"Houston we have a problem"

[Bill_the_Bear]

Great table, very clear, I like.

You've put a number on the running costs.  However, it is much harder (i.e. not possible) to put a number on factors like fun, desirability, satisfaction...  I'm not even suggesting the GTI might be better than the GTD in these factors, it might be worse!  Both are seriously awesome cars.  I guess what I'm saying is to be careful when just looking at the numbers here.  If we did that we'd all be driving BlueMotion polos or something!

The nerd in my is looking forward to tracking my running costs when I get my GTI and making some pretty graphs.  Then we'll see how much it really costs!

[GolfTi]

And remember, for the GTI its smiles per gallon.

And you don't have to explain to people its a GTI with a diesel engine and get funny looks in return....

[monkeyhanger]

You might find it easier to get a good discount on a GTI than a GTD.

GTDs outsell GTIs by 2:1 or even 3:1 in the UK according to some of the reviews. Higher residuals on the GTD too also point to the supposition that they are more in demand on the used market than the GTI even though there are at least twice as many out there to choose from.

With that in mind, I do think that after the initial surge of early adopters the dealers will be filling their allocation of GTD orders a lot easier than their allocation of GTI orders, which could pave the way for better GTI discounts than GTD discounts in the near future. Of course some people have already got discounts of 10% (and more, assuming it hasn't been to the detriment of their p/x worth) - it generally doesn't get much better than that for a Golf even when the model is well established, so some dealerships do seem to be having a hard time of it already in the current economic climate.

[Mr_F]

Just order the bloody GTI...if you have a bucket list and the GTI is on it, just flamin' do it.  Life's short and it still kicks you when your down so get on and do what makes you happy.

Dear Mrs/Miss/Mr Dealer I would like to change my order to a GTI in the colour of hell please!

I've typed the email for you now just copy, paste, send!


 

[Bill_the_Bear]

I would like to change my order to a GTI in the colour of hell please!

Technically its the colour of evil... I'm unsure if the colour of hell is considered certain.  Or if it has a colour for that matter.  I'm tempted to go with black on the assumption that "outer darkness" appears to be black.

Nice email though! heh heh

[CraigW]

Heck some very strong opinions flying around. All good

I've slept on this and still haven't come to a firm decision yet. I thought I would but I haven't.

Monkeyhanger has offered the strongest case for sticking with the GTD. He also got me thinking about costs, so I put together a table so you can see the "actual" running costs and savings, which are pretty significant and can't be ignored.



I think Monkeyhanger hit the nail on the head when saying there is too much time between order and delivery. Don't forget we're all early adopters buying the car blind. So the problem now is that dealer demo cars are arriving, we can go and look, we can go and test drive, all of which we couldn't do when placing orders late March/early April.

This is what has titled me off axis, muddied the waters and put a devil on my shoulder (GTI shaped).

I think the next thing to do is ping an email over to my dealer and just ask about the possibility of changing. Will let you know.

The fact that after all the analysis your still going to contact your dealer to see if you can change makes the table irrelevant. You should just change even if it delays your order

[GolfTi]

GTDs outsell GTIs by 2:1 or even 3:1 in the UK according to some of the reviews. Higher residuals on the GTD too also point to the supposition that they are more in demand on the used market than the GTI even though there are at least twice as many out there to choose from.

The vast majority of these will be fleet sales.

[monkeyhanger]

Hawaii: Try ringing around the dealers with known proper UK (non-demo) spec GTIs in stock. If they've had them a week or so and haven't sold them yet then i'd say there is a deal to be done.

You've also got to ask yourself why they've been able to order them in with no allocated buyer when they have such a meagre periodic allocation - lack of interest? Again a reason to get a decent deal brokered - they are in the business of selling cars, not letting them gather dust.

The dealers around me have had no bother filling their allocation of GTDs for paying customers, but they seem to be all getting in "spare" GTIs right now (GTD popularity could be a regional thing).

With some of the early arrival GTDs on their way, we know they're available at approx the same time as genuine proper spec GTIs, yet the dealerships aren't getting any of those in as unsold "spare" orders or as demos right now and VW still can't keep up.

Worst thing about starting from scratch if you've got a high value p/x is getting it revalued for the new deal - could cost you a fair sized chunk of money - the equity in my Scirocco will have gone up £1700 between point of ordering and estimated collection, it would pain me to renegotiate now unless extra savings off the new deal negated any equity losses.

We're getting towards the end of the month now and there are sales targets to meet - you might just find that someone is willing to do a great deal on a GTI that is here now and unsold.

[monkeyhanger]

GTDs outsell GTIs by 2:1 or even 3:1 in the UK according to some of the reviews. Higher residuals on the GTD too also point to the supposition that they are more in demand on the used market than the GTI even though there are at least twice as many out there to choose from.

The vast majority of these will be fleet sales.

The residual differences (from GFV figures of 56% GTD and 51% GTI) speak for themselves - VW UK expects the GTD to hold more value than the GTI for one reason alone - demand in the second hand market. Doesn't matter where the sales are coming from, more people will want a GTD than GTI down the line according to the figures VW are setting their GFV on.

Golf is not a big fleet car, GTD occupies an even smaller segment. Most companies would have you sat in a bog standard SE TDI. Can't see that many of them going to fleet (proportionally).

[matchboy]

Without wishing to offend anyone, it all comes down to this simple statement:

The GTD is not a GTI - simples