Interested in GTI, current Mazda3 owner. HELP! Long post...

Hello everyone, first post here... signed up a bit ago and just been looking around since I do not own a GTI at the moment...

If you have some time please sit back and read my post, I could use all the advice I can get.

My main dilemma: Is a GTI right for me and should I buy one?

About the car I currently own:

I own a 2005 Mazda3 Automatic with 20,000 miles fully loaded (6CD player, leather, sunroof, auto-dimm mirror, leveling HID, tint) I paid quite a bit more than I should have for it, but fortunately after owning the car for over a year I am very close to no longer being upside-down.

My current payment on the Mazda3: $483/month (I tend to pay a bit more) with a 5 year extended warranty.

Current modifications: Tein H-Tech Springs, Yokohama ES 100 215/45/17, MB Wheels EXE II, 2.5 Stubby, Grnd TB, Black Badges, Reflectors, Calipers, RE Audio 1500 Watts RMS 1ohm...

Ratings: 165hp (crank) weight: 2800lbs.

Mazda3 Pros: Let me just say that I really just love this car, just about everything about it I love... so much that almost a year ago my girlfriend and I (she owns a mazda3 as well) started LVmazda3.com, one of the largest and most active Mazda3 clubs in the states. The interior is very clean, love the exterior curves, very roomy, many features, extremely fun to drive, etc... Insurance is not too expensive either, $144 a month in Las Vegas and under 21.

Mazda3 Cons: Payment, my APR sucks, paying close to $500 a month for a car I feel is starting to not be worth it. The car is on its SECOND ENGINE, long story short: Engine died due to oil starvation even though all oil was present and all oil changes were in order with receipts, dealer fought me but ended up having to replace the engine in the end, the car has never felt the same since then. (full 10 page story) Car does not feel very quick, don't take me wrong, it's not slow at all... and it has a lot of potential but I would like something a bit quicker... Automatic tiptronic shifting is rather laggy as well in my opinion.

My thoughts on the GTI:

I also like this car very much, I am not a big fan of the wheel gap from factory or the wheels, but I hated that on my Mazda3 as well and as you can see I took care of that as well. I am very impressed with the DSG tranny and the paddles and just love the way the engine sounds and feels at WOT.

At first I didn't like the exterior very much but it's very quickly starting to grow on me with every picture I see, even though it's only a 2 door (would love a 4 door but not yet available as you all know) Having only 2 doors is not really a big decision making point anyway. I'm also not a huge fan of the plad seats but they are also growing on me, it looks "trendy" and I'm not very interested in leather anymore, my Mazda3 has black leather in a completly black interior and 115 degree weather in Vegas. I like the interior a lot as I find it "similar" to my current car.

GTI Pros: DSG transmission, been on 2 test drives so far, I'm speechless, this thing is just... well.. SICK. I also love the way the way Black Magic looks when lowered and on wheels. It also comes with a standard 5 year warranty, something I paid extra for in my current car. The car feels and sounds strong, very quick and competitive. Oh yeah and the commercials are freaking cool too...

GTI Cons: I'm not totaly sure about the reliabily of it yet, never owned a german car or dealt much with them. Girlfriend is not really stoked about getting it but even she swears by the durability of VW while other friends say I should avoid a VW. However, after dealing with having an engine replaced on my current vehicle I question... can anything happen to the GTI that's worse than that? Also, the exterior is slowly but surely starting to grow on me, I know I will not be satisfied with the looks of the car right off the lot but it's noting some springs and wheels can't fix, just like my current car... I'm also kind of dissapointed at the weight of the car, 3300lbs seems heavy but it seems to have enough torque to shake it off, I'm sure putting the car on a diet wouldn't hurt either.


Financial points

The following numbers are all based off other Mazda3 cars running these setups, they vary between 8psi and 12psi making between 225whp and 275whp... here is the price breakdown on making such a car out of what I have:

Mazda3 car: $22000
Hiboost Turbo: $4000
Forged Internals: $1500
Tranny Upgrades: $1500
LSD: $1500
2.5" Cat-back: $550
Wheels: $800
Tires: $500
Brakes: $1500
# at 8psi: ~225whp
Total: $33850

Now the GTI... I really don't know how much it will really cost as I have not discussed details with a dealer, but I sure hope it's under 25k... I will also base my numbers on the dyno's I've seen here...

