GTD or GTI

[MJ26]

Hey Greerso, red with pano roof looks fantastic, sounds like the one I was out in too.

I shook hands on an S3 two weeks ago. The sales guy was heading off for 3 weeks hols, leaving me time to decide on gearbox and colour before putting pen to paper. All well and good. But last weekend I discovered that from July 3 door S3s were getting a £1000 pcp contribution.

Now when I was negotiating with VW Mallusk I was told the £1250 contribution on the GTI was coming from VW finance and was additional to any discount secured from a dealer. I'm assuming it's the same situation with Audi as they're all part of the VAG group....?

Suppose I'll find out for definite next week, but if the dealer try's to hold me to the original pcp proposal or mucks around with his discount etc, I could still do a u-turn and go back to the GTI....or even an R. My missus's mk7 Match just arrived in Mallusk today so I'm sure they'd welcome me back with open arms.

They're all fantastic cars so you can't really lose....Just feel a bit in limbo land at the moment ha

[Greerso]

Both great cars but a grands a grand - I had an issue when ordering that's really bugging me although I let it go at the time - I noted how I thought the 6.4% apr had changed and mentioned it to sales guy saying how I thought it had dropped to 6.3% - he said it was actually coming up on his screen at 6.7 and it was set by VW so he had no control over it - yet it's all over VW web configurator still as 6.4%.

So we were both wrong and it's bugging me.

Hope you get sorted - I can't dee you going for the Golf now - you sound like you're emotionally committed to the S3 so I hope you get that 1k issue sorted to your liking 

[MJ26]

Emotionally committed lol, never thought of it that way, but yeah, suppose I am. It took 3 tests in each car plus one in an R before I made my mind up. In end it came down to the Audi only being £35 more per month, and that could reduce further with a £1000 pcp contribution. Was just too tempting!

Can't understand why interest rates on the VW website differ from what the dealer offers is offering. I'm sure they cover themselves with small print somewhere, but it's hardly transparent and just doesn't seem right. Think I'll be checking them online myself now before seeing the dealer again....

[monkeyhanger]

Emotionally committed lol, never thought of it that way, but yeah, suppose I am. It took 3 tests in each car plus one in an R before I made my mind up. In end it came down to the Audi only being £35 more per month, and that could reduce further with a £1000 pcp contribution. Was just too tempting!

Can't understand why interest rates on the VW website differ from what the dealer offers is offering. I'm sure they cover themselves with small print somewhere, but it's hardly transparent and just doesn't seem right. Think I'll be checking them online myself now before seeing the dealer again....

I used to get 0.2% below published rate consistently when I was PCPing, are the published APR% rates not for a typical customer and there's a personal adjustment either way, dependent upon your credit rating?

[MJ26]

Didn't know that. Salesmen are not always very forthcoming. Isn't it funny that they always seem to know when price increases are due but not always if any extra kit is becoming standard. Sometimes you wonder what they really know. Or am I just being cynical...

[evo1986]

The flat rate has lowered fractionally on MK7 golf PCP campaigns which will impact the APR however beware that the GFV's have dropped a bit as well.....

So be careful the dealer can repropose you on the slightly lower rate but you may find yourself with a lower GFV so it may actually be more per month......

[mcmaddy]

Will the lowering of gfv's affect gtds bought in 2013? Say you have a gfv of 15k from 2013 but people buying now are getting 13k what happens when you trade your 2013 model in?

[monkeyhanger]

Will the lowering of gfv's affect gtds bought in 2013? Say you have a gfv of 15k from 2013 but people buying now are getting 13k what happens when you trade your 2013 model in?

Chris,

You'll get what your finance documentation says at an absolute minimum. If yours says £15.5k at 3 years or £13k at 4 years, then you are contracted to be able to walk away and hand the car back. If the GFV has dropped by £2k in the meantime, likelihood is that you won't be offered as much "equity" to hook you in to another deal - I think most people have traditionally expected to see £1500 equity when chopping in their old £20-25k VW (when new) for a new one - that's likely to have seriously reduced.

