The Mega MK7 & MK8 Golf GTI/GTD/R thread - Part II

Zurbaran · 21-09-2021 10:53pm

Looks great Joe.

Zurbaran · 21-09-2021 11:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117917673#Comment_117917673

They were always going to increase the price which is fair enough but I don’t think it should increase for someone that agreed a deal on the older price. I know you didn’t say otherwise, just wanted to point that out.

After upping the vrt last year I’m hoping the won’t again but who knows. They aren’t too fond of motorists.

bazz26 · 21-09-2021 11:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117921152#Comment_117921152

Congrats Joe, looks fab.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117921945#Comment_117921945

I don't think I have ever heard of any dealers locking in a fixed price at time of ordering that ends up having such a long lead time to be honest unless it was a very small increase. They probably would honour the original finance rate alright especially if the offer was withdrawn by the time the car arrived but price increases are usually written into the small print when ordering. This year is unprecedented however with everything going on in the world so you really could be dependant on your dealer going some way to look after you or not.

Are you trading a car? If it's a fairly decent and popular car then it might be worth focusing on getting a better trade-in value for it from the dealer as used car prices have increased so your car's market value may have increased since the dealer valued it at the time of ordering.

JoeA3 · 21-09-2021 11:54pm

Yeah, Bazz has nailed on what my experience has been “in general” over the years. I was hit with price hikes at least twice on previous cars. Now from memory they were quite small and on at least one occasion there was a spec bump too, so I got some extra spec for “free” which softened the blow a bit.

This year it’s different. The price increases seem more severe and more frequent and there’s no freebies. In fact there’s less, considering they’ve pulled the 0% PCP on new orders.

tbh Zubaran, I don’t think your dealer is treating you very well… there was the deposit issue a couple of weeks ago too. But what can you do. Pull out by all means but then you’re back to square 1.

Like Bazz I’d suggest trying to take your trade in out of the equation. You have time to try selling it yourself.

Zurbaran · 22-09-2021 12:08am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117922025#Comment_117922025

It’s still 0% as far as I know as he said it over the phone but he also said there would be no difference unless vrt comes into it so will need to check that now as well as the goal posts keep moving.

The new breakdown is more expensive for everything bar hk and he has added 500 odd to my gs450 trade in (I plan to try selling privately before hand for less than anything comparable online) He says the cost is 480 more but he now has included my deposit in the breakdown which is very underhanded imo. That’s before any potential vrt increase that I would have to take the hit on.

I’ll not lose the head about it but it’s not my fault they can’t deliver the car when they expected so don’t see why I should foot the bill. They have upped my trade in slightly but the price of my car is only going up like most cars so they aren’t really doing anything as far as I can see.

JoeA3 · 22-09-2021 12:13am

VRT, they have no control over. Thats all down to the Greens and we'll have clarity on that in a couple of weeks time when the budget is announced. Tbh I'd be surprised if there's major changes. This unpopular Government is already on thin ice and they won't rock the boat too much. Then again, the motorist is always a soft target, like the fags and booze!

The other thing about price hikes (to give the dealer some benefit of doubt) is, the dealer isn't invoiced for the new car until they take delivery of it. So, presumably VW invoice them for the RRP on that car on the day its delivered to them, whatever the price is on it that week... which would be inclusive of any price hikes since you ordered it. I'm not sure how any dealer can guarantee a fixed price to a customer for a car that might not show up for 6 months in that scenario.

Zurbaran · 22-09-2021 1:06am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117922081#Comment_117922081

The square 1 thing is an issue for me. I’ve invested a fair amount of time into this so would be a massive waste of time if it were to come to nothing. I’d have less of a problem if there was honesty in how it is presented. We agreed a specific price and options, I then changed the options and they re jigged the deal to add the discount to the trade in knowing I was going to try sell privately. I got no reply when I queried this at the time.

Now I’ve got a price increase and adding in the deposit but saying it’s only x amount more deceptively. I can see where you and bazz are coming from and I am going to have to probably make some concessions but I have issues with how it’s accepted that car dealers can operate in this manner and it’s just accepted.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117922114#Comment_117922114

If it’s week 44 for the moment they should receive it in December I would have thought? If that is a thing then how can they up the price if they wait a few week before registration?

I was given the price and trade in value, was told that wouldn’t change. We all know what words are worth though.

JoeA3 · 22-09-2021 7:28am

VRT is applied upon registration of the car, not when the dealer takes delivery. So assuming you’re holding out for a January plate, you’ll be subject to whatever VRT rates are in force from 1.1.2022.

Build weeks/times are all over the place now too so you cannot rely on “wk44” being written in stone.

Zurbaran · 22-09-2021 1:44pm

I was talking about their price not vrt. I know vrt changes can’t be helped.

bazz26 · 22-09-2021 11:39pm

Joe must really be enjoying the Clubsport.

