To Scirocco or Not To Scirocco

I have an '88 16v Scirocco. I must say I have loved this car everyday since I've had it, even when its made me scream in anger to the automotive gods above.

But I'm sobering up and realizing my job is going to eat this car alive. I drive 110 miles a day for work, and often have to haul loads of tires and parts for work. In the last two years I've put 70K mi on the car, not to mention many of those are the "well prepared" roads in PA in and around Philly.

I'm just heart broken at the thought of letting it go. It just feels right climbing behind the wheel, and many days driving it is the only thing keeping me sane. But with 30K mi timing belts and strut bearings annual maintenance is becoming a monster, not t mention the usual quirks you'd get out of a 23 year old car.

So what would you do? If I did move onto something else it would have to have a few prerequisites:

-More modern (obviously)

-Fun to hoon. I need my sanity.

-Good on gas (28 mpg or better)

-Hatch

-it'd be nice to stick to 4x100 so I can keep my wheels I have (but not a clincher)

-FWD, I know it seems counter intuitive to the first one, but I have to be at work no matter how much snow there is.

-More or less able to be traded straight for the Scirocco. Due to parking arrangements and money on hand I'd be saying goodbye to the Scirocco in order to move on to something else.

Given these restrictions I've been eying Focii.

Why not a mini-truck for work only? 4 banger S10 or Ranger? Keep the VW for fun.

How about a GTI?

keep yer car.

As I said with the parking situation and the fact that I'd have to use the value of the Scirocco to get whatever else, keeping it is not an option if I do this.

And the Scirocco is more or less a better looking GTI so mechanically it'd be no better or worse. Any of the GTI's I'd really be able to trade up for would be just as old. Not to mention I had traded this car for a MKIII because it was too heavy and disconnected for my liking. Anything older will just get worse until about the MKV's and then they're just too expensive.

Your price range is a little foggy to me, but any reason not to consider a mazda3 hatch, last Celica GTS, or any number of Hondas?

I've heard that Focii can be fun, but I wasn't that impressed by the few I've been in. In all fairness, I probably need to drive an SVT.

Also, I'm not sure if you're set on trading it in to a dealership, but it sounds like bad idea in this situation. It's going to severely reduce your purchase options and I have trouble imagining your average dealership having any idea of the value of a 23 yr old car. I might just be a pessimist though.

old civic hatch, crx, etc. cheap, great on gas, parts are plentiful and cheap, wanna go faster? swaps are cheap as well. nuff said

Since you're going to rack miles on whatever car you drive, you may as well drive something you like. Also, you're not going to get much for the Scirocco so it will cost you to trade up.

Keep the Scirocco, love it and enjoy it. Maintain it right and the miles won't hurt as bad.

David

Escort ZX2, Honda anything and if you want to be weird, you could always spring for a first generation Tiburon. The interior is cheap but they're cheap, tough and pretty fast.

thanks for the recommendations guys. I do recall looking at the 7th gen celicas too, pretty much same wieght and dimensions as the Roc.

As far as "trade" I was refering to personal trade with someone. I know the KBB is not kind to these cars.

I've had VW's almost all my life, but by no means a fanboi. Hondas are a nice consideration, but the cars I'd be looking at would be more or less of the same age so same issues of old mechanicals I guess.

I suppose I' just blowing off steam. The old Roc is giving me issues of her own (yet another leaky trans, consumes oil like a Gulf Coast skimmer, coolant system act doesn't wanna sometimes, tailpipe emissions fun) and the wife giving me grief over other more easily solvable issues and her more layman mind thinking its all because "it's old" and hard/expensive to find parts for. Older VWs really aren't, and aside from the quirks of knowing CIS fueling.

And there's the intangable of somebody on the street and striking up a conversation because "they hadn't seen one of these on the street in years!" I call it the Hot Tub Time Machine effect.

Old mechanicals on a Honda are way cheaper and easier to maintain than old mechanicals on a VW. A new timing belt, water pump seal, valve cover gasket, tube seals, and distributor o-ring and your Honda engine will alst you another 100k+ without any problems.

Focus SVT or a later model with a 2.3l Duratec. Even the base Mazda3s are reasonably priced around here.

Check out the cars for sale on focaljet - some of these guys change cars every couple years and I've seen some real deals on SVTs or ZX3s with either JR or Powerworks SC.

If you can keep it on the road reasonably, I think you should do it. I've learned to hang onto the cars I love. It's much cheaper and less miserable than buying another car, pining for your insert beloved hunk of crap here, then trying to buy it back or find a replacement which will probably have a ton of other problems, and finally taking a bath on the car you tried to replace the hunk of crap with. I don't believe it costs more to keep a Scirocco on the road than any other old POS, and it's certainly still cheaper than a new/newish car that you have to finance and buy expensive insurance for. I understand the logistics don't work for you, but I try to have two beaters so there's usually a backup.

BTW, if the 16v engine goes south, an ABA would still be fun ride and a bit cheaper to maintain.

Hondas reputation for running on oil, gas and abuse did bring them to mind. And I have liked how an oem+ civic can look. But after having worked almost exclusively with VWs on a personal basis its a whole new learning process jumping into a different make.

Focii really caught my eye being a euro Ford which I have a soft spot. The kicker was a ZX3 that a grandma brought into my shop. Lightly modded it felt really nice.

But the saying goes with changing cars as it does with women. "Better to sick with the BS you know, than trade up for the BS you don't know." Eventually know the engine will need a rebuild, or complete revamp (I dream ABF dreams) and the trans needs a good quality rebuild, not just a roll of the dice with a 150K parts car pull.

Stick with the Scirocco.

If not, get a 2000-2001, or 2005 Celica GTS 6spd.

Don't Miatas have a 4x100?

mndsm wrote: Don't Miatas have a 4x100?

Yep. Well, at least NA/NB i think.

If you can work on a VW working on a Honda will be like eating Ribeye steak every night instead of hamburger helper.

I came to Honda with only knowledge of working on GMs and took me no time to figure everything out. Although Honda-tech might dumb down your IQ, at least the vortex is somewhat entertaining.

It doesn't get much simpler than a D-series Honda in an old Civic. Hondas are easy.