Time to Say Goodbye!

After nearly 8 years of Ownership, It finally came time to part ways with my beloved Volkswagen Scirocco. When I first bought the car, I had no clue that I would end up holding on to it for this long. It was the first “Nice” car that I ever owned and I remember the day I bought it like it was yesterday. When I landed my first job after I finished college I decided to treat myself and buy a car that I had always liked ( they were fairly new at the time, I picked it up when it was about 2 years old ). Little did I know that I would grow so attached to it. It was not easy saying goodbye!

 

VW Scirocco Ownership Experience

I would be lying if I said that the Scirocco didn’t break my heart a couple of times, the biggest being a timing chain tensioner failure which resulted in a brand new engine directly from VW UK ( at my own cost! ) I had a couple of other annoying things go wrong in the years that I owned it. From memory some of the problems included

• Intake Manifold failed TWICE ( Come on VW! )
• Glovebox Broke
• Headlight issues, which needed a full replacement
• Electric Fuel Flap stuck closed
• Airbag electrical issues
• Worn Clutch Release bearing ( Eventually replaced the entire clutch )

The list goes on but I always kept the car in tip-top shape and no expense was ever spared running the car. I also treated it to a few tasteful modifications

• Milltek Exhaust
• H&R Suspension
• Custom ECU Remap on a rolling road which brought it to 260bhp/300 lb/ft
• Always ran premium tyres ( Either Goodyear Asymmetric or Michelin Pilot Sport )

The Car was an absolute joy to drive for me, and even though the VW Scirocco is not the last word in performance or handling, it never failed to put a smile on my face when I drove it, and always received comments from other people on how great it looked. However, after 8 years it was time to move on.

Selling the car was a dream, and it sold to the first person that came to view it! Best of luck to the new owner, they couldn’t have found a better-maintained car.

Where to go from here?

It took me a couple of months to decide on what would replace the Scirocco, it was not easy! The primary goal was to find something that looked as good on the road and had a decent jump up in Performance. I obviously wanted something in perfect condition, as I am very particular about my cars.

Some of the cars I considered were

• BMW 135i or 335i
• Nissan 370z
• Audi TTS/TTRS
• VW Golf R
• Audi RS3

In the end, I whittled it down to either a Golf R or TTRS. The golf R Is a great car no doubt, but they are far too common and not really that “Special”. 

They are a dime a dozen around the UK and Ireland and you probably wouldn’t look twice at one. The TTRS had a lot more appeal as it has that wonderful sounding 5 Cylinder Engine and they are rare as rocking horse shit in Ireland. I have only ever seen 1 on the road in my life. The TTRS will also hold it’s value a lot better in the long run.

It took me about 4 months to find my perfect TTRS. I was set on two things – I wanted Sepang Blue coupled with the Audi S-Tronic Gearbox. Sepang Blue is the most sought after colour in the TTRS so they tend to sell pretty much immediately when they go up for sale.

The car was listed on a Friday and I had a deposit on it on Monday, I wasn’t missing out on this chance. It was a 1 owner car with only 45,000 miles ( 2011 Car ) and it looked immaculate! For those of you not familiar with the Audi TTRS – Specs below

• Engine 2.5 TFSI  
• Power 340 hp/5400-6500 rpm
• Maximum speed -250 km/h
• Acceleration 0 – 100 km/h 4.3 sec

 

Some Pictures of the Car below

 

I will update more when I have spent a bit more time with the car, but initial impressions are superb. I can tell I made the right decision. I have no major plans for the car in the short term, but I am seriously considering getting a Gtechniq Ceramic Coating professionally applied.  Winter is fast approaching here in Ireland!

Once I have the car looking the way I want, I am thinking about treating myself to a Respoke Collection custom car print to hang up in the office.

In other news, DriveDetailed was recently featured on Top 200 Auto Blogs on the web, as selected by Feedspot. It has been a great week all round! Feel free to check them out and see if any other blogs on the list would be of interest to you.

Next time,

Happy Detailing!

About the Author – Darren O Hara

Darren is the founder of the DriveDetailed blog and is a keen detailing enthusiast living in the rainy south of Ireland. When he is not cleaning his car he is always researching ways he can improve his techniques and enjoys testing out out new products.

Darren currently drives an Audi TTRS and is a big fan of performance cars.

You can follow Darren on Instagram @darrenoharacork