Golf R stolen - what replacement?
Discussion
stevekoz said:
I live in central B'ham and as alot of petrolheads know, its an area rife with thefts.
I know people who live in affluent areas and have had multiple cars stolen from the drive by the same thieves. They know its the same thieves as they were caught on CCTV several times.
The reason its so rife, and so many cars are stolen again and again and again is simply there is very little deterrent. The police do not care. They act as an administration company for Insurance claims. You get a claim reference, no one comes out to your house to ask any questions or take any forensics. They ask for CCTV images etc, but generally its to pass on to the claim dept's for any insurance claim that is added. In addition, they charge the insurance companies for that information (accidents and thefts). So if you wonder why your claim is taken so long - the police have a I think up to a 3 month turnaround to provide the information to the insurers??
Meanwhile, there are organised crime squads looking at rings of people who orchestrate this, but as soon as one ring is taken down another pops up in its place and they literally contract out to "hired" help to steal cars or car parts to order and then ship them wholesale, abroad to the likes of East Asia and Europe. Especially with models like VW, Ford where parts are for some reason more premium.
The fact that you don't get police really investigating any of the direct thefts or taking so long to do so, means a gang can operate in an area for a while without fear of being caught and so come back again and again. Until they decide to move on.
I apologise to any police officer on this thread but its a JOKE. They do nothing to help and usually get frustratingly obtrusive to you asking or getting any help. I have been on the end of this more than once both as a victim of crime (car jacking). Victim of theft (mugging for keys). And as an Insurance company claims handler. And you may feel differently but each and every time its the same dead ends and same problems that mean its just almost worthless going to the police for anything other than a crime number.
So, whilst don't have much to offer this time in choices of car on this thread bar whats already been issued. To say you should sell your house and move due to car crime is a ridiculous notion - because these gangs change areas all the time, if you've not been hit, you will be. Its just a matter of when not IF. Yes you can move to a rural area where its much less likely to happen - but its not practical is it, to pay £thousands to move house just to have a "nice" car on your drive. Plus, lets all be honest, these are cars ranging from Ford Fiestas to Range Rovers. Fewer luxury brands are impacted. Golf R or not, i don't think its a "high value brand" in the scheme of cars, but its not just the R's, its every model. So buy the one you want. All you can do is bolster the security you do have. Ghost immobiliser, OBD Port blanks, steering locks, driveway bollards, wheel clamps. But its only a precaution.
I keep the keys in plain sight near the door so if anyone does come to get them, there's no violent ransacking of the house. In and out, you'd likely not wake up. Its a sad truth and yes you will feel violated but theres no real way to combat it.
I know what you’re saying about the moving thing. It’s an utter disgrace that there is effectively no deterrent for these people. However, some parts of the country do seem particularly high risk. I too leave the keys in a visible location. My dog might have something to say about it however…I know people who live in affluent areas and have had multiple cars stolen from the drive by the same thieves. They know its the same thieves as they were caught on CCTV several times.
The reason its so rife, and so many cars are stolen again and again and again is simply there is very little deterrent. The police do not care. They act as an administration company for Insurance claims. You get a claim reference, no one comes out to your house to ask any questions or take any forensics. They ask for CCTV images etc, but generally its to pass on to the claim dept's for any insurance claim that is added. In addition, they charge the insurance companies for that information (accidents and thefts). So if you wonder why your claim is taken so long - the police have a I think up to a 3 month turnaround to provide the information to the insurers??
Meanwhile, there are organised crime squads looking at rings of people who orchestrate this, but as soon as one ring is taken down another pops up in its place and they literally contract out to "hired" help to steal cars or car parts to order and then ship them wholesale, abroad to the likes of East Asia and Europe. Especially with models like VW, Ford where parts are for some reason more premium.
The fact that you don't get police really investigating any of the direct thefts or taking so long to do so, means a gang can operate in an area for a while without fear of being caught and so come back again and again. Until they decide to move on.
I apologise to any police officer on this thread but its a JOKE. They do nothing to help and usually get frustratingly obtrusive to you asking or getting any help. I have been on the end of this more than once both as a victim of crime (car jacking). Victim of theft (mugging for keys). And as an Insurance company claims handler. And you may feel differently but each and every time its the same dead ends and same problems that mean its just almost worthless going to the police for anything other than a crime number.
So, whilst don't have much to offer this time in choices of car on this thread bar whats already been issued. To say you should sell your house and move due to car crime is a ridiculous notion - because these gangs change areas all the time, if you've not been hit, you will be. Its just a matter of when not IF. Yes you can move to a rural area where its much less likely to happen - but its not practical is it, to pay £thousands to move house just to have a "nice" car on your drive. Plus, lets all be honest, these are cars ranging from Ford Fiestas to Range Rovers. Fewer luxury brands are impacted. Golf R or not, i don't think its a "high value brand" in the scheme of cars, but its not just the R's, its every model. So buy the one you want. All you can do is bolster the security you do have. Ghost immobiliser, OBD Port blanks, steering locks, driveway bollards, wheel clamps. But its only a precaution.
