QLD New guy... With a conundrum! Ie: I don't own a VW...

[SSVR]

Hey guys,

Bit of an odd (and potentially expensive) story leading up to me signing up here...

Bought a brand spanking new Series 2 6L V8 Commodore, the top of the range one, in October last year. Thought it was the greatest thing ever and that I'd love it always...

...Then I noticed that the interior is built worse than my previous Hyundai and my OCD'ness will not let me forget it. All I see now are the flaws and hear the creaks.

I have a few other issues with owning it, not necessarily the cars fault, that are making me second guess the purchase as well. So I started looking at alternatives while my car is still worth something

That's lead me to here to look for some info on these 'interesting' Golf GTI things (As well as Octavia RSs too...)

This is my vehicle, now, prior to any stupid decision making:

[philthy]

I'd recommend browsing the mk6 section... Not sure a VW is necessarily the right car if you can't deal with rattles and squeaks. PS I like the commie.. owning an Aussie V8 is on my bucket list.

[cjay]

Go take a Golf GTI for a test drive, the yellow taxi will be on carsales before you know it I've had mine 4 months, no rattles or problems and I suffer from OCD when it comes to cars as well

[SSVR]

I'd recommend browsing the mk6 section... Not sure a VW is necessarily the right car if you can't deal with rattles and squeaks. PS I like the commie.. owning an Aussie V8 is on my bucket list.

Odd... I thought build quality was a virtue of VWs!? The Skoda I sat in for a bit certainly was quite solid feeling.
The Holden V8 thing was a childhood dream and a totally emotional purchase. Didn't test any other cars, just ordered one once the S2 models were announced.

Go take a Golf GTI for a test drive, the yellow taxi will be on carsales before you know it I've had mine 4 months, no rattles or problems and I suffer from OCD when it comes to cars as well

Yep, that's the plan for tomorrow. First to Skoda to test a RS Liftback DSG then to VW and maybe Subaru. The general impression I'm getting about VW/VAG ownded companies is 'epic wait time' though and that's a problem! The longer I wait the less and less this Commodore is worth on trade and I can't afford to lose too much money here

[mattchu]

Probably investigate the new Passat and Jetta too, but as your car's resale is a ticking time bomb maybe that's too long a wait. If you can afford the SS-V as an emotional purchase then I'd recommend taking the Golf R for a test drive too.

I'd never gotten the whole VW quality thing untill I stepped out of my friend's dad's Calais V and straight into mine, the solidity of the door thud, the feeling of the materials... VW is in another league. Make's me feel even better when I know mine was at least 20K cheaper when new

[SSVR]

Probably investigate the new Passat and Jetta too, but as your car's resale is a ticking time bomb maybe that's too long a wait. If you can afford the SS-V as an emotional purchase then I'd recommend taking the Golf R for a test drive too.

I'd never gotten the whole VW quality thing untill I stepped out of my friend's dad's Calais V and straight into mine, the solidity of the door thud, the feeling of the materials... VW is in another league. Make's me feel even better when I know mine was at least 20K cheaper when new

Might have a look but I can't imagine the bigger sedans would appeal too much. I need something with a bit of poke and 'chuckability'

It really is quite surprising just how poorly built these 'best commodores ever' are! A $55kish car and it's as poor or worse than a $12k Hyundai

[philthy]

Don't get me wrong, I love my VW, but it rattles and squeaks

Maybe even have a look at the Passat CC V6.. they certainly have some poke. Would be interesting to cross shop one with a Lexus IS350 too.

[mattchu]

Might have a look but I can't imagine the bigger sedans would appeal too much. I need something with a bit of poke and 'chuckability'

It really is quite surprising just how poorly built these 'best commodores ever' are! A $55kish car and it's as poor or worse than a $12k Hyundai

I was recommending the Passat based on the fact it's a similar size to the Commodore, but if poke and chuckability is what your after then a Golf GTI or R is definately what your looking for (p.s. The Jetta is only a bit bigger than the Golf, it's basically a Golf with a boot, well an MKV anyway)

I think the "best built" claim is in relation to previous model Commodores... It has to be as it really can't compare with anything European, even Japanese. What Hyundai did you have? Is the build quality on your car really that bad?

