New to forum...Thinking of buying a Golf GTI

[wingman0401]

Evening all,

Just come over for a bit of advice on buying a new GTI, I'm sure there are previous threads with similar questions to mine so copy & paste your answers by all means.

My cousin recently purchased a standard Polo and I was there to pick it up with him, I was particularly impressed with the level of customer service (even the manager came out to say hello and give his thanks before we drove away).

A few things;

1) As far as purchasing goes, are the online figures typically true to real life? I.e, are dealers ever inclined to throw in freebies/knock money off?
2) I haven't looked too much into insurance, but figured being young this would be a real no-no? What are you guys paying, if you don't mind discussing this?
3) I've read a few reviews etc, how impressed have you been with your purchase?

Any other comments on what "not to do" would be appreciated, e.g "waste of money buying that leather trim", or "they robbed you blind there".

Cheers,

wingman

[DRC]

Wingman,

1) My mum got free GAP insurance, a valet and Lifeshine on the car, totalling over £500 when she bought it, also got a great trade in price for her P/X
2) Depends on your age, I can get insured on my mum's GTI for £1599 at the minute, I'm 20 with 3 years no claims. That's with Admiral, all the other companies are over £3k
3) I love her car, if I could afford one, I'd have one! Take it for a test drive, you won't be disappointed!

Dan.

[AGB]

1) As far as purchasing goes, are the online figures typically true to real life? I.e, are dealers ever inclined to throw in freebies/knock money off?
2) I haven't looked too much into insurance, but figured being young this would be a real no-no? What are you guys paying, if you don't mind discussing this?
3) I've read a few reviews etc, how impressed have you been with your purchase?
Any other comments on what "not to do" would be appreciated, e.g "waste of money buying that leather trim", or "they robbed you blind there".

1. You can always negotiate with the dealer and I would personally play one off against the other in terms of what you can get. Some of the members here have recommended dealers and depending on where you are, you might want to opt for a referral as the dealer might be more amenable to doing a deal if a volume of business is coming through a particular channel. Lead times are another issue, you might have to wait a while and larger dealers will presumably have better allocations of stock. I ordered in late Jan '10 and got the car mid Mar '10 but I know some people have had to wait for as much as 9 months. Negotiate on the major stuff and then make them throw in some extras which are virtually zero cost to them such as rubber mats and a load liner. Full tank of petrol is becoming a major ticket item these days and you used to get a full tank and oil, these days, you have to negotiate for every single thing.

2. Depends on what you call young (assuming < 25) but the other key factors which impact insurance will be NCB, location and where you keep the vehicle. I wasn't born in the UK and that incurs a £200 heft on my insurance despite the fact that I have a UK issued licence. I don't get how the actuaries think that a car parked on the street is less of a risk than a car secured in a lock up garage (it would cost me circa £200 extra to park in a lockup garage) but I expect that the damage likely to be incurred on the street will fall below the excess meaning someone is less likely to claim in the event of damage. Thieves are less likely to operate in plain sight although in London, they're pretty brazen based on how many times friends with super sports bikes have lost them to thieves picking them up and lifting them into Transit vans unchallenged.

3. I'm very satisfied with my GTI. I probably bought what some people would consider to be a poverty spec model because I didn't tick every single options box but it depends on how you want to use the car and how long you're going to keep it. I chose flat black versus a metallic/pearlescent finish for the sake of easy paint matching and touch up if anything ever happens to the car and for stone chips in particular which will happen unfortunately. I went for the standard sound system and RNS310 but I know you can retrofit the RNS510 for a third of the price at new from a dealer. I find the parking sensors to be brilliant, I have to put the car in some very tight spaces quickly in London and it's a great convenience. I'd recommend getting Xenons although I didn't at purchase (still kicking myself) but I'm in the process of retro fitting them and it's a bit of a hassle. The comfort and storage packs are handy but it comes down to personal preferences and what you're doing with the car. I never liked leather seats (sticky in summer and cold in winter) but I know there are some folks who couldn't live without them.

