Golf GTD purchase

[colgtiturb]

Evening Chaps!

Looking for a bit of friendly advice about a potential Golf GTD purchase & hoping I can get a bit of real world experience from some existing owners.

Not sure yet whether to bite the bullet & place an order for a new one or hang on for a used example with the spec I want. It will be replacing a Mk 4 GTI Turbo I've had for 11 years so potentially this will be a long term 'keeper' too.

Therefore, it doesn't scare me too much to do a deal on a new car on finance with the deposit contribution & loyalty scheme contribution which will cover the finance costs for say a 3 year term.

The other thing is that I can't seem to find too many cars around with the spec I want - Carbon Grey, 5 door, Dynavin & probably the sport & sound pack as I like the look of the red calipers.

Gutted as missed out on a Dec 2015 car with the right spec plus the Tech pack for a good price recently at a local dealer.

So, questions I have are:

1) anyone have any good tips on best way to negotiate with dealer to get a good deal or have seen anywhere where the deals are good?

2) what's carbon grey like to live with? Does it show swirls badly? My mk4 is Magic black pearl & a nightmare to keep looking good!

3) what's people's opinions on spec? Anything which is a must have or really worth going for? I know that everyone's choices are different & the car has a pretty good spec anyhow but interested in people's views, especially as it is likely to be a car with long ownership.

4) anything else I need to look out for?

Thanks in advance for any help, it really would be appreciated & hopefully I can get back on here sometime with some pics of a new acquisition!

Cheers,

Col

[Diehammer]

I have Carbon Grey, it's not to bad coming from a black car but it needs cleaned at least once a week. Don't have any issues with swirls and it's a year old today.

I only use a pressure washer and microfibre mitt to clean it. Just got an autobrite hd snow foam lance and magifoam and it makes a huge difference.

[p3asa]

What kind of age of second hand car are you looking for?
I just think with the deals about today on dealer contribution and VW loyalty if you already have a VW (if that's still live) you are better off buying new. Especially if going via a broker.

Also the newer GTD's have Sat Nav, winter pack and Keyless (if its 5 door).
The older GTD's didn't have this as standard. It changed some time last year so that's some extra kit thrown in.

[Talk-torque]

As above, strong arguement to go new and get just what you want, especially as you plan to live with it for so long. There's always a reason why a nearly new car is on the market and it's not always good! I'd say Carbon is dark enough to give you exactly the same problems you have now. I went with Tungsten for my GTI, as I found keeping a Deep Black Pearl GTD very demanding.

Also, After a Mkiv GTI, you may find the GTD a little bland. It has ample power and torque, but the delivery is so smooth and uniform, that it is never a stirring car. If you can live with that, it is an awesome piece of engineering.

[vw spur]

I've pretty much got the car you are after, carbon grey, Dynaudio, sport and sound pack, Nav Pro, high beam assist and 90% tint glass.

I was in the same boat as you, I started looking at used/nearly new GTD's but the higher interest rates and the dealer deposit contributions made it better to buy new.

Check out car wow, Orangewheels & drive the deal for prices and then try and get a local dealer to you to match the prices

[GTDmike]

Hi Col
I took delivery of my Tungsten Silver Metallic GTD on 26/09/2013 and have been over the moon with it.
Its only done 12,000 miles and thats mainly long journeys to the Peak district.
The spec i went for was as follows;
DCC(adaptive chassis control) a must on long journeys-headlamp assist(a must)winter pack-keyless-sunroof-full leather-sat nav-park assist-DSG-plus other bits and bobs.The Tungsten silver looks fantastic with the black sun roof

The car is better than the three Merc C class i owned its just faultless, no rattles or problems my problem now is what do i replace it with in September this year?another GTD or an R or even the the new Tiguan/Discovery sport?

It won't disappoint i promise.Hope this helps you decide.

Kind Regards

Mike

[Raffe]

Definitely be looking at brand new with the current dealer contribution (£2,000) and discounts available on the performance Golfs.

We have managed to pick up a brand new factory built R for £27.5k which had an RRP of £33,300 (would now be £33,800 with the MY 17 upgrades which further improves the discount achieved).

Even if you don't want to finance via a PCP, take the discount offered and settle the finance after a few weeks which negates all penalties from what I understand.

[Exonian]

Also, After a Mkiv GTI, you may find the GTD a little bland. It has ample power and torque, but the delivery is so smooth and uniform, that it is never a stirring car. If you can live with that, it is an awesome piece of engineering.

I agree with you on colour, for long term sanity i'd go with a lighter paint shade.
However having seen Sootchucker's new GTD in carbon with lots of subtle red accents I'm smitten! 
Mind you, Tungsten with similar red accents would also be 

I'd also agree with you that for very long term ownership you'd be better off buying new considering all the kick backs VW are throwing in right now. You'd then know 100% the car had been treated and cleaned exactly how you want it as you'd have don't it yourself from day one.

However unless the mk4 GTI is remapped that engine is as flat as a fart and a GTD would probably feel a bit more urgent. I've owned a few 1.8t engined cars and until they were mapped they had zero character.
Proficient, efficient, smooth and did the job but they sure don't set your pulse alight.

[colgtiturb]

Thanks so much for the replies!

VW Spur - you're absolutely right, the finance deal on a second hand one was a joke, whereas the finance deal on new is soooo much better & as a result it doesn't make sense to buy second hand unless I was buying outright.

Raffe - I didn't realise that the finance could be settled shortly after, are there any penalties for doing this as I would expect VW to get a bit miffed after giving some contribution only for me to settle the finance after a short while.

Exonian / Talk-torque - my current mk4 has a Custom Code remap but to be honest I don't drive it hard. I'm going to try & bag myself an extended test drive in a GTD to ensure its right for me, but pretty sure it will tick all the boxes!

Just a couple more questions if I may....

- what is high beam / headlamp assist?
- dynamic chassis control - isn't this part of the standard spec?
- sunroof appears to be a £1k option - worth it?

Thanks again Chaps!

[Exonian]

Add a tuning box to the GTD and it'll be easily on a par with a mapped 1.8t for the all important mid range performance.

Looking at those extras - they'll be very desirable when selling a few years down the line but consider any repair costs if they fail out of warranty.

DCC is not standard. Don't confuse it with ACC which is what DCC used to be called.