It's true. History does not repeat itself ... but boy, does it rhyme!

[Falafel Combo]

Many of you may have read about my passionate story leading up to the purchase of my f80 M3. Just in case you haven't, here's a refresher:

Dreams don't come true. Nor should they! An enthusiasts reflection on BMW ownership




So, last time I had owned an M3, it was an e92 ZCP in 6MT. And I don't know, I just didn't like it. It was sluggish, heavy, ...

I am sure it's an amazing car on the track, more so with the DCT transmission. It's a gorgeous design and makes some amazing sounds ... but it just wasn't doing it for me.











So after that, I had decided to buy a small, fun car. I went with a Mazda 3 (loved it!) followed by an MK6 VW GTI (loved that even more!!!).






A few years later, here I am. Selling my f80 M3, albeit under totally different circumstances.










The big difference is that this time around, I LOVE MY M3, and am really sad to see it go. But a job change has me driving many more miles than I want to, which means that I won't be able to enjoy my M3 as much. I have made the decision that the f80 M3 is not a practical commuter (DUH!!!) and in such, it would be parked most of the time. I would not enjoy it.

So now that it's time to buy a fun, playful and practical commuter, I found myself circling back to the cars I know best. The Mazda 3 and VW Golf GTI.

I ultimately decided on going with the MK7 Golf GTI just because ... well, it's way cooler!

It is a seriously compelling package. 4 wheel independent suspension, limited slip differential, incredibly well sorted suspension and dampening. It's a very nice place to be. I went with the "Dual Clutch" DSG transmission this time around, since I will be putting some un-Godly miles on this car, with some stop and go traffic.

I'll probably just drive the GTI for the next year or two until my work situation stabilizes, and perhaps get back into a BMW or Porsche when that time comes. Something small, fun and manual.

But for now, wish me luck with my new business guys! I will be here as usual, since I like to keep up with BMW chatter and read what new cars and options you guys are buying.

This is generally a great forum to be part of, whether you drive a BMW or not. I am sure many previous BMW owners would agree.

Here are some pics of the new hot hatch!

PS: I would love it if BMW brings a version of the M135i stateside. That would be an absolute no brainer and would take away a lot of market share form the VW GTI.


.

[DocWeatherington]

Congrats on the GTI they are great cars, too bad BMW doesn't have a hot hatch.. but then again they have Mini...

Let us know how the F80 sells

You will be missed

[Yes2m3cs]

Good luck with the MK7 man they are amazing little cars. I am fortunate to own both mk7 and F82 and love them.

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by DocWeatherington

Congrats on the GTI they are great cars, too bad BMW doesn't have a hot hatch.. but then again they have Mini...

Let us know how the F80 sells

You will be missed

Thanks man! I don't think I'll be going anywhere. Probably will be scouring the boards for the next cool thing to buy when the time comes.

But for now, I am so happy to be in the GTI, I can't tell you. It's really nice to be driving a "sleeper" car and not feel like there is so much attention everywhere I go. In the Austin Yellow M3 you're "ON", all the time. There's no escaping the attention. The minute you step out of the car, you just feel the eyeballs oogling you.

But the GTI is a nice low key "cool" car. I feel like I can blend in much easier, which is a welcomed change!

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by xG35guy

Good luck with the MK7 man they are amazing little cars. I am fortunate to own both mk7 and F82 and love them.

I've been enjoying my f80 so much that I was out of lease miles anyways! I put 32,500 miles on in 20 months. I would be paying for additional miles + insurance + property tax (northeast) ... for a car I'm barely driving. So it did not make much sense for me to keep.

Besides, I could not find a better person to give this AWESOME deal to. My little brother. So in a way, it's still in the family.

[AW BMW]

Congrats on the GTi, I may have to do the same move because of work. I rented a GTi when I went to Vegas in the summer and was very impressed by it. It felt very composed at high speed, very comfortable, and surprisingly fast. I liked it more than the Mazdaspeed 3 I use to own, it really looks like a fun car to own. Once again congrats!

[Kankles]

GTI high on my list of wifey cars when I move back to US (but I'm not selling the F80!!! Bringing it back).

