Help! What would you rather have?

[animal]

The Cupra is not for me. I'm not a fan of the styling and too many doors.

[john_o]

how long do you intend to keep it? resale on ED30 is better.

depends how far you want to take the 'modding' and track days thing.
K03 GTI with most mods is 300 bhp max
K04 GTI with same mods is 360bhp+

but the lower price for a K03 could be spent on LSD , suspension etc

I have been in a few modded KO3 DSG GTI's now and they are easily comparable to stg1 K04

both would be great cars 

[candy turbo]

if your after an ed30 might be worth hanging on a couple of months till the R  is out and about vw dealers are expecting quite a few ed 30 in px for the R so prices may take a hit 

[Janner_Sy]

im with poverty on that. fully specced cupra would e there better starting point for tuning. cheaper, same k04 engine, better brakes, better looking but let down by the interior

[Top Cat]

I would go for the ED 30 if i was you. As sure as eggs are eggs you will start to mod it at sometime in the future once the buying cost to you has settled.
You spend a fair bit of time hanging around here, which tells me resisting modding would be futile.  

[VC]

if your after an ed30 might be worth hanging on a couple of months till the R  is out and about vw dealers are expecting quite a few ed 30 in px for the R so prices may take a hit 

with the price of the .:R as it stands, even at entry level i cant see that being the case in the current climate imho

[animal]

The Cupra is definitely out - you may as well suggest a VXR Astra! I'm not trying to go fast on a shoe string, I'm trying to decide which is the best GTI for my money. Thanks for the input all the same though.

I would go for the ED 30 if i was you. As sure as eggs are eggs you will start to mod it at sometime in the future once the buying cost to you has settled.
You spend a fair bit of time hanging around here, which tells me resisting modding would be futile.  

The car will be modded, there's no question of that. Coming from a string of Focus's, I love a car that car handle - so chassis mods are top of my list.

[vRStu]

I'd go for the ED30 if you can afford it.

I think you'll do well to find even a GTi with Xenons as the price of the option was so high not so many people ordered them.

Regardless of future tuning potential the K04 engine car with DSg is a lovely drive.

I also share your thoughts on the Cupra, not for me at all.  Yeah ok so it's cheaper but for a good reason.  We have a Leon TDi and it really doesn't do it for me.

Some I picked out for a friend earlier today from a trade website are -

VOLKSWAGEN Golf Hatchback Petrol - 2.0 GTi 5dr     Auto (Tiptronic)
0707    MILEAGE: 32,000 Miles    1 owner   Black
Distance: UNKNOWN
Full franchise service history   Parallel Import   
Additional comments: Reg/Chassis No: YX07 JZE / WVWZZZ1KZ6W042346. Number of keys available not stated by dealer
PRICE:   Buy it now for £13000

VOLKSWAGEN Golf Hatchback Petrol - 2.0T FSi GTi Edition 30 5dr     Manual 6 Speed
0707    MILEAGE: 38,000 Miles    2 owners   Silver
Distance: UNKNOWN
Full franchise service history   UK Car   ABS, Air conditioning, Alarm, Alloy wheels, Central locking, Electric windows, Front & Rear parking sensors, Half leather heated seats, Metallic paint, Power steering
Additional comments: Reg/Chassis No: WVWZZZ1KZ7W267183. Silver/Half Leather/Tartan Interior Limited 30 Edition, Allow £150 - £200 Prep.. -- Number of keys available not stated by dealer
PRICE:   Â£13,750

VOLKSWAGEN Golf Hatchback Petrol - 2.0T FSi GTi 5dr     Manual
0656    MILEAGE: 43,000 Miles    1 owner   Metallic Grey
Distance: UNKNOWN
Full franchise service history   UK Car   ABS, Alarm, Alloy wheels, Central locking, Climate control, Electric windows, Metallic paint, Single CD player
Additional comments: Nice car 3 wheel edges need refurb -- 2 keys available
PRICE:   Â£12000

VOLKSWAGEN Golf Hatchback Petrol - 2.0T FSi GTi 3dr     Manual 6 Speed
0656    MILEAGE: 44,000 Miles    2 owners   Black
Distance: UNKNOWN
Full franchise service history   UK Car   ABS, Alloy wheels, Central locking, Climate control, Cruise control, Electric windows, Factory fitted phone, Front & Rear parking sensors, Full leather heated seats, Power steering, Xenon headlights
Additional comments: Reg/Chassis No: MJ56 CZG / WVWZZZ1KZ7W086702. full leather 18" monza -- 2 keys available
PRICE:   Â£11800

Sadly only one DSG and I have no idea how the prices compare to current retail, I've not checked.

[candy turbo]

if your after an ed30 might be worth hanging on a couple of months till the R  is out and about vw dealers are expecting quite a few ed 30 in px for the R so prices may take a hit 

with the price of the .:R as it stands, even at entry level i cant see that being the case in the current climate imho

my mates the manager of my local vw dealer and that was his comment , he has a few Rs on order and i know 2 have ed 30 s coming in against them   

[Edition30]

I cant really see you finding an ED30 with a ton of miles on anyway. Majority are lowish.


I'd say the ED30 but then again im biased as I've had one. Just for me they're finished off alot better out of the box.

[Oli]

if your after an ed30 might be worth hanging on a couple of months till the R  is out and about vw dealers are expecting quite a few ed 30 in px for the R so prices may take a hit 

I think its a different market, as with the right spec, the R is nearly double the price of a S/H ED30.  With more coming in part exchange it will help with the current shortage of this limited run of only 1500 Edition 30 GTI's..........haha

In seriousness I believe it is the S3 that will take the slight hit, as it is like for like.

Or both will remain strong when all the R customers realised they have paid mid 30's for a Golf.

Who knows....you decide

[VC]

if your after an ed30 might be worth hanging on a couple of months till the R  is out and about vw dealers are expecting quite a few ed 30 in px for the R so prices may take a hit 

with the price of the .:R as it stands, even at entry level i cant see that being the case in the current climate imho

my mates the manager of my local vw dealer and that was his comment , he has a few Rs on order and i know 2 have ed 30 s coming in against them   

i stand corrected 

[Poverty]

if your after an ed30 might be worth hanging on a couple of months till the R  is out and about vw dealers are expecting quite a few ed 30 in px for the R so prices may take a hit 

with the price of the .:R as it stands, even at entry level i cant see that being the case in the current climate imho

dunno mate, id imagine a good percentage of GTI's and ED30's are on a pcp scheme so alot of leases will be running out around now anyway, and with pcp schemes alot of people upgrade as soon as the latest model is out.

[animal]

Thanks for all the input guys.

I think it may well come down to what is availible when we finally sort out the cash and how far I'm allowed to stretch the budget. My Fiancee prefers the Ed30 interior, so if the price is right I don't think she'll take too much convincing to spend the extra. However, on the flip-side of that, we won't be keeping the car that long as once we are married (in October) and she qualifies in 2011, we'll be in an even better position financially - I've already got my eye on a Golf R or an S3. So I'm also thinking that perhaps if I get a standard GTI now, I can sit tight and have the more powerful engine in the next car which isn't too far off... 

I was hoping to get the new car this month, but the cold has killed both our cars so I'm having to shell out on those just to get them back on the road to sell them. Fix Or Repair Daily has never been more true. Damn things...

[animal]

I thought this would be a closely run thing but I didnt expect it to be as close as this. I suppose I shouldn't really be suprised that it's a dead heat even after 20 odd votes!

My ideal car has popped up and is very local too. Just got to see if I've got enough cash to move around to try and secure it - I doubt it'll be around for long!