This is a bit of a tricky one... some people swear by main dealers, and some don't. I got my last three Golfs from Motorpoint in Derby, who specialise in European imports, and I would recommend them. It's no frills... no smart showrooms, no smell of coffee, no flowers for your wife, and no 'I'm your best friend' salesperson. You get a two year manufacturer's warranty... but no 3rd year dealer one. You also are the second owner on the logbook. The cars come with a UK certificate of conformity, and the standard spec is usually higher. You also need to send a copy of the logbook and a copy of the vehicle data sticker (from the service manual) to VW UK for registering on their warranty database. When you do this you get a years VW breakdown membership. Motorpoint are not VW specialists, so they can't always answer technical questions. They didn't tell me that the GTi needs superplus unleaded, but a VW dealer would have. (I assume) The car I've just bought is a new Golf GTi, diamond black, five door, 18" alloys, leather, cruise, 6 disc changer and winter pack. The price was £19,999 plus £220 otr costs. When I picked it up the floor mats were in a bag in the boot, and the bottle opener had been liberated. Charming. I like the approach at Motorpoint, the price is fixed and you get a figure for your part-ex. That's it... no bullsh!t about going in to see the manager for a special discount, no 'I'll see what I can do' and certainly no hard sell. Yes, the car is an import and this will affect the resale value in it's early years. It also came off the same production line with the same parts as a car sourced from a VW dealer... but around £4000 cheaper. I had a limited budget, so I could have had either a UK supplied entry level 3-door GTi with no leather, no multi changer, no 18" wheels, no winter pack and no cruise... or this one.
