A few questions from an intending Golf newbie...

[Jamie]

Good morning VWW!

I've been considering getting a new car for my wife (primarily!) - she commutes on the Pacific Hwy between Telegraph Point & Taree, about 90km each way, mostly on alternate days. I've been looking at an 08 Golf TDi GT, in showroom condition, leather upholstery, fully VW dealer serviced (last one, 60,000km, in Feb) with brand new tyres and rego till April 2012. The car is beautiful in every respect, presents and drives faultlessly, and price is pretty much spot-on Redbook valuation.

My reasons for considering the diesel Golfs are:

Economy
Safety
Comfort for the long commute
Build quality
User friendliness
and I just love the look of the thing!

My only concern really was that when I spoke to the service bloke at the local VW dealer about the prospect, he said he wouldn't own one out of warranty! Stories of DSG gearboxes costing 10k to replace, steering wheels being totally replaced for 2.5k because the radio volume button stopped working followed... I'm wondering whether he was simply trying to sell me a 3 year extended warranty package at $2-3k, or if these are very real costs to consider. (I believe the car will come out of warranty in the next week or so).

As I mentioned, the car is in showroom condition, and a 1 hour drive at all speeds on & off the highway showed faultless behaviour. I would probably have it serviced at the recommended intervals by the local dealer here in Port Macquarie, so I'm wondering if anyone can suggest what I should do about the warranty thing - it's a big outlay, but I want to make the right decision (and there's nothing like handballing it to someone else lol!)

I once purchased new a BMW 2002 Tii, a truly amazing little car, and regret having sold it very much, as they are now a rare collector's item. I have a feeling that these little high-powered Golfs may well go the same way.

Any thoughts (and sorry for the ramble for my first post!)

Jamie

[Corey_R]

Hey Jamie.
If you talk to the service people at any car dealership, they'll be able to tell you about stories of faults etc, because that's what their job is, to fix all the problems!

Whilst I hadn't heard of the steering wheel buttons dying, DSG gearboxes are the first of its type of the market of a new technology, and there have definitely been teething problems. Having said that, both Golf's I've owned had DSGs are were/are fantastic.

If the car is still within the original factory warranty, you can extend it as the dealer has mentioned. However, make sure it is the "extended factory warranty" and not a third-party dealer warranty with lots of little conditions and pay-out caps.

There is a thread dedicated to the topic and the current going rate appears to be about $1500 depending on the model and its age (and possibly whether you're the original or 2nd owner etc). I haven't looked at it in great detail as my Golf R is only 5 months old, so I'm another 2 years from making that purchase decision.

My brother just bought his wife an 08 Golf GT TSI on the weekend and I had a drive of it - fantastic car! I'm sure the TDI version is just as great

[Jamie]

Thnks for that Corey, I appreciate all feedback! I've discovered that the car was first registered on April 3, but delivered on April 8! April 3 puts me out of the race with regard to the full extended warranty I guess. I'll post on the warranty thread and see what others might suggest.

Jamie.