BMW is missing something by not bringing the 1-series hatch to the US. I'd be all over a 128 or 135i instead of the GTI. 6MT and RWD.

[damnitBobby]

Curious why you think the M3 is not a practical commuter. I mean I understand the attention grabbing part, but what else makes it impractical as a daily?

And congratulations on the GTI. You pretty much picked the perfect daily driver available under $30k.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by damnitBobby

Curious why you think the M3 is not a practical commuter. I mean I understand the attention grabbing part, but what else makes it impractical as a daily?

And congratulations on the GTI. You pretty much picked the perfect daily driver available under $30k.

Based on other posts my understanding is OP is leasing and at the mileage limit. It is likely more costly than OP would like to make the lease payment and buy the additional miles

Congrats on the GTI OP. It's nice there are lesse costly cars around that don't feel like a complete penalty box coming from an m3

[M-Pilot]

Surprised to see this many positive comments on the GTI. Not that I have any bad experience with it but just didn't know GTI was a very good overall car as described here. Congrats OP!

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by damnitBobby

Curious why you think the M3 is not a practical commuter. I mean I understand the attention grabbing part, but what else makes it impractical as a daily?

And congratulations on the GTI. You pretty much picked the perfect daily driver available under $30k.

Thank you.

The M3 is a great balance. Period. But it's no secret that it is also a high powered, sophisticated sports car. So in hairy situations (rainy, snowy, icy), you just have to be very cautious not to get in trouble. It's over engineered and just too much car for a commuter. In addition to that, with my new job commute I will be dealing with lots of stop and go traffic, which makes the 6MT less sexy, and more of a liability.

It is also not a cheap vehicle to maintain once you enter higher mileage territory, and are out of warranty. I am nearing 32,500 miles on the ODO (roughly 18,000 miles per year) and will only be driving more the next few years. I'm projecting 25,000-30,000 per year, which easily puts me at 100,000 miles in a few years. When you factor in possible repairs and projected maintenance costs, I think that skews the equation a bit.

That does not preclude it form being a great daily driver. In fact, I will take my initial statement back and more specifically say that "my M3" wasn't a great daily driver for "me". My M3 is an Austin "look at me" Yellow, in 6MT. So while I absolutely LOVE the AY, and even more so the manual transmission, it just makes for some uncomfortable moments when pulling up to my parking space at work. I work in a blue collar town, so most people in my building (and those who I do business with) drive Toyotas, 10 year old Grand Cherokees, Subarus. So seeing this young guy pull up in a bright yellow sports BMW doesn't exactly portray the best image. So again, it became slightly tiring to me to always have to deal with the attention at work and being perceived in a certain way.

But I digress.

Hopefully this answer your question in some way.

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

Based on other posts my understanding is OP is leasing and at the mileage limit. It is likely more costly than OP would like to make the lease payment and buy the additional miles

Congrats on the GTI OP. It's nice there are lesse costly cars around that don't feel like a complete penalty box coming from an m3

Thanks again.

It's not really the cost of excess miles. The miles are actually pretty affordable at $0.18. It's more of the fact that my driving miles will go up significantly and I just don't see myself enjoying the M3 as a mundane commuter. It's not really how I envisioned myself driving the M3 when I first purchased it. There are far better cars that can do the commuter task.

In the past, my commuting miles would comprise roughly 60% of my driving. So it made sense that I would have a fun and reliable car that could do both, effectively.

But now my miles will be spilt more like 80% commuting and 20% pleasure, so it would make more sense to have dedicated cars.

My needs of a car have essentially changed dramatically, where now it makes more sense to have a commuter and a separate garage queen.

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by cntzl

Surprised to see this many positive comments on the GTI. Not that I have any bad experience with it but just didn't know GTI was a very good overall car as described here. Congrats OP!

It really is. And this last iteration (code name Mark 7) is really a significant improvement over the last gen Mark 6.

More power, more torque, and they added a limited slip differential to control torque steer on the front axle. And the 4 wheel independent suspension and electronically controlled GTI dampening just make the ride so well behaved and balanced.

