We have sold our Golf R's, and something new is coming! Repost for the morning crowd.

"whatisthatsound" (whatisthatsound) 07/18/2017 at 13:30 • Filed to: s2000, f-type, jaguar, viper, dodge viper, elise, lotus elise, save the manuals, Wrangler, Volkswagen, golf, golf r

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Our three year affair with Rs began in Pensacola. My wife drove a ‘09 beige Toyota Corolla. We loathed the car. Mechanically sound? Yes, but the seats were uncomfortable the MPG was not outstanding and overall the price wasn’t worth it. She wanted out, and I love car shopping.

Her first car was an ‘03 manual Golf. She wanted another badly, and I convinced her try the GTI. Off to the VW dealer we went, where lo and behold a ‘12 Golf R sat on the lot priced better than a new GTI due to lack of interest in the area. After a few test drives of different models I asked her to takeout the R. She had a smile on after pulling out of the parking lot and off she went as happy as anyone could ever be.

Our original stable in Pensacola.

Over two years I had moved from the S2000 to a Wrangler to an Elise to a Viper. I always wanted a Viper.

‘05 Wrangler LJ manual

‘09 Elise factory S/C

‘06 Viper SRT-10

We had the perfect garage in my mind. She had her dream car and I had mine. A few months passed and it was time to move though. A 3,400 mile road trip from Florida to the San Juan Islands in the PNW. She didn’t have a second thought about loading up her car, putting on the cruise control and driving across the US. I, however, had some serious reservations on taking the Viper.

What happens when it rains/snows in the rockies? What happens when the approach angle to any road is steeper than 3 inches? The trip is in July and the airconditiong is terrible, the pedals get hot enough to burn your feet and there is no cruise control...

Better judgement prevailed. I traded it in for a car that fit all my needs. I wanted something decently fast, comfortable, big enough to haul snowboarding gear to the mountain with AWD, and fun. What our garage ended up being was this.

‘12 R manual (Hers) ‘15 R automatic (His)

I was a copy-cat. My wife said it, our friends said it, heck even the VW techs said it. However, I don’t have any regrets about it. We loaded up the cars and started our convoy across the US from starting in the plains, to the great lakes, through Mt. Rushmore over the Rockies, across desert of Eastern Washington and finally the PNW.

On a highway somewhere. I don’t remember anything other than the two mountain goats to the right.

The cars performed as expected, and besides one flat tire we had no unexpected delays. In our new local we set up our lives with our VWs and took them everywhere. Two to three trips to Mt. Baker a week, Seattle for the weekend, Glacier National Park for hiking, the dog park for the pup. Whatever we asked of them they did, and we didn’t have any complaints.

Well, I had a complaint. You see, I had come from RWD manual 2 door cars. The R is a lot of things, but it isn’t that. I never looked behind me after I parked to admire it. I never enjoyed the fake exhaust note, and I was never impressed with the speed. The S2000, Viper and Elise had spoiled me rotten.I longed for something more fun, more exotic, more engaging, and louder much much louder.

My wife was satisfied until strange electrical gremlins started to rear the ugly static charged little heads. Her warranty was coming to an end, and after a skiing trip to Whistler she wanted a bigger car. We had four adults jam packed into a VW with gear on everyone’s lap, a full roof box, and 0 extra space. Off to the dealers we went and we drove the entire CUV market from the Nissan Rouge to the Porsche Macan. She picked a ‘17 Mazda CX-5 GT in soul red, which disappointed every salesman in the Seattle, Bellevue, Bellingham market who who test drove cars with us.

After she brought her CX-5 home she knew she answered my unasked question, and I was giddy with excitement over the possibilities. She had an AWD, people/gear hauler hitting every wicket for our lifestyle. I no longer needed a copy cat car. I can drop the family hauler for something more, how do you say, fun. We both wanted another manual in the garage.

The search began, an R8, a Turbo, a GT350R, maybe keep the Golf and compliment with an Ariel Atom, or even a Rossion Q1 because it’s as exotic as it gets. I drove a ton of cars and was slimming down the list when life threw a bend in the road.

We decided to buy a house. I couldn’t buy a car while dealing with closing on a house. Normally just a 30 day wait right? Wrong again muchacho. The house we bought was not complete yet. Upside is we customized every detailincluding the garage. I’ll write about that when I get back home and actually get to live in it. Downside is I had months to wait, but this also meant I could search for the best deal. I was in no rush or position to pull the trigger. My market expanded from the PNW too the entire country.

I found what I wanted, and it just so happened the market kept pushing the price down for a full month and a half. I watched it drop in value from a premium CPO price to a fantastic bargain. I had a family member in the local area test drive the car for me, and with the assurance of the factory warranty I was ready to pull the trigger.

Closing day came, the house was ours and within two hours the car was mine as well. The VW was sold off, and the cross-country overnight mailing parade began. I was notified on Friday the car was picked up and is on its way. As fate would have it, work has me away from my wife, our house and the new car for delivery. It turns out a fully loaded manual firesand Jaguar was ordered for a man’s wife, who no longer wanted to drive a manual. He traded it in for an automatic, but the rest of Jaguar’s doesn’t enjoy the bright color & manual combination. For us, it is a perfect fit and we will enjoy cruising the street in it. She’ll have 7 days to enjoy it, and then I’ll be waking up the neighborhood.

‘16 F-Type S

The most important feature.

