Hey guys.. Im a mod whore :D
Cant help it.
But with something like this with the mileage I'm actually considering not messing with it.
Id love a stage 1 though..
Damn the force is strong with the dark modding side :)
While it's good news that our model is very stable in value relatively speaking I think we may have to wait some time for the 'boom' in value.
In the meantime you may deprive yourself of some fun and pleasure in the short term.
While you've bought a low mileage example and readily recognize the merit of keeping it standard I think that the mileage is almost academic in your case since you never planned long ownership and you won't have owned the car long enough to get the full benefit of it's low mileage and it's potentially increasing value. You also suggest being inclined to modify your cars. I think you nay have been better off with a different example and enjoying your mods without being concerned with impact to value.
I'd suggest that if you must modify a car extensively and plan short ownership consider selling it now and buy a 50-70k (or thereabouts) Ed30 or GTI that will be absolutely fine for the 12/18 months that you expect to own it, put some cash in the bank and enjoy your modding.
I'm 4 years into my ownership with 48k on the clock. I've spent a lot of money and I don't see the car getting sold any time soon. If I garaged it to keep the miles down I'd see somebody else come along and buy the car and get all the benefits of everything I've done while I will have had minimal pleasure from the improvements and significant expense. For example, an LSD is a big purchase that makes a big difference but it's not going to get removed for sale.
I personally have no problem with modifying cars or even buying one provided it's done right with good invoices and high quality parts. For me at least, the mods should improve the vehicle in ways other than aesthetics. Cosmetic mods I tend to leave well alone. If I told anyone (other than people like us!) what I've spent on it and asked them to point out to me where the money has gone they'll struggle to find everything and this for me means I've done it right. It's a personal process though and happily we don't all go about it in the same way.
I have the right parts to return mine to standard where it matters but some mods will stay as they are good replacements for the original parts - such as S3 front brakes (rears are still on the car), Bilstein B12 kit, Eibach ARB's, TTRS arms and turbo back Milltek exhaust. None of these things particularly detract from the car as outwardly they're quite subtle and in fact they add to the car by being being better quality replacements.
I would hope that a new owner might like to to take the car as it is with the original parts and enjoy it as a well executed finished article.
