Guys.... I've decided to sell

[monkeyhanger]

A local independent has offered £22k.

We are just going to the lease the S1, but will try P/X with that. I got a buddy to send over an up to date spreadsheet with all the Volkswagen dealers sales managers email. Think I'll just send a group email with the details and see if anyone wants a punt on it.

If you don't need the GTD even while waiting for the S1, i'd be taking that £22k to save the hassle of chasing maybe a grand more if you're lucky and having the tyre kickers looking it over, and the £250 depreciation eevry month it doesn't sell. Unless you can get more than £22k p/x against the S1, which is doubtful because you'll get a p/x value based on when the S1 will be delivered. If you have to wait 4 months for it, the Golf will have depreciated by around £1300 if you broach the next plate change (64).

What lease terms are you getting on the S1? I've heard the S1 retains around 54% of RRP on GFV (10k miles per year), and if you had nothing to p/x, it can be bought for around £2400 less than RRP through drivethedeal - discounts on A1 through the dealers is minimal, they just won't discount by more than a grand. With no p/x to mess with and getting that broker discount, I reckon it might be better to buy than lease. For what the S1 is likely to depreciate by in 3 years (about £8500) if you get a grand more than GFV at trade-in time and get that broker discount, you are talking £240 a month + £90 a month (ave) interest. If you can get the S1 at less than £330 a month (ave, including your deposit spread over the term) inclusive of VAT then I would say lease over buy.

My missus is after an S1 when I get my redundancy. Trying to get a GFV figure out of an Audi dealer is almost as hard as getting a discount from them. Do you have a solid GFV figure?

[Phil 117]

£22k is tempting.

They way I've got to look it is. I'm paying £394 a month, which is mostly interest at the moment.

I would have to pay roughly 6 months of ownership to get rid of the car.

If in 6 months times, it's lost £1,500 in deprecation, it would then be worth £20,500 trade. I predidct the settlement would be, correct me if I'm wrong here, but £24,500 - (£400 x 6 = 2400) = £22,000 + £1000 (due to paying mostly interest rather than the actual car currently), would be £23,000.

If it trades at £20,500, I would then only have to cough up £1,500 (plus the £2,400 I've paid though, so £4,000 it would cost), but getting 6 months worth of ownership, but then I wouldn't actually use it. Tricky one.

This is proving quite costly. So I bought it for £26,000. Including payments 6 x £400 + £500 deposit, it's cost me £3,000 so far. For 14k miles, not to bad.

So forking out 2k, it's cost me £5,500 for 6 months ownership, doing 2k miles p.a. it's cost me around £900 a month! That hurts writing that. Oh well, you only live once.

I'd bite their hand off at £23k, but I just can't see any other option. That car for £23k is cheap. On autotrader, 3 year old GTD's go for £16k. In 3 years time, there will be an influx of GTD's, and I can't see them being worth more than £14k in 3 years.

If we said £23k - £14k, it would cost £9k to own for 2 1/2 years ownership. I've paid half that in a fifth of the time! It's painful doing this maths outloud.



In regards to the Audi. My Audi has been useless. It's been trying to get blood out of a stone. She will run it through her sisters business. I think she said it was around £350 + vat a month. If she's happy with her little yellow pocked rocket, so am I.

I must admit, I don't know masses about it; I've left Rachel to sort everything herself. She can't make as bad a job as me reading the above 

[monkeyhanger]

If the missus is happy to pay £420 a month (£350 + VAT), but has nothing to part-ex, there's not much between leasing and buying. Over a 36 month rental term you'd have paid out £15120, and that's if there is no loading upfront. If you are on a 3+35 term, that's £15960 paid out. If you are getting a £26k (RRP) S1, inclusive of around £1100 of extras (assuming 3 door), and you get it from a brokers for £2400 discount - there's a purchase (or finance) price of £23600. The GFV is looking to be about £14k (you'll probably get £15k p/x value, meaning you'd be £1k in equity for your next car), meaning you're financing £9400 depreciation + interest over 36 months. You're looking at about £5600 interest (7% APR? pricey!) and £9400 = £15000 = £416 a month x 36. There's nowt in it (£25 a month, if 3+35months on lease), on those terms i'd rather lease. If your monthly figs are a 24 month term then I would definitely lease.

You might find even better lease terms than those, so shop around and restrict the options - £3k options can easily add £80 a month onto a lease due to them adding almost no value at resale time.

If you've got no use for the VW then get shot now for £22k. You say £23k is cheap, well it would be for a dealer, not so much for a private sale. You won't find many people willing to drop £22/23k privately.

I think that as long as they remain within the dealership network, the 3 year old 5 door GTDs will be part-exing for £15/15.5k, which is £500/1000 more than GFV, and they'll be up on the forecourt for £18k. In 2016 I'd bet the GTD RRP will be pushing £28k.

[dubber36]

They way I've got to look it is. I'm paying £394 a month

That's how many people look at car purchasing, rather than the bigger picture. I used to be in cars sales and have seen many people in your situation when circumstances change.

You could spend time doing the sums like Monkeyhanger has, but the long and short of it is, driving around in a new, relatively expensive car costs lots.

[Phil 117]

Sold today.

It's going on Friday. What a shame. I did really enjoy it despite my niggles.


On a side note Monkey Hanger, she may have changed her mind. So I emailed every single Volkswagen Sales Manager in the country regarding this Golf. Low and behold, the ones who's actually bought it, offered £23k is a friend I used to work with at Honda, who also went to school with my girlfriend and I

So I was telling him about Rachel wanting an S1; and he said he'd be happy to do a 6 month staff lease on a Volkswagen (sadly can't do Audi). Look at these RIDICULOUS staff rates. She could get a GTI or even an R (or possibly even a Touareg) for next to nothing (FYI, these include VAT, no deposit, and only tied in for 6 months. Admittedly, these are base vehicles. And options can be pricey £3 for every £100 of options but still cheap)

[mk7gti]

I know all about the staff rates my friends dad works for VW however he has to take the cars for 18 months at the same money. Its great to know they view the GTI as having minimal depreciation over the first year and a half. I think I could be changing mine come year two for a new one

[Phil 117]

We also have friends at BMW and I hear their rates I quite good.

Again, my friends other rolls around in a X6. I think he said that's around £300 for 12 months. They do look ugly IMO though, but a lot of car for the money. Same with a Golf R on here too.

[monkeyhanger]

Doesn't matter what car you've got, you're always looking to the next one. My next car will depend highly on the length of my commute and how quickly I find another job. I'm getting made redundant next june, with a sizeable pay-off. There seems to be loads of work out there in my field and for similar levels of pay, but I may have to go further than 12 miles each way to get it. All sorts of cars are buzzing through my head right now for what may be my next car in 2 or 2.5 years - Golf R, S3, bottom spec Porsche Cayman, Audi TT/TTS. I'd love to get those staff rates - they cover the depreciation and nothing more by the looks of things and it would seem that from a depreciation point of view, the performance pack is a "free" option vs standard GTI in that you'll get most of your money back for it.

[mk7gti]

Your quite right monkeyhanger re covering the depreciation. From what I hear its all about having good used stock in 18 months for the dealer forecourts.