I think he went 7 year loan (which is also crazy)!!! Tax in DE is 4.25% on vehicles. I think the dealer was running a special financing option with low APR also. I just remember when I was car shopping after my accident I told him I wanted to stay around $250 a month. He said ah just get what you want my truck is over $600 a month and so is his wife's SUV. Well I found what I wanted and stayed around my Fit payment of $250 (just put more cash down).

That is just crazy IMO!!!! My mortgage is not much over that and I can't live in my car. Now if my house was paid off I could maybe go for that and get my 911 but I would still buy a used one probably lol.

Edit: He must have paid under 60k because even with an 84 month loan and no interest you are at $714. Or I remembered wrong which is very possible

 

Yeesh.

I have no car payment. Over the time I've owned the Fit + the S2000 my monthly costs come out to about $750 per month.

BUT that includes fuel, insurance, maintenance, registration/plate fees AND modifications (a rather massive percentage of that). So that's literally every single cent that's gone into the cars.

Those people spending double that on car payments + all the added costs involved are INSANE.

 

I am almost done with paying off the Odyssey - only eight more months of $900/mo payments. Although I look forward to saving that money, I know I will likely end up making unsound financial decisions. A used GTI has been sparking my interest as of late...I blame this thread.

 

Regarding truck ownership, I have always been the beneficiary of friends who have trucks. A lifted 4x4 is appealing to me, but it would only see duties driving to Target and back.

While the minivan acquits itself well as a truck-with-a-covered-bed on occasion, I see the appeal and ease of loading large/bulky/heavy items in the bed of a truck.

 

I definitely like the convenience of a truck bed, but I agree that a good sized enclosed interior has major benefits as well.

I'd be fine with an SUV, but they are actually the more expensive towing option. As soon as you want to be able to tow a 2,200 lb car trailer with a 3,300 lb car along with misc gear and have a small margin of safety, you need ~6,500 lb towing capacity. Full size pick up trucks are the least expensive vehicles that can safely tow that weight. That's why I've owned a '96 Silverado, '99 Ram 1500, '03 Superduty, '08 F150. I have been "truckless" since around 2013.

In hindsight, I wish I would have kept the '03 Superduty. It was a 250 diesel 4x4. Those can be kept running practically indefinitely and are still considered a workhorse.

 

It is really hard to beat the usefulness of a truck especially for towing. I would go Ford, Nissan or Toyota if I had to have a truck. I don't think I could drive one everyday though.

DO IT!!!!!

MK7 if you can or MK6 after 2014 to be sure the tensioner has been updated. Add a tune for 25% more power and enjoy!! There is a reason it is the benchmark of hot hatch backs and even though it is not the most powerful (unless it's tuned) it is a great all around car. Lot's of tuning potential while keeping it basically OEM. Also the DSG for an automatic is damn good if you would rather over the manual.

Golf R is better but for the money the GTI is hard to beat.

 

I definitely enjoyed the power from a APR-tuned 2.0T when I had an Audi A3 for three short months. Although it was a 6MT, I felt the revs were simply too high for highway speed (~3500rpm at 80mph). Granted, the roll-on power with the tuned engine was impressive. Still I wanted a bit more fuel economy when cruising. And I figure the GTI flies under the radar more easily than the R. The only question at that point is, what becomes of the Fit?

 

APR has been in the game for a while and are one of the more reputable tuners. Fuel economy is definitely not on Fit level (I average 25-26 back road driving) but on the highway can get over 31mpg even with the tune. The 6 speed does rev on the higher side during highway driving but the cabin is so quiet I hardly notice. The GTI definitely flies under the radar since it doesn't look quick like a WRX or Focus ST does. I took all the GTI badges off my car so that only a person who knows that a twin exhaust Golf is not an ordinary Golf

The Fit is still a great daily commuter car and really cheap to run and maintain....but the GTI is a lot of fun in a different way then the Fit is.

edit: 80mph @ 3100

 

80 MPH @ 3100.

I think 80 MPH in the AP1 is like 4400 lol

 

Thank you for the insight! I suppose I could also drive a little slower to keep the revs down, but driving in LA is either stop-and-go or cannonball run.

Noise, glorious noise!

 

tbh it is fairly quiet. The Mugen header/highflow cat/mugen catback set up is shockingly mundane, zero drone at all. Even in VTEC it is barely louder than stock.

 

That is a good thing. Don't want it to be too obnoxious even if it's not a daily driver. I will do a down pipe and res delete and call it a day I think. That should keep it quiet for DD duties but open up once you go WOT.

Picked up a Neuspeed dog bone insert for cheap on eBay. This should help the car hook better and keep the motor planted. Upgraded engine mounts are on the list as well.



Summer rubber gets mounted tomorrow along with the curb rash getting fixed on the one wheel. Have to drive 1.5 hours one way to get the wheel fixed but it's the closest place.

Also going to swap out the boost gauge for a P3 gauge or New South once I save some money. It is expensive but it looks the best. I don't really like the one I have and now know why it's not a popular choice.

 

Nice stuff!

I put the 034 Motorsports billet dog bone insert in ours and it made a noticeable difference. Driveline slop is nearly all gone. Some interior vibration was added, but worth it to eliminate the annoying slop.

 

That digital gauge is v nice.

What is a dog bone?

 

That's exactly what I asked when it was recommended I get an insert for my "dog bone." LOL

It's a VW/Porsche thing. I don't know if this is the right terminology, but I'd call it the center motor mount. It's the mount that keeps the engine from rotating back and forth under acceleration/deceleration. I haven't seen one in other cars.

The rubber bushings in VW's and Porches are super soft for reduced NVH, but it allows the entire drivetrain to feel sloppy. In our case, I thought the transmission was slipping, but it was just slop from the motor and transmission rotating. The insert fills in the gaps to make the mount more solid. The very low NVH solution is to use a hard rubber insert like the one above. I went with the solid billet option that does increase NVH, but it eliminates all slop. Car now puts the power down better and the transmission feels fine on shifts. Wife is happier.

 

Yes it is very nice and the advanced gauge can tell you lot's of parameters other then boost (even a 0-60 calculator). The basic gauge is $230 dollars but you get what you pay for. I was always an old school kinda guy with analog gauges and needles but that one makes it look OEM which I do like very much.

LOL I did the same thing. I don't mind some extra NVH though and might upgrade to a full billet option.

It does resemble a dog bone.



It connects to the sub frame brace and the insert that I got goes in that part (under the 04-2656) .

 

Interesting, that makes sense. You'd think they'd go a bit stiffer in something like the GTI/Golf R, etc., for the sportier drivers.

Also for $230 that digital gauge seems a pretty great deal.

 

Agree on the gauge!

As for the dogbone...they even use soft rubber on 911's. Owners of those seem to usually opt for changing the entire assembly to something stiffer since $$$ is likely less important.

 

You would think on something like a 911 the owners buying those vehicles would want the stiffer setup so it would be factory. I guess most BMW people I see bought it because of the badge and not because it's "The Ultimate Driving Machine".

Curb rash fixed and apparently one of the rims was bent so that was repaired as well. The wheel didn't wobble or anything so it must not have been to bad but I didn't want it to get worse or cause wonky tire wear. General G-Max installed and initial impression is positive.Will break them in and see how they really perform.

Coilovers are coming as soon as someone buys my old Honda wheels cause it looks like a 4x4 lol. Also a paint restore is in order this April as the black is not looking so good.

 

Did you go with the AS05?

TBH that ride height isn't that bad, looks comfortable haha