Change to Mk7 Golf from BMW 330d?

[CraigW]

The GTD will obviously give you better fuel economy but for the number of miles your driving I don't think that would be a major concern.

Craig - the OP is doing over 20k a year! An R will use twice as much fuel as a GTD so potentially up to 2k a year more in fuel costs....

I appreciate that Mark but in terms of the OP if he is getting a fuel allowance then I would imagine a large chunk of that additional cost would be negated

[jlwhitworth1]

Thanks for all your replies, it's much appreciated!

Regarding the fuel cost difference, I get this with the R (and so probably out of the question for me). But the overall cost of running a GTI against a GTD (fuel and monthly payments) shouldn't be too different, although I haven't done any detailed arithmetic to prove this!

I also get a car allowance from work which will pay the monthly payments of the finance. With discount, the GTI comes in well cheaper than the GTD even before the loyalty bonus (I also get the impression the loyalty bonus of £1000, correct me if I'm wrong, only applies to the GTI and normal golfs and not the GTD, GTE or R). The APR is 4.9% on the GTI against 6.4% of the GTD and the GMFV is more on the GTI (essentially making the payments smaller than that of the GTD, although I will have more to pay at the end if I choose to buy the car). So the offset in price for the PCP will in theory to some extent, offset the extra cost of fuel for the GTI against the GTD.

My local garage as also told me that the GTI is potentially a target car to sell, so the loyalty bonus may be able to be bumped up to £1500. Including the current discount on Drive the deal, This makes the GTI 5dr PP DSG in White with Pan Roof and Nav,  £25,007.79. This is a saving of £6,746.97 off list price.

Hope this makes sense?

[matchboy]

The GTD will obviously give you better fuel economy but for the number of miles your driving I don't think that would be a major concern.

Craig - the OP is doing over 20k a year! An R will use twice as much fuel as a GTD so potentially up to 2k a year more in fuel costs....

But then the OP will have twice the fun in an R over a GTD! 

[fredgroves]

Regarding the fuel cost difference, I get this with the R (and so probably out of the question for me). But the overall cost of running a GTI against a GTD (fuel and monthly payments) shouldn't be too different, although I haven't done any detailed arithmetic to prove this!

Something like a GTD long term average is 38mpg and a GTD is 48mpg... I'd say at the very least its 25% less fuel usage

so for 20k... 526 gallons for the GTI, 416 gallons for the GTD. If you said petrol was 1.08GBP a litre and diesel 1.11GBP... £568 vs £416 - £152 quid a year difference.

Chuck in the VED and you are looking at about a £250 difference per year (I've just chucked in £100 extra for GTI VED - don't know if that's correct), £750 over3 years.

Obviously if you do 25k not 20k the gap expands...

[jlwhitworth1]

Thanks, this makes sense... I kind of get the feeling that a GTI will be a lot more fun to drive and essentially worth the extra £250 per year? Although the GTD is coming in at £50 a month more on the finance which is about £600 a year more, so in essence I will be better off in the GTI? If that makes sense.

[Exonian]

Thanks for all your replies, it's much appreciated!

Regarding the fuel cost difference, I get this with the R (and so probably out of the question for me). But the overall cost of running a GTI against a GTD (fuel and monthly payments) shouldn't be too different, although I haven't done any detailed arithmetic to prove this!

I also get a car allowance from work which will pay the monthly payments of the finance. With discount, the GTI comes in well cheaper than the GTD even before the loyalty bonus (I also get the impression the loyalty bonus of £1000, correct me if I'm wrong, only applies to the GTI and normal golfs and not the GTD, GTE or R). The APR is 4.9% on the GTI against 6.4% of the GTD and the GMFV is more on the GTI (essentially making the payments smaller than that of the GTD, although I will have more to pay at the end if I choose to buy the car). So the offset in price for the PCP will in theory to some extent, offset the extra cost of fuel for the GTI against the GTD.

My local garage as also told me that the GTI is potentially a target car to sell, so the loyalty bonus may be able to be bumped up to £1500. Including the current discount on Drive the deal, This makes the GTI 5dr PP DSG in White with Pan Roof and Nav,  £25,007.79. This is a saving of £6,746.97 off list price.

Hope this makes sense?

Unless I've missed something here - how will you get the loyalty bonus if you have a BMW?

With the loyalty bonus it would be a great time to buy a GTI though, I'd be tempted myself...

... oh, hang on a minute...

[fredgroves]

Thanks, this makes sense... I kind of get the feeling that a GTI will be a lot more fun to drive and essentially worth the extra £250 per year? Although the GTD is coming in at £50 a month more on the finance which is about £600 a year more, so in essence I will be better off in the GTI? If that makes sense.

Assuming I haven't got the GTI long term fuel economy wrong, then yes.

I have no idea what a typical value would be for MPG from a 5 door GTI-PP with DSG.... maybe someone else can chime in and tell me.

Actually, I've got my figures wrong... just noticed!

need to multiple the numbers I gave by 5.5 to convert litres to gallons... so actually its ~683 quid a year cheaper for the GTD assuming my GTI-PP MPG figure is correct.

Roughly 2100 quid cheaper over 3 years? Does that start to make a difference to you? 57 quid a month in your pocket? Is that worth less or more than being able to say that you drive a petrol car and that its a second quicker to 60mph? Just depends on your outlook I guess!

[jlwhitworth1]

[/quote]
Unless I've missed something here - how will you get the loyalty bonus if you have a BMW?

With the loyalty bonus it would be a great time to buy a GTI though, I'd be tempted myself...

... oh, hang on a minute...
[/quote]

It also applies if family members at the same address or with the same family name have a VW, doesn't have to be yourself. If that makes sense.

[jlwhitworth1]

Thanks, this makes sense... I kind of get the feeling that a GTI will be a lot more fun to drive and essentially worth the extra £250 per year? Although the GTD is coming in at £50 a month more on the finance which is about £600 a year more, so in essence I will be better off in the GTI? If that makes sense.

Assuming I haven't got the GTI long term fuel economy wrong, then yes.

I have no idea what a typical value would be for MPG from a 5 door GTI-PP with DSG.... maybe someone else can chime in and tell me.

Actually, I've got my figures wrong... just noticed!

need to multiple the numbers I gave by 5.5 to convert litres to gallons... so actually its ~683 quid a year cheaper for the GTD assuming my GTI-PP MPG figure is correct.

Roughly 2100 quid cheaper over 3 years? Does that start to make a difference to you? 57 quid a month in your pocket? Is that worth less or more than being able to say that you drive a petrol car and that its a second quicker to 60mph? Just depends on your outlook I guess!

So the GTI will cost me £700 more in fuel, thus £57 more per month. But the repayments on the GTI are circa £50 a month less than the GTD. So £300 more over 3 years taking into account monthly payments and fuel costs. Is that right?

[fredgroves]

Yes, sounds about right.

The reason why a lot of us (myself included) choose a GTD over a GTI is mainly because of the BIK with a company car... when you factor that in the difference is quite a lot more in favour of the GTD (four figures a  year on top).... oh and I couldn't have a GTI anyway because my company, like many, have a carbon target that means you can't have anything over 130g/km anyway... so no GTI for me

With all these things, you need to work out the total cost of ownership per annum and see what that looks like out of your pocket... then decide if the monthly difference is worth it or even if you can actually afford it!