Golf R -v- Golf GTI

[Finance_Analyst]

Corollas are dead easy to sell - ideal 1st car (had one as my 2nd car, having had a Mitsu Cordia Turbo at 17 which eventually blew up....)

[Finance_Analyst]

let me get this straight, if money was no object, you'd get a GOLF R with an AUDI badge? Nice!

Something about an S3 (or even better, RS3) which is so sexy... Don't know what it is.... (Maybe it's the rarity????)

[WhiteJames]

Imo a base model bare as bones Golf GTI will be harder to sell for good money. I put my 3.5 year old 50,000km odo 2006 MKV Golf GTI with 6K worth of suspension & wheel upgrades up for trade-price to 3 different dealers and all offered me 24K trade on the MK6 GTI. The MKV GTI cost 48K new + 6K suspension & wheel upgrades (54K). One dealer told me to add 4K to the trade price & I'd sell the car within the month (28K) on www.carsales.com.au. Upgrades to dealers meant jack. I advertised the MKV GTI on carssales.com and only received 2 x email enquires in about 6 weeks asking if I'd take 30K complete with all upgrades - vehicle unseen apart from ads on carsales.com.au. 3rd interested party at the 2 month mark just arrived from England and offered 34K subject to a favourable State Roads PRE PURCHASE MOTOR CAR VEHICLE INSPECTION SERVICE Sydney Melbourne Brisbane. inspection that took 2.5 hours with test drive included. Sold the MKV GTI for 34K. That's 10K more than VW dealers were offering me on a trade. The old GTI was the right colour (White), had the right unmarked/undamaged Huff 18" wheels, right choice of gearbox (DSG) & interior (leather) & premium TUV certified suspension upgrades and was not tracked, smashed or chipped-up. Most other MKV GTI owners were struggling to get over 30k for similar spec, age and mileaged GTI's. For a GTI, it pays to have the right mix of options & upgrades imo. After 3.5 years and just under 50K km odo I ended up receiving about 63% resale on the old MKV GTI. That includes money spent on suspension & wheel upgrades, although it took a couple of months to sell and I couldn't find a local native to pay that sort of dough.

Cheers
WJ

[REXman]

Something about an S3 (or even better, RS3) which is so sexy... Don't know what it is.... (Maybe it's the rarity????)

S3's are rare now? I missed of missed that memo.. lol.

When I was buying my R (in 2010), I found a used S3 with 20K KM's on it, MY09, in black with TV RECAROS and Home function for the garage up in St Ives for $45K(pre-haggling)!! Alas I didnt end up getting it cause I preferred the R in every way..

I cant agree with you on the S3 being a rare car either.. Is there even a wait for delivery, let alone a year long wait time on them..

Even my GF was advising against going with the S3.. cause it looked so boring.. But everyones different.

But yeah my main point is that I wouldnt choose an S3 if money was no object, and I wouldnt call an S3 rare.. how long has this shape been around for? The R just came to our shores last year.

[Finance_Analyst]

They are quite rare north of the border - not many S3s in Sunny QLD compared the NSW.....

I would be against buying a 3-4 year old S3 in any event (especially a 3 door) and the 5 doors are still a bit pricey. Still happy with the GTI choice (new car smell and 3 yrs warranty) and would find the extra $10-12k jump for a 2 year old S3 a bit hard to justify... Even still, they are pretty awesome cars...

I like the R - saw a white one at the Port today awaiting delivery, although I still think the GTI with 18 Detrioits is just sic...

[REXman]

And the RS3.. well there I agree and that is just a different kind of beast to the S3 and R.

In saying that, its not the best value proposition in Australia. Over $100K for a car which is a hyped up R/S3.

In Australia, car prices being what they are, (inflated compared to the rest of the world), I think once you have around the $100K+ money to spend on a car.. you look at getting something real nice like a 3-series Coupe/Mercedes Benz C-Class and beyond.. not a little hatch that goes hard.

[REXman]

I would be against buying a 3-4 year old S3 in any event (especially a 3 door) and the 5 doors are still a bit pricey. Still happy with the GTI choice (new car smell and 3 yrs warranty) and would find the extra $10-12k jump for a 2 year old S3 a bit hard to justify... Even still, they are pretty awesome cars...

This S3 was only 1 year old.. maybe 16 months to be exact. And Im not sure how much less your GTI was than $45K.. You could have gotten your dream car by the sounds of things!

5-Door A3/S3's are mad fugly compared to the 3-drs but again personal preference.

Im glad you like the R!

[SilvrFoxX]

Imo a base model bare as bones Golf GTI will be harder to sell for good money. I put my 3.5 year old 50,000km odo 2006 MKV Golf GTI with 6K worth of suspension & wheel upgrades up for trade-price to 3 different dealers and all offered me 24K trade on the MK6 GTI. The MKV GTI cost 48K new + 6K suspension & wheel upgrades (54K). One dealer told me to add 4K to the trade price & I'd sell the car within the month (28K) on Used Cars - New Cars - Search New & Used Cars For Sale - carsales.com.au. Upgrades to dealers meant jack. I advertised the MKV GTI on carssales.com and only received 2 x email enquires in about 6 weeks asking if I'd take 30K complete with all upgrades - vehicle unseen apart from ads on carsales.com.au. 3rd interested party at the 2 month mark just arrived from England and offered 34K subject to a favourable State Roads PRE PURCHASE MOTOR CAR VEHICLE INSPECTION SERVICE Sydney Melbourne Brisbane. inspection that took 2.5 hours with test drive included. Sold the MKV GTI for 34K. That's 10K more than VW dealers were offering me on a trade. The old GTI was the right colour (White), had the right unmarked/undamaged Huff 18" wheels, right choice of gearbox (DSG) & interior (leather) & premium TUV certified suspension upgrades and was not tracked, smashed or chipped-up. Most other MKV GTI owners were struggling to get over 30k for similar spec, age and mileaged GTI's. For a GTI, it pays to have the right mix of options & upgrades imo. After 3.5 years and just under 50K km odo I ended up receiving about 63% resale on the old MKV GTI. That includes money spent on suspension & wheel upgrades, although it took a couple of months to sell and I couldn't find a local native to pay that sort of dough.

Cheers
WJ

WJ, your story doesn't make sense, in condensed form it is a case of finding the right buyer to pay your price in your timeframe. Is 2 months a good time? , is getting soem bloke straight off the boat the right buyer.? how is White the right colour.. ?

Congrats the stars aligned and you appear to have got decent money for a modified car. Most stories pertaining to mods rarely come out so well. I bet everyone on this forum has a different story and I doubt any would agree with your perfect car profile for a good sale

[WhiteJames]

I actually wanted 36K for the old MKV GTI. 34K was reasonable and with almost all my insurance money returned ... it cost me about 15K to get into a new 50K Mark 6 GTI with some options: White (again), 19 Huffs/Detriots, DCC, DSG, Bi-Xennons, MDI, Park Control/Sensors. The 18" wheels, DCC, Bi-Xennons are the major attributes going for the Mark 6 GTI come time to sell imo. The White colour may also be an advantage. Of course, market sentiment can change between now and then.
Cheers
WJ

[Finance_Analyst]

And Im not sure how much less your GTI was than $45K.. You could have gotten your dream car by the sounds of things!

That was due to VW Corporate Plus and working for the largest multi national professional services organisation, they were very keen to do business with me! I understand that corporate discounts are now lower than 10-12%, depending on the dealer.

I would have got the R, but wanted to remain within a budget but the old man is keen on one... So we will become a 2 VW family instead of a 2 Merc Benz family instead