Matsayz > whatisthatsound 07/17/2017 at 17:59

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Man! That’s quite the story of vehicles, must be nice! More pics of the Jag!!! Love that color

whatisthatsound > Matsayz 07/17/2017 at 18:01

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As soon as I get home there will be full write up, and definitely exhaust videos. I can’t wait to see it in person.

Fresh-Outta-Nissans > whatisthatsound 07/17/2017 at 18:13

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Those F-Ftypes are just lovely. Fun fact: the chassis reinforcement beams come undone over time.

You’ll know it when you hear it...

Saracen > whatisthatsound 07/17/2017 at 18:15

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I got rid of the fake exhaust noise in my Golf R by unplugging the soundaktor and pinching off the vacuum tube to keep the exhaust flap open. Much better noise. Having said that, I don’t have the car any longer either.

Congrats on the Jag! You got the right color and the right tranny ;)

whatisthatsound > Fresh-Outta-Nissans 07/17/2017 at 18:19

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Hmm.. I haven’t heard that or found that on any of the forums. The major issue is first batch of clutches and flywheels. Luckily it has the original 5/60k warranty extended with 5/100k CPO warranty.

Tapas > whatisthatsound 07/17/2017 at 18:36

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WHOAAAAA!

I’m jelly.

Clemsie McKenzie > Fresh-Outta-Nissans 07/17/2017 at 18:41

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Other fun fact: the V6 engine has the exact same block as the V8, they didn’t even shorten it. There are two empty cylinders back there, with no head or piston.

AM3R, lost another burner > whatisthatsound 07/17/2017 at 18:46

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Very cool pick up!

How was your S2k?

whatisthatsound > AM3R, lost another burner 07/17/2017 at 18:59

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After every vehicle we owned it is still my wife’s favorite. I had it for 50k miles over 5 years. Not a single complaint or issue.

Fresh-Outta-Nissans > whatisthatsound 07/17/2017 at 19:03

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Lol it’s not a major issue, I just found it funny when I worked for Jaguar.

The engines are solid, FWIW. Give or take some coolant parts and a throttle body cleaning.

whatisthatsound > Clemsie McKenzie 07/17/2017 at 19:03

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And they still source them from Ford for the AJs

Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner > whatisthatsound 07/17/2017 at 19:53

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Do you still have that go-kart and will you sell it for $5? Asking for a friend

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Fresh-Outta-Nissans 07/18/2017 at 13:37

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“over time”

Isn’t it only like three years old now? Never change, Jaguar. Never change.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Clemsie McKenzie 07/18/2017 at 13:37

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Wait, for super serial?

whatisthatsound > Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner 07/18/2017 at 13:44

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I had so much dang fun in that kart. I’ll get another one one day to terrorize the neighborhood at 13k rpms.

diplodicus > Clemsie McKenzie 07/18/2017 at 14:05

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Not totally acurate. Looked it up, they start with the same block but the machining is completely different. There isn’t 2 empty cylinders and the heads cover the entire block. http://blog.caranddriver.com/block-party-creating-a-v-6-by-declaring-two-cylinders-redundant/

Shoop > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 07/18/2017 at 14:08

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OK I couldn’t let that go, it’s not exactly the same.

Your boy, BJR > whatisthatsound 07/18/2017 at 14:12

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That’s kind of anticlimactic. You take us on this whole epic journey to say you bought a jaguar? You name dropped a viper, an R8, hell, even some cars I had to google to find out they were basically giant go karts....and you got a jaguar? I thought you were gonna finish up with “I got a Demon.” That does wheelies at least. Does the jag do wheelies? No? Then GTFAC.

0/10 I want the time it took me to read this back.

Clemsie McKenzie > diplodicus 07/18/2017 at 15:50

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Ha, that was quite interesting. Thanks for the correction!

Clemsie McKenzie > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 07/18/2017 at 15:51

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Apparently it’s a little more complicated than I thought, see diplodicus’ comment!

whatisthatsound > Your boy, BJR 07/18/2017 at 17:40

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This is my fault, I should have added more detail about how I chose the F-type. I am impressed with the gated shifter and exterior of the R8, I am not impressed with the interior or the exhaust note of the v8. The Turbo was faster than my Viper, but when I looked at it all I wanted was a GT3, and the generation I lust after is well into 6 figures. The Ariel Atom is the most insane car I have ever driven, but when I was leaving work at 2 am and it was 45 degrees out in June, I came to the realization it doesn’t make sense where I lived. The Rossion was my favorite of the bunch, but between turbo issues and build quality being different on every car I wasn’t willing to bet my bottom dollar it would be dependable as a DD.

The Jag took a attributes from every car I drove and packaged it together. The curbside appeal the R8 and the Rossion has. A fantastic exhaust note like the Rossion and turbo. A better interior than anything else I sat in. If you look and say, “oh he took the easy way out and bought a jag” I guess you’re right. If you think of it in terms of what I just said your conclusion might be a bit different. With my budget and my goals of uniqueness, manual, exhaust note, and curbside appeal the F-type ticked every box. Sure I could have gone over budget and got a F430. That doesn’t make me a gearhead though it makes me try to afford an unattainable car with my current situation. You can always spend more, it is harder to narrow the search of everything you want and stay within your means.

whatisthatsound > Saracen 07/18/2017 at 17:42

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My dad, who I know is reading this article had a 911 carrera S in british green. It took 60 years for him to get something he really wants. I keep telling him to sell it and buy a Turbo.