Newbie about to get his first GTi

[Russ59]

I would only buy a new or secondhand car at, or serviced by, the above three mentioned dealers given the choices available in Brisbane.

But that's me.

I don't want to see anyone get a car with problems, especially from a dealer. I've been there and it's not a pleasant experience. My extra 2 cents worth of advice for Korbin would be to shop around a bit longer because something just doesn't sound right with this deal.


Russ

[Korbin]

Thanks again for the advice and feedback.

The story behind the sale checks out very well, and the dealership comes recommended with a very strong reputation, other then this annoying customer service experience with Austral everything has been a very transparent and above board.

Austral didn't provide service history based on the car, it was just their policy, if I had provided the VIN and had this response I would be very wary, and at the time I wasn't sure if it was Austral that had done the servicing which I will check when I pick the car up from RACQ this afternoon. If its another service centre I will be calling to see if I get the same response or its just Austral being difficult.

My peace of mind is coming from the following factors:

- The car is still under its factory warranty for another 6 months, and I intend to get the 3 year extended warranty with VWA.
- The dealership has to provide a 3 month 5000k warranty as well.
- I am getting an independent full master RACQ check conducted.
- The car yard comes with a very good reputation as confirmed by three independent sources.

Is there a crack where something horrible may slip through, or is my net tight enough to ensure a "safe as possible under the circumstance" sale.

Edit: This all hinges on the report I get back from RACQ today, if there is anything dodgey I will walk away from he deal regardless of how much the saleman trys to make up for it.

Korbin

[Russ59]

Thanks again for the advice and feedback.

The story behind the sale checks out very well, and the dealership comes recommended with a very strong reputation, other then this annoying customer service experience with Austral everything has been a very transparent and above board.

Austral didn't provide service history based on the car, it was just their policy, if I had provided the VIN and had this response I would be very wary, and at the time I wasn't sure if it was Austral that had done the servicing which I will check when I pick the car up from RACQ this afternoon. If its another service centre I will be calling to see if I get the same response or its just Austral being difficult.

My peace of mind is coming from the following factors:

- The car is still under its factory warranty for another 6 months, and I intend to get the 3 year extended warranty with VWA.
- The dealership has to provide a 3 month 5000k warranty as well.
- I am getting an independent full master RACQ check conducted.
- The car yard comes with a very good reputation as confirmed by three independent sources.

Is there a crack where something horrible may slip through, or is my net tight enough to ensure a "safe as possible under the circumstance" sale.

Edit: This all hinges on the report I get back from RACQ today, if there is anything dodgey I will walk away from he deal regardless of how much the saleman trys to make up for it.

Korbin

Having the new car warranty is a bonus but not knowing the service history of the car is a bit risky especially if you purchase and then find that the vehicle had actually been modified (eg chipped) and as a result the dealer would not warrant any repairs. That's a worse case scenario, so don't take the idea too seriously but it is still a possibility which should be considered. Maybe before you sign the dotted line you could get the vin # and try approaching Austral again and see what response you get from them then. At least if you can get some history you'll know what's been repaired / replaced (if anything) and what hasn't.

As far as the yard you are buying it from and the 3 month / 5000 km warranty, well from past experience to be honest these types of warranties are usually not worth the paper they are printed on, but hey that's been my experience hopefully not yours.


Russ

[Korbin]

Verdict - Fail

RACQ results came back very good, car is a very good second car except for the following:

Wheels are illegal for two reasons:
1. There is no Australian approval stamp on the mags
2. The tires have a weight rating of 88 when it should be 92 voiding insurance.

Drivers side door and bonnet had evidence of being resprayed, and the drivers side door was not sitting flush with the body.

When I ask the dealer what was going on he called the guy who was selling it through who spoke to me and said that the car had been broken into, the drivers side window smashed and door damaged which was repaired under insurance.

However, now this sale is sour and I have since walked away.

Thank you RACQ.

The search continues!

