really bad at their jobs as salesmen, and worst of all not enthusiasts at all. it's pathetic when some dumb guy like me walks in off the street and knows more about the product they're selling than they do. i do not as a rule EVER get into pissing contests with sales folks- nor do I ever act like "expert guy" and i am the world's worst negotiator when it comes to the dealership haggle- but I showed up in a Porsche and walked around for twenty minutes before anyone even talked to me. I get that I have tattoos and might not look like someone who could afford a pot to piss in- (and I can't!) but you never know. I sell really expensive dumb shiite for a living and you can never make an assumption.

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I worked as a runner at a high-end leasing company in the late 80s and early 90s during summers off from high school and college. I drove all kinds of Ferrari, Lambo, Porsche, Range Rover, etc. and soon realized that often the salespeople knew more about the cars than the customers even though that was not saying much. It was mostly wall street finance people (think junk bonds) who leased/bought the the cars as trophies so the cars were mostly parked in Manhattan garages all week and on weekends might be driven to Southampton but they were not really enjoyed the way people in this thread are talking about. Do you know how sad it is to teach a middle aged man how to drive manual on his new trophy car and listen to him grind the gears?

The market has changed and a salesperson who does not assume a middle aged man with tattoos dressed like a 13 year old boy can't afford that kind of car is foolish. You could be a semi-retired dot com billionaire who just sold his company to Google and because the valley was too overcrowded you decided to move south down the coast and enjoy the warmer weather.

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Originally Posted by jerk

Interesting. I'd be prone to telling them to go fuck themselves and giving my money to someone who actually wants to work with you to get you an awesome car rather than some ritzy dealer who is ordering stock with $3000 colored seat belts. Many of these dealerships are horrible. I went into a Porsche dealer near me- and the guys working there were not only not kind- but they were also arrogant, really bad at their jobs as salesmen, and worst of all not enthusiasts at all. it's pathetic when some dumb guy like me walks in off the street and knows more about the product they're selling than they do. i do not as a rule EVER get into pissing contests with sales folks- nor do I ever act like "expert guy" and i am the world's worst negotiator when it comes to the dealership haggle- but I showed up in a Porsche and walked around for twenty minutes before anyone even talked to me. I get that I have tattoos and might not look like someone who could afford a pot to piss in- (and I can't!) but you never know. I sell really expensive dumb shiite for a living and you can never make an assumption.

Sorry for droning on about nothing. Lionel: Forget the GT3 Touring. Buy a RUF instead:

https://user-assets-unbounce-com.s3....R4dnYH%2Bdw%3D


or better yet buy a Singer!


Actually both of those make a GT3 look cheap. Maybe you could come around to the fact that a wide body Porsche needs a wing or else it looks like a bloated frog- and the absurd wing on the regular GT3 is part of the fun.

I do love that Touring though. It's really nice.

The base simple 911T is a hell of a car too. Although it is really funny that it has lightweight glass and doesn't even have door handles (it has straps! fukcing fabric straps to close the door!!!) but then you can get heavy 18 way adjustable seats and boat anchor stupid sound systems. only Porsche!

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Actually I am coming around on the wing a bit. In vSalon style the wing is very useful to install the seasucker rear wheel holder and the front on the rear window :)

I drove the T, while fun I was not a fan of the 7 speed gear box. The 6 speed in the GT3 is perfect. The engine in the GT3 is also perfect.

You are planning to buy this car in the US not France, right? This is the only question I really care about. Well, that one and do you care if I eat pork rinds in it????

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Originally Posted by Lionel

Actually I am coming around on the wing a bit. In vSalon style the wing is very useful to install the seasucker rear wheel holder and the front on the rear window :)

I drove the T, while fun I was not a fan of the 7 speed gear box. The 6 speed in the GT3 is perfect. The engine in the GT3 is also perfect.

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Originally Posted by joosttx

You are planning to buy this car in the US not France, right? This is the only question I really care about. Well, that one and do you care if I eat pork rinds in it????

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US yes.

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Originally Posted by Lionel

US yes.

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Excellent

Pretty sure the "yes" was "yes I mind if you eat pork rinds in it."

Cheetos it is then.