On the tipping point of purchase....

[oadavies]

Hi Guys,

I have been on the point of taking the plunge for the last couple of weeks.  Currently, I drive a BMW 530D M Sport (05 plate) and find the ride a little harsh (to say the least) around town (London).  I've always wanted a GTI since a kid and have recently test driven a Mk6 Golf GTI DSG.  Overall I'm very impressed, ride is important to me and even though it did not have ACC it was smoother than the beemer.  The car was the VW garage's demo car and I've been offered their showroom car instead, this has:

- Deep Black Pearl Metallic Paint
- Black Vienna Leather
- Monza Shadow 18" Alloys
- Touch Screen DVD Navigation
- Luxury Pack
- Park Assist and Parking Sensors and finally a
- Sunroof

My issue is that the asking price £30,700 seems a little steep.  This is only £250 off the list price.  Considering there are almost £6000 of extras I'd expect more of a discount?  I'm going to part exchange the beemer and would pay cash for the rest.  In your experience what should I be aiming for in terms of price?  I could have this car in a few days, would it be worth the wait to order a similar car with ACC?

Appreciate any pearls of wisdom!

[Snoopy]

Yes haggle, They may offer you a very good price for the BMW rather than giving you cash off, its common practise, i myself would aim for 5-7.5% off but factor in the BMW true value to what your offered.
The problem is demand and supply VW build weeks are all over the place at the moment no one really knows how long a factory order will take until this mess sorts itself out, you could be waiting 4-7 months worst case. The thing is dealers know this and so think someone will always walk through the door and pay list for a car right now and some people do. The low allocation per month to dealers from VW is also allowing them to demand near list price for private sales. Its why alot of people order through brokers etc on the internet which go throught the fleet arm of dealerships so you endup with a discount of the type at least i said above.

[VWKev]

Hi Guys,

I have been on the point of taking the plunge for the last couple of weeks.  Currently, I drive a BMW 530D M Sport (05 plate) and find the ride a little harsh (to say the least) around town (London).  I've always wanted a GTI since a kid and have recently test driven a Mk6 Golf GTI DSG.  Overall I'm very impressed, ride is important to me and even though it did not have ACC it was smoother than the beemer.  The car was the VW garage's demo car and I've been offered their showroom car instead, this has:

- Deep Black Pearl Metallic Paint
- Black Vienna Leather
- Monza Shadow 18" Alloys
- Touch Screen DVD Navigation
- Luxury Pack
- Park Assist and Parking Sensors and finally a
- Sunroof

My issue is that the asking price £30,700 seems a little steep.  This is only £250 off the list price.  Considering there are almost £6000 of extras I'd expect more of a discount?  I'm going to part exchange the beemer and would pay cash for the rest.  In your experience what should I be aiming for in terms of price?  I could have this car in a few days, would it be worth the wait to order a similar car with ACC?

Appreciate any pearls of wisdom!

If that lists at 30,700 I wouldnt pay any more than 28k for it. at least 8-10% off

[Rolfe]

That's very expensive, though as Snoopy said, factor in how good a trade-in value you're getting.

It might be worth it if you're not keen on a wait, because the waits seem to be getting worse.  But it's an eye-watering price and there might still be wiggle-room if you push it.

Rolfe.

[oadavies]

Thanks all, appreciate your insights

[gossa]

The demonstrator will be cheaper surely and then they can make that showroom model a demo?

I bought a Scirocco with 800 miles on the clock for 4K off. I got over the odds for it and 5% off of my GTI.

[mac7]

Optional extras doesn't automatically mean more discount - unless you don't really want them and the garage needs to move the stock.

As this car is in stock you can argue it's not really what you want but give them an offer around the £27K mark. They'll say no, but wait a week or so while you 'think about it'. Then we'll be closer to the end of the month and they might be a bit more keen to top up their sales figures. Also will give you the chance to go find and drive a car with ACC so you can decide if you want it or not.

[VWKev]

Optional extras doesn't automatically mean more discount - unless you don't really want them and the garage needs to move the stock.

