Hi, I've been monitoring these forums and this thread in particular for a little while, but I thought I'd register and share some of my research and experience. I'm obviously counting the days until I can upgrade my poor little 2.0 FSI Comfortline to the MK7 GTi.
Pre-orders
After phoning all Brisbane dealerships I have been told that there are no pre-orders being taken. There are, however, 'Waiting Lists' which seem to be these flimsy, "Um...well...we can put you on this list for $1000 and you'll be first in line to get the car you want."
The amount of people on a dealership's waiting list (and each dealer has their own, even if they are part of a group) seems to vary depending on the salesperson, with the junior salesman telling me they didn't have anyone on the waiting list and then the sleazy senior manager telling me they had three names and that I should hand him the money then and there.
If you miss out on the first batch, you can order when they launch and there's a 6 month wait. I pressed them that maybe it's a 3 to 6 month build wait (like other manufacturers - specifically Mercedes) and they insisted that next order is 6 month wait.
From all accounts, October is earliest, but November is likeliest.
Estimated numbers per dealership and options
Naturally the Brisbane market is a lot smaller than Syd/Mel, but it looks like the stock will range from about 5-6 for the smaller dealerships to 10-15 for the larger dealerships on first run.
I've heard Red, Black and White. No one has mentioned blue, grey or silver.
No dealer expects to get the Performance Pack on the first run and most don't expect Australia to get the Performance Pack ever, considering Australia's climate and lack of autobahns.
New Zealand Launch
Not sure if anyone was aware of this, but New Zealand launched the GTi today and you can see specs here. They are only getting DSG models.
Some of the rubbish that I've heard
- The new GTi has the MK6 Golf R engines in them and the new GTi does 188kw
- "True story": The Mercedes launch of the A250 was held in an aircraft hangar and they crashed two of their cars in front of all press because the radar technology behind ACC was blocked (Would like to know if this one is true?)
- International launch date is August 1st and VW are flying "sleazy manager" over for the launch.
- Kevin Rudd changed Fringe Benefits Tax and now I have to pay GST on my new GTi...
If anyone has better information, please share. If anyone can correct me, please do.
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