GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk5 => Topic started by: Emeye on 25 June 2007, 01:05
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Hi,
This is my first post and I hope you don't mind helping me as I've decided I really want a Golf GTI, but.....
I found this forum after it was referenced on pistonheads in response to my search for help on buying an import gti.
I managed to find a 14months old UK 3dr Silver GTI, standard spec with 19,000miles, for £16,500 at a main dealer whch seemed a good price, but... (again) the car is at the other end of the country and it had an odd tyre with only 4mm tread left on the others, was due a service and I was having to go off the salesmens descriptions cos I can't just nip down for a look. They say the car is so cheap so they will only do me 6 months tax, and won't do the service or sort the mismatched tyre.
I found some imports advertised at various supermarkets which seemed a real bargain, but their salesmen were always vague about whether they were full UK spec, and after reading some posts on here it looks like my suspicions about some of these imports may have been justified. I looked at one of these supermarket imports today - a 5dr silver one for £17,999 + £170ish extra for "on the road" costs, and it seemed ok, but again the salesman was "vague" and seemed more interested in selling me "diamond interior and exterior protection treatment" than confirming the car's spec was totally UK. :angry:
I need a car quite quickly, so should I go for the used gti which may cost me £500 for tyres and £180 for a service very soon or should I track down a reputable importer? Both cars will have about 2 years warranty, but after 3 years the used one will be 4 years old and have possibly 80,000miles on the clock, whereas an import would only have 60k miles in 3 years.
I'm probably expecting to spend an extra £1000 on a brand new std import over the uk car.
It's either that or a brand new uk metallic SEAT Leon 2.0T FR which has more kit than the Golf for only £16,200 from a SEAT main dealer. :shocked:
HELP! - I don't really want a SEAT (even though my old shape Leon Cupra was an amazing car, if a bit yellow)
Cheers. :undecided:
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Forget the leon, i test drove the FR leon and the altea FR and they drove ok,nowhere near as good as the GTi,and were absolute pants inside, crap fit and finish, and had more rattles then a toddler.Have a good think about what to do ,personally i would get a car with as many extras, cus theres nothing worse seeing another GTi with more extras fitted, cus it will eat away in your mind forever and a day. There are hundreds of 2nd hand nearly new GTi's on Vws own website, and are real bargains.have a Look. Thats how i got mine, a real bargain with all the toys which save me £6000 at new dealer price
HTH
www.volkswagen.co.uk
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yeah stick with the GTI route... i got my 55 GTI for £17,995 with 11,000k on the clock... loads of extras and 12 mnth warranty... all from a main dealer. well worth shopping around mate... you'll find the right one with your name written on it :laugh:
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Fair comment, I had to compromise on the 18" wheels (since purchased) but found a 8500 mile DSG Golf with leather and cruise for under £19 K, colour was not my first choice but still acceptable, full uk car with
2 years warranty left, be patient and go the Golf route :smiley:
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I went down the second hand market... 2 year old Golf Gti in Tornado Red (only one previous owner) with:
*19inch BBS Alloys with two new tyres on the front and rear tyres good for another 3-4k miles
*Body Coloured rear bumper (very well done!) and inspiring me to have the skirts and chin spoiler done
*Leather
*Sunroof
*6 CD Changer
*Xenons
*Rear tinted windows
With 25,900 on the clock & FSH (last serviced in March) and 11 months VW warranty left.
Got this for £15,000 from a Private Seller...
I was comfortable buying private due to the VW warranty left on the car.
Speccing the car up on VW website I reckon I saved £9,500 from the list price of a brand new one.
OK, the interior needs a good clean, I need some new footmatts and there is a bit of wear on the drivers side leather seat (lateral support) - but a £50 valet, leather treatement and some GTi matts off Ebay should put it back to looking perfect!!
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Yep same here bought my late 05 Plate at 12 months old 13Kmiles, from a VAG main dealer, list up with all the bells was £29600, paid £20500, gave me £13500 for a 30month old Mk5 GT TDI 2litre with 39K on the clock, just pity the poor sucker who bought it new, probably only got around £19k for his 12 months fun.
It was the main spec I was looking for with more toys than I would have optioned, but saved me the 4 to 5 month wait the local stealers were quoting.
Had to drive half way up England to get it, but cut the deal and drove it back the same day.....some stealers do want to trade in the real world, you just have to find one, thats the hard bit. They even agreed in principle the px on the TDI subject to my telephone description being accurate, top guys in the end.
And I blagged 12 months tax and a full tank of V power
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Thanks for the feedback :smiley:- I'm not too worried about extras, the basic GTI has pretty much everything I'd want as std, apart from maybe an armrest, but I think I can live without that. :grin:
To be honest I'm trying to keep the cost down and get the newest car as possible - we're moving to a house that needs plenty of work so that will be swallowing plenty of our cash! :shocked:
The favourite car (so far) that I've found on the web is a 2yr old (July 2005 05 plate) 23k miles Red 3dr for £15k at a car supermarket. All it has extra is heated seats.
I must admit I've been tempted by a brand new Import for £18k now I've found a decent importer, and I've also found a 1 yr old (2006 56) 5dr Red gti with 3k miles, grey leather, 18" alloy and heated seats for just under £17k, but I'm a bit sus about the low mileage and the fact it's being sold by a trader from home!