[SSVR]

I was recommending the Passat based on the fact it's a similar size to the Commodore, but if poke and chuckability is what your after then a Golf GTI or R is definately what your looking for (p.s. The Jetta is only a bit bigger than the Golf, it's basically a Golf with a boot, well an MKV anyway)

I think the "best built" claim is in relation to previous model Commodores... It has to be as it really can't compare with anything European, even Japanese. What Hyundai did you have? Is the build quality on your car really that bad?

I had the 2009 Getz 1.6l manual as my first car. Really amazing value for money. The plastics were cheaper (not by much) but there were no ill fitting gaps etc.

I don't need a large car like a Commodore - just got that because there's no small-mid V8's easily affordable... Well, even remotely affordable for me!

Thanks for your input!

[mattchu]

I had the 2009 Getz 1.6l manual as my first car. Really amazing value for money. The plastics were cheaper (not by much) but there were no ill fitting gaps etc.

I don't need a large car like a Commodore - just got that because there's no small-mid V8's easily affordable... Well, even remotely affordable for me!

Thanks for your input!

No worries!

Hyundai has really picked up its game in the last couple of years and it shows in sales. But still a Hyundai doesn't compare in any way to a VW, you definately won't be dissapointed with any purchase in the VW stable, it's really just finding one that suits your needs what are they by the way?

[SSVR]

My minimum needs in a car... 4 wheels, 2 seats, powerful engine.. Or something like that. I dont have a family to lug around or trailers to pull. Where I work is door to door service on public transport (but I hate busses!) so I don't do many kay's so fuel economy isn't an issue.

Just a fun car I spose! One that despite being great fun with awesome power, doesn't disappoint me everytime I sit in it

Passatt CC and Lexus i350 are getting a little stratospheric in my price range at this point. Coulda possibly stretched when buying the commondoor but not so much now.

[CSR]

My brother has always sworn by Commodores ever since his first car. I've sat in 5 different series and it seemed to me the newer the car was, the worse the interior got.
Sure, it got a few bells and flashy half-working whistles, but I can't get past how cheap it looks for a $40k+ car.
There's a reason they can stick a lovely V8 in a sub-$50k car, they skimp on everything else..

The other thing with Holden is...They depreciate..FAST. There are just too many of them out in the market for sale.

Having said that it's a shame to see you lose so much money on changing your mind, but I guess being a car enthusiast is an expensive game..Have a real good think about whether you sell it or not.

My first car was a 2006 Toyota Camry Sportivo, and I hated it after two weeks of buying it but stayed with it for 2 years because I couldn't bear to lose so much money for my stupidity .

[Ben J]

Could try and sell it and pick up a second hand r32 and possibly pocket a little cash even

Has an exhaust note that would put the v8 to shame and would be a lot of fun haha

[Makk]

Hi,

That's quite a similar story to my own, I had a brand new Mazda 3 which was an absolutely fine car.

I came across Skoda while helping someone else look for a new car.
The Octavia just offered more of everything (power, room, comfort) for slightly more money. So I did what you're thinking of doing, I sold the new Mazda ASAP before it depreciated too much! I bought an Octavia 1.8 TSI wagon, and I'm very happy with it.

One thing though, the Octavia does have a occasional creak from the dash near the passenger side air vent, the Mazda had no creaks or noises whatsoever (except quite a lot of road noise)

I still don't regret buying it however

[SSVR]

Drove what was apparently a MY10 Octavia RS DSG Petrol Liftback (Almost as much of a mouthful as my current car...) today at the dealer and was pretty impressed. Deceptively quick... Acceleration has very little let up through the gears and was going way too fast without much ado. Virtually NO engine or exhaust noise was audible :S

Very pleasant interior, felt so much nicer than the Holden one. The whole car just felt more solid. Much less wind noise from around the doors etc. There was a strange rattle noise around the drivers side that sounded like something way in the AC fan lol.

I'm in even more of a conundrum now because engines off I much, much, much prefer the Skoda. But engines on... Well, what engine on? The Skoda is silent, almost detached from what I'm doing behind the wheel.

Had 2 test drives now and been to the dealer 3 times. Heading back on Mon with the girlfriend for her opinion. I don't know why I keep goin back!