Golf's all I could afford!!

[jlgumby]

So here's something for ya. And this has come to me when someone heard that I ordered a Golf R and said, couldn't you afford a BMW?

Funnily enough when I was looking at the R, I was also cross shopping for an M3 or possibly a 335. And I got a similar comment from a VW dealer who said to me "Why are you looking at a Golf R when you were just test driving M3s?" (Great salesman). I smiled and left.

Anyway, so here's the question? How many of you out there could afford a higher priced car, and considered it, only to choose their car purely because of how good it was?

I've been waiting for mine for 9 months now and have on three occassions started looking for something else being fed up with the wait as it kept extending, but I kept coming back to the fact that there was nothing else I wanted as much so the order stands.

[SilvrFoxX]

I will start by saying that there is nothing in the class close to the R for the money. That said looking at the question posed by the salesman it isn't unreasonable to ask why as it isn't really a comparison.

I would suggest that many who bought the R could afford more but it gets silly what the uplift in spend needs to be before you start getting bang for buck.

Just for the record I waited 9 months and got pissed about 9 times but as all the R owners will tell you it is worth it when you get it.. ( especially after you apply a tune )

[GTD Dubber]

Couldn't agree more. I went looking at a BMW and once we opened the door my wife wouldn't even get in to try it. It looked cramped and cheaper than the VW. It probably is a very good car but it just didn't do it for both of us.

[AdamD]

I think there are a lot of Golf owners out there who can afford more, but choose not to because the Golf does everything so well. It's not just great value for money, it's also a great car to drive and be driven in. My neighbour drives a 135i and I reckon my VW does 90% of things better - including being more luxurious.

I could have afforded to spend more, and did the due diligence (BMW 135 and 325, amongst others), before I bought my GTI. I've traditionally spent all I reasonably could on my cars. But the GTI ticked all my boxes, and I put my spare change to better use instead.

[SilvrFoxX]

Yes I am pretty sure you can't fit a 2.4 metre shelf in a BMW 135. I know for a fact you can in a Golf

They are possibly the best compromise ever built.. not perfect at any one thing but great at everything

[Diesel_vert]

It's all relative.

A $155k BMW M3 is hard to justify compared to a $55k VW Golf R for some people, but others may find a Golf R hard to justify compared to a Golf GTI.

Some find an Australian made sedan better value compared to any Japanese or European hatch for performance and accommodation.

Or for those climbing the social ladder, a $55k BMW/Merc is better value compared to a $55k VW.


That said, if affordability was really no barrier, as if you wouldn't take the M3!

[kaanage]

I chose a TDi rather than a GTi (or an R and both were affordable) - what does that make me?

[SilvrFoxX]

That in isolation is true, if you said go pick up the keys to an R or an M3 and price wasn't the issue then the M3 would be the pick. However if you were to weigh up all the different aspects the R would tip the balance given most have families and it does cover all bases.

[AdamD]

That said, if affordability was really no barrier, as if you wouldn't take the M3!

QFT. An M3 sedan would have to be my #1 ideal daily. But even if I could afford one, I'd have to think pretty seriously about it before I could justify spending that coin on a small sedan... unless I had everything else I wanted already!

I chose a TDi rather than a GTi (or an R and both were affordable) - what does that make me?

Someone who recognises what they need, and buys the car that meets their requirements best? AKA someone sensible?

[jlgumby]

That said, if affordability was really no barrier, as if you wouldn't take the M3!

Some interesting comments there and herein lies my point to this. The common expectation seemed to be that we would all be driving the most expensive cars we could should we be able to afford them.

And I wanted to know if I was in a lonely group in having chosen a $55K car above one $100K more. The fact is that if an M3 was immensely better than the R, not only overall, but more importantly for what I wanted it for, then I would have ordered one. All of our situations will be different, I know many BMW owners who didn't care what the car drove like, but just wanted it because it was a BMW.

My decision makes more sense when you are aware of the fact that I have a second car at home which is used for the track and weekend blasts, and one I would choose without a thought over an M3 for those Sunday morning mountain runs.

But that's only half the point. The other is that I believe the Golf R, and indeed the Golf GTI, as I currently drive a MkV, is one of the best all round performance cars money currently can buy you. Regardless of the spend. VW is now my car of choice.

I just found it hard to believe that most of us self confessed auto enthusiasts and even more so, VW enthusiasts, have in fact settled. So are we not true enthusiasts, as we have just come to be enthusiastic about whatever it is we are able to afford to purchase. If we could all afford a $200K Porsche, then we all may suddenly become Porsche enthusiasts.

I purchased a VW because nothing else fits this need as well, does price play a part, well yes I suppose. But only in that I couldn't spent $170K hard earned of my savings on a car that is slightly better dynamically than something more than $100K less, as well as not giving me four doors, a hatch, some sort of economy, AWD etc. This is my point, it is not a question of being able to afford. And I'm sure I'm not alone. Value for money and fit for purpose would be the best descriptions.