Example: For someone who's PCP'd an R on the old £18.5k/3 year GFV terms, I expect them to be handing the keys back with absolutely no equity, seeing as the new terms are £3k less and costing people £100 a month more as a result. I expect a 3 year old R to be on a VW forecourt for £20-21k, and the p/xer to be getting 15% less than sticker price.

If a 3 year old GTD is commanding £17k on the VW dealership forecourt, i'd expect them to be getting offered £14500 (85% of sticker price) - if their GFV is higher than that then they'll likely hand the keys back with no equity.

This whittling down of GFVs seems to be a recent VW phenomenon, never seen it to any noticeable degree over the finance term before, certainly not when it amounts to £2k less on a GTD or £3k less on an R. Are VWs going to fetch less than they used to used, or are the dealerships being ultra cautious in offering a low GFV and expecting to surprise the customer with a big equity?

Audi do this and have done it for a while. Looking at A1s for the missus yesterday, the preferred spec of a 1.6TDI 3 door Sport comes in at £17600 new with no options, a 3 year old one is up for £13k and the GFV is around £9k. I'd expect a fair p/x to be £10.5k. Same story with the S3 - GFV is £17k, you're likely to be offered £20k in p/x according to the salesman I spoke to when thinking about one all that time ago.

[Daz Auto]

My missus's mk7 Match just arrived in Mallusk today so I'm sure they'd welcome me back with open arms.

They're all fantastic cars so you can't really lose....Just feel a bit in limbo land at the moment ha

Did the Audi dealer allow you to drive along the road to George Best? Great test to see how good the suspension is (Unless they resurfaced it recently!) You should drive your new Golf along that road. Then take an S3 for another test drive there. See if they have one with Mag-Ride. It would be top of my options list on an Audi with sports suspension. It is never going to be as comfortable as your new Golf, but it will help.

My wife has a new A3 SE 1.6 Stronic. I have a Mk6 GTD with adjustable suspension. Her car has 16 inch tyres, standard suspension and is far more comfortable on the rural roads we drive, than my car. Though obviously, the steering is not as direct. Therefore, it does not handle as well when being pushed. When we travel together we nearly always take the A3. I guess I have the best of both worlds.

For my next car, I have a dilemma. I really like a little bit of performance. However, I have come to realise that performance will mean lack of comfort on the rural roads where we live. (I have never been into tuning cars.) Took a new GTD for a weekend test drive. Realised by the time I arrived home that the suspension was too hard for our roads. It had no DCC suspension. Sport suspension is great on a good road, but terrible on a bad road.

So, decided that my next car will be a new VAG with adjustable suspension. Decided against the Golf R and S3 because of the reduced boot size, difficulty fitting a tow bar and they need super unleaded. My wife will not let me fit a tow bar to her car I think the new A3 with LED DRLs looks better than the new Golf LED DRLs. Though I do think the back of the Golf looks better. Also I prefer the inside of the A3. Even though I generally prefer the style of the A3 - I have decided my next car will be a Golf.

There are several reasons for this decision. I want as practical a car as possible. The Golf has more room in the boot. The Golf can have a factory drop down tow bar fitted. If I need work done on the car VW will usually be able to work on the car within a week. Audi take a minimum of 2 weeks. The Golf (AFAIK) can have mud flaps fitted. (Not available on Sline). Last but not least, the Golf has a right foot rest. Seriously! If I drive the A3 too much on cruise control I get a sore knee and sore back. There is nowhere to rest my right foot except on the floor.

So, which Golf? A lot may depend on where I am working in a few years time. There are big changes coming down the line at work. If I still have to do 20k+ miles a year then it will probably a GTD with DCC. If I am doing around 12k miles then it will be a GTI PP with DCC. Hope my work changes 

Sorry for rambling on.

[Daz Auto]

I shook hands on an S3 two weeks ago.

Have you joined the Audi Sport forum yet?

You'll find me lurking there also. Though you may find my views on Quattro a bit controversial. If you think of four wheel drive as safety feature, then think again!