We Got our First Polo GTI in today...

[limmy]

being a dubber-4-life but having recently purchased a clio rs200, my opinion is this...

it's not 100% accurate to compare a clio rs200 vs a polo GTI. although similar, they offer two very different driving experiences. best analogy is comparing a 911 turbo vs a GT3.

the 911 turbo is the polo GTI. awesome as a daily car (for those that can afford a 911 turbo), awesome straight line acceleration, somewhat practical. you can throw kids in it, shopping etc.

the GT3 is the clio rs200. quite simply a much more focussed version. you don't get thrown back like the 911 turbo in a straight line...but the car can be thrown into corners far better.

some people like straight line. others like corners. i'm the latter.

the polo GTI is phenominal value - IF you keep it bare bones stock standard. as soon as you start adding options its a different story.

i will always have a GTI as the practical/all round hot hatch...but given the keys to a car on the weekend...i'll take the clio rs200.

before anyone smashes me...i ask that you go test drive a clio rs200...then reply.

[GTI JOE]

We got our first Polo GTI into the dealership today..

I managed to wrangle the keys for a quick spin even before all the shipping protection and plastics came off and well, what a cracking good car! I was a bit uncertain about making it DSG only but I'm convinced now that it's a masterstroke, as much as I'll miss the H-Pattern. There's this great supercharger whine from 2000rpm to 3500rpm where it de-clutches that you just don't hear in the Golf 118 and it sounds evil. Suspension is quite firm too, low speed ride is a little juddery but I like it that way, makes it feel more like a sports car.

Big thumbs up

Hey Pal.....something for the Bayford Group to think about.

I just wanted to let people know of my recent experience in dealing with Bayford Volkswagen in Epping, Victoria. I placed a pre-order for a new Polo GTI late September this year and they happily took my $1000 deposit for the order under the conditions of a test drive and pricing.

The salesman finally called me on Wedensday the 1st of December with a drive-away price of $32120 and a delivery date of around February 2011, fantastic I thought, so I asked the salesman to double and triple check the price, he went away from the phone for several minutes and said "yes that's the price I have been given. Great I replied, I would be over on the Saturday for a test drive and to sign the contract. When I got there, all smiles and handshakes, then went for a test drive. Loved the car and said to the salesman to proceed with the purchase contract.

He went away for quite a number of minutes then came back and said he had made an error with pricing and that he had forgotten to include the $2500 car wash (dealer delivery cost). I said that I would'nt be paying that amount and asked if this cost could be negotiated. I made a bit of a song and dance so he went to his manager. Manager came back and said 'NO NEGOTIATION" and the best he could do was take off $100. He made my wife and I feel like %#!&heads and said to make up our minds now as I have lots of buyers waiting for this car. I asked him if my wife and I could take a small amount of time to think about it as we are on a tight budget, his repsonse was "take it now or this car is going to another buyer". Shocked, I looked at the smart&*$# and told him to shove the 'car wash' where the sun doesn't shine and left the dealership in disgust. I am sure if they read this post they will know who they are.

Instead of being a pleasurable buying experience, he made us feel like crap. I will be writing to Volkswagen Australia to expose this dealership's customer service approach. Yes they did lose a sale, but more importantly, a customer. So, if anyone is interested, there maybe still a new Polo GTI on their books with an added special option of 'lousy service'.

I made certain that I got back my $1000 deposit before I posted this reply, trust no one especially Bayford at Epping
BTW I managed to get the same deal of $32120 driveaway from a country VW dealer. My order is and was for a Polo GTI, 3dr, white, audio-comfort-xenon lights packs.

[phaeton]

Here's where it gets odd....

In the comfortline, there is an exposed paint panel where the window is.... I want to know if this has been covered in the GTI, or is it still the paint you see?

I just need to know because when mine arrives I'll have it painted black to match the rest of the interior (My car is Candy White and it would stick out like a sore thumb).

Strange question I know....

Not painted

[Allegiance]

im pretty sure u got raped at the other end. no way a dealer will "lose" on a trade in. they offer u a good price for it, but ream u on the other car, or vice versa, or both times. either way, they get theirs

My compromise was paying retail price for my car. I did get a tint thrown in, trade in price above redbook and my car not long after the 77TSI was released in the spec I wanted, so I was happy

[Rob Burns]

You will find this is due to the battery being in the boot neatly tucked under the wheel as the 1.4 left no room for it in the engine bay.

The battery is in the boot to keep it away from the high temperatures in the engine bay and therefore prolong the life of the battery.

[flyingfridge]

Re-post of David Blackwood's letter of reply to GTI JOE. (Thank god for Google's cache )

Dear GTI JOE (and other readers),

My name is David Blackwood, General Manager of Bayford Volkswagen in Epping. Your post has been brought to my attention by one of my staff members (in a different department to the experience noted in your post) who is a dedicated member of this forum. It is unfortunate for our business that the first I hear of your experience is from your post on this site, obviously as the General Manager of the dealership an opportunity to make this situation right would have been preferred - although reading through your complaints I see we probably would have been fighting an uphill battle as they say.