I'm going to be doing 20k miles a year, so I need to look at the residules I guess.
Damn I'm useless at making these decisions, it's a lot of money to spend - atleast I know I want a Golf gti, but I need a car quite quickly.... :undecided:
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You need the 18" Monzas. You will regret it big style if you don't get a car with them on and it will cost you 1K+ to upgrade later. An 18k new import ( as long as it's UK spec ) makes more sense than a 2 year old UK car . It will have an extra years warranty over the UK car and if you keep it over 3 years will be pretty much worth the same as a similar aged UK car when you come to sell it.
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Emeye - my advice is to buy private... ass long as you have some manuafcturers warranty and run a HPi check you are fine... cheaper than dealer.
As per my previous posts for 15k I got 05 Red Gti with 26k on the clock and FSH with:
Upgrade Alloys
Leather
6 CD
Xenons
Sunroof
Car isn't in "showroom" condition.. few interior marks, but nothing that will not clean up, leather needs a bit of treatment but will be back to perfect after a clean.
just my tuppence worth
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You need the 18" Monzas. You will regret it big style if you don't get a car with them on and it will cost you 1K+ to upgrade later. An 18k new import ( as long as it's UK spec ) makes more sense than a 2 year old UK car . It will have an extra years warranty over the UK car and if you keep it over 3 years will be pretty much worth the same as a similar aged UK car when you come to sell it.
Don't you get a 3 year warranty with a new uk car and 2 years with an Import?
My thinking was the 1 year old UK gti and the new import would have the same warranty.
I'm struggling to find a decent private car for sensible money.
Cheers.
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Nice looking car here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/192450.htm
and here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/191522.htm
Cass
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You need the 18" Monzas. You will regret it big style if you don't get a car with them on and it will cost you 1K+ to upgrade later. An 18k new import ( as long as it's UK spec ) makes more sense than a 2 year old UK car . It will have an extra years warranty over the UK car and if you keep it over 3 years will be pretty much worth the same as a similar aged UK car when you come to sell it.
Don't you get a 3 year warranty with a new uk car and 2 years with an Import?
My thinking was the 1 year old UK gti and the new import would have the same warranty.
I'm struggling to find a decent private car for sensible money.
Cheers.
yes vw only honour a 2 year warranty with an import, personally i would try and track a used uk car as some of the imports may look the same but the specs can be totally different, ive seen import gti's with low spec radios and no rear speakers, thats always something to bear in mind, if you spend a little extra on a uk car at least you know what you are getting
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Nice looking car here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/192450.htm
and here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/191522.htm
Cass
Cheers for that, I'd already contacted the first one last night as it's local to me and he responded this morning - problem is he's the 4th owner!
I'd seen the other one aswell on pistonheads, it looks great but it's been modded and I'm not sure about how that would affect the insurance and the drive - I'm going to be doing 20k miles a year.
I had found a couple I was going to look at but they are in Sheffield! :shocked: The place is impossible to get to from here in Manchester with all the flooding.
This is getting desperate, I need a new car asap! :sad:
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Try a search here - lots of dealer and private cars for sale - buyers market :wink:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/
Had a bit of a look around and found these at an importer in Bolton:
http://dealerservices.autotrader.co.uk/25918/stock.htm
Cass
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Try a search here - lots of dealer and private cars for sale - buyers market :wink:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/
Had a bit of a look around and found these at an importer in Bolton:
http://dealerservices.autotrader.co.uk/25918/stock.htm
Cass
I've spent the last 2 week on autotrader whenever I've had time - but I'm a tight arse so maybe I need to find a private car and go in with a low offer - problem I've got now is getting to see these cars - I'm off to Newcastle this weekend with the lads to celebrate my bro's 30th. I'll have to see if there are any in Geordie land! :grin:
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The fella selling my car had it on Autotrader for £15,995... I ended up paying £15,000... bargain hard, its a buyers market. As for newcastle - here ya gohttp://www.pistonheads.com/sales/123122.htm (http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/123122.htm) - thats a nice looking car. I reckon you could get it for £15,000 - £15,500... no problem... The mods are good ones (they are similar to the ones a black one i looked at had)... give the guy an email or a call, i reckon you could see it this w.e!!
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The fella selling my car had it on Autotrader for £15,995... I ended up paying £15,000... bargain hard, its a buyers market. As for newcastle - here ya gohttp://www.pistonheads.com/sales/123122.htm (http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/123122.htm) - thats a nice looking car. I reckon you could get it for £15,000 - £15,500... no problem... The mods are good ones (they are similar to the ones a black one i looked at had)... give the guy an email or a call, i reckon you could see it this w.e!!
Cheers, but I don't really want a car that has been modded. I will be doing lots of miles in my new job and don't fancy lowered suspension etc. It's not that I'm against modded cars - my 17 yr old Eunos Roadster (mx5) had been well modded before I bought it as a track/weekend car - adjustable dampers, very low springs, light weight alloys, full stainless exhaust and manifold, roll bar, induction kit etc - but I don't want any warranty complications etc - sorry if I'm sounding ungrateful! :embarassed:
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No probs Emeye - one thing I would say is that apparently these mods are VERY subtle, and both enhance the Golf... rather than detract from it... just basing this on feedback i had from this forum when I was looking at a similar specced car. tbh, i would rather have these mods than the aftermarket alloys and tinted windows on my car as they are more subtle...