Newbie: Possibly buying a Polo GTI

[carazy]

Hello all,
I'm looking at ordering a Polo GTI, I test drove one a few months ago and I don't think I've driven anything as good since.

My dealer has a Silver one with Sunroof and Leather comming within the next two months and I think I might place an order for it.

But some questions:

How negotiable are they on price?
I'm pretty happy with the cost but I'd like to save some cash if I can.

and

So far, I've test driven the Fiesta Zetec (in liu of the XR4 comming soon)
The Ford Focus, the Mitsi Ralliart Colt, a Corolla Sportivo (148kw one) and a few larger cars such as the Honda Euro LE and the Falcon Xr6T.
What did you guys drive before deciding on the Polo GTI?

Cheers.

[REDMKVGTI]

I've got a proper test drive booked in tomorrow so I'll keep you posted.

[carazy]

Cool,
I've already had one big test drive.
It was about 1.5 hours of me, the car and the Adelaide hills (corkscrew and the gorge for the crow eaters out there)

[shaneth]

Welcome to the forum carazy, I personaly drove suzuki swift sport, misub colt ralliart, have also drive a sportivo. Personally none compared. Sportivo is a car you constantly have to rev the crap out of to get it going, nothing really below 5000rpm, suzuki swift felt plasticy and didnt feel as good to me and sam,e as colt, it wasnt bad but the shape (mini mpv) . for looks polo wins outright for performance, well thats up in the air but it definitely is better than corolla and swift, its better in just about every way imo. and as for price id be trying for dealer charges etc to be taken off not sure if youll get to much more than that.

[Wand Weaver]

I had a drive in a 206 GTi 180, and while it was an absolute hoot - even moreso than the Polo, the pragmatic side of me kept telling me the car was too small to realistically go four-up on any trips, and too raw to NOT be a pain in the ass to live with in the 95% of the time you're commuting in traffic rather than having a ball behind the wheel.

Then there's the small problem of Peugeot's reputation for building cars with...erm...character (not that VW didn't have a whole raft of issues with the Mk IV Golf).

I've driven a Cooper S...I'd have one if I could justify the cash. I can't - they cost as much as a Golf GTI, for a car the same size as the Polo. But boy do they handle, and that Supercharged 1.6 is a gem...

As for price...I'd be trying to get as much of your onroads paid for as possible, and metallic paint or extended warranty thrown in.

[carazy]

Cool, thanks for the replys.

The I found the same as you with the Colt Shaneth, it's a nice car to drive and it certianly handled well but I don't know if I could look at it..

My wife already has an AUII falcon and I don't know if I could handle TWO ugly cars..

Also I need the car to vist clients with and I figure the Polo is the more professional looking beast.

To be honest it's the car I have my heart set on but I've been test driving everything else just to make sure I'm not missing out

[shaneth]

Dont get me wrong. The polo is fantastic drive. In motor BFYB they said the main difference between a colt and polo is its tyres as colts run yokonadvan neova which are a verry grippy tyre. you wont be dissapppointed. especially as you can chipp the polo and have 150kw and still come in $1000 cheaper than colt is. to me when all there powers are combined you get captain polo ( sorry very tired)

nintendo ds

[ibeezer]

Every time i see one on the road i dream/think about buying one. Wont buy new tho, seen a couple with about 12000ks in the classifieds already, asking around 26k. I could spend the saving on a chip and suspension upgrade. 1..2..3..and back to reality. No money

[VWindahouse]

Welcome to the forum carazy, I personaly drove suzuki swift sport, misub colt ralliart, have also drive a sportivo. Personally none compared. Sportivo is a car you constantly have to rev the crap out of to get it going, nothing really below 5000rpm, suzuki swift felt plasticy and didnt feel as good to me and sam,e as colt, it wasnt bad but the shape (mini mpv) . for looks polo wins outright for performance, well thats up in the air but it definitely is better than corolla and swift, its better in just about every way imo. and as for price id be trying for dealer charges etc to be taken off not sure if youll get to much more than that.

Your'e on the money shaneth! I had one of the facelift sportivios and had to heavily modify it to get really awesome results and at a huge financial cost. Unfortunately had to sell it to go to canada for 12months. The first thing I was totally impressed with with the GTI was the gear box. Short positive throws with no knotchiness or missing gears under more spirited driving conditions. As shaneth said you really have to hit lift just after 6000rpm and try to stay in lift with your next couple of gear changes to get good results off the lights. Unfortunately the sportivo is made in South Africa and build quality is very average. There have been many warranty issues with these cars and Toyota are less than helpful. The best thing about the car is the 2ZZGE engine which is the same one they use in the Lotus Exige. I belive Lotus have released the new Exige S which is a supercharged version and has a 0-100 speed of 4.1 seconds. Only after owning my GTi for 1 week I can tell you that it is a fantastic package with endless possiblities. My 2 cents

[ryan_GTI]

Dude the polo just gets better n better the longer u own it - definately no regrets! except being made in spain you *may* find some quality issues (judging by mine - don't wanna generalise all polos)

Plus with the chip from either GIAC or APR, it can surprise ALOTTA drivers - and totally drives like a different car! it never fails to impress.. you'll have to get used to ppl giving you thumbs up when you give turbo 6's a run for their money lol

If you wanna get some good deals, refer to what timbo said - try to get in contact with as much dealerships you can as it's the way to bargain these days.. !

best of luck dude