gregozedobe

I had an idea that the estates (both Mk7 and Mk7.5) had two separate back boxes (one for each side), while the hatches only had one backbox which supplied both side outlets (but I haven't spent any time crawling underneath to be certain). That, along with valves/no valves may explain the differences in sound between a hatch and an estate.

So this involved you driving your golf with not one but TWO blindfolds over your eyes then ? I would almost pay money to see a video of that 😅

Given the significant extra functionality that LED headlights have (ie matrix dipping) I imagine you may need to do a software update at least, and maybe an updated controller.

The problem with choosing a "future collectible" is that it is extremely difficult to predict what will be really collectible in 20 or more years time, as trends (fashion) change so often over that long a period of time. If you want to try, firstly consider the demographic of who will have lots of money to spend at that time in the future when you want to sell (your intended customers). Then consider two categories of cars: 1 The cars they liked but couldn't afford to buy when they were in their late teens/early 20's (delayed aspirational purchase) 2 The cars they or their friends actually did own that they have fond memories of (nostalgia) Then figure out which of those cars are going to be rare in the far future, AND IN HIGH DEMAND (this may include some quite popular cars that weren't maintained and kept in good condition so almost all were scrapped). If you are very lucky you may have chosen well, but most old cars are just that - an old car. After spending a lot of money on storage and maintenance most choices will end up with a return on investment significantly lower than more orthodox wealth creation methods (working, starting a successful business, saving, real estate, shares/bonds, superannuation). GOOD LUCK !

Like everyone else here says, JUST DO IT ! A Golf R is the opposite of an obvious mid-life crisis car, to almost all outside observers it is just another car, and not a flash one at that. If you really want to fly below the radar get yourself the estate variant, they are pretty well invisible to all except the most knowledgeable VW enthusiasts. I'm 66, and I definitely don't feel "too old" for my R. I enjoy the performance and handling when the road and conditions are suitable, but it is also a comfortable, relaxing place to be when just cruising or in traffic.

If almost all bikers wore bright, highly visible colours (ie not mostly matt black), added DRLs to all their bikes and had their noisy exhausts facing forward then I might at least consider their argument thatt their primary concern is safety ....... but they don't, so I don't believe their argument. By far the most likely dangers to bikes are in front and from the side-front, not behind (where most of the sound from noisy exhausts go). NB I rode road bikes for many years, including regular commuting in Melbourne (busy traffic, incompetent drivers, wet roads, tram tracks - a scary combination. but I was young and not easily scared) .

I'll agree with that assessment. I have a 36V Ryobi blower/Vac and it is so loud I don't use it to dry my car ( I go for a drive instead to blow off the remaining water).

Lots of people (including VW's engine gurus) hold a different opinion on this matter, specifically start the engine and drive off straight away (gently) as this is the best way to warm an engine up.

You might need to change your official address to somewhere else where the staff are more reliable !!!

Enjoy your X3 👍

I used a Kufatec dongle to make the annoying start/stop go away and stay away. Not real cheap but it did what I wanted (I got sick of manually turning it off every time I started the engine or changed driving modes) so I'm happy.

I've a vague idea that VW are fixing it FOC for cars that are out of warranty because it is a known problem and it is actually injuring people. But it might depend on which dealer you take it to.

I do lots of long trips in my T5 van and found the road noise was quite tiring (please try to ignore the obvious pun about tyre noise). I ended up trying some noise-cancelling headphones and they reduced the noise-induced fatigue considerably. I can still hear emergency sirens if needed, but I did have to turn up the volume to hear my music properly. The difficulty in hearing your passengers could be considered a positive (depending on circumstances )

I've always preferred quiet exhausts, even when I was a young revhead. A quiet exhaust means you can enjoy more of your car's (or bike's) performance envelope without attracting unwanted attention from the police or bystanders (who may react by asking the police to "have a chat" with you). I don't feel the need to have people swinging their heads around as I go by making a great racket (and trust me, most of them will be thinking about the inverse proportional law relating to loudness of exhaust vs size of penis, not "what a great sound, I must do something like that to my car"). Feel free to have a totally different opinion, but remember that a loud exhaust is being inflicted on all ears within hearing distance, not just funnelled back into the interior of the car making the noise. If all the extra noise was only inside the car I could care less - maybe we need an exhaust version of the soundaktor, and have it only functional if all the windows are fully up ?

This is very true. The silly thing is that if they scheduled regular cleaning of the haldex filter they will benefit in three ways: 1 Reduced warranty claims on haldex problems 2 Increased customer satisfaction (as our cars will have less haldex problems) 3 Increased revenue to both VW and dealers (fluid, parts & labour) I find it difficult to understand why VW don't just bite the bullet and admit they were wrong (like they did years ago with the "lifetime fill" on their T5 auto 'boxes). About the only reason I can think of is it would increase the perceived maintenance costs.