The GTI is such an important car for VW group that, from what I hear (Chris Harris), they actually enlisted the help of a few top Porsche RS engineers to help tune and refine the electric steering feel and suspension components on this Mark 7 GTI.

It's just a phenomenal car for the money. And super fun to hoon around. Dollar for dollar, it's one of the best values you can get on any car.

You will also find that several auto journalists own one as a daily driver (Jeremy Clarkson and Chris Harris are ones that I can think of now).

[64-bit]

I loved you sharing your experience! Im almost on the same boat as you...
Im driving 25-30K a year, and we got crazy winter here in new england, so the M stays in the garage 80% of the time and the insurance + tax + depreciation doesn't stop which comes right down to your point.

Please let us know how much does the GTI costs and how much do you have with it in comparison

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by Falafel Combo

It really is. And this last iteration (code name Mark 7) is really a significant improvement over the last gen Mark 6.

More power, more torque, and they added a limited slip differential to control torque steer on the front axle. And the 4 wheel independent suspension and electronically controlled GTI dampening just make the ride so well behaved and balanced.

The GTI is such an important car for VW group that, from what I hear (Chris Harris), they actually enlisted the help of a few top Porsche RS engineers to help tune and refine the electric steering feel and suspension components on this Mark 7 GTI.

It's just a phenomenal car for the money. And super fun to hook around. Dollar for dollar, it's one of the best values you can get on any car.

You will also find that several auto journalists own one as a daily driver (Jeremy Clarkson and Chris Harris are ones that I can think of now).

Completely agree. For the money, there likely isn't a better car out there. Its fun to drive, has a beautiful interior, and is very fuel efficient. I had a mk6 GTI and absolutely loved it.

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by 64-bit

I loved you sharing your experience! Im almost on the same boat as you...
Im driving 25-30K a year, and we got crazy winter here in new england, so the M stays in the garage 80% of the time and the insurance + tax + depreciation doesn't stop which comes right down to your point.

Please let us know how much does the GTI costs and how much do you have with it in comparison

My GTI (SE model in leather, DSG auto) stickers at roughly $33,500. I paid $25,700 for it. $29,100 out the door, once you factor in tax, title and registration. This is the best time of the year to buy one, obviously.

If you're not in too much of a rush, there may be a newer one coming next year. I know Europe will be getting it, but I am not so sure about when it comes to the U.S.

[DocWeatherington]

Originally Posted by Falafel Combo

Thanks man! I don't think I'll be going anywhere. Probably will be scouring the boards for the next cool thing to buy when the time comes.

But for now, I am so happy to be in the GTI, I can't tell you. It's really nice to be driving a "sleeper" car and not feel like there is so much attention everywhere I go. In the Austin Yellow M3 you're "ON", all the time. There's no escaping the attention. The minute you step out of the car, you just feel the eyeballs oogling you.

But the GTI is a nice low key "cool" car. I feel like I can blend in much easier, which is a welcomed change!

Sounds like you should buy another f80 and get it in white with a sunroof..

nah I understand, I used to log 30k a year and drove at the time a Civic SI and it was great for what it was and what I needed.

[mic_crispy]

Nice GTi man. I have circled back those many times as well!

I actually just had a 2015 Golf R and loved it!

[clutchdj]

Originally Posted by mic_crispy

Nice GTi man. I have circled back those many times as well!

I actually just had a 2015 Golf R and loved it!

Congrats OP

---------------

What did you not like about the mk7 R

[RobC2]

Congrats! I have a MK7 GTI in addition to the F80 and it is amazing what a bang for the buck the VW is. I was thinking I would probably sell it in the spring, but I don't know. It is the perfect daily driver. Even my wife loves driving it.

[64-bit]

I went for a test drive yesterday, and I was already missing my M3

But the car looks great!

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by 64-bit

I went for a test drive yesterday, and I was already missing my M3

But the car looks great!

I hope you are not "comparing it" to your M3. It's a $25k car. An M3 is $75k. Let alone the huge performance and specs gap.

But if you take it for what it's worth, and once they are placed in the proper context, the GTI is in a lot of ways in fact "better". Just not head to head.

That looks identical to my car, BTW, minus the 6MT.