New Gti advice.

[Mavericktom]

Firstly hello.  New to the Forum and was after some advice.

Having recently sold my Alfa I was trawling Auto trader and saw that my local dealer had a couple of pre registered GTi's They are very reasonably priced.  I wouldn't normally have entertained a new car due the depreciation but at the price they are being offered it is very tempting.  I went and took a look and the one I was interested in (Black 3 door). It was brand new with only 12 miles on the clock.  I didn't take it for a test drive as the heavens opened.  I'm booked in for Monday if the car is still available.

My question is.  What are they like to drive and live with?  My main issue with the alfa was road noise.  Are they refined and quiet at motorway speed?   Is the ride harsh?  I have a works vehicle so it would mainly be used at weekends and holidays to france so refinement is high on wish list.

The car was fitted with everything and more I would ever need.  I'm sure the performance is also more that I would ever need.

We went through some numbers and the Finance offered was at 11.9% which seems high. I'm not sure if this is a VW or dealer rate.   

They said they wouldn't budge on the price as it was the lowest priced. Which as far as I can see it is.  But surely I can negotiate a better rate of finance. 

Any thoughts and advice on the car and finance/ haggling would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tom

[Guzzle]

Hi and welcome 

The GTi is very refined and comfortable..... for a hot hatch. Noise inside the cabin can be altered via the Soundaktor as part of the driving mode selector. Sport being the loudest and eco being the quietest.

Ride quality best on 18 inch wheels, but still acceptable on 19's. Cars with Dynamic Chassis Control give you best of both worlds, but it's not a particularly common option.

11.9% APR is very high, I wouldn't sign up to that without any incentives. Have you looked at what loan rates are available elsewhere?

[karlos]

Care to share the price that you've been offered?

I'm still considering a GTI and found that brand new cars from DTD, CarWow etc are a little cheaper than pre-reg cars from dealerships. The only advantage of a pre-reg is that you can drive it straight away instead of waiting on a build slot and delivery. The big downside is that you'll be the second owner and the car isn't 'new'. Also you will get a shorter warranty if it's been sitting on the forecourt for several months.

As for the finance, 11.9% APR is way too high and you'll end up paying thousands in interest. You may be able negotiate this down with some dealers providing your credit is spotless.

[Mavericktom]

Thanks for the responses. 

The car is a basic spec as far as I can tell.  3door manual in black with 18’s. Price is £24750.  The interest rate offered pretty much wipes out any saving.  My bank is offering 3% so will prob go down that route. 

I tried car wow.  It looks like only 5 door dsg’s are available and the best offer is £28.5k.

I may be wrong but it seems like a good price.

[Mutley75]

That looks a very good price to me.  My advice... go for a PCP, as you'll probably get an extra £1500 off the price and a lower APR.  Then after the first month, take out your bank loan and settle the PCP.  Dealers don't like you doing that, but it's perfectly legit and their own fault for not tightening up the rules :-)

[Mavericktom]

The pcp route was discussed and there was no deposit incentive offered. As it’s classed as a used vehicle apparently.  The rate was high as well.  But you get a free service.  They’ll have to do better than that if I’m taking their finance.  My feeling is that they price the car low and make it up with high interest rates.

After the test drive i’ll see what I can negotiate.  That’s if I like the car.   I’m guessing the car wow offer will include a £1500 deposit contribution and 3.9% apr.  (As per VW website)

[Watts]

Hi there OP. That price sounds great, I paid only a bit under that for mine as ex-demo in 2015 (albeit mine is on 19s). I do a lot of holidays in mine although in the UK, but I find my GTI excellent at everything, long distance motorway cruising at which it's very economical and when you get on a more interesting road, it's great fun too! Obviously as someone else noted, it is great for a hot hatch so is unlikely to be as comfortable as a less performance orientated car.

I also love the manual gearbox and that's not because I'm anti-autos as I've had plenty, it's a good feel and is easily upgraded. Mine has a few mods including a short shift, mostly Audi parts so oem but I love the more precise feel. You can also do some mods to the clutch, the assistor spring robs some of the feel and is fairly easily removed but beware, once off is unlikely to be refitted! Another cheap easy mod is a clutch pedal stop which just reduces the amount of un-necessary pedal travel. It's just nice to be able to customise at minimal cost and easy to return to stock should you need to.

As to the car that you are looking at, black looks great but shows up swirls so needs plenty of sympathetic attention to keep it looking its best. But that's down to personal preference.

The GTI is a great car and copes with all situations making it the perfect daily driver. Plus 3 door cars are no longer available and to my eye look the best so sort your finance out and get it on your drive!

[mcmaddy]

Apr rates on all used VW's are high. You will only get the lower 3.9 on a new unregistered car. Sometimes works out cheaper buying new even though the price is higher.

[Yusee]

Hi OP, welcome.
After driving performance Alfas and Bmws for the last 20 years, I bought a GTI last December.
It is a very impressive car- the ride comfort and handling are superb- the Bmws may have been a little more comfortable but I don’t think there’s much in it. And the GTI is definitely more fun.
This is my third hot hatch. I am so impressed with how it combines the daily driver role with the performance car role that I have every intention of keeping it long term.
I too had never considered buying a new car, but with around 12% discount off list, it was enough to tempt me.
The price you’re being offered this car at is excellent- buy it before someone else does, and sort your own finance. You won’t regret it.

[clubsport]

The GTi is a good allround package of accessible performance and practicality.
I run 18" PS4 on standard suspension, I enjoy the firmness of the suspension and put up with the tyre noise, it gives the feeling of connection to the road which I value.

It is not bad, but refinement in terms of road noise is not one of it's outstanding features, as in there are more refined cars on the market.

After a test drive, maybe the overall package of the Gti will shine through over the odd bump and thump from tyres.