Newbie GTD help

[arj7]

Hi Guys,

After years of owning an Astra 1.8 sri I hope to be making the upgrade to a golf gtd.
I was debating between an Audi S3, Golf GTI etc but the fact of running them really put me off and the GTD economy and decent power and also the look of the car is appealing.

Anyway I will most likely be buying a second hand one purely for financial reasons.

Just a bit of advice, would you go for the manual or DSG gearbox given the choice.
I know the sat nav can be retrofitted so Im not too worried about it be nice if I could get it but I guess thats more luck.
I would really like the have xenons (why its not standard on a £25k car is beyond me). Have any of you got it without xenons? If so have you changed the bulbs to something like Philips Diamond Vision etc.

Is daytime running lights standard?

I think I will mod the car if I was to get it, as I have done alot of mods to my astra, and I had a golf before that.
I would consider getting a remap also but would this be a problem with my warranty?

Sorry for all the questions.

Arj

[Cliff_944]

Welcome!

I have manual which is great and I would not have the DSG.  However others love the DSG box so it is a personal choice.  My manual says which gear youre in and tells you if you should change gear as guidance.
 
The Xenons are much more complex than just different bulbs.  The newer Xenons have LED daytime running lights (that look good).  They are self levelling and go round corners.  They have the cleaning function.  They are excellent for night driving and don't blind oncoming traffic.  They even switch sides for driving in Europe.  With this option you get LED number plate light also.  I would get them if you can on a second hand car.

With second hand you need to watch the standard option list as it has changed over the years.  The newer cars have things like rear LED lights, leather seats, heated seats, Bluetooth, full iPod connect and convienent pack (such as dipping passenger mirror when in reverse). 

I found I could negotiate more discount off a new car, rather than a nearly new where I could not get so much discount and then had to retrofit the options I wanted.  This is because some people don't want to wait 3 months for delivery of a new car.  So it depend on how old you second hand car will be.  However some have cheaper cars like the car supermarkets such as motorpoint who have a new car with the old spec GTD.

[Mr_F]

+1 on the bendy xenons, by far and away the best option, even with its price tag.  which is steep when other VAG vehicles get it for circa £700.

+1 on the haggling on a nearly new one, if you don't want the wait you could maybe find out what spec a dealer can quickly get their hands on.  But you will need to be flexible.

+1 Manual = real drivers car, keeps you more involved IMHO.  DSG was very smooth going up but never quite felt it was in the right gear going into corners when going for a blitz down a country road!

+1 I've heard good things on the remap side.

[arj7]

Thanks, yeah I was thinking manual myself as thats what I prefer Its not essential if it had dsg I was just wondering what they were like.

With regards to the xenons I would like them but if they are not available its difficult. I mean doing the car up on the vw website it works out at like £27k with the things I want on them I cant really pay that much and even with haggling I cant think they will knock off that much.

For me the led lights on the back is nice but could be retrofitted so not essential, I would ideally like Xenons, sat nav and the 18inch wheels.

Im flexible on the sat nav as I know I could retro fit it, but I think finding one with xenons may be difficult.

Im budgeting around £22k so hopefully I can find something.

Whats the sound system like in your cars?

[Cliff_944]

I went for the 18 inch wheels, Xenons, cruise, sensors and storage pack.  Cost me just under £25k.  The standard radio is very good, integrates well with bluetooth and iphones! I have been told the sound is the same in the normal and sat nav radio.  I could not justify the cost of the sat nav and so use a £30 tomtom app on my iPhone!  The front/back parking sensors give a display on the radio of the distance of the object.

Expect to get at least 10% off a new car and bargain hard!  Good luck...

[Mr GTD]

I have the DSG and find it a total pleasure to drive, again mine was factory ordered and my extras were Sat Nav, Tyre Mon, Lthr + heated seats & rear led's was std, Lux Pack...i didn't order the 18'' Charlestons as I wanted the Monza 2's and was lucky enough to get them new from a fellow forum member, so now I have the std Seattles for winters & Monza's for Summer, yes the Sat Nav was expensive but I cudnt be bothered with the hassle of getting it retro fitted as I've read peeps having issues getting all the Sat Nav features to work via retro fitting...