I keep the keys in plain sight near the door so if anyone does come to get them, there's no violent ransacking of the house. In and out, you'd likely not wake up. Its a sad truth and yes you will feel violated but theres no real way to combat it.
If someone one stole 2 of my cars, would I go out and buy another similar type car to bait them? Let’s ask this fella:
https://youtu.be/a8vaVbT_lX0
:
https://youtu.be/a8vaVbT_lX0
:ninjag said:
Get some big "Beware of the dogs" signs and plonk them on your front and back door. I would think twice before breaking into a house where there may be a chance of some big devil dog waiting for me.
"Guard dogs" get drugged easily. A kinder burglar is just using a sedative but really anything goes as long as it's hidden in something tasty enough to tempt the dog.Evanivitch said:
ninjag said:
Get some big "Beware of the dogs" signs and plonk them on your front and back door. I would think twice before breaking into a house where there may be a chance of some big devil dog waiting for me.
"Guard dogs" get drugged easily. A kinder burglar is just using a sedative but really anything goes as long as it's hidden in something tasty enough to tempt the dog.Well the wheel is turning folks. Its cyclical and always has been .
Sunak is targeting anti social behaviour so that means Police numbers are up, start at the bottom all over again.
Vehicle crime will become a priority in due course (it isn't now) as all the gucci little units start up again (I used to run one ) and the Government look to prove they're tough on crime...blah blah blah.
Someone mentioned 340i's. In the last five years I've parked my 340i in station / hotel / tube station car parks in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool and also on the street all over the place. I've lost count how many. Perhaps it helps its mineral grey I dunno but It's always been there when I got back.
Sunak is targeting anti social behaviour so that means Police numbers are up, start at the bottom all over again.
Vehicle crime will become a priority in due course (it isn't now) as all the gucci little units start up again (I used to run one ) and the Government look to prove they're tough on crime...blah blah blah.
Someone mentioned 340i's. In the last five years I've parked my 340i in station / hotel / tube station car parks in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool and also on the street all over the place. I've lost count how many. Perhaps it helps its mineral grey I dunno but It's always been there when I got back.
DT1975 said:
Well the wheel is turning folks. Its cyclical and always has been .
Sunak is targeting anti social behaviour so that means Police numbers are up, start at the bottom all over again.
Vehicle crime will become a priority in due course (it isn't now) as all the gucci little units start up again (I used to run one ) and the Government look to prove they're tough on crime...blah blah blah.
Someone mentioned 340i's. In the last five years I've parked my 340i in station / hotel / tube station car parks in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool and also on the street all over the place. I've lost count how many. Perhaps it helps its mineral grey I dunno but It's always been there when I got back.
This.Sunak is targeting anti social behaviour so that means Police numbers are up, start at the bottom all over again.
Vehicle crime will become a priority in due course (it isn't now) as all the gucci little units start up again (I used to run one ) and the Government look to prove they're tough on crime...blah blah blah.
Someone mentioned 340i's. In the last five years I've parked my 340i in station / hotel / tube station car parks in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool and also on the street all over the place. I've lost count how many. Perhaps it helps its mineral grey I dunno but It's always been there when I got back.
And I've had three cars stolen, one burglary for keys/anything they could find.
Birmingham area does sound horrific, but leaving your keys so they are easy to find is a little craven and paranoid IMO. Just make a risk/reward decision and get on with your life. Alarm the house. Fit a Ghost to the car.
Evanivitch said:
ninjag said:
Get some big "Beware of the dogs" signs and plonk them on your front and back door. I would think twice before breaking into a house where there may be a chance of some big devil dog waiting for me.
"Guard dogs" get drugged easily. A kinder burglar is just using a sedative but really anything goes as long as it's hidden in something tasty enough to tempt the dog.Family dogs will be inside the house and 9 stone Rottweilers can be family dogs. I don't think holding out a treat after you've broken past the door will stop them in their tracks. Also, dogs bark. For the price of two stickers it could make your house seem more hassle than its worth and they move on.
ninjag said:
Who said guard dogs?
Family dogs will be inside the house and 9 stone Rottweilers can be family dogs. I don't think holding out a treat after you've broken past the door will stop them in their tracks. Also, dogs bark. For the price of two stickers it could make your house seem more hassle than its worth and they move on.