GTI car: Under 25k
Wheels & Tires: $1500
Chip: ~$600
Stock #'s: ~175whp/200ft/lbs.

So then we're talking about a car that's going to cost me over 33k and may not keep up with other slightly modified FWD cars and will cost me a bit more. Unique? Yes... Cost effective? Not really...

After being on a couple of test drives with the GTI now I feel that it may just be quick enough for me and I can see myself in it... However there is still a couple of things based on those "Cons" I listed above that I still want to work out...

What I want want from a GTI:

Black Magic (maybe white) and DSG tranny... more than likely 17" wheels since they will be replaced anyway. Of course, looking for a lower payment as well, around $400 a month with something down of course.

Soooo... With all that being said, thanks for reading this far LOL... please excuse anything I typed wrong as I'm very tired and a lot of this is random thought... But I do ask that you guys help me with the decision making process either way it goes, keep my car and boost it... buy the gti and slightly modify it and be happy... STFU and just go with my gut instinct I dunno... just provide whatever input you may have. Thank you!

Juan

PS: Picture of my Mazda3 for those interested:

I wish I had a great answer for you, but I don't. I pray that there is someone on here that has more experience and can lead you in the right direction. It seems that you are mainly looking at performance and potential. I will say that I don't know much about this, but I feel the GTI will have plenty of aftermarket products here shortly (At least I hope).

I just felt like responding so that you know their are people on here who at least would like to help. I just don't think I am experienced enough to give a good opinion, sorry.

Texas_MkV, Thank you for your reply! There's really a few things that I would like to get cleared up but you're right... I am essentially looking for some nice performance, reliability, and potential... basically the best-bang for the buck that makes financial sense... Maybe you can help me out by just telling me how you like your GTI so far? Once again, thank you and I look forward to hearing more from you and everyone else here

Juan

The GTI is definitely a great choice!

First off, 3300lbs is way off. There's a lot of mis-information floating around! A GolfMKV member recently weighed his package 0 GTI (base model) and with 1/4 tank gas it came out to 3080lbs.

Second, with just a $600 chip (GIAC, APR, Revo) you'll be around the same power level as the extensively-modified Mazda3 specs you posted. I gaurantee you'll have loads more torque that the 3, also! I've seen numbers from 215-225whp and 255-265wtq. A turbo-back exhaust should bump those number by 15hp/tq or so.

People have had some problems with their MkVs, but what is one to expect from a vehicle in its first production year? Most of the problems are small (my airbag light came on for the second time a couple days ago) and not enough to break the owner's love for their GTI!

I've driven a Mazda3 a couple times and let me assure you, the GTI handles much better. The one modified Mazda3 I've ridden in (coilovers, don't know brand) felt about the same grip-wise as my stock GTI (17" wheels w/ summer tires) but a lot stiffer over bumps.....a modified GTI will be just that much better! If you don't want to spend over $1,000 on coilovers, I'd suggest the H&R Race springs (based on the amount of drop on your 3).

With the DSG as the only option, you should be able to get a package 0 GTI for $23,695 + TTL. That price includes a $630 destination fee.

Hope I could help!

if you are mainly lookin' at performance and potential, the GTI beats the Mazda3 for sure.
but in terms of reliability, i'm not sure about that, its a vw afterall. i have rattles that have to be fixed but it seems to be a common problem, but are problems suppose to show up when you buy a new car? that i don't think so. i think you'll encounter small problems (rattles) with vw but probably nth close to havin' your engine replaced.
since you're mainly looking at performance and potential, this might be a fact that you wanna know, aftermarket parts and installation on a vw is way more expensive than a mazda.

not sure if my comments are useful but just like Texas_Mkv, just feel like helpin'

I did see another member's post in regards to his weight on 1/4 mile times here: http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2713 but I based my weight numbers off the web... thanks for clearing that up for me though, I'm really not too concerned with the weight, anything around 3000lbs would be just fine.

Coming from my previous car (84 transam) I never had to deal with any chips or computers, shit a single wire ignition got the job done for me... but I'm slowly picking up the software deal and 600 bucks for a chip which seems to help so much certainly sounds nice.

I can see a couple of problems here and there, I'm mostly concerned with major issues such as throwing rods, dsg trannt problems, etc... after the huge deal with my 2.3 mazda3 engine going out I am terrified to going to dealers.

