Residual Values - Low Mileage v Average Mileage

[Dully]

I am pretty lucky as I can generally pick and choose when the GTI comes out the garage, if I don't want it ploughing through the mud drenched rural Lincolnshire roads in winter it stays where it is, if I don't want it sat in Asda waiting to be bumped with a trolley it stays where it is!

With this in mind, after 3 years I will end with a low mileage car for either trade in or private sale, possibly sub 10,000 miles at the rate , its currently done 3,492 miles since 1/9/13.

Trade in values are always subject to the deal being done at the time so can fluctuate and private sales always reply on being able to find a perfect buyer, but as a ball park figure, I wonder how much more the car would be worth than an identical vehicle that has covered average mileage?

[monkeyhanger]

On a car that has done 10k rather than 30k miles, there'll be about £1500 in it, assuming same overall condition. Yours will hopefully be tidied than average though, so be looking for top condition valuations with a £1500 mileage enhancement.

As always though, when selling a car, presentation is key.

[Dully]

Departure of the car is imminent now a bit earlier than expected which is p@ssing me off a bit, short term loss of cash is always hard to swallow  The Mrs needs a car very soon that she can load up with miles and will be parked in some dodgy places so this is not the car for her, its got to go. If it was my choice of car/spec/colour I would keep it as a summer only option, (7R/Midnight Blue/19's), but it aint and to be honest I have never been in love with it, I dont think i have ever got my head around white, just a personal thing really.

Anyhow, I know Parkers Guide aint the gospel on car values but at least its a ball park figure to have in your head when selling, it gave me £17,245 part ex on average mileage/basic spec & £19,684 on the car as it stands with mileage rounded up to 4,000. Top end Private was £21,284 but not too sure I want the hassle of that.

One interesting thing is that Parkers only list options as those which they think would possibly increase the value of the car, Adaptive Chassis Control is not included and that was £800 

On the up side I am using her car to trade in for something nice for me, lets see what figure the nice salesman comes up with  Pain in the @rse though when you dont want to drive it in the cr@ppy weather around showrooms and are trying to do a deal with a photo and description that the car is mint 

[monkeyhanger]

Dully: Well my basic (no extras 5DR, TR) GTD was worth £18500 as p/x in September for a March collection (March? Seems laughable now, i'm at BW16 currently), and like for like the GFVs would indicate a GTI of same spec is worth maybe £500 less at around 18 months old, but your low mileage should add a grand and so should your extras. Considering it is 5 months since I had my valuation, I think £19300-19500 is low enough in p/x not to affect your ability to claim discount at all on the new one. As of March your GTI would probably be up on a used VW forecourt for a minimum of £23000, so £19500 seems very realistic.

[RobS23GTI]

Used GTI values seem to have taken a bit of a hit if you look at Autotrader. There's some decent examples for low 20's.

I was thinking about a used S1, but reckon I lose a fortune trading in now.

[Exonian]

Yeah, don't think that the mk7 will hold its value like GTI's of old as it's not the case.
VW currently offer £750 deposit contribution on new ones and some dealers offer more than this on top of discounts.
Despite all of the rave reviews and the fact the GTI is a better car than its direct competitors fashion has moved away from it.
The PP GTI is a pretty awesomely capable FWD car but alas the R has stolen the limelight now and after a boring day at work the other day I realised why this forum is so quiet and peaceful now compared to its heyday and saw where all of the bullcrap, bickering and pointless willy waving that we used to suffer here now lies - yes I paid the R forum a rare visit.

So for anyone that thinks their mk7 GTI was a sound investment here's a few figures: my car is also a very low mileage due to many factors which mostly involve moving house and therefore using my old runabout as a mobile skip so the GTI just sat neglected for months with just an occasional run out then back for a clean.
I pumped my 15 month old PP GTI with 4500 miles into CAP and realised it had shed £10k off its retail price coming in at £18,850.

And for those smug enough to think their R is a great investment then I took a few figures out of curiosity using the reg and details of ones on the VW used website and noted that early ones with lowish mileages had also shed around £7-8k not including options at trade book prices. You'd possibly get more for an R if it's deemed desirable enough by a dealer but that would be dependant on the deal on the table.

I'd say a GTD is where the more sensible money is. Their retained values in £££ is a bit better but there are more of them available so you'd have competition there too.

Ignore the % retained value and look at the pure £££ - it ain't pretty!

So drive it, use it and enjoy it for what it is.

[monkeyhanger]

Ultimately months rolling by will have a greater effect on the residuals than miles rolling by. The average mileage GTI is losing around £280 a month (10k miles pa), it'll only be losing £40 a month less by doing half the miles.

Many hot hatch car buyers these days are chasing headline horsepower, and so the GTI looks hopelessly outgunned on paper as a "hot hatch", even though it will handle far better than many of its peers, which will be noticed if/when when you drive one - some may not give it a second look at 220/230ps though.

So not only is it competing with its Ford/Vauxhall/Renault/BMW peers, but now with the R too. The Rs revised GFVs may not be as good as they were, but the monthly differences (and ultimately RRP differences accounting for residuals) between the 2 cars is still quite small. Many deciding between the GTI and the R will pick the R now, and that will be hurting the GTI.

I doubt the R400 will hurt the R as much, if there's a clear £8-10k between them. You'll always lose money on a mass produced car bought from new, but it hurts less the longer you keep it.

[caprigreen]

Its only money 

[carl1]

It's sickening when you think about it but we all know it happens, at least we get a percentage back. Their ain't many things we buy were you will get anything back after 3 years, a house yes but beer, cigarettes, clothing, electronics etc very unlikely, and yes you could easily spend 15k on those in 3 year, so as others have said just enjoy.
Just to add it does sound a bit gloomy about not many people will want a gti now and I agree to a certain extent but it's still a very desirable car, just imagine trying to sell aVectra or some other dull car, Gti is a Vw Golf and people are always interested in any Golf no matter what version or age, trust me I've bought and sold a fair few, old and fairly new.