ED30 Owners... letter to VWUK

[Cass]

I’m not on Pistonheads... any chance you/someone could post it up there???

Done - link here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=520978

Cass

[R32UK]

Im not sure if you have all over looked this!! The ED30 was supposed to be limited to 1500 in the UK as far as can remember. There is no reason why brokers or possibly even dealers have not brought in more Ed30's via the european route. There was never anything released to say that the ED30 would be limited in its production... just that only 1500 would only make it to the UK. This of course is not in the hands of VW!

Feel free to correct me if im wrong.. I understand your gripe but i think you may be fighting a loosing battle. VW will already be aware of how they can get out of this issue if it develops into a legal wrangle. The letter stating that they are sorry is just to keep another customer sweet

[182_blue]

Im not sure if you have all over looked this!! The ED30 was supposed to be limited to 1500 in the UK as far as can remember. There is no reason why brokers or possibly even dealers have not brought in more Ed30's via the european route. There was never anything released to say that the ED30 would be limited in its production... just that only 1500 would only make it to the UK. This of course is not in the hands of VW!

Feel free to correct me if im wrong.. I understand your gripe but i think you may be fighting a loosing battle. VW will already be aware of how they can get out of this issue if it develops into a legal wrangle. The letter stating that they are sorry is just to keep another customer sweet

i think the figures quoted are UK supplied cars though, not imports.
IMO best thing is to stop plastering it all over the net as everyone is inadvertently making the ed30 worth less (the exact opposite of what where trying to achieve)

[Snoopy]

I have not read the complete thread so forgive me if this has already been said.

In the information update to dealers from VW dated 9th April 2008 it says on the top of page 3.

To address potential customer concerns about effects this may have on residual values, Volkswagen has been in contact with CAP, Glass's and Emmox. They do not foresee an impact on resale values.

Joe Wilkinson
Product Manager

So basically VW is saying it will not effect values so your unlikley to get anywere. They will prob also use the get out of jail free card on the back of leeflets that says "The specification caonatined in this brochure are for information puproses only and are subject to change.....etc"

[R32UK]

I have not read the complete thread so forgive me if this has already been said.

In the information update to dealers from VW dated 9th April 2008 it says on the top of page 3.

To address potential customer concerns about effects this may have on residual values, Volkswagen has been in contact with CAP, Glass's and Emmox. They do not foresee an impact on resale values.

Joe Wilkinson
Product Manager

Lol! Yeah they would say that. Without starting a debate here, look at it from a buyers point of view. He wants and Ed30.. but there are only 3 in the trader. So he buys one because he knows there are not many about and another good one will be hard to come by. Now he looks in the trader and there are 15 of them... next week there could be even more.. so he just waits a little bit longer before parting with his cash. I think you see where I am going with this. Its not parkers etc that determines the price of the car.. its the market.

[Cass]

Its not parkers etc that determines the price of the car.. its the market.

Sorry but I disagree. The price of any second hand mass market car (and I include the Ed30 in this, because that's what it is - a Mk V Golf GTI), is determined by the motor industry, specifically Glass's and Parker's guides. They set the value and markdown of any car and that's the benchmark for both trade and private sales.The trade will not give you much over bottom book for it and private buyers will use it as a benchmark to provide a base value for pricing their cars privately. Granted, supply and demand comes into it, but so does colour, spec, mileage and service history etc. Any purchaser who pays  over the odds for a production car just because they want it, is either stupid or excessively rich. The Ed30 is unlikely to command such exclusivety, and moreso when the advertised run is exceeded by another 50%. The fact that VW have done this, 'honest mistake' or not (yeah, we all believe that ), whilst attempting to give reassurance to the public over future residual values they cannot possibly control, smacks of further marketing bullsh@t and damage limitation. If they are so confident, they would guarantee the residuals above that of the standard GTI. They should, but they won't.

More availability means more opportunity and less exclusivity and that means lesser residuals.

Cass

[hotrod]

Im not sure if you have all over looked this!! The ED30 was supposed to be limited to 1500 in the UK as far as can remember. There is no reason why brokers or possibly even dealers have not brought in more Ed30's via the european route. There was never anything released to say that the ED30 would be limited in its production... just that only 1500 would only make it to the UK. This of course is not in the hands of VW!

Feel free to correct me if im wrong.. I understand your gripe but i think you may be fighting a loosing battle. VW will already be aware of how they can get out of this issue if it develops into a legal wrangle. The letter stating that they are sorry is just to keep another customer sweet

i think the figures quoted are UK supplied cars though, not imports.
IMO best thing is to stop plastering it all over the net as everyone is inadvertently making the ed30 worth less (the exact opposite of what where trying to achieve)

I know what you’re saying 182_blue... and I agree up to a point.

I don’t expect to be posting much more on this subject as it is quite time consuming (and fatigue is setting in). My letters have now been sent to VWUK, we’ll see what transpires over the next couple of weeks.

As an aside have now run the beast in... had a great 90 mile blast through Shaftesbury (Zig-Zag Hill), Salisbury and the New Forest. Rain, sleet, hail and sunshine... reminded me of last weekend at Goodwood.

When is spring arriving???

Keep smiling... Hotrod

[R32UK]

Its not parkers etc that determines the price of the car.. its the market.

Sorry but I disagree. The price of any second hand mass market car (and I include the Ed30 in this, because that's what it is - a Mk V Golf GTI), is determined by the motor industry, specifically Glass's and Parker's guides. They set the value and markdown of any car and that's the benchmark for both trade and private sales.The trade will not give you much over bottom book for it and private buyers will use it as a benchmark to provide a base value for pricing their cars privately. Granted, supply and demand comes into it, but so does colour, spec, mileage and service history etc. Any purchaser who pays  over the odds for a production car just because they want it, is either stupid or excessively rich. The Ed30 is unlikely to command such exclusivety, and moreso when the advertised run is exceeded by another 50%. The fact that VW have done this, 'honest mistake' or not (yeah, we all believe that ), whilst attempting to give reassurance to the public over future residual values they cannot possibly control, smacks of further marketing bullsh@t and damage limitation. If they are so confident, they would guarantee the residuals above that of the standard GTI. They should, but they won't.

More availability means more opportunity and less exclusivity and that means lesser residuals.

Cass

Hi Cass, I agree with what your saying about VW and their stance on the matter, it obviously stinks that they have done this and have been able to get away with it. The reason they will not give you a guranteed value for you car is simply because they know that the overrun will have an effect on resale values. So we will have to agree to disagree about parkers etc setting the value of 2nd hand vehicles. Their information is a guide only. Which is gathered from data about car sales. Dealers will always work with percentages not guide values.


Hence it is still the market that sets the price and not the people putting the guides together. If VWsuddenly pumped another 5000 ED30's in to the UK I am quite confident that you would see the price of used ED30's (or GTi's or R32's) for that matter drop quite considerably. In every industry price is determined by both supply and demand.... the car industry is no different.

[Cass]

Fair comment

Cass

[2007GTI]

If you have ever had any dealings with VW UK, as I have, mark my words you are wasting your time.  They are a bunch of pen pushers, with no time for their customers.

As for the limited edition of the ED30, firstly who gives a f*ck.  Why would anyone buy a car and worry about how much it will be worth based on how many produced?  If you really really brought it based on  exclusivity and not the car itself, well you have been had.

Come resale the average Joe in the street will probably believe the original press anyway, so in fact by kicking up a big fuss in the forums, it will highlight the potential situation even more.