TSI purchase - a number of questions

[Cher]

Hi. I'm new to the forums and have the found the information very helpful so far. I'm looking at getting a new Golf 118 TSI DSG Hatchback through salary packaging.

I know there is a pricing thread which I have reviewed but I have other questions as well, so if the thread is in the wrong place, please move if necessary.

For background, the purchase I am looking to make is the 118 DSG, united grey, metallic paint, black sports cloth trim, MDI, Bluetooth, Sat Nav, Rear View Camera, Sports Package, front/rear mats, tint windows and ipod cable. The total cost I have been quoted is $39,200.This price includes GST and stamp duty which I understand I don't pay given I am salary packaging but I still haven't quite got to the bottom of how this works. The dealer implied they are paid the GST but it is reimbursed to me through salary packaging. The price includes a fleet discount (government salary packaging).

I only have one quote atm, but will also get one from the salary packaging provider. We have been told by the dealer that this car with options just doesn't exist currently and is not on order. This requires a 4 months wait (which doesn't seem unusual on this forum). (Fyi, there is no trade in as my current car needs to become our second car).

My questions are:

1) does the fact that the car will need to be ordered make it less likely that we can negotiate a deal given the car has to be ordered (as opposed to dealers getting rid of stock).
2) Is it worth me trying a few Sydney dealers for a price comparison - does anyone have any recent good experience with Sydney dealers they could recommend.
3) while the pricing thread was helpul, I couldn't find a more direct comparision, so any thoughts on price would be most welcome.
4) I read on the forum about the supercharged squeal that some cars have developed. I take it this hasn't been fixed. Would it prevent you from buying the car again if you knew?
5) the dealer said no-one gets alarms, as it only an audio sound and the car is fitted with a 3 stage imbolliser. Is it people's experience that the optional alarm is not necessary.
6) the dealer said the extra warranty was sold through another area and he didn't know how much it was. Does anyone know what they paid for 1 year additional warranty and was it included in your purchase price?
7) particularly for people in Canberra, can someone advise or point me to servicing costs for the VW. I understand its a service every 15,000klms.
if something has gone wrong with the car, has the dealer/VW been co-operative. Some posts suggest that people whose car is in for repair have been given another car for use. Is this something which is part of VW waaranty/service or is it up to the dealer?

thanks for reading this and your help.
Cher

[Corey_R]

Hi Cher, welcome to the forums.

1) Factory orders can often mean more negotiation power on your behalf. There are many people who are not willing to wait, so dealers can often be unwilling to negotiate on floor stock because they have no problems selling them to someone else for a higher price!
2) Whilst getting more than one quote is always a good thing, it depends which dealer in Canberra you've gone to. If it's Gerald Slaven Volkswagen, I'd personally not bother, because I (and many forum members) know Phillip Fairhill, the brand manager, at GS VW well enough that I know him to be honest and up front and to always treat his customers well.
3) Yeah - that's the thing with custom ordering a Euro car, there are so many options (literally a few hundred thousand combinations in the Golf range) that it can be unlikely to find an exact match to your spec. Then to make matters worse, "on road" costs vary from state to state, and depending on which state, from individual to indivudal. So it's difficult enough for most people to even let you know what the actual drive away price is, let alone what the best price is. But I think you're getting about $4k discount there, so that's not bad.
4) No, but that's personal. I figure that supercharger squeal is kinda like supercharger whine, or turbocharger whistle, or exhaust resonance etc. Different engines have different characteristics....
5) Yeah, whilst my car (Golf R) includes an alarm by default, he is correct, they're pointless. They don't reduce your insurance (or at least never have with the 4 different insurance companies I've been with), and people ignore them anyway. When was the last time you walk out of your house to investigate that alarm going off in the middle of the night?
6) There is an extended warranty thread here
7) Warranty and service costs are specific to each dealer, as are loan cars and whether they're free or charged or how many of them there are etc. You can get estimate from sites such as Car Service, Auto Repairs & Mechanics in Australia, but you're best to call the dealer's service dept and ask them.

