ideal price to pay '08 golf tdi

[PSY604]

Hi all,

i'll be in the market for a '08 model golf tdi (2L) manual, after easter - what are your thoughts as to the best price i (or my dad, who is good at that sort of thing!) should try to get, or should i wait a little longer? (but then all the good colours will be gone!)

the '09's are out of my price range, and i would like to see if a golf tdi is feasible before i give up and go the polo!

Thanks in advance!

[Russ59]

It would make it easier if you told us how much you want to spend. To give you an idea on price my son purchased an '07 Golf Comfortline a couple of months back. It's a 2.0 TDI 6 speed manual and had 16,000 k's on the clock, reflex silver in colour, VW service history and balance of new car warranty. He paid $25,500 which after searching around for some time was very reasonable as most of the TDI's available at the time were either DSG (semi auto) or had much higher K's and a similar price tag. I did the haggling for him as he hasn't really had any experience with car dealers, so I would suggest that you get your dad to help you as well because it can be quite daunting. Just remember to take your time and enjoy the experience, at the moment there are lots of good buys out there, make sure you shop around. Good luck and keep us posted.

Russ

[PSY604]

Thanks for that Russ... i was thinking around the 25-30K mark, but seriously cannot find anything in the 07-08 year bracket thats not 1)DSG (most definitely not interested in any sort of automatic!!) and 2)kms above 50K...

Did your son buy from a dealer or a private sale?

I could always go the 1.9l tdi polo and get something brand new, but i do like the extra room in the golf.

I think 25-30K is a decent enough ask, dont you think?

[mikinoz]

Have a look at redbook for some price indicator to secondhand and the decreases that have been seen since the MKIV. I know that you would get a car like ours for that money (MY07 2.0 TDI Sportline) so if you wanted a comfortline it should be no sweat.

[Greg Roles]

It's very possible. A guy I work with bought an 07 2.0TDI manual with 27kms on it for about $27k. It had a few options too. He's a major wheeler dealer though, and is a champion at talking prices down.

In your shoes I'd live on car sales, and start making offers. Having been in the odd financial jam, sometimes you need SOME money rather than what something is worth, and I've little doubt if you made a fair offer to every suitable car on car sales privately, I'm sure someone would say yes.

[Russ59]

Thanks for that Russ... i was thinking around the 25-30K mark, but seriously cannot find anything in the 07-08 year bracket thats not 1)DSG (most definitely not interested in any sort of automatic!!) and 2)kms above 50K...

Did your son buy from a dealer or a private sale?

I could always go the 1.9l tdi polo and get something brand new, but i do like the extra room in the golf.

I think 25-30K is a decent enough ask, dont you think?

We bought from a dealer in Melbourne (totally blind purchase) and had it shipped up to NSW ( for around $500) I think you would be best to drive both the Golf and the Polo and compare because I'm sure you'll find a big difference both in size and engine performance (which is only to be expected)

They're not easy to find and looking on Carsales and others Qld doesn't appear to have anything available at the moment within the specs. of what you're looking for. I found this one in Vic. (private) but only as an example. http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/...d=120667D9EF70

I think you may have to wait a little while, keep your eyes and ears open and hopefully something good will come along soon

Russ

[PSY604]

Just having a look around online today... what do you guys think of this one?

http://www.carpoint.com.au/used-car/VOLKSWAGEN/GOLF/Queensland/csn6979812.aspx

Im thinking as its a '07 model with a bit of mileage on it (guessing it was a demo car!) that asking 5-4K less than the advertised price may be a starting point? (simply because i dont know where its been, how its been driven or if it was driven in properly or not! plus its almost time for its first service... its certainly not new and though it is low mileage, its still used and hence comes the gamble of buying a used car!)

Would this be a fair enough? Your thoughts please

[Greg Roles]

The background looks like Austral at Newstead to me. Price seems reasonable, but my March delivered 2008 TDI has rego KVD, so it's been registered after that with later letters on the plate! Remember even if it is a demo, it's not a GT or a GTI which are the typical cars to flog on a demo / sales reps want to take home or for a spin.

I'd go for a drive to austral, have a look, and go in hard with a low ball figure. The fact they are dropping prices says they are keen to sell, and there'd be PLETY of dealers new and secondhand in that boat currently!

[Russ59]

Just having a look around online today... what do you guys think of this one?

http://www.carpoint.com.au/used-car/VOLKSWAGEN/GOLF/Queensland/csn6979812.aspx

Im thinking as its a '07 model with a bit of mileage on it (guessing it was a demo car!) that asking 5-4K less than the advertised price may be a starting point? (simply because i dont know where its been, how its been driven or if it was driven in properly or not! plus its almost time for its first service... its certainly not new and though it is low mileage, its still used and hence comes the gamble of buying a used car!)

Would this be a fair enough? Your thoughts please

That seems pretty reasonable mate, The fact that it has already been reduced in price I doubt that they'll drop a lot. As Cogdoc (Greg) just said, you could try going in with a low figure (say around $25,000) and see what they say. Make sure if you can that you check that it has the log books, service history may be a little difficult because with those K's travelled it's not actually due for it's 1st service until it reaches 15,000 k's, but at the same time if it's had any warranty work carried out it should be on the system and can easily be checked by any VW dealer (which I recommend you do before signing anything) There was a similar enquiry to yours in a thread a while back, you might like to have a browse through it, just to give you an idea of some of the things to look for (even when potentially buying from a dealer ) - http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newf...ad.php?t=26293

Russ

[PSY604]

Huzzah! a purchase has been made!

So, yesterday - after much hunting and calling and emailing and banter and hoo-haa my dad came down to brissy to scour the car yards with me.

We were in a bit of an unfortunate situation - every single place we went to had either 1)2.0l TDi golfs with DSG (no thanks!!) or 2)1.9l TDi Golfs with DSG (double no thanks) or 3)1.9l TDi Golfs with a ridiculous number of kms on them (very much no thanks!)

so...

We got a very very good deal on the 1.9l TDi Polo, with a week or so wait for one with a '09 compliance plate Stuck down 10%, now waiting for it to get to port!

ever so slightly chuffed!

Now, to 1)remember how to drive a manual again (i hope its like riding a bicycle!) and 2) read about how to run in the engine once i have remembered how to do 1).

Expect piccies in about 2 weeks... and much thanks for all your help guys!!

[Coaster]

Congrats, I think you've made a wise decision!

I'll be very much in the same position as you at the start of next year. I like the space of the Golf, and the drive and tourability of a TDI, but both together are a bit more than I'd like to pay. So I'll probably get a 2010 Polo TDI.