alltrack ex stock question

[nyc863]

I'm interested in an alltrack because VW did such an excellent job with advertising I've only just worked out the thing exists. As previously mentioned the dealers say 5-6 months for a bespoke order.

So regarding picking up a car with 1000 to 2000 kms on it: if it is a car from "vw corporate", do I have any right or likelihood of finding out what it was used for? For example, was it car journalists, or driven by an exec. If it was a media fleet car is that probably worse than three months as a dealer demo? or is it pointless even trying to find out.

As for deal itself would I be better off shooting for minimum price, or being more relaxed, but asking for stuff that costs them less to give me, than it costs me to buy? For example, extended warranties, accessories.

Does roadside assist come with ex corporate cars? or are they like used cars with distinct disadvantages over demos, let alone new?

I like the car, I like the prices, but feel like the dealers hold all the cards

oh and one other thing
Our current car is a FL 2009 VRS wagon octavia tsi, usual race blue etc etc with low kms for age.

Trade-in quotes have been terrible, eg $15k. I don't mind terribly giving ~$2k to save me the hassle of detailing it up and private selling it, would getting more than $18k for it private sale be a P.I.T.A? carsales is no use, listings are very few and unrealistically high.

[nyc863]

well I pulled the trigger
silver ex corporate car with pano, sports and park, full spare, 12/12 rego, $51k on road
did I do ok? they had the upper hand, there are so many blacks and whites

drove it after stepping from our skoda octavia rs, it feels smaller in every dimension inside at the front, but a step up in cabin ambience and tech. the kids will like the panorama roof. Factory stereo actually sounds acceptable. Rear camera a bit low res. Steering wheel not as meaty or nice to touch as it could be. stop start ok (weird to have the steering go dead) overall the alltrack ticks a lot of boxes.

just hope the ac isn't as reluctant to cool on auto as the skoda was in Aussie mid summer.

[Transporter]

Our current car is a FL 2009 VRS wagon octavia tsi, usual race blue etc etc with low kms for age.

Trade-in quotes have been terrible, eg $15k. I don't mind terribly giving ~$2k to save me the hassle of detailing it up and private selling it, would getting more than $18k for it private sale be a P.I.T.A? carsales is no use, listings are very few and unrealistically high.

Maybe put it in the section Cars for sale in here.

[nyc863]

yep as soon as it is properly setup I'll do that along with carsales.

[Spook]

Did you get the answer to your questions? ie Was the dealer forthcoming with what its previous life was, and does roadside assist come with the corporate demo?

I remember seeing a couple of VWs being driven around the city with Sydney International logos (VW was a corporate sponsor) earlier this year. Saw a white Passat wagon and a Touareg. They had passengers in the back seat - tried to make out if they were any of the more well-known tennis players, but didn't get a good enough look.

[nyc863]

He said given 3000kms over 3 months it was probably driven by a vw suit, who normally take a car for six months but they are releasing them earlier due to demand. Judging from the phone names paired with the head unit, and the shoe marks on the seat backs it looks like perhaps a family. Paint etc, it hadn't any marks

Yeah roadside assist and the discount price on an extended warranty ($3k for 2 more years) if I buy it now, vs buying before 6 months are up from compliance date, apparently same as the deal offered for new car buyers.

Given I rushed (and was rushed) into this decision, I'm happy, it isn't that much different excepting that 12/2012 compliance plate, than one I'd have ordered and waited for.

Barloworld vic has been listing a couple of optioned up 0kms metallics at 54,500, but they'd also be 2012 and that price didn't sound very flexible.

[XTC838]

IMO, it is unlikely to be a press car as they don't generally turn them over at such low k's.

[drad81]

well I pulled the trigger
silver ex corporate car with pano, sports and park, full spare, 12/12 rego, $51k on road
did I do ok?

Sounds like a fair price to me.

I've got the exact same specs on my Alltrack (Icelandic grey) but 6yrs warranty, roof racks, bike rack, Ipod cable luggage net and discounted 1st service and 26kms.

[nyc863]

I've decided to not get sucked into the tempting extended warranty the pricing is clearly designed to get you to buy it right at purchase point, instead of shopping around.