[dzeRnumbrd]

1/2. Definitely shop around and haggle - I got a much better price retail than I was going to get on salary packaging.

I wonder if the salary packaging company takes their cut in the car deal also - you would think they would

Just so you know, the two options you listed: sports cloth seats and tinted windows are already part of the Sports Pack - they aren't individual options that you are paying for on top of the Sports Pack.

3. I just worked with percentages. First I found a percentage discount that I would be happy with. Calculated regular retail price (including accessories), subtracted the discount I would be happy with and then negotiated until I got to that level.

You can find the approximate RRP for optional extras here:
New Volkswagen Golf Hatchback for sale, Volkswagen Golf VI 118TSI Comfortline Hatchback 5dr 1.4TSI - Discount New Cars

Last time I looked at the spreadsheet, 7-12% discount was the normal range. Depends how hard you want to push

4. I got the latest version of the TSI - no squeal for me yet - touch wood.

5. I would say the dealer is correct. Most thieves would know they have to get your car keys to steal the car. So you need an alarm on your house the other types of thieves would be breaking in to steal the loose change you keep in your ashtray, but hopefully they will probably give up when they can't find the key hole to put the screwdriver in.

6/7. unsure

Dze.

[Mr_Bob]

<snip> Phillip Fairhill, the brand manager, at GS VW well enough that I know him to be honest and up front and to always treat his customers well. <snip>

X2
I nearly bought my R from Phillip, even though i'm in western Sydney.
offered a much better rate than my local dealer.

In the end, i chased a 3rd quote from a guy Corey recommended, who was alot closer
price was the same, but i saved myself the 6hr return drive...

[Hawke]

Cher, in terms of salary packaging your car you should shop around for the best deal and then instruct your salary packaging company to purchase the car from your chosen dealer as part of your Novated lease setup. It is vary rare that your packaging company will not allow you to do this. On the issue of GST and salary packaging the dealer will be paid the full amount including GST by the financier however the amount you actually finance is exclusive of GST - the reason for this is that the financier claims the GST back from the ATO and effectively passes that benefit on to you through your financed amount being the ex GST figure.

[Beowulf]

Hey Cher,

Just went though all of this myself only just got the lease completed Monday. Spent a few months trying to figure out the policies, rules etc.

I managed to find a few things out that the salary packaging company, that my work uses, didn't tell me until I asked them directly. Like I was able to negotiate my own deal from any dealer and better was that I was able to purchase the car using my own arranged finance company. This ended up decreasing the repayments dramatically as their finance terms were awful almost 2% more then the one I got through the dealer. I was also able to arrange my own insurance, this ended up saving me around $600 by using the same insurance company as my other car.

I also found that every quote that they got me there were options that I didn't want like roadside assistance (yet VW offers it as a part of the warranty, and yes I made sure that they were both the same coverage) but they didn't clearly show it as it was rolled into the car cost. Later I found that they were adding an extra $2500 on top of the quote for stuff that I didn't want/need.

So basically I got my own deal and arranged my own finance and insurance, and am only using the lease company for making the finance repayments/salary packaging and have them doing the servicing/tyres and fuel cards.

Now I don't know what lease company you are using and what agreement your work has with them so what I said above is only what I found in my particular case, but after what I've just been through I will be asking more questions and researching more then I would have Oct last year.

Are you doing a Fully Maintained Novated lease using ECM FBT payments?

With the GST, Hawke is right in the Dealer gets the same payment as if you are buying this privately. The Stamp Duty and GST are paid by the Financier/lease company or like in my case the GST is paid by my work and claimed as tax credits.

PM me and let me know who your leasing company is cause if it is the one that I think it is you have a lot of options (verified by myself and a number of people at my work and a few friends who's company's use them too) which can bring your cost down a bit.