What to buy next if insurers write off our beloved Mk7 GTI ?

[zxrmatt]

Repairers are sending a quote of around £10k to the insurers but have warned my wife that the current value of the car is only £9-10k so the insurers may write it off. It is a 63 plate GTI Mk7 5 Door DSG, 65,000 miles.

Good luck finding an equivalent car for £9-10k! Thats been under valued for sure as the cheapest Mk7 on Autotrader with similar mileage with DSG is £12,750k. Think you should be able to squeeze some more money out of them if it does get written off. Just need to provide them with some examples of like for like cars for sale.

[Gnasher]

When my wife's car was written off the first offer by the insurance company was laughable. I searched Autotrader with some very specific criteria and gave them 3 examples (as that was all there was) of cars of that exact year, trim level, gearbox and approximate mileage and they then offered (roughly) the average of the 3 prices minus my excess.

Whilst I'm not saying to over-inflate the price, it is a good tool to ensure they don't undervalue the car but (to ensure you get a fair settlement) it does pay to be quite specific with the criteria and only pick decent, clean examples of the cars. I used screenshots from my laptop and they took that as adequate evidence.

It's worth doing as the difference between their first offer and the figure we finally settled on was not far off £2000 and that was only on an £8000 car.

[Talk-torque]

How is it a "vast improvement in every respect". Just interested as apart from a few cosmetic bits on the outside an extra 10hp and digital clocks inside what else has been improved?

Bear in mind that I am comparing a 2016 GTI DSG with a 2019 GTI Performance DSG, which was one of the OP’s options.

Engine: Going from 220 bhp to 245 bhp, more than a 10% increase.
Gearbox: The much newer design of the 7 speed DSG means that the occasional clunkiness of the 6 speed has gone. The smaller gaps between ratios makes changes much smoother.
Brakes: The bigger discs, ventilated on the rear, feel usefully more powerful, while being very smooth in operation, with none of the grab you sometimes get with new brakes.
Lights: I thought the Xenons on the ‘16 car were good, but these LED’s are amazing. The spread of light is even and powerful. Adaptive high beam seems to work, but I’ve yet to try it out fully. The new DRL/indicator set up looks great.   The new tail light assembly also looks great and now has reversing lights that help you see at night!
The Instruments: I love the digital dash. It can display so much information in a very useable way. Also, with the Nav screen on the dash, I can use Waze on the centre screen. Best of both!
The Exhaust: The car now sounds a bit more like a sports hatch. Just that bit louder and with a harsher edge to it.
Security: Switchable keyless entry is a comfort.
Front Radar Sensor: Much safer position, behind the VW badge. A partridge cost me over £400 for realignment on the ‘16 car!
Appearance: The new front bumper/grille assembly, together with the new lights, front and rear and bigger exhaust pipes, have freshened the design up nicely. Overall, the best iteration of the Mk7/Mk7.5 model in my opinion.
Overall: The car seems more refined in use, an example being very smooth operation of the autohold. There is none of the slight grab on stopping or starting that I had with the ‘16 car. Of course, this could be down to fortunate assembly of my car, or VW may have settled on the optimal adjustment.

Maybe “vast” was a bit of an over statement, but the improvements are very worthwhile. I am very pleased with my new car. 😊

[mcmaddy]

Ah if it's been a standard golf to a new pp version then yes the improvements will be noticeable. Less difference between a performance pack GTi 7 and FL one. 👍