They also pushed a $3000 protection package, whose only attractive attribute was the sales girl plus the idea that you can supposedly call them out any time and they will fix up to 20 stone chips for $88, or a dent, or alloy wheel rash, etc.

alltrack impression from the test drive:
(my basis for comparison is a bit muddled as the daily is the aforementioned octavia wagon, but I've also had several dozen seat hours in a brand new ML350 and after being coddled in that tank, almost everything short of a new range rover feels insubstantial).

Anyway I liked it, not super strong in any one area it makes up for that by being more than adequate in every area. The kids will like the panorama roof at the expense of the few dozen times per year where we park it in blazing sun for several hours is going to create incredible heat, mesh or no mesh.

The cabin feels more premium than the Skoda as you'd expect but look at prices: the Skoda prices haven't moved down in three years, and standard equipment has hardly changed either, but when I priced up a GTI with options in 2009 it came to almost $70k. So Skoda is getting crushed from above here. Who would buy a Scout over this? the saving is too small, and Skoda no longer have the standard equipment advantage.

Although the cabin is a nicer place to be, the seats are very good and I like the sports ribbing they have, the lumbar support actually works (hello Skoda?), it doesn't feel as spacious as the octavia horizontally and fore/aft,
It is more cosy and all the storage spaces are clearly smaller: the one in front of the selector is smaller, the door bins are smaller, the glovebox is smaller, there is less dashboard expanse, etc.

The steering wheel is a step back from the RS, it is thinner and feels more slippery. It also goes super heavy when stop/start kicks in which was a surprise because the merc stop/start doesn't change steering wheel ability at all. I know why, just surprises you the first time you experience that.

I didn't see a one button push to disable stop/start, it is probably a MFD menu item. That is a shame sometimes it is nice to halt stop/start when you know it will be wasted. Perhaps if I put the shifter into "S". Don't know.

The electric park brake is where the handle would be, thumbs up for that and it not being on the dash somewhere like mercedes.

The dash analog clock is a nice luxury touch.

Wing mirrors are not Skoda octavia super-sized, which is good they were too big.

Pulling the lever in the trunk to flip the seats is welcome. Three 12v sockets, one trunk, one back seats, one front seats. I hope they don't all go off with the ignition off.

The car came with full sized spare on steel rim. Is that standard on all the alltracks ? the sales guy didn't know.

Not sure about the new DSG coasting feature where it declutches when you get off the gas. I wonder what the fuel economy math on that is, but it might mean more brake use in city traffic. Will have to see about how that one feels.

All the nice bluetooth/nav/voice stuff is there and I'm glad of it. Bluetooth music streaming worked out of the box. Factory stereo sounds better than I'd have guessed. Rear view camera is a bit nokia cellphone quality, but it'll do the job.

Overall I think the alltrack will work out great. It'll handle the camping thing, the city runabout thing, and the kids clobber and somehow it'll also not be a CX-5.

[Marakai]

I didn't see a one button push to disable stop/start, it is probably a MFD menu item. That is a shame sometimes it is nice to halt stop/start when you know it will be wasted. Perhaps if I put the shifter into "S". Don't know.

I woulda sworn one of the buttons turns off S/S! Still seething and waiting for mine, so just sitting here being jealous, but a kind gentleman from Germany actually scanned his manual in for me (I was merely after a few details but he went whole hog), and if I could find where I stored that file I could tell you precisely, but that's what I remember. Would be annoying even for me as someone who has experienced the advantages of S/S in Germany when it's on most of the time, but would want to be able to situationally turn it off.

Not sure about the new DSG coasting feature where it declutches when you get off the gas. I wonder what the fuel economy math on that is, but it might mean more brake use in city traffic. Will have to see about how that one feels.

Isn't there this brake-recharge-of-battery function that is supposed to save some minuscule amount of fuel by taking load off the alternator to charge the battery and instead somehow recovers brake power?

Overall I think the alltrack will work out great. It'll handle the camping thing, the city runabout thing, and the kids clobber and somehow it'll also not be a CX-5.

*sigh* Grats! Mine is currently somewhere off the coast of Portugal or north-west Africa. 6 weeks to go...

On another note, it's strange that I haven't seen a single Alltrack around Melbourne! I do look at every newish looking Passat and crane my neck to see if it has the label, but not one so far. Neither in the city, nor further north in our semi-regional corner. Did they all sell in NSW and Qld?!