Exactly. If my lab heard anyone outside, she’d bark, very loudly. Let alone if they tried to gain entry to the house. That would give me time to do something if I felt there was a threat. Family dogs will be inside the house and 9 stone Rottweilers can be family dogs. I don't think holding out a treat after you've broken past the door will stop them in their tracks. Also, dogs bark. For the price of two stickers it could make your house seem more hassle than its worth and they move on.
popeyewhite said:
I suppose the burglars could hang round the back of the house texting mates while they wait for the sedatives to take effect.
Or they just poison your dogs and make them a non-issue instantly.ninjag said:
Who said guard dogs?
Family dogs will be inside the house and 9 stone Rottweilers can be family dogs. I don't think holding out a treat after you've broken past the door will stop them in their tracks. Also, dogs bark. For the price of two stickers it could make your house seem more hassle than its worth and they move on.
Poisoned snack through the letter box or over the garden gate and jobs done.Family dogs will be inside the house and 9 stone Rottweilers can be family dogs. I don't think holding out a treat after you've broken past the door will stop them in their tracks. Also, dogs bark. For the price of two stickers it could make your house seem more hassle than its worth and they move on.
If you have family dogs, unless you're restraining them at the first sight of a stranger coming through the front door then they're not a guard dog. And most people wouldn't know how to handle a dog with such a drive on it. Hence why they become pets, not guard dogs.
And then there's the question of why you're expecting your pet to go in harms way of material possessions.
Time and time again dogs have proven to be a non-issue for people that want to get into homes through force.
maz8062 said:
If someone one stole 2 of my cars, would I go out and buy another similar type car to bait them? Let’s ask this fella:
https://youtu.be/a8vaVbT_lX0
:
Totally off topic, but he also offers handy tips on dealing with disruptive airline passengers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFoXmnBuLw0https://youtu.be/a8vaVbT_lX0
:troika said:
ninjag said:
Who said guard dogs?
Family dogs will be inside the house and 9 stone Rottweilers can be family dogs. I don't think holding out a treat after you've broken past the door will stop them in their tracks. Also, dogs bark. For the price of two stickers it could make your house seem more hassle than its worth and they move on.
Exactly. If my lab heard anyone outside, she’d bark, very loudly. Let alone if they tried to gain entry to the house. That would give me time to do something if I felt there was a threat. Family dogs will be inside the house and 9 stone Rottweilers can be family dogs. I don't think holding out a treat after you've broken past the door will stop them in their tracks. Also, dogs bark. For the price of two stickers it could make your house seem more hassle than its worth and they move on.
Evanivitch said:
Poisoned snack through the letter box or over the garden gate and jobs done.
A number of dogs would be barking at the stage of someone being at the door and if they're running free in the garden then they're guard dogs not family dogs (and if trained as such should both have been barking already and not taking snacks like that). Evanivitch said:
Time and time again dogs have proven to be a non-issue for people that want to get into homes through force.
Sure, and lets be honest 99.99% of family dogs are all bark[1], but that is enough to wake people and if someone is coming in tooled up for violence a dog won't stop them. It may however make them think twice about it if the alarm is raised before they've even got in the house. Most car thieves (and any other thieves tbh) are going to want to be in and out without being detected and without violence. They don't actually want confrontation and even if they're prepared for it, they want it to be on their terms (ie you're in bed and vulnerable not dominating the stairs tooled up for a fight). [1] I'm genuinely unsure what ours would do in the case of someone actually breaking in (apart from barking at them), I'm reasonably certain he would protect *us* (as in if someone was attacking us) but that's different to him being downstairs on his own while we're in bed and someone has broken in.
popeyewhite said:
Replace the standard with a Garrett turbo for endless sleeper fun.
They are good for 450bhp (he went to 550 and dialled it back) with tweaking, spoke to the owner he said 6-7k s3/golf r haldex conversion! Its the driver shaft, transfer gear and the saddle tank, giving you 55 litres of fuel not the 50 litre standard for 2wd octy.VRS Northampton did a video on it here;
https://youtu.be/pPiYViAwAFM
2018 would get you 245bhp they have the GTI Clubsport VAQ LSD as standard and the later 7 speed DSG DQ381 is same gearbox as golf r and and has 80k service intervals. You don't have the rear haldex issues the s3/r have.
The is20 turbo is happy with a remapped to 300-320bhp no other changes needed.
The drive well with 300 bhp not many issue little wheel hop occasionally, any more than 320 and you need to change the diff.
The estate is a major sleeper and or gets considered plod by many.
I can imagine an R a GTI, VRS or Cupra is going to be a step down but it depends what you want.
a Cupra 300 r 4 DRIVE ST wagon would be a good low key golf r.
Ignoring VAG Cars
The N30i looks a sound choice with like 270 odd bhp, I would try one, haven't heard of them being stolen or attracting negative attention. They are rare in the South. Seems a good choice.