Another big deal for me is getting back to autox... girlfriend is freaked out about setting tires anywhere near a track on my mazda3 since we want to avoid any problems, I think the GTI would do a much nicer job at this and I'm sure she wouldn't mind that too much either It sucks when you buy gear (helmet, numbers, etc) sign up for a SCCA membership and then never get to race...

Here is another big question, I'm sure most of you won't be able to answer this and I will have to talk to my agent but do you guys think I would experience any major insurance policy changes with a GTI? Dealer tells me my monthly rate would go down, but c'mon, I don't believe shit they say... I would love to see it go down but I'm expecting to see it go up 15-30 bucks a month, does that sound logical?

Thanks for the reply DubtecV2, every reply I get makes me want to get this thing even more... now I just wonder what the odds are that I will find what I want on a lot and not have to wait for it...

Juan

Hey d.C, rattles here and there don't bother me. I have quite a few already on my car, mainly from the dashboard area especially when cold, so I'm not too worried about that. It's major issues that I'm afraid of, but in the end it will all depend on the dealer and how bad they want to stand behind their product.

As far as aftermarket parts and support go, I'm not considering anything huge as I have not even purchased the car yet. As you can see I am willing to spend quite a bit on my mazda3 just to get it up to speed with the GTI, so having a better starting point would allow for more play money...

Thanks again for the replies guy and keep 'em coming!

Juan

I've read about a couple DSG issues, but none of which can't be fixed in a day or two.

I would imagine insurance going up a little, considering the GTI is a two-door with more power and more known for owner modification/racing. Mine went down, but I was coming from an S2000.

I have yet to hear of [and don't expect] any widespread issues requiring replacement of a major drivetrain component.

Let me start off by saying, a car that comes N/A should stay N/A.

I came from a 05 sentra spec-v. I slapped a turbo om there tuned it, the car ran 320whp off 10lbs of boost. Its was great and al but it wasn't RELIABLE. You have to worry about leaks from the turbo, having to worry about the tune on the car being forgotten (safc-2), I was paranoid about every little sound.

It was a monster, and I loved her, but I couldn't afford to keep her, I needed a new clutch, new engine management, new dyno tuning session, new pads, brakes to stop the power. But before I did all that I thought to myself, is this worth it? No. My car would reek of gasoline due to the tune I had, running rich, also my fuel pump was inside the car(had a splash while install), so the car smelled like gasoline. I was just damn hell tired of it.

Before the sentra I had wanted an mk4 gti, but I couldn't afford it at the time. Around the same time I saw this concept for the mk5 and told myself that I must have it...

And let me tell u do not regret it one bit. I sold off my turbo kit, exhaust all the goodies, sold the car, now here I am.

The car makes solid power and is very responsive to mods. I made the numbers below on my sig with certain settings on my chip, I upped the boost one notch and it made a huge difference.

Now is it worth it to mod ur car and spend way over $30k just to get 225hp or just join our family here?

alf

Yeah I'm sure that keeping this car and boosting it later on would be a pain in the ass and I'm not very interested in waiting for the MazdaSpeed3 which claims ~250hp... but still no DSG, and that's something I am really interested in.

Now it's getting to be just a matter of two things: How much will my insurance be & how much can I get the car for.

Any other ideas? Tips, advice, comments?

Juan

hey Juan,

ive got a little over 5k on my gti and just love it completely with no real problems to complain about. i've got the dsg and wouldnt go without it - its just amazing.

my insurance actually went down to 156/mo from 160/mo on my 2001 focus. i was amazed!

cant help out too much on performace issues and i dont know if three months of ownership and no problems constitutes an established sense of reliability.. but thats my input :thumbup:

oh yeah ..almost forgot, are you factoring in the most important part of buying a gti??
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you get a "fast" :bellyroll:

although - it may take a while to get. that should close your decision :smile:

haha @ davesee... I want a damn "fast" !!! But no seriously... the decision is starting to make more and more sense as I talk to friends and such... financialy it just makes sense to stop making high payments on my current car and get something of better value, so we'll see where this goes... keep those ideas and comments coming!

Juan

from the financial standpoint it does make sense to go with the gti.

but i can tell you what i usually tell the gti shopper:

good luck with whatever you decide, and if you go with the gti im sure you wont be disappointed. i sure wasnt!! :thumbup:

nice lookin mazda3 btw :thumbsup:

davesee said:

nice lookin mazda3 btw :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Thanks... that's one thing that's for sure, I'm gonna miss my 3... but hey, gotta do what you gotta do...