Keep one, both, sell both?

[Silverstoned]

I'm wrestling with what to do with my car situation now that the impending mini van is upon me. The 03 GTI is in extremely good condition and just under 60k on it. Kept in a heated garage, dealer serviced.

The A4 is 2006 S-Line is tiptronic, has warranty until August of 2011. It's a quatto Avante. The GTI is way more fun, but the Audi can still cart 2 of the 3 kids in a pinch and the warranty is nice. I'm not going to get what I want for either car which has me thinking I should keep one of them and sell the other. The Audi has 8 months of payments left on it and the GTI is free and clear. The mileage on my GTI is probably somewhere around 8k per year and I put more mileage on my bike and the C-Train than my car easily.

Finances aren't too tight right now, but I'll definitely need to free up at least one space in the garage for the impending mini-van.

Any thoughts on how I decide which one to keep and which one (or both) to sell?

[Kor]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

Sell them all and get a mini van and something more sporty

[R_Ethug]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

hrmm jeff if you sell the A4 what shape is it in and what kinda price you looking at?

[JPO]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

My second car is the same GTI as your's.. I have two car seats in the back

[JPO]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

My second car is the same GTI as your's.. I have two car seats in the back

Also, RE space in the garage, I have the GTI and an SUV in the garage and there is WAY more space then when I had the SUV and a Passat in there. WAY more, if you have as many strollers as we do that is a good thing.

[Silverstoned]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

It's an A4 S-Line with teh 2.0T engine. Car has pretty much every option except NAV, the sun shade dealys for the rear passenger windows, and the tire pressure monitoring. The car has a very small windshield crack (fixed) on the driver's side running horizontal. I think it's just above the wiper blade line almost not noticeable (most of it is in the black dot-matrix part of the glass). Other than that the car is pretty much mint with a few small paint chips. I'd have to give it a really good clean and go over with a fine tooth comb to tell you any more. I'm very picky and that is ALL I know about, but I haven't given it a really good deail since the fall so there migt be a few more minor things. I can say my wife truly drives like an old lady and she is the primary driver on the vehicle.

I haven't really given price too much thought as I'm still wrestling with what to do. I'll poke around on the trader to see what seems reasonable if I decide to sell.

[Silverstoned]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

Also, RE space in the garage, I have the GTI and an SUV in the garage and there is WAY more space then when I had the SUV and a Passat in there. WAY more, if you have as many strollers as we do that is a good thing.

Yeah the GTI tucks away to the side of the garage quite nicely when I back in with the passenger door close to the one wall. If it had quattro the decision would be so much easier. I'm tempted to sell both and buy a new Scirocco, TT, GTI or what ever is available in a few years when my role as dad switches to chauffer for my kid's activities. What do you use to keep the driver's side baby-seat passenger's feet off the back of the driver's seat? I always put my son on the passenger's side and moved that seat forward a couple inches. I'm 6' and have the driver's seat pretty far back.

[JPO]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

Yeah the GTI tucks away to the side of the garage quite nicely when I back in with the passenger door close to the one wall. If it had quattro the decision would be so much easier. I'm tempted to sell both and buy a new Scirocco, TT, GTI or what ever is available in a few years when my role as dad switches to chauffer for my kid's activities. What do you use to keep the driver's side baby-seat passenger's feet off the back of the driver's seat? I always put my son on the passenger's side and moved that seat forward a couple inches. I'm 6' and have the driver's seat pretty far back.

Right now I regularly clean the seatback :( . My wife has something along this line in her truck though her's have a pocket for junk the kids can grab. Basically it wont matter what car you have, save a minivan, the kids will be able to kick the seatback unless you move the front seats wy up to the front.

http://www.amazon.com/SafeFit-Kick-M..._bxgy_ba_img_c

[turbomeyers]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

are you having 4 kids ? wtf would need a van for . i have one kid and another due in may and i am not changing my stable .

[Red90]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

Keep them, forget the van. Nobody needs a mini van or an SUV.

[Stonewall]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

Go test drive the new VW minivan it looks pretty nice. Anyone who sais you don't need a minivan with 3 kids doesn't have kids. If the GTI was a 4 door it would come in handy in a pinch but it will be hard to fit young ones in it until they are a lot older. As I am sure you already know you won't get a lot of play time anymore so likely you will only use it when you want to drive it to work or for quick trips to go get diapers, so on that point do you really need 3 vehicles to insure and register when the money couple be spent in better places?

[Silverstoned]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

Yep, I'm with you on this one Brent. For the amount of miles I put on my car I think I can easily just stick with the GTI. As you said, it's usually to get out to the mountains with a friend for snowboarding/biking a few times a year or to get groceries while the wife is at the Zoo with the kids. I drive in to work maybe once every 2 months and stick to my bike or the C-train for normal transport. I'm thinking with 3 the only way we'll be transporting our kids (until they're older) is in the van, so the second vehicle is pretty much for me and at most one of the kids.

[Deuce]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

If you ask me... the A4 Avante Quattro classifies as a "Euro-spec mini-van". As such... no need to get rid of that!

As for the GTi... hmmm... oooh... VR6... ...I wouldn't let that go just yet.

If you did... personally, I'd get a TT. Less practical than the GTi but heh... isn't that what a "second car" is supposed to be?

Cheers...

[Silverstoned]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

IF the 3rd one would have come along a few months later, it would be a MK IV R32 on one side of the garage and the decision would have been far easier. You guys without kids are missing a key point. The A4 is fine for 2 kids and a dog, but as soon as the 3rd one comes along, you simply can not fit 3 car seats in the back and are forced into something bigger (mini-van or SUV). As soon as my oldest can fit in a booster seat, three in the back again becomes possible and the mini van will be driven off the nearest cliff (probably Bowmont as I'm in the NW)

[Silverstoned]

Re: Keep one, both, sell both?

A minor update in case anyone was curious...

We can keep our cars! I was very close to pulling the trigger on a Honda Pilot and decided to stop off a place in the NW called BoBaby. They make a car seat that's only 17" wide so guess what... 3 of them fit in the back seat of the Avante. Problem solved until my wife decides we need to haul more crap with 3 kids

Good thing I already have a roof box, that should keep us out of a mini-van for at least another 3 years or so.