kevinkar

Well, I bit the bullet and decided to trade in my 2005 base coupe for a 2018 Golf R:



Not quite LeMans Blue but close enough.

In the grand scheme of things, it's comparable (but not comparable, of course.) Driving it home yesterday was a blast and I find it turns sharper than the Corvette and does not have that front-heavy feel a big V8 has. A couple of corners I took pretty quickly and I was almost shocked at how tight it turned in on the OEM Pirelli Summer tires without squealing or scrubbing. I'll miss the Magnaflow rumble for sure though.

I opted for the 7-speed auto as it's quicker than the manual and will be a bit more manageable on LA freeway commutes than the Corvette was. It's quite quick enough and easily got up to 88 on the drive home. That auto shifts gears FAST.

I no longer have to deal with a less than optimal clutch, service active handling warnings, wonky TPMS batteries, intermittent electronic issues, broken visor covers, etc. All the standard problems. Not saying the VW won't have them but they were getting to be a pain. The Corvette was in pretty good shape but was approaching 14 years old so it was time to move on.

And to be honest, though my wife loved the seats on long drives, it was getting harder and harder for her to get in and out of the Corvette so I decided to be a good husband and get something that works better for her. Plus this one will be easier for her to drive if need be. She's not a stick aficionado and never wanted to drive the 6-speed.

So I'm out of here for the time being. Thanks to everyone providing help and answers along the way. This is THE place for all things Corvette and an invaluable resource for the 4 and a half years I was here.

I have some parts to sell, cashmere and black, which I took off or bought to go from tan to black interior but never completed, so I'll put those up in the sales forum as time permits.

Thanks again!

Kevin

rkj427

Congrats. on the sharp looking Golf R, and sometimes we all make choices based more on needs............

best of luck with the new car, and don't feel like you aren't welcome here at anytime...............

montman

Congrats! I'm sure you did some research before you got this car and the factory warranty will give you some peace of mind. If I went this route, Subaru WRX would probably be it mainly due to reliability.

wayback

Bought my son a GTI.....Very fun car. Be prepared for VW sky high parts and service. His dual clutch transmission cost $475 for a fluid and filter change.

Bunch of the hard plastic air lines for the turbo split due to eng heat. Big $$$ for someone to do it. His car has 50k on it. My 07 has 200k with less problems than his.

Good luck.

J.Moore

VW? Good luck with it if it fits your needs. The first and last VW I'll ever own was an 86 Audi 5000 Turbo. Neat car to drive but repairs and parts are crazy. I needed a moulded vacuum hose, about 6 inches long on the upper engine. No parts store had it, Audi had it for $57. had to replace power window motors, another $220 something and I did labor myself.

Sold that POS 2 months later.

jrose7004

See ya!

kevinkar

Yeah, it seems EVERY car is a "luxury car" these days. Don't get me started on the Volvo V70R wagon I had. That also had issues that were expensive to repair. It was a great car but I could see that getting much more expensive if I kept it much longer.

All I can say is it's clear that every manufacturer makes lemons and it's just the luck of the draw whether you get one or not. I spent $7,000 on repairs to my '05 which seems like a lot to me for a car I had only a little over 4 years. Conversely I spent $14k over 19 years on my '95 Camaro Z28. Easily less than half as much as on the Corvette.

We'll see how it goes!

Scuba Ghost

Nice ride.

Reckedhim

Good looking car. Enjoy.

Welker1

Sorry to see you ... Enjoy the new ride

RossDowningChevrolet

Enjoy the new ride, but come back and see us from time to time.

FAUEE

Good luck with the new car. I have a friend with one, and based on hiss experience... you'e gonna get to know your dealer really well soon. They have a good warranty now though! He is convinced his engine is going to blow, and is trying to get it replaced before warranty ends. All stock too - They are apparently super thorough on that now because a lot.of people will tune them and blow them up.

Good luck, and we will see you when you come back

Sabre34

Congrats and enjoy!

FloridaC6

• Nice car. I’d rather have that than a WRX or a Focus RS/ST etc. good luck. Hope it’s trouble free for you.

04DarkShadowGT

I used to have a VW Jetta GLI, it was an awesome car. It was an 09, less than half the MSRP as my corvette and was nicer inside and quieter by far.

kevinkar

Thanks. I know for a fact that every manufacturer sells garbage cars and we've seen a lot of it here in this very forum. It really is the luck of the draw how your experience turns out.

I don't thrash my cars so I don't expect the VW to blow any time soon but I know it's heavily infused with more electronics than the C6 had so there are plenty of things that can go wrong. I just have to keep my fingers crossed but that's true of any car these days.

And I might be back for sure. You never know!

kevinkar

I definitely read every review I could find and the consensus is the Golf R is the car to get in spite of the pros of the Honda Civic R, the Focus RS and the WRX STi. It's a more manageable day to day car and has an extremely quick-shifting auto. I am very impressed with it so far.

One thing I've noticed is it turns very tightly whereas the C6 seemed to plow a bit even with the huge tires it had. The weight of the LS2 is not insignificant and I can clearly feel the difference between the two cars - every day at work I turn into the lot, turn right down a row and then immediately U-turn around a light pole to go the other way and into an end spot. The first time I did it in the VW I thought I was going to hit the light pole it turned so quickly and tightly.

So far so good!

FAUEE

Between Corvettes I had a new STI. Loved it, it was THE BEST drivers car on the market. No option for an automatic, that's sort of a drag for a daily though. But the steering feel was amazing, the powertrains had a ton of character, the ride was comfortable (despite what magazines say), the sounds were awesome, and there was tons of space for a small car.

I really loved that car though. I would love another one, but I found my dream vette on a whim locally, and I pretty much had to get it. May have to add one in a few years.