Time to grow up, get rid of the project car and buy a Golf R/GTI

**drad81** · 16-08-2013, 09:40 AM

I've always liked quick cars and have always been a keen fan of an old V8 engine. However about 10 years ago I bought myself an Audi A4 1.8T quattro and spent a bit of time and money installing a bigger turbo and go fast bits and fell in love with VAG cars (especially those with AWD). In 2008 I got married and had to sell my toy (wife couldn't drive manual) and bought a Mecedes C180 K (got a good deal that was hard to say no to).

To keep me busy and satisfy my desire for power I bought myself a 1983 Holden Commodore SLE which I have spent approx $15000 on over the last 4 years restoring and converting to an injected V8.

Now my dilemma is that although I really would love to see the Holden on the road the adult in me is saying to grow up and rather than maintain the Alltrack, Merc and Holden, sell the Merc and Holden and buy a R/GTI which will satisfy the need for performance and serve as a daily driver.

There's not that much more work needed to get the Holden on the road however I have a 3 month old and I would rather spend time with him that do any work on the car.

What would you do? Have you regretted getting rid of a hobby?

**brad** · 16-08-2013, 10:26 AM

not sure but is that around Carlton / Allawah?

**AdamD** · 16-08-2013, 10:34 AM

Don't forget that you could buy a GTI or an R, and still satisfy your desire to tinker with the odd mod when the desire takes you. It doesn't take much tweaking to get an R into the 12s, and you can personalise any car - old or new.

Of course that may not be the cheapest option.

**woofy** · 16-08-2013, 10:57 AM

If you have a 3 mth old, you haven't even hit the time of busyness yet as they aren't moving, wait until they are mobile, you will struggle to even wash car...I gave up 6 yrs ago and got a Skoda Octavia RS which pretty much had things as I wanted already and didn't need any tinkering.

Hobbies are nice though but I'm struggling with a 5.5yr old and a 2.5 yr old to get essential things done between our house and our cars. It's getting easier the older they get now, but one of us has to be constantly watching both of them. The only free time we get is at night when they are asleep and by then you are exhausted. I figure in a few years I will be better able to get back into other things, as long as we don't make the mistake of getting our kids into everything and anything and running them all over the place every weekend like most other parents I know!

**drad81** · 16-08-2013, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by brad

not sure but is that around Carlton / Allawah?

It's Ashbury. Car is currently at Kingsgrove though.

Adam, The cost of the Holden can snowball quite quickly. The engine is still standard and would need at least $10K to get it to run 12s. Then there's the cost for painting etc. and at the end of the day it's still a Holden.

Woofy, that's part of the reason why i'm considering upgrading, time is becoming scarce. At least I can drive the golf every day and safely drive my son around. I would never dare fit a baby seat in the Holden.

**brad** · 16-08-2013, 11:58 AM

one of the reasons I decided not to continue bringing my mk3.5 Cabrio up to reasonable condition was that it would have required a lot of time in the garage by myself. I figured a basic Octavia with a few mods would do the job for a while.

I won't speak for other kids but mine (now 12 & 16) are happy if you are within eyesight / talking distance. You don't have to be directly involved in what they are doing but they want to know you are available if they have a problem (large or small). They seem to be more concerned about quantity time than quality time. I've probably had more "deep" converstations with them while I was faffing about on forums than if i'd actually asked them directly about what was on their mind.

So yeah. Sell the Commode & get a Golf R & spend a few thousand on it. woooshkaaa!

**Stanton** · 16-08-2013, 12:32 PM

You guys have been hypnotised by the lastest Toyota add.
No its still not hip to be square yet.

**sVWatt** · 16-08-2013, 05:50 PM

Walk away Bro. Get a capable Golf and never look back.

**drad81** · 19-08-2013, 01:44 PM

Wheels are in motion.

The Holden is currently for sale and soon my 2005 C class will be up for sale or I might trade it in.

I'm pretty set on a Golf R with DSG, Leather and Sunroof. Preferably white. Anything more is a bonus.

Fingers crossed everything ans out.

**AdamD** · 20-08-2013, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by drad81

Wheels are in motion.

The Holden is currently for sale and soon my 2005 C class will be up for sale or I might trade it in.

I'm pretty set on a Golf R with DSG, Leather and Sunroof. Preferably white. Anything more is a bonus.

Fingers crossed everything ans out.

Good plan. Good luck with the sales!