Now I am considering trying to score a new Mk5 as they try and run them out. I spoke with a dealer today who advised that I can put a deposit down on a MK6 and then pay the for the car subject to a test drive.

[Russ59]

Verdict - Fail

RACQ results came back very good, car is a very good second car except for the following:

Wheels are illegal for two reasons:
1. There is no Australian approval stamp on the mags
2. The tires have a weight rating of 88 when it should be 92 voiding insurance.

Drivers side door and bonnet had evidence of being resprayed, and the drivers side door was not sitting flush with the body.

When I ask the dealer what was going on he called the guy who was selling it through who spoke to me and said that the car had been broken into, the drivers side window smashed and door damaged which was repaired under insurance.

However, now this sale is sour and I have since walked away.

Thank you RACQ.

The search continues!

Now I am considering trying to score a new Mk5 as they try and run them out. I spoke with a dealer today who advised that I can put a deposit down on a MK6 and then pay the for the car subject to a test drive.

See I told you I could smell a rat

Good thing you found out now and walked away while you could, us almost old farts do have our uses, wisdom, and experience dealing with sharks

It might pay you to have a browse amongst some of the threads on the forum and read of some other members experiences with dealers in your state, that might help to steer you in the right direction for an honest deal

Best of luck and keep us posted.


Russ

[WEDEL.1]

See I told you I could smell a rat

Russ

Inspector Russ

Well done Russ, some good advice.

Maris

[Russ59]

Inspector Russ

Well done Russ, some good advice.

Maris

Thanks Maris,

Been bitten before myself

Damn car sharks


Russ

[Guest212]

can we ask which vehicle in particular you were looking at? just so we know... (we're all very curious haha)

[Maverick]

By bad reputation Greg, do you mean they are bad at servicing or just have a bad attitude. The fact that Austral is not the actual dealer selling the car, but yet they are not even prepared to give out details on service history which would not do them any harm, makes me smell a rat somewhere in the deal.

To put it bluntly Austral VW are without a doubt the worst dealer I have ever dealt with. I'll choose my words carefully now but their conduct is ethically questionable, they are ....... stuff it I can't put it into words that I should use in a public forum.

They cost me over $5000 because of their conduct in the purchase of a VW, I almost walked away from VW completely, they were disho..... in the way they did acted (changed details on the contract after we had just discussed in the hope I wouldn't pick up the $1000 extra they wanted to charge me and the explained it away), gave incorrect and misleading finance information, blamed VW and a lot more. I literally spent weeks sorting out the car towards the end.

Unhelpful is an understatement after the paperwork was signed, they had my trade in for a week before they tried to extort another $5000 out of me and wanted me to go without a car for another 2 months, after I told them where to put the contract they made me wait over an hour to pick up my car (after they had 3 hours notice and I had to re-register the car and re insure it) and when I got back into the car they had been smoking in it (car had NEVER been smoked in before).

I went to Highway Auto at around 4pm that day and their sales manager and the sales guy stayed back until 6:30pm to sort out a deal and gave me pretty much what I wanted with no messing around.

My advice is to stay away from Austral, I've heard so many similar stories from others and very little bad against the other dealers around SEQ. Location is the only thing they have going for them, I work in the city but I'm happy to take my car to Highway.

[Nardi330]

....while on the other hand i had experience with both Austral and Highway and they were both positive.

Highway was very good to me when i ordered my GTI back in Dec07 for a 08 built model. The sales manager at the time (he has since moved to Lexus) went to extra length to get me a good deal (eg. suggesting to me about corporate discount etc etc). when i had to cancel the order due to change of circumstance, they refunded my deposit very quickly without any question asked.

when i got my current car in Aug08, i went to Austral (as opposed to Hwy as they didn't have the stock that i wanted), stick the old contract i signed with Hwy under their nose and asked them to beat it (which they did). and i got my car within a week. they even let me take the car away prior to having all the finance paper work signed (the sales came to my place to pick them up at the evening).

so i guess i was lucky in both cases.

[Russ59]

To put it bluntly Austral VW are without a doubt the worst dealer I have ever dealt with. I'll choose my words carefully now but their conduct is ethically questionable, they are ....... stuff it I can't put it into words that I should use in a public forum.

They cost me over $5000 because of their conduct in the purchase of a VW, I almost walked away from VW completely, they were disho..... in the way they did acted (changed details on the contract after we had just discussed in the hope I wouldn't pick up the $1000 extra they wanted to charge me and the explained it away), gave incorrect and misleading finance information, blamed VW and a lot more. I literally spent weeks sorting out the car towards the end.

Unhelpful is an understatement after the paperwork was signed, they had my trade in for a week before they tried to extort another $5000 out of me and wanted me to go without a car for another 2 months, after I told them where to put the contract they made me wait over an hour to pick up my car (after they had 3 hours notice and I had to re-register the car and re insure it) and when I got back into the car they had been smoking in it (car had NEVER been smoked in before).

I went to Highway Auto at around 4pm that day and their sales manager and the sales guy stayed back until 6:30pm to sort out a deal and gave me pretty much what I wanted with no messing around.

My advice is to stay away from Austral, I've heard so many similar stories from others and very little bad against the other dealers around SEQ. Location is the only thing they have going for them, I work in the city but I'm happy to take my car to Highway.

Geez Mav that sounds like a story from ACA or would have been one they'd have loved to have chased up.

Changing details on contracts is a definite no no and they should probably consider themselves lucky not to be spending time behind bars for doing it, although I think it will still be common practice for some dealers even as we speak. Most importantly you learned a valuable lesson and certainly won't be bitten again. I've been through similar, had finance for a car organised through a broker of a dealer, when the car turned out to be a real heap I wanted out of it ASAP I had to go to the ANZ bank where the loan had been arranged through and they suggested that I sell some of my assets that were listed according to the contract to pay back some of the loan before they would look at refinancing me for another loan (2 cars worth around $6k and $4k each, a caravan worth $10k, a boat $5k a motorcycle worth $2.5k) talk about being put on the spot.

I didn't see any of this part of the contract as it was all done through the dealer and the broker (they just happened to be from Qld as well) I explained to the bank that I didn't own all these things and their response was " not another one arranged through a broker " That was many years ago now and the way money was being loaned from then on until the recent economic crisis that just hit, is it any wonder the world's in the state it's in financially


Russ

[Korbin]

The story starts with a bang (literally as the door on the second hand car one was damaged!) but like any good feature film ends with the good guys winning.

The Lead-up: Seems things just stay the same

After calling all the VW dealer's in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, Gold coast and Ipswich and confirming that yes Austral are rubbish: I had to call them three times after they said they would call me back the whole time with the same question - "I need a price on a white, manual, cloth interior GTi and if you have in stock" - the final straw

Austral: "We can do it for $38,970 drive away,

Me: "great!, do you have one there?

Austral: "no I'll have to check..."

And never got a call back...

Ian Beottcher VW were giving me the best service actually calling me back, they had many GTi'sin stock, on the lot and looking to move only issue, no manual cloth interior, only leather, or a couple of DSG's with cloth interior.

After all the dealerships spanning the SEQ area called back to advise that there were simply no standard manuals in stock, or at best a colour compromise with a 2 week wait I decided to go out to Ian Beottcher for a DSG test drive and see how things went.

The Test: To DSG or not to DSG?

I arrived just after lunch today, found the salesman I was speaking with who walked me through the options and then took me for a test drive in a silver DSG with leather.

Today it was hot in Brisbane, and hotter in Ipswich after a 10 min drive it was clear I didn't want leather I my back and ass were not happy!

However, it was even more clear that DSG is awesome, and something worth having for the right price.

The Deal: After a very civil exchange of price expectations taking around 10 mