Possible switch to a GTI

[ffrank]

I actually sold it to a local VW main dealer for a good price and went ahead with the DtD purchase. It wasn't really the fact they did not want it that annoyed me (they may well have been fully stocked with Scirocco's for all I know) - it was the manner in which they told me. I think the e-mail said something like 'this is not the sort of car we would look to purchase' - like there was something wrong with it!

The dealer that purchased it in the end paid a few hundred quid under my private ad asking price!

Did you just offer it to the local dealers Mark? I've yet to see if my local dealer are still interested if it's not part of a P/X - they did say they would sell it on their forecourt, so perhaps they would still buy it.

Any more quotes in Dan?

@ Exonian your mailbox is full 

No more yet mate, I had 5 GTI offers on Carwow, 2 have asked for more info, 1 doesn't do P/X (one of the JCB's) and the other hasn't replied (good service!)

Jag offered me 17k today, so a grand under VW. I'm sure I could negotiate them up a bit... if I buy a Jaaaag.

Test drive update - Jag XE S
Just drove this today. Got to say the Jag sales team at my local dealer are very laid back and friendly, best experience I've had from a dealer so far. A salesperson came with me in the XE 240 Petrol the other day, but today they practically tossed me the S keys and just asked me and a friend to take it out for an hour, and to keep the traction control on (it was soaking).

The S is an awesome car to drive. It's not as loud as I expected (actually sounds louder in the passenger seat strangely), but still has a very sweet and smooth growl when you pull hard in 3rd gear. Revving when stationary does give a lot of exhaust pops which is fun.

Back end was quite lively in the wet, but nothing too hairy. I think on a dry winding A road it would be pretty spectacular.

Best thing about it is the instant power the pedal provides, if you leave the car in manual and just blip the throttle in 2nd or 3rd the car lurches forward instantly - it was very impressive.

Still not sure how I feel about an auto, by all accounts the ZF box is very good (and was totally smooth in all modes), but driving home in my manual GTD afterwards still felt incredibly engaging and fun. The MK7 really is terrific.

The S trip MPG? 14.5mpg 

[Mark V GTD]

Did you just offer it to the local dealers Mark?

Yes - the dealer in question had serviced the car a few months before so they 'knew' it. I just picked a nice dry day, gave the car a thorough clean and drove it around to them without prior warning. They knew it was a car they could sell right away and took a lot of photos of it. Within a few days they got back to me with a purchase offer which I accepted. I also had a an offer around 1k under my asking price from the used car buyer of a northern dealer chain but declined that.