Mk7 Golf GTI Discussion Thread

[irossiter]

Yep the Mk 6 GTI is a very nice drive, a real pleasure every time I get in it. VW have not moved the game on like they should have with so much recent success. It's a shame because I need to change cars for a new lease/tax deduction but I'm jumping ship and love the Mercedes and boy do they treat you differently when you walk in the door.

[spikeyboy22]

I took the opportunity to view the new Golf 7 GTI. The front bumper treatment makes the front end appear less rounded and droopy ... an improvement on the lesser cheaper Golf's. The 18" wheels fill out the guards nicely, but there is still a bit of a gap between fenders and wheels. The rear and sides of the Golf look sharper. Inside the new Golf 7 GTI sits you much lower than the MK6 with the dash cowl elevated much higher than the MK6 ... almost like your sitting inside a Sirocco. The Golf 7 GTI feels wider, with the floorpan to roof much flatter, again like a Sirocco. You can sense that the wheelbase is longer and the track wider ... this in addition to lower weight should enhance handling prowess and power down. In this respect, the chassis also feels more akin to the Megane RS265 in terms of length/width ... this is a good thing.

The cloth seats are a different material to the cloth in the MK6 GTI, with the Golf 7 GTI appearing to be harder wearing material ... not necessary better, but tougher. The extra pianio plastic in the centre console covering the smaller StaNav system looks a bit cheap ... it's obvious that the dash centre was made for a larger unit, with extra plastic tapering into a smallish SatNav screen. The front seats do feel wider as does the entire vehicle. A bit more room in the rear too. Overall I was excited with what I saw.

The conundrum I face is that I honestly think that the lightest cheaper base manual GTI (standard ed) will be the sweetest handling GTI. The PP GTI in DSG only is the pick for performance, but the mechanical LSD would be notable about 20% of the time. The extra weight of 50kg over the front axle is likely to be noticeable up to 80% of the time in the PP GTI, especially when you're throwing the GTI around like a rage doll.

I had my GTI valued by one of their wholesalers - 21K trade. I asked for the dealers best price on both a std GTI and PP GTI so as I could work out what to ideally ask for on carssales.com re: changeover price. I made an offer of my car + cash which was knocked back. Dealer said that he could not price a PP GTI yet and that a std manual GTI with tint ($695) and adaptive cruise would be $48,700. I said I would expect up to 10% off that price based on the 8-10% discounting or corporate pricing. Dealer said that VW only allowed them to soft sell at rrp at full cost until 15 Oct.

I felt a bit annoyed with both the dealer and Volkswagen Australia based on the fact that when I ask for best price to assist my pricing on carsales.com of my current GTI, no one was interested in taking my offer seriously. Why release a car on 'Soft Sell' for a 2 week period - then open everything up for a 'Hard Sell' with proper discounting. I explained to the dealer that I had purchased two GTI's (MK5 and MK6) from that dealership and that I was local ... didn't make any difference to them ... in fact ... I think the entire sales team has been renewed since I purchased the MK6 3.5 years ago. They did confirm my assertions in their computer. To further compound issues, Volkswagen are unlikely to have my preferred spec anywhere in AUS, so much for bundling options. To add insult to injury ... my preference order would take 6 months ... you have to be joking Volkswagen? I was a bit dejected by the whole experience.

WJ

Thanks for the info White James, what model GTI with options did you get offered $21k?

You are right about the needing the 8-10% discount, my 2011, 2012 MY is now only worth $25 and that is on redbook, that is over 50% so much for holding it's value...

I have not been able to get corp discount price from anywhere.. so may that is the whole soft sell thing. what a load of soft sell and hard sell, so really that wanted everyone to run and pay full price...

Well cant to do that when the the vale of the current car has gone so low...

[nat225]

Yep the Mk 6 GTI is a very nice drive, a real pleasure every time I get in it. VW have not moved the game on like they should have with so much recent success. It's a shame because I need to change cars for a new lease/tax deduction but I'm jumping ship and love the Mercedes and boy do they treat you differently when you walk in the door.