As this car is in stock you can argue it's not really what you want but give them an offer around the £27K mark. They'll say no, but wait a week or so while you 'think about it'. Then we'll be closer to the end of the month and they might be a bit more keen to top up their sales figures. Also will give you the chance to go find and drive a car with ACC so you can decide if you want it or not.

Yeah but as a general rule, you should get the same discount on extra's as you do on the car.

[denyason]

you do know all those etras - you don't recuperate them when you sell, or part exchange. the only thing that is a must is metallic paint- ideally black( check any second hand cars on dealers ie bmw, porsche etc.... blacks are few, and more expensive than colours like red, white)
leather is always a plus- these 2 are what people look for.  all the rest is nice but waste of money.  it being a demo - should very very discounted- 250 pound is making a mug out of you.
mine blk metallic gti only options were paint and upgraded alloys cost 23000 ish and it arrived in 2 weeks .  i've had it for 4 wks now.   its new , not a demo which is not strictly new is it. 

try other dealers-  dealers in poorer locations offer better discounts.  you could ring a dealer say in glasgow(sorry glaswegians) - get a good deal- they del to your local vw. london dealers i expect would be tight as more business and so on.  poorer places have less business u c.

if you consider the top 3 extras, of metallic, alloys, and leather- that iself would be just over 24 grand!!  so 6 grnad for some sensors, sunroof all of which you wont rake back when u get rid is pretty damning i think.  also u must consider that a gti is vw iconic brand- therefore the residuals of the car is exceptional because "its a gti", nothing more iconic.  not only that but vw in general dont depreciate much.  if you bought a faster focus rs, you'd be losing lots of money.
another tip- ask dealer what models are out there, they have new all over the country.  its built so it arrives in 2 weeks- mine did.  you'd be suprised whats out there, why wait 6, monthsfor the sake of a pontless sunroof- beats me why u'd need one considering the climate control?  sat nav compared to a £100 tomtom.  so you want to pay 1000+ for a less superior satnav to a tomtom.

my car is 4 weeks, old  i got it 2 weeks from impulse order.  if you're looking for blk metallic, alloys, leather- you would find loads. new! sitting at a dealer somewhere,  nnot a demo either.

they are just mugging you by saying you have to wait , so you buy this over specced model.   ring any dealer. ring my newcastle dealer.   they send it to your local.

Hi Guys,

I have been on the point of taking the plunge for the last couple of weeks.  Currently, I drive a BMW 530D M Sport (05 plate) and find the ride a little harsh (to say the least) around town (London).  I've always wanted a GTI since a kid and have recently test driven a Mk6 Golf GTI DSG.  Overall I'm very impressed, ride is important to me and even though it did not have ACC it was smoother than the beemer.  The car was the VW garage's demo car and I've been offered their showroom car instead, this has:

- Deep Black Pearl Metallic Paint
- Black Vienna Leather
- Monza Shadow 18" Alloys
- Touch Screen DVD Navigation
- Luxury Pack
- Park Assist and Parking Sensors and finally a
- Sunroof

My issue is that the asking price £30,700 seems a little steep.  This is only £250 off the list price.  Considering there are almost £6000 of extras I'd expect more of a discount?  I'm going to part exchange the beemer and would pay cash for the rest.  In your experience what should I be aiming for in terms of price?  I could have this car in a few days, would it be worth the wait to order a similar car with ACC?

Appreciate any pearls of wisdom!

[keelaw]

I moved from a 530i SE Auto to a mk6 gti and not regretted it at all.

Apart from a smaller (but still adequate) boot, I rate nearly everything about the golf over the beemer. Better interior, better ride, better to drive. The interior is still pretty spacious considering it is a much shorter car. The computer set up is v good and things like the bluetooth work much better (though note compatibility issues).

VW servicing, insurance and maintenance is going to be much lower than the beemer too, make sure you get the 250 quid 3yr service pack.

I agree with everyone here that the dealer is asking way too much for that car.  I got circa 2k off my spec (see below) via an internet broker but did have to wait around 7 weeks for it (which is about standard).

Either way if you take the plunge you won't regret it!