Zippy's r53 SOLD...bought a VW TDI!
#1
Zippy's r53 SOLD...bought a VW TDI!
Well the title says it all.... Its bittersweet, but life moves on...
In many posts I alluded to being truly torn, and disappointed in the gen3 cars (5 door looking a bit odd, HUGE tail lights, odd bumper etc), and where MINI is going in general (taking 10 years to admit to seat bottom issues,same for PS issues, both of which I DID NOT HAVE etc, where do I begin)...
While I have loved my r53, truly a modern classic, I had been in the same car for 10 years...and peoples needs change, and it was time to move on, as I could see upcoming expenses that were more than I was willing to spend the time and effort to fix on a 10+ year old car....
Replacement is a VW Jetta TDI SE+connectivity....simply put, I got such a good deal (used true-car,then got 3 dealers that did true car competing with the 2 local ones that did not, then BEAT THAT by $500+) had good incentives (took $1500 cash-back rather than 0%, then got the dealer to match the 1.75% 60 month financing I arranged...
Did take a bit of a hit on the trade-in value, but the end number of the two deals is what matters....and I got stunning deal....car, MSRP at $26,485 (2015 Jetta TDI® Clean Diesel SE with Connectivity)out the door with a loan of about $18,000 plus my 2005 r53....
Yup....
Drove the TDI jetta on a Whim...was like WOW!
Would I consider it a full price deal...NO. the new turbo 4 might make more sense....but the deal on the TDI, cash back, etc and the fact dealers are dealing since folks are buying gas cars and SUV's meant a deal was ready to be had, and I did it.
Sure the new Golf/GTI is AWESOME, but right now the price difference is just too great...
In the first 2 days of doing a mix of 75MPH highway driving and bumper to bumper, I am OVER 50 MPG..admittedly driving it kinda slow since I am trying to break it in a bit....needed or not, much debated, figure it can ONLY help...heck DID the same on my r53 when new...and was ALWAYS a good car, no oil burning,good MPG, great Dyno HP, etc...
So while the MINI is gone, but I will forever have 10+ years of experience, fun, events and fellowship....
Should still drop in for a bit..only time will tell long-term.
Good luck to all...
Have some bits to sell that I have collected over the years, a 6000 mile near factory new SC off a wreck i got a few years back and a few lower priced item I have accumulated that I no longer need....
In the next few weeks, those should be appearing sooner or later!!
In many posts I alluded to being truly torn, and disappointed in the gen3 cars (5 door looking a bit odd, HUGE tail lights, odd bumper etc), and where MINI is going in general (taking 10 years to admit to seat bottom issues,same for PS issues, both of which I DID NOT HAVE etc, where do I begin)...
While I have loved my r53, truly a modern classic, I had been in the same car for 10 years...and peoples needs change, and it was time to move on, as I could see upcoming expenses that were more than I was willing to spend the time and effort to fix on a 10+ year old car....
Replacement is a VW Jetta TDI SE+connectivity....simply put, I got such a good deal (used true-car,then got 3 dealers that did true car competing with the 2 local ones that did not, then BEAT THAT by $500+) had good incentives (took $1500 cash-back rather than 0%, then got the dealer to match the 1.75% 60 month financing I arranged...
Did take a bit of a hit on the trade-in value, but the end number of the two deals is what matters....and I got stunning deal....car, MSRP at $26,485 (2015 Jetta TDI® Clean Diesel SE with Connectivity)out the door with a loan of about $18,000 plus my 2005 r53....
Yup....
Drove the TDI jetta on a Whim...was like WOW!
Would I consider it a full price deal...NO. the new turbo 4 might make more sense....but the deal on the TDI, cash back, etc and the fact dealers are dealing since folks are buying gas cars and SUV's meant a deal was ready to be had, and I did it.
Sure the new Golf/GTI is AWESOME, but right now the price difference is just too great...
In the first 2 days of doing a mix of 75MPH highway driving and bumper to bumper, I am OVER 50 MPG..admittedly driving it kinda slow since I am trying to break it in a bit....needed or not, much debated, figure it can ONLY help...heck DID the same on my r53 when new...and was ALWAYS a good car, no oil burning,good MPG, great Dyno HP, etc...
So while the MINI is gone, but I will forever have 10+ years of experience, fun, events and fellowship....
Should still drop in for a bit..only time will tell long-term.
Good luck to all...
Have some bits to sell that I have collected over the years, a 6000 mile near factory new SC off a wreck i got a few years back and a few lower priced item I have accumulated that I no longer need....
In the next few weeks, those should be appearing sooner or later!!
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The 2015 has a new TDi motor...shares only 15% of parts with the old one, a modular deign that shares many parts with a who new family of motors over different HP ...specs are 10 more hp, more TQ, easier revving, better MPG, but it DOES use DEF (aka add blue), but a $6-10 total fill up cost every 10,000 miles (based on non DEALER cost) pretty cheap.
hopefully I like it longterm as much as i did the MINI over the last 10 years!!
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Oh no . :(
Hope you don't leave and go to VWVortex , glad to have some Gen 1 MINI owners on here still.
Hope you don't leave and go to VWVortex , glad to have some Gen 1 MINI owners on here still.
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MINI Guru/ MINI Owner Since 2004 | NEW Lifetime Part Replacement | Local Pickup
Milltek | Genuine MINI | Forge Motorsport | NM Engineering | ECS Performance | M7 Speed
Customer Service Hours: 8am-8pm EST|Sales Team Hours: 8am-11pm | SAT 10am-7pm 800.924.5172
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We've been Gen 1 enthusiasts for a bit over 6 years now and my co-pilot just last month brought home her own '15 CM Justa. A lot more exposed metal but the ride is great and it acts like it would really like to challenge a twisty but not with the enthusiasm of it's stable mate. It's a lot more fun to ride and drive than a generic everyday appliance, that's for sure. Contrary to some, I'm just not ready to off hand dismiss the new breed. One can only hope.
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glad you atleaste got the TDI, not post some pics and get an APR Tune and get that over 300 ft-lb torque! They are remarkable machines and will last nearly forever and hold their value real well. it was a good choice. too bad I never got to see your r53. I could helped you remove some parts and get it into stock form to help ya pay off that tdi
#19
The TDIs are great cars. I had an '03 Golf TDI....then an '05 diesel Jeep Liberty....then after a couple of MINIs in a row, a '12 Golf TDI. I started having clutch issues with it and decided to sell it off and got back into an older R52. The low-end torque of the TDI is great and makes for a great highway car.
I will say that in my experience owning several VWs over the years (gas and diesel), I've found that the dealership experience (service departments in particular) vary greatly from dealer to dealer...way more than MINI. VWofA has a somewhat "hands-off" approach to dealing with their dealers, so many of the service departments are downright terrible and warranty claims are not always handled consistently. BMW/MINI has a better system by leaps in bounds in regards to service departments overall I think.
If you haven't discovered it already, www.tdiclub.com is a really great forum. Lots of smart people there and good info. I've been a member of that forum since '03.
Happy dieseling!
I will say that in my experience owning several VWs over the years (gas and diesel), I've found that the dealership experience (service departments in particular) vary greatly from dealer to dealer...way more than MINI. VWofA has a somewhat "hands-off" approach to dealing with their dealers, so many of the service departments are downright terrible and warranty claims are not always handled consistently. BMW/MINI has a better system by leaps in bounds in regards to service departments overall I think.
If you haven't discovered it already, www.tdiclub.com is a really great forum. Lots of smart people there and good info. I've been a member of that forum since '03.
Happy dieseling!
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