Currently due to supply issues the new Polo GTI is a product which we are selling at no discount (as per most other dealers also). This will definitely change as time goes on and Australian production of the model increases but currently each metro dealer in Aus is supplied a production allocation of only 1 per month - as most on this site will be aware demand for a product is what sets its optimal value and when supply is far outweighed by demand the price in our industry equals full retail price. However - reading into your situation and the pricing which was agreed to and then changed due to a salesperson's mistake, I would say something should have been done in this case to honour the price as quoted, even though it would be discounting the product. As I previously noted - it is unfortunate for our business that this was not brought to my attention earlier so that the right thing could have been done as it should have in the first instance.

I have addressed the issues in your post with the Sales Manager of the department in question but for yourself all I can do is apologise and wish you all the best in your new Polo GTI which is an absolutely magnificent vehicle for the money.

Now for other forum members: Dealer delivery is set by dealers individually and it is irrelevant what each dealer sets as their fee at - the bottom line is the most important as that is what you as a purchaser pays for the product and what the product and service is that you receive. For example; if one dealer has a dealer delivery fee of $2,500 and sells a Golf GTI 3 door manual with no options for $40,645 hence giving a discount of $2,500. If another dealer has a dealer delivery fee of $3,000 and sells the same product for $40,000.... which is better? Dealer delivery as a figure is irrelevant and no matter what the final price is, each dealer's computer system will show the dealer delivery fee at the full amount it is set to from the start.

Also to the posters who have been misguided with regard to corporate dealer delivery - the fact is, corporate dealer delivery (which is $1,495 Aust wide) and the discount over and above is subsidised by the manufacturer if the purchaser is an eligible corporate or corporate plus member. It is not fair and reasonable for those to assume the same pricing can be done for purchasers who don't meet the criteria as we as a dealer are not subsidised to do so.

There is also a comment from another member in relation to us registering a vehicle as a demo just to stop another dealer selling the car. This is totally incorrect - we would swap a vehicle out to any dealer who can give us the same desirable car with the same desirable options - in most cases a dealer swap is discussed by the dealers stock controller without the Sales Manager or DP/GM knowing so it is not a reasonable conclusion to reach to state that a dealer (any dealer) would register a vehicle just so it couldn't be sold by the other dealer. In saying that, if we were holding the only vehicle in the country of that specification and any swap would result in us (our dealership) receiving a less desirable car - then of course we would refuse to swap the vehicle. Buy registering just so it can't be swapped is absurd, we would simply inform the other dealer they can't have it!!

For anyone who has had a bad experience in any dealership, writing to the dealership and addressing the letter to the Dealer Principal or General Manager would be my advice. In my point of view, when receiving some bad customer feedback acting on it is important for any business to go forward. In our dealership we have systems, processes and guidelines for our staff in place so that we can provide a high level of customer service. As demonstrated in this case, it is quite often the persons in the middle that drop the ball and lose sight of the company's standards and visions therefore having a customer inform us of a bad experience allows us to rectify it so it doesn't re-occur by investing in retraining (or in some cases removing) our staff.

Once again I apologise to GTI JOE for his experience and thank him (although not the form of which I prefer to recieve a complaint) and wish him all the best with his car in the future. If he or any other member wishes to discuss an experience in our dealership (good or bad) feel free to email me at dblackwood@bayford.com.au

Regards,

David Blackwood

[bcm]

Poor reply David. Rather than make the apology your potential customer so clearly deserves in the opening lines of your response, you instead focus on how it's affecting your business. You then follow that up with a snide comment about "fighting an uphill battle."

The entire tone of the apology, such as it is, is negative and only reinforces the opinion formed by me when I read the original post.

Complaining that you'd prefer to receive feedback in a different manner is a little disingenuous when your business is quite happy to use this forum for good news stories. More particularly in this example I fail to see that it is the customers responsibility to ensure your employees and their managers adhere to your claimed business practices. Or to do you the personal favor of notifying you when they aren't. That's what you're paid for. Managing your business.

You should be thanking the poster for posting on here in the first place because at least you've been made aware of what is going on at your business. You won't though because quite clearly you're more interested in damage control.

[BR @ ON]

I also think an apology should be sincere and to the point. instead of using it to construct an elaborate defense...

[noone]

Guys, he had taken the time to inform us of his perspective and provide a little more info than most of us have access to. I think the more appreciation business' have for this forum, the more leverage and influence we can have.

How about a little appreciation for his taking the time to show his perspective, he sure didn't have to...

[GTI JOE]

I had to re-post this response as someone has removed it from my original thread

Dear Mr Blackwood,

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your response and apology. If I was offered an avenue of complaint from your sales manager in the first instance, I would've taken him up on that. The reason I posted my experience on vwwatercooled was to expose the bad customer service which we endured from your dealership. I firmly believe that if I had emailed the sales person in question I would never have received any form of positive feedback on this matter, if any at all. You mention that the issue has been addressed with the sales manager, in what form? this person truly requires some interpersonal skills training, immediately. I also believe that to get any real outcomes in this world one needs to publically expose these sorts of situations rather than keep them hidden in closed correspondence......'proofs in the pudding'.

Although your response is appreciated, it comes too little and too late. Yes, the original price should've been honoured but it wasn't, and I lost a pre-order that I placed in September. I have now placed a new order with another dealership, which by the way, can discount this vehicle, unlike you. I may have to wait longer now to get my POLO GTI but it was worth saving $2500 that your dealership wanted to keep as extra profit. I don't think you can truly comprehend how upset and angry my wife and I were with this experience.

Have a nice day, hopefully your customers will have a better one