In total I paid £25K but p/x a car for £4500 so....£20.5K!!!

Oh yeah, if I cud have I wud have had the Xenons too, so if you can get one with go for it!

Good Luck!

[JoeGTI]

Xenons are a must IMO. They do wonders to lift the front end appearance of the car, not to mention all their lighting benefits already mentioned. The LED DRL's only come with xenons. The halogens have DRLs too but they are crappy looking yellowy bulbs.
Rear LEDs are standard now, as are LED number plate lights.

The RNS sat nav is fantastic kit but don't spec it from factory! Retro fit, costs less than half what you'd pay VW. I did this and it works perfectly, very straightforward to do and apart from missing the roof shark fin you'd never know it wasn't spec'd from new. Integrates really well with the Bluetooth too. The actual sound though is no better than the standard radio. Some think it's worse!

Xenons on the other hand are much more difficult and costly to properly retrofit. Not something for a novice DIY'er.

The standard 17's are a bit naff too IMO so 18's if you can.

[arj7]

I have the DSG and find it a total pleasure to drive, again mine was factory ordered and my extras were Sat Nav, Tyre Mon, Lthr + heated seats & rear led's was std, Lux Pack...i didn't order the 18'' Charlestons as I wanted the Monza 2's and was lucky enough to get them new from a fellow forum member, so now I have the std Seattles for winters & Monza's for Summer, yes the Sat Nav was expensive but I cudnt be bothered with the hassle of getting it retro fitted as I've read peeps having issues getting all the Sat Nav features to work via retro fitting...

In total I paid £25K but p/x a car for £4500 so....£20.5K!!!

Oh yeah, if I cud have I wud have had the Xenons too, so if you can get one with go for it!

Good Luck!

Loving your wheels mate they look great, I do like the 18inch upgrades but yours are nice as well!

My car is valued at around £4000-3500 so Im adding that into the mix.

I think for me the xenons is a must, the sat nav im not too bothered. Most likely a retrofit as the price VW you are charging is crazy.

I havent even driven one yet, may go for a test drive in the next couple of weeks.

Il have to see how willing the guy is for negotiating when it comes to it.

[Mr GTD]

I have the DSG and find it a total pleasure to drive, again mine was factory ordered and my extras were Sat Nav, Tyre Mon, Lthr + heated seats & rear led's was std, Lux Pack...i didn't order the 18'' Charlestons as I wanted the Monza 2's and was lucky enough to get them new from a fellow forum member, so now I have the std Seattles for winters & Monza's for Summer, yes the Sat Nav was expensive but I cudnt be bothered with the hassle of getting it retro fitted as I've read peeps having issues getting all the Sat Nav features to work via retro fitting...

In total I paid £25K but p/x a car for £4500 so....£20.5K!!!

Oh yeah, if I cud have I wud have had the Xenons too, so if you can get one with go for it!

Good Luck!

Loving your wheels mate they look great, I do like the 18inch upgrades but yours are nice as well!

My car is valued at around £4000-3500 so Im adding that into the mix.

I think for me the xenons is a must, the sat nav im not too bothered. Most likely a retrofit as the price VW you are charging is crazy.

I havent even driven one yet, may go for a test drive in the next couple of weeks.

Il have to see how willing the guy is for negotiating when it comes to it.

Thanks for the compliment not sure how much of a difference this might make but try and go see the dealers closer to the end of the month as you might get lucky and the dealer might be down on his monthly target so they might be more willing to negotiate...

[arj7]

Good idea.

You said you didnt get the xenons, have you changed your bulbs?

I mean if I dont get the xenons for whatever reason its not the end of the world.
Just have to change the bulbs, I got some nice phillips diamond vision in my car currently and it does look good, its no xenon though!

My only thing I wont budge on is the colour and the 18inch wheels, got to have something!!