Good luck with your purchase and don't forget to post pictures when she arrives. 

cheers




Alex

[am1w]

I agree with Alex on most counts except the colour! 
It is important to consider that nearly all essential items would be cheaper to factory order: Bi-Xenons (still kicking myself I did not), ACC, Front & Rear Parking Sensors, Reversing Camera (still can't see the point), Tyre Pressure Monitor and obviously a Sunroof. That is, nearly everything. I would also consider getting the Dynaudio System with the RCD510 and then upgrade it by retro-fitting an RNS510 only if you need a Sat Nav. Finally, if you like the look of the 18" Monza Shadows, factory order these. 

[Snoopy]

1) Public side of dealers have broadly speaking less % profit to play with than the fleet side so don't expect a huge amount off face to face with a dealer compared to whats shown by brokers. If you can put up with the time to wait of 7 months+ then a broker will be the cheaper option.
2) Try some of the compare sites for insurance. Insurance in resent months has gone up ~40% so worth checking first.
3) Mine has rattles but i do enjoy driving it and it makes me smile even looking at it.

I often move 45+ cars out of my mates industrial unit and have to park them precise back in there, As well as 2 recovery trucks, a full size bus/coach and a few other things. I have no problem with any of them BUT my mk6 golf i just cannot judge correctly because of the curve on the front and rear. So i would strongly recomend the parking sensors as a must its something i really wish i had. The rest is personal taste.

[AGB]

I agree with Alex on most counts except the colour! 

I have something for you Asker: http://bit.ly/ik0yYB  Let me know if you'd like my paint chip colour so you can go faster.

[DRC]

AGB, thank you!
I just checked my insurance....
It knocked nearly £200 off by changing to 'parked on the street'.....that's insane!
Means the GTI is now only £1350 for me to get insured on and my own Golf 110bhp SE is £523!!!

[AGB]

AGB, thank you!
I just checked my insurance....
It knocked nearly £200 off by changing to 'parked on the street'.....that's insane!
Means the GTI is now only £1350 for me to get insured on and my own Golf 110bhp SE is £523!!!

Excellent news and yes, the logic is perverse, if you consider it from an owner perspective. Something else that really irks me is that my father in law was involved in an accident about 3 years ago. An idiot in a Mercedes ML wasn't paying attention and went into the back of his Mk5 GTI at 20 miles an hour in slow moving traffic. It was a no fault claim and the other party admitted liability but when I declared the accident on the insurance as he was a named additional driver, the premium rose by £320!

[Exonian]

f**k my hat! I can't believe that it's actually cheaper to park a car on the road these days!!
I mean, you pay extra on your house so you can have a nice secure garage to lock you pride and joy away in, it's there out of sight of Pikey scum, not getting nuclear fall out landing on it, not in the path of drunks who decide to dance a jig on the roof, away from next door's cat who likes to jump on it and piss on the wheels, not likely to get scratched up by Billy No Mates heavy metal enthusiast teenagers who think it a good idea to vandalise peoples possessions. And yet you get a discount for parking it in the street?
What a strange world this is becoming.


Oh, and to the OP. If you're young and can afford a stupidly overpriced brand new Golf GTI I wouldn't worry too much about what costs what as you're obviously minted and not worried about the potential costs of living (getting married? Buying a house?) and can afford it anyway.
Just have a search on here for recommended dealers (comes up quite a bit) and try and find a car that's either ready for production or on its way over here already and hasn't been allocated a buyer; if you are flexible on the spec you'll probably only have to wait a very short time.
Colour wise, all of the colours the GTI is availaible in are 'okay' but none of them inspiring or beautiful so don't worry about that.

I'm off now to park my carefully hidden and cherished GTI next to a busy main road just down from a dodgy pub so I can get cheaper insurance.......

[Snoopy]

If your wondering about colours have a look in the photo thread.
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=158784.0

As for the insurance i do find it strainge logic but i think the idea behind it is that if its on the street there less likley to know which house it is at and so which to target for the keys. Stupid logic if in a garage i must admit.