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Fix car, or put money towards a new one?

socal87

Drag Race Newbie
I'm the original owner of my 2012 GTI. I now have over 173K miles on the car, and a LOT of money on both mods and repairs over the years. I've replaced 3 water pumps, 2 intakes, 3 clutches, 2 speed sensors, and the ECU. I got rear ended about 4 years ago. The paint is in rough shape, there's a lot of road rash, but damn if the car isn't still fun to drive. It's been tuned since 6,000 miles, had the exhaust since 10K

Unfortunately that time has now come - whether to consider a heart transplant, or put the money towards a new(er) car. I've got some piston slap in cylinder 4, so at the very least I'd be looking at replacing the short block. To complicate matters, it's a CBFA motor, and I'm not really interested in going down the rabbit hole of trying to convert everything to CCTA, given how much would be involved - head, wiring harness, ECU at the very least I imagine. I have no idea how much everything will cost with a salvage motor - it looks like most complete engines are around $4k used, so assuming I have the reasonable things refreshed (timing chain, injectors, seals) I assume I'd be looking at around $8k of parts and labor. Forget new - I was quoted $19k by a dealer.

I do not have the equipment, space, or resources to rebuild the motor myself, so pending the quotes I'm waiting on, I'll probably be looking for a salvage short block, maybe a complete(ish) motor from California or New York. I live in the Midwest though, so shipping would be painful.

There are a few other things that need to be fixed eventually...I have bearing squeal in the transmission, the shocks are very tired, a CV joint might be going bad, and the head unit forgets my Bluetooth pairings every now and then.

I'm now 35, 11 years older than I was when I bought it. No kids yet though. Between selling it and fixing it, it's probably worth more to me to fix...I don't think I would get much for the car. We have enough saved up I could get a cheap used Honda or something, but at that point I'd rather just put the money towards fixing it.

I've been wanting to upgrade to a Mk7.5, but with the used car market and economy being the way it is, we really don't need a car payment.

Thoughts?
 

supreme_gti

Go Kart Champion
First and foremost; congrats on bringing your car this far and fixing all the things that went wrong. It's a fun car to drive for sure. Reasons why I am still fixing my mk6 (2011) and still own it (Paid in full; no more car payments).

With ALL the money you put in, I'd buy a pick up truck or a beater (honda/toyota/lexus/ford) and keep the GTI as a project car/track car.
This is what I plan to do very soon. Space is an issue, but I'll find space somehow. With the car market and economy, I would wait.

I recommend keeping your GTI , and buying something else to daily. As you stated, you won't get much for it , if you sell it... it's smart to keep it and buy a car to daily.
Yes, it's easier said than done, but this is one option you can compare it to. All the best fellow GTI driver/owner (no car payments is the way my friend). Check out Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert. K, amazing book.
 

socal87

Drag Race Newbie
First and foremost; congrats on bringing your car this far and fixing all the things that went wrong. It's a fun car to drive for sure. Reasons why I am still fixing my mk6 (2011) and still own it (Paid in full; no more car payments).

With ALL the money you put in, I'd buy a pick up truck or a beater (honda/toyota/lexus/ford) and keep the GTI as a project car/track car.
This is what I plan to do very soon. Space is an issue, but I'll find space somehow. With the car market and economy, I would wait.

I recommend keeping your GTI , and buying something else to daily. As you stated, you won't get much for it , if you sell it... it's smart to keep it and buy a car to daily.
Yes, it's easier said than done, but this is one option you can compare it to. All the best fellow GTI driver/owner (no car payments is the way my friend). Check out Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert. K, amazing book.
Yeah, wife has been encouraging me to get a beater.

The track/project car thing won't happen because she thinks it's a money pit (she's not wrong). But...this is the same woman who wants me to get her a Miata or a Jeep.
 

supreme_gti

Go Kart Champion
Every car on this planet is a money pit. You buy a car, you need to put money towards it. No matter what.
Yes some cars are BIG money pits, and some are little money pits... a money pit is a money pit doesn't matter the size.

When the wife is involved, it get's complicated lol... sit down with her and decide together.

I recommend keeping your mk6 GTI and buying a beater.
 

mattpowers

Passed Driver's Ed
I would consider if you need a cheap daily as well. As the MK6 ages, you're likely to have more and more failures outside the engine-- wiring, suspension, etc.

In regards to getting a new car, think about the payments, and also think about how you would handle a new car once you have it. Your car is heavily modified, and it sounds likely that you enjoy working on it, and will jump into modifying the next car. Would you be content with stock? Can you afford the mods you would want? Also think about the increase in insurance payments/ depreciation. Not saying this isn't a great route to go, but it's good to see the whole picture and know yourself!

Good luck
 

supreme_gti

Go Kart Champion
Always look at the bigger picture. Life taught me this the hard way.

The car insurance rates in Canada is messed up. It's more expensive for Honda's/Toyota's/Lexus's comparing to Volkswagen/Audi/BMW.
I saved 100$ when I switched from a 2007 Honda Accord to a 2011 VW GTI...

My dad saved more by switching from a Toyota RAV4 to a BMW x3...
 

GolNat

Autocross Champion
Always look at the bigger picture. Life taught me this the hard way.

The car insurance rates in Canada is messed up. It's more expensive for Honda's/Toyota's/Lexus's comparing to Volkswagen/Audi/BMW.
I saved 100$ when I switched from a 2007 Honda Accord to a 2011 VW GTI...

My dad saved more by switching from a Toyota RAV4 to a BMW x3...

My agent told me Japanese cars cost more to fix as far as body panels are concerned. But they are more reliable (in my experience) so they pay for themselves in that sense.

I vote keep the GTI get a beater.
 

zrickety

The Fixer
Yeah, wife has been encouraging me to get a beater.

The track/project car thing won't happen because she thinks it's a money pit (she's not wrong). But...this is the same woman who wants me to get her a Miata or a Jeep.
Without getting into your whole living situation, I would encourage you to keep it. Used car prices aren't coming down for awhile, it will literally appreciate on jack stands. You may not have room to work on it now, but maybe in the future?? I would push you towards the Jeep for her, they are super fun, still convertible and hold their value remarkably well.
 

socal87

Drag Race Newbie
Without getting into your whole living situation, I would encourage you to keep it. Used car prices aren't coming down for awhile, it will literally appreciate on jack stands. You may not have room to work on it now, but maybe in the future?? I would push you towards the Jeep for her, they are super fun, still convertible and hold their value remarkably well.
Well, since she is currently driving a Chevy Cruze, I don't think it would take too much to make her happy. One of the possibilities we are considering is a used manual Mazda3; since her car is much more marketable than mine, the Mazda could potentially be hers once the GTI is fixed.

Still waiting on a quote from the shop, though. I followed up with them 6 days ago. I have no idea how much it would cost.
 
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