I did a thing. Sorry @Magic. Here's the short version.
I parked the shitbox in the middle of the driveway for no good damn reason. Stupid. Later that night, I backed the GTI out of the garage, turned the steering wheel (my driveway is somewhat curved), and clipped the tire of the shitbox with the corner of the GTI front bumper cover at like 10mph. I ripped the entire bumper cover off, tore most of the mounting tabs, ripped out the fog light harness, the front collision warning sensor, the belly pan, the inner fender, and broke the grille into 3 pieces.
It doesn't look bad. I got 3 estimates the next day. $1850 was the cheapest. The Porsche certified body shop, which I hear does fabulous work, was $2900. I have a $1000 collision deductible with NJM so not worth taking a CarFax hit for $850+.
I talked with Dee and bitched about having a car without factory paint, how I'm never 100% satisfied with resprays, and how I'll always know. She suggested I price out a new car instead of fixing the GTI. The GTI is a year old with 10,000 miles on it, so we figured if I can get into a new car for under $4000, it's probably worth it just to upgrade. At least when you're OCD like me.
I really loved the GTI but sometimes wished it had more room in the backseat and boot. I considered a Tiguan R-Line but I thought I'd miss a sporty DD too much. Plus they are a bit more money for an SE R-Line Black package (but looked really nice).
So, I ended up with this.
Leftover 2019 Jetta GLI. It's basically a sedan GTI without the plaid seats. And smurf blue color.
I traded the GTI as is and gave them the 3 estimates so they knew what they were up against. All in, the GLI cost me $1500 after tax, tags, and doc fee. So, less than fixing the GTI! The leftover 2019 VWs are deeply discounted and they were very fair on the trade ($20,500) considering the damage.
Overall a good outcome to a shitty situation.
Then I tried my hand at ceramic coating for the first time. cQuartz UK 3.0. $58. It's supposed to last a year or two. It was bit of a process to prep the paint and apply, but its more time consuming than difficult.
I parked the shitbox in the middle of the driveway for no good damn reason. Stupid. Later that night, I backed the GTI out of the garage, turned the steering wheel (my driveway is somewhat curved), and clipped the tire of the shitbox with the corner of the GTI front bumper cover at like 10mph. I ripped the entire bumper cover off, tore most of the mounting tabs, ripped out the fog light harness, the front collision warning sensor, the belly pan, the inner fender, and broke the grille into 3 pieces.
It doesn't look bad. I got 3 estimates the next day. $1850 was the cheapest. The Porsche certified body shop, which I hear does fabulous work, was $2900. I have a $1000 collision deductible with NJM so not worth taking a CarFax hit for $850+.
I talked with Dee and bitched about having a car without factory paint, how I'm never 100% satisfied with resprays, and how I'll always know. She suggested I price out a new car instead of fixing the GTI. The GTI is a year old with 10,000 miles on it, so we figured if I can get into a new car for under $4000, it's probably worth it just to upgrade. At least when you're OCD like me.
I really loved the GTI but sometimes wished it had more room in the backseat and boot. I considered a Tiguan R-Line but I thought I'd miss a sporty DD too much. Plus they are a bit more money for an SE R-Line Black package (but looked really nice).
So, I ended up with this.
Leftover 2019 Jetta GLI. It's basically a sedan GTI without the plaid seats. And smurf blue color.
I traded the GTI as is and gave them the 3 estimates so they knew what they were up against. All in, the GLI cost me $1500 after tax, tags, and doc fee. So, less than fixing the GTI! The leftover 2019 VWs are deeply discounted and they were very fair on the trade ($20,500) considering the damage.
Overall a good outcome to a shitty situation.
Then I tried my hand at ceramic coating for the first time. cQuartz UK 3.0. $58. It's supposed to last a year or two. It was bit of a process to prep the paint and apply, but its more time consuming than difficult.