It's only my assumption, but Merc being a brand with many of its customers who are successful people (or people with cash who demand respects or kids with parents hard earned money ), I would imagine to maintain repeat business customer service is everything.

With VW, it's not always the case...

[WhiteJames]

White 2010, DSG, Xenons, DCC, MDI, 18" Wheels, Park Assist, 45,000km. Audi, Subaru & Toyota seemed much better to deal with. Dealers gave to get out of the habit of trying to get a sale/commitment on the day re: best price. Sales don't bother returning emails either.

[Arnold]

Sat Nav is only a $1000 option (on lower spec golfs)... so ditching would not save enough to offset the Driver Assistance package. And in this market you would end up with 60% of the people ordering it as an option... then they are back to square one with regards stock.

Glad to hear that as at $1,000 factory SatNav is probably worth having, for convenience and resale. I just hated the thought of VWA foisting $2500 worth of SatNav on us when the Driver Assist is only $1300.

Interestingly... the euro GTIs dont get sat nav as standard (they get the normal stereo from the Highline). The Discovery Pro option is worth more than the Vienna leather option (or 3 times more than Dynaudio option). Can you see people copping $3000+ for sat nav here?

Well, a lot of people (60% did you say?) forked out $2500 for SatNav on the Mark VI so it is not that much of a stretch.

[irossiter]

Yep VW resale values have gone to crap. I can't get more than $20,000 for mine from any dealers and then of course I'm told in 6 months at might be closer to $15,000! I'm paying off my lease and getting out. I got $25,000 for my Mk5 when I traded that 4 yrs ago with more kms. I have 4 weeks til my new car arrives so I'm going to advertise it privately. It's a great time to be buying a near new European car.
I was never going to buy sat nav at ?$3000 when I had my Garmin to stick on the windscreen. I think the screen on the new Golf very small and if no Discover Pro they can forget it. Does the choice navigation work on theMk 7 because you should listening to the directions and not looking down at the screen whilst driving. (BTW the screen is set too low in the dash).

[AdamD]

Yep VW resale values have gone to crap. I can't get more than $20,000 for mine from any dealers and then of course I'm told in 6 months at might be closer to $15,000! I'm paying off my lease and getting out.

This is a well-used tactic on behalf of car dealers. "Better sell to me at a lowball price now - otherwise it's sure to drop further!". The VW used market is in the doldrums at the moment thanks to the Fairfax debacle, and GTI prices (and to a lesser extent Rs - give it time) have also been affected by the release of the Mk7.

However - there's nothing fundamental to suggest that second-hand Mk6 (or other series) will continue to fall at a dramatic rate. Personally, I expect that prices will plateau to a certain extent (inasmuch as these external influences that have increased depreciation are now past their peak). The Mk7 is a great car but it only represents incremental improvements over the previous model, and the Mk6 remains a desirable car (in the right spec) for second-hand buyers. Just like the Mk5 before it.

I'm hanging on to my Mk6 for the next 18 months or so - I still enjoy driving it every time I hop behind the wheel, and I'm confident that prices will stabilise. Better yet, when it comes time to trade up, whichever new model I choose won't be brand-spanking, and the likelihood of getting a substantial discount will be greater.

[After Dark]

White 2010, DSG, Xenons, DCC, MDI, 18" Wheels, Park Assist, 45,000km. Audi, Subaru & Toyota seemed much better to deal with. Dealers gave to get out of the habit of trying to get a sale/commitment on the day re: best price. Sales don't bother returning emails either.

PM me if you are interested in selling privately.

[epigoo]

[Finance_Analyst]

Drove both DSG and manual this morning. Agree with comments that it isn't the quantum leap from the Mk6 so a little disappointed. I do like the different suspension set up but too many electrics are a concern for me with big repair bills. I will wait for the mk8 me thinks...