I would avoid Focus ST up to you but they don't seem that great since the MK2 and I found them to draw alot of negative attention and boy racer types, I have driven a golf R and they are similar for that. ST badge seems to be a idiot magnet.
Merc A35/45 much the same as the R if you ask me will still attract the same kind of negative thug car thief's as an Golf R. Also the newer 2.0 cars seem dam pricey for 2.0 4 pots!
Alfa Giulia Veloce- Don't know much on these.
Edited by DashDriver on Friday 31st March 10:52
DashDriver said:
Merc A35/45 much the same as the R if you ask me will still attract the same kind of negative thug car thief's as an Golf R. Also the newer 2.0 cars seem dam pricey for 2.0 4 pots!
The newer Golf r is overengineered and, as you say, pricey. 7.5 Golf is the sweet spot IMO. Not really any haldex 'issue' with these cars, it needs servicing like any other mechanical part, filter change/unclog and pump check. If there was an issue it would be with VW who for some reason leave the haldex system off the service schedule. No idea why for such an integral part of the car. It's an easy diagnosis and (relatively) easy fix.popeyewhite said:
The newer Golf r is overengineered and, as you say, pricey. 7.5 Golf is the sweet spot IMO. Not really any haldex 'issue' with these cars, it needs servicing like any other mechanical part, filter change/unclog and pump check. If there was an issue it would be with VW who for some reason leave the haldex system off the service schedule. No idea why for such an integral part of the car. It's an easy diagnosis and (relatively) easy fix.
I agree the mk8 has reduced interior quality and functionality and going over 50k was mad , for that I would buy 340im (374bhp 2020 car not new 60k).When I say issue as you state its a clogging of the strainer causing poor/no operation and or pump failure, the current VAG servicing for the rear haldex diff seems to be insufficient in some cases. Seen too many 2wd haldex cars.
Many systems seem to need 10k servicing (ie more or less with engine oil) However VW specify 30k which is far too long in my opinion.
The VAQ LSD varies from VAG brand some say 30k or just 3 years but they don't seem to need earlier service.
In fairness the new MK8 Golf R and GTI Clubsport are a massive step forward in handling and performance vs the previous gen.
It’s just the price means not enough people have driven them to realise this.
I’d hate to live in England with a nice car the risk simply isn’t worth it!
It’s just the price means not enough people have driven them to realise this.
I’d hate to live in England with a nice car the risk simply isn’t worth it!
Edited by CG2020UK on Friday 31st March 14:50
CG2020UK said:
In fairness the new MK8 Golf R and GTI Clubsport are a massive step forward in handling and performance vs the previous gen.
It’s just the price means not enough people have driven them to realise this.
I’d hate to live in England with a nice car the risk simply isn’t worth it!
I've had 4x MK7 / 7.5 R, 1x MK8 R-Line and have driven 3 different MK8 R's. They do a lot well, but I wouldn't say they are a huge step forward. They are a step forward in some ways but back in some. Interior is bad, infotainment is bad, noise is bad. It’s just the price means not enough people have driven them to realise this.
I’d hate to live in England with a nice car the risk simply isn’t worth it!
Edited by CG2020UK on Friday 31st March 14:50
I have picked up another 7.5R over an 8R and plan to keep the 7.5 for a good few years. It also doesn't help that as you say the costs have gone mental and the lead time is 14 months +
Wife’s 8R 20 years is far better than her 7.5 she had.
Apart from the hvac sliders..
Had her 7.5 for 3 years and it was parked in all manner of car parks in all places in the UK.
From hotels, airports and streets it never got nicked.
Her car is currently parked at Luton airport and she’s about to land - soon know if it’s still there
Apart from the hvac sliders..
Had her 7.5 for 3 years and it was parked in all manner of car parks in all places in the UK.
From hotels, airports and streets it never got nicked.
Her car is currently parked at Luton airport and she’s about to land - soon know if it’s still there
Edited by Square Leg on Friday 31st March 16:34
CG2020UK said:
In fairness the new MK8 Golf R and GTI Clubsport are a massive step forward in handling and performance vs the previous gen.
It’s just the price means not enough people have driven them to realise this.
I’d hate to live in England with a nice car the risk simply isn’t worth it!
I have driven a new mk8 gti wasn't that impressed the interior was a let down, handling is debatable the chassis is somewhat more refined. It’s just the price means not enough people have driven them to realise this.
I’d hate to live in England with a nice car the risk simply isn’t worth it!
Edited by CG2020UK on Friday 31st March 14:50
Tried a MK4 Octavia, I would say the new MQB is smoother and quieter due to some mods to subframe alloy, from from the A3 and not sure if they have harmonic dampers as well.
Edited by DashDriver on Friday 31st March 18:31
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff