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I'm trying to decide if I should buy...

skitheeast

skitheeast

Passed Driver's Ed
Hey guys! I'm new to the forums and need some advice concerning GTI's.

First off, I'm 17 so this would be the first car I would own for myself (currently driving family jeep and sometimes minivan). For many years the GTI has been my dream car (excluding cars like porsches for obvious reasons). I have a couple questions:

1. How bad would you guess the insurance is for me (17 y.o.) versus if I was driving a jetta or something similar?

2. In your opinion, is this "too much car" for me at my age? (I guess I want to know your thoughts on a kid my age driving one of these cars).

I'm on a tight budget so ordinarily I wouldn't really be looking at GTI's but I found one that seems like a pretty good option. It's a 2011 with 40,000 miles for just under $13,000. Is this deal good enough that I should jump on it? It was involved in an accident (minor I hope, I'll check out the details before buying) but the guy said he's driven it 30,000 miles since without an issue. Because I'd like to spend less I would be considering older years but I've heard too many bad things about the FSI engine and I would be getting one with a significant amount of miles on it which scares me.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you have!

Whether I buy this car or another, I know that I will own a GTI at some point in my life and I look forward to it!

Matt
 
thedude4bides

thedude4bides

Go Kart Champion
GTI will be more expensive to insure than other cars like the jetta or golf. Any car can be too much car for an inexperienced driver, but it's only 200hp so I don't think so. I'd argue it's be even safer because it has better haning an brakes than cars like a jetta. I wouldn't get on in an accident and there's probably plenty available used ones out there. That does seem to be a good price though.
 
damagi123

damagi123

Go Kart Champion
skitheeast said:
I'm on a tight budget so ordinarily I wouldn't really be looking at GTI's but I found one that seems like a pretty good option. It's a 2011 with 40,000 miles for just under $13,000. Is this deal good enough that I should jump on it? It was involved in an accident (minor I hope, I'll check out the details before buying) but the guy said he's driven it 30,000 miles since without an issue. Because I'd like to spend less I would be considering older years but I've heard too many bad things about the FSI engine and I would be getting one with a significant amount of miles on it which scares me.
Click to expand...

thats a sick price dog. Is there definitely nothing wrong with it?

also if that doesnt work out, you should look an s2000
 
lilonespaz

lilonespaz

Drag Race Newbie
Your insurance will be higher on the GTI because some insurance companies consider it a "Sport car" other just consider it a Hatchback so shop around and get the best price you can. Your insurance will be higher than anything because you're a male under 25.

Also its a nice simplistic car to drive not to much power but not boring either.

I have a 2011 Gti with 50k miles now i bought it at 40k from a dealer i paid 21k (i got kinda raped now that i look back)

13k is pretty low youd def want to investigate the accident/repair and if he has a detailed service/repair documentation and receipts.
 
ElectricEye

ElectricEye

Autocross Newbie
I hate to be the guy that thinks it's too much car for a 17 year old, but it is.
And I'm a guy who was hell bent on getting a Datsun 280Z when I was your age. (Never got one. :()
I'll tell you it's too much car, because as a 51 year old who just traded in his
MK6 of four years for a MK7, a car like this makes you grow horns.
I've owned or leased lots of run of the mill vehicles, and frankly when the vehicle lacks power and capability, it just doesn't goad you into getting on it.
Yes, you can kill yourself as readily in a 4 cyl. Accord as you can a GTI.
But the GTI calls you and coaxes you to get on it.
It simply takes more self control not to wring it out.

The other negative is relative reliability of the GTI.
They're no bad (well some of them are not bad) and some of them are very good.
But as first car recommendations for a young guy goes, they fall a bit short.
 
lilonespaz

lilonespaz

Drag Race Newbie
damagi123 said:
thats a sick price dog. Is there definitely nothing wrong with it?

also if that doesnt work out, you should look an s2000
Click to expand...


He is just starting out.
dont Fuck around with the S2k bullshit on a thread that needs actual advice.
 
ElectricEye

ElectricEye

Autocross Newbie
200HP might not be much by todays standards, but performance wise the GTI runs alongside a number of the premium performance cars I lusted after in the 80's.
 
Jaber

Jaber

Modero
Get yourself a car that will be easier/cheaper to fix and diagnose. GTI and "on a budget", don't think jive well.

That and insurance will be higher. Cheaper if you go on your parents plan.
 
B

bdegen94

Ready to race!
Look, I am gonna be dead honest with you. It will probably be a little to much, insurance will be expensive and your gonna find a sudden rush of power with a turboed car. But then again I don't know you as a person or how much self control you actually have none of us do so we cant tell you right off the back if its a good choice for you. I am 20 years old I have had 3 cars already just seemed to work out like that. Looking back at myself when I was that age if I had a GTI at 17 i would have gotten myself into a little bit of trouble, I would have blacked it out and every chance I got laid into on bends and corners. I don't have a lot of experience like my peers here but over the last 3-4 years I have gone off to college and I can honestly say I can look back and tell you that I would have done some dumb shit with that car in High school. If you love laying on the gas and passing people and driving fast at this age I would advise against it.

If you think you can drive at a regular speed and not floor it past people every chance you get and the right price comes along, then yeah maybe get it. But if you do get it, like most of us here you will start to want to go faster and then the mods will start to happen and then you can run into trouble one of two ways. One being at your age if you don't have the cash flow to play your gonna run into financial issues at this age. Two your gonna start flooring it more and more and something could happen either it be Tickets or far worse. Ill sum it up with this. you need to judge yourself and see if you have the SELF CONTROL to own this vehicle.
 
dmarsh15

dmarsh15

Ready to race!
The insurance for my GTI is about $15 less a month than my Mazda 3 (not the speed version).
 
ashchuckton

ashchuckton

Ready to race!
Best advice I can give you is call your insurance man & ask these same questions. Welcome to the MK6 forum.
 
skitheeast

skitheeast

Passed Driver's Ed
Thanks for all the info! I'll be keeping all of this in mind as I continue to research. As of now I consider myself to have decent self control at least speed-wise (at least better than most of my peers). Also s2000's are sweet but I'm definitely not looking for cars in that range. Really the biggest obstacle for me at the moment is money it seems. I can't see myself really pushing this car too hard and getting into trouble just because that's not the way I drive. I'm just looking for something a little more fun than a jetta or something.

Thanks again for all the advice! You guys have been really helpful!
 
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