Opinions needed.......

[ifti]

Ive seen a Mk5 Grey ED30 at a dealership - well not seen it, but seen it on the net!

From what I can see, if has the following options.....

Xenons,
MFSW
Highline
Centre Arm Rest
Tinted Glass
Cruise Control
Rain Sensor (Is this part of winter pack??)

The car was registered in June 2008 - so has a lot of its warranty left.
It is advertised at 4503 miles. Listed at £18,995

I rang the dealership today, and found out that the car has now done 10,000 miles. I asked why, and was told it was a demo car. Only the salesman had driven it - no customers etc. though.

I asked if this increase in milleage affected the price, and he asked his manager and came back saying they couldnt lower the price any further. he said they are selling Golf's and not re-filling spaces, as they are hard to come by now.

He offerred me £1750 in part-ex for my current 2000 (X reg) Fiesta Zetec S - which was quite good - probably what I would get if I sold private.
He also offered me a 'chip' to 300hp for an extra £500 - which I probably wouldnt do just yet anyways (I didnt think dealers did this?)

So I could get it for just above £17k I guess.

What do you think?
Are Demo cars thrashed about?? Are they just used to take potential customers for a drive etc??

I was considering offering him £16,500, and my car, in exchange for the ED30, and a full first service - do you think this is a good deal or not?

Thanks in advance.

[ifti]

Here it is....

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/VOLKSWAGEN+GOLF/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-63-71-112-198-240-4294966995-4294967159/advert.action?R=200909329450231&distance=87&postcode=cm179qg&channel=CARS&make=VOLKSWAGEN&model=GOLF&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=2008&vehicleRegLetter=08

[kells]

my mate works at a dealership, he brings similar cars home till they sell just like you mention, he dont thrash it, he just uses it everyday, he dont really care about it though and also smokes in them etc, when i questioned this, he just said he didnt care as it wasnt his car.

[Hurdy]

I've noticed it is a VAT qualifying vehicle. Surely that means it isn't an official UK model and is a personal import?

It would also mean a 2yr warranty instead of a 3 yr on wouldn't it?

[ifti]

my mate works at a dealership, he brings similar cars home till they sell just like you mention, he dont thrash it, he just uses it everyday, he dont really care about it though and also smokes in them etc, when i questioned this, he just said he didnt care as it wasnt his car.

This is exactly what Im concerned about, but then again, when purchasing a used vehicle, an you ever really be sure of how its been treated?!

I've noticed it is a VAT qualifying vehicle. Surely that means it isn't an official UK model and is a personal import?

It would also mean a 2yr warranty instead of a 3 yr on wouldn't it?

Hmmm, good point. I'll question him on that tomorrow and see what he says.....
Does that also mean you have to tell your insurance company its an import etc??
How else does an import differ from a UK spec??

If it does turn out to be a full UK spec etc, what do you think of the price etc?

[DanoGTI]

So, hang on....

The dealership has doubled the mileage on it and won't budge on price......

The phrase "Foxtrot Oscar" springs to mind.

They're having a laugh if they think that by putting mileage on it, it won't affect the price.....

All IMHO

Dan

[bertmort8]

when i looked at buying the 1.4 twin charged golf he told me we would be doing them a favour as they get a new demo once they had sold the 1.4 demo

yes they need to drop the price or throw in the chip for free

employees drive the car and potential customers like you already said

[R32UK]

Been to my local dealership a number of times for test drives and have always driven the car myself (hard) when on a test drive. but also noticed that any of the demo's I have been in are used by sales staff on a daily basis.

You would think that they were asked to keep them tidy and clean but more often that not they are usally very poorly maintained and quite scruffy from my experience.

[stealthwolf]

I had a demo car. It was in perfect condition until after I bought it  

But it had less than 3000 miles on the clock. Haven't had any problems with it since and I'm now on 10k.

But the change in mileage is significant enough to change the price, so the fact that they won't budge should tell you what they think of you. Walk away.

Rain sensors are standard, so don't be fooled. Armrest I think is standard on ED30. The other things - highline, mfsw, xenons, cruise control and tinted rear windows are all optional extras.

There's no harm in going to have a look at the car. There's a list of things to look for in maintenance section so check them out. £500 isn't enough for the difference if you accept the chip. I'd want a decrease in price + the 10k service (just an oil change I think). They might not be able to come down in price but you should be able to get them to throw in extra things.

If they don't, walk away. You won't have lost anything.

[ifti]

Thanks a lot guys, much appreciated.
I did say to him on the phone that the only thing putting me off was the fact that the milleage had more then doubled, but wasnt reflected in price. I would deffo expect a reduction in price because of it.

I'll take your advice though. Im in no rush to buy, so if they dont lower the price and service it for free, I'll leave it!

If he does agree to lower the price, how much should I accept? £500-600? Considering its more then doubled its milleage, I would expect at least that I reckon.....

Oh and if its an import, and he didnt bother to mention it to me, then I'll also walk!