JoeA3 · 23-09-2021 12:41am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117927048#Comment_117927048

😀

Yeah, delighted with it. Bit of a hectic day and I didn't drive it that much yet, horrible weather here since late afternoon so its hard to enjoy it in that weather, but anyway.... very early impressions...

it does look great imo... A head turner. Pictures don't do them justice at all. Great presence about it, it stands out. Delighted with the colour and the wheels. I think the colour will be easier than most to live with while still looking smashing. It really sparkled in the brief bit of sunshine today. The dealers did a great job of prepping it / presenting it, my eagle eye genuinely could not see a mark on it.
Driving.. it is much louder and throatier than I expected. Maybe I've forgotten it all after 4 years of diesels and family runabouts but I do not remember the R having this sense of occasion. Lots of pops and bangs from the exhaust, revs blipping, lots of lovely vroom vroom noises, and its definitely not all fake as I can hear it with the window down! The MK7 R definitely was much more muted.
I didn't push it on at all yet but on my brief spins, I have been impressed with ride and damping, and after being used to small SUV's recently, it feels so planted. Steering felt quite heavy (I probably had it in some sport setting). Didn't play much with the DCC settings, I put it into "Nurburgring" mode which seems a good compromise between comfort and all-out Sport.
The cabin is a lovely place to be in. The seats are brilliant, they look and feel great. They definitely seem to go lower too than the MK7, which was a bugbear of mine in that car. I always felt those seats didn't go low enough so I'm glad they fixed that, however they did it. It feels a more cosseted driving position than the MK7 did. I don't see any issue with quality, it feels well put together. Looks great in the dark with the ambient lighting etc. All in all, very nice.

Slight negative:

the infotainment is driving me slightly bonkers! I am a techy person, its my day job so you'd think this should be child's play to me, but this interface is already challenging my patience. I cannot get it to recognise my "We-connect" ID (VW's equivalent of BMW connected drive), so I need to get onto the dealers/VW tomorrow... hopefully its something very simple to resolve.
Also, again with the infotainment, its just tricky to adjust things on the move and there is so much going on. The much talked about button-less interior is certainly something that will take a bit of familiarisation. I need to play around with the dash settings as its information overload... the amount of tech in this car is crazy, it would make a MK7 feel positively analogue by comparison. There is so much to take in, too much, so I want to make the main clusters as simple / uncluttered as possible!

Overall though - delighted with it.

GavRedKing · 23-09-2021 8:25am

I used the free VW data plug I got and I've plugged it into the port and it's flawless. Tracking all data straight to the phone.

Cetera · 23-09-2021 8:27am

Thanks for the first impressions Joe; it’s sounds like you’re loving it. It’ll be interesting to hear how you get on with the infotainment system after living with it for a few weeks.

JoeA3 · 23-09-2021 8:33am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117927497#Comment_117927497

Did you do the whole “primary user” thing on the infotainment at all then Gav?

JoeA3 · 23-09-2021 9:24am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117927503#Comment_117927503

I think once I sort out the annoying WeConnect problem and once the main day to day functions become very familiar to me, it'll be grand.

carsfan2 · 23-09-2021 12:22pm

We need a few more pics Joe!

shanethegriff · 23-09-2021 1:23pm

@JoeA3 I briefly had difficulty setting up the primary user on mine and getting it to recognise my username. The mistake I was making was, by default, it puts the first letter of your email as a capital so you need to change that to all lowercase. Not sure if that the same as your issue but maybe worth a try.

shanethegriff · 23-09-2021 1:28pm

@Zurbaran in relation to your issue with the dealer upping the price...from what my dealer told me, they "book" the car with VW at the price at time of booking and VW price increases won't affect you.

My journey with my dealer was not without a few small issues but in fairness they held the price I booked the car at when I put my deposit down from January to July. I even managed to get them to put me on the 0% PCP rate even though I booked it at the 1.9% rate.

It sounds like your dealer is taking advantage of you and not treating you well. I'm sure they are breaching contact law. Did you get terms and conditions when you put your money down?

JoeA3 · 23-09-2021 1:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117928458#Comment_117928458

I’ll try and stick up a few later, haven’t had that much time to mess with it yet !

GavRedKing · 23-09-2021 6:36pm

Getting mine back from D&D detailing tomorrow will post a few pics of it once I get it.

JoeA3 · 23-09-2021 8:27pm

As promised...

I better get used to these pit stops.

Zurbaran · 23-09-2021 9:46pm

Looks class. I changed from silver to white after initially ordering which I think was a slight mistake..

Thanks for the first impressions. The sound of it is something I was hoping for after watching some reviews people have said there is a bit of drama. I only test drove the gti and can’t say I noticed anything other than the fake sound through the speakers.

Zurbaran · 23-09-2021 9:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117928773#Comment_117928773

Will need to check the terms on it. If they haven’t gone against it I’ll probably be screwed so I’m not ruling out paying a bit more. It’s not like they’ll have trouble selling it for more to someone else seeing as you can’t get them now. If you ordered now you’d be looking at July before you got it I reckon.

JoeA3 · 23-09-2021 10:25pm

I do think the dealer is in a strong position there. You’re really hoping for a little goodwill or for them to meet you in the middle. It’s difficult for them to do deals at the moment with lead times being so unpredictable. I don’t know how they can agree trade in prices at the moment given all the uncertainty.

A price rise kicks in on your ordered car and someone ultimately has to pay it. VW Ireland certainly won’t pay it so it’s either you or the dealer! Their margins on a new sale aren’t as big as some imagine.

Zurbaran · 23-09-2021 10:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117931051#Comment_117931051

Went back and had a look at the t&c’s Gav posted. It doesn’t look good going by no 7, you would be looking for them to meet you in the middle I guess. My biggest issue is adding the deposit in which is the second time they’ve messed with the numbers that were agreed. Regarding the trade, I reckon they would be getting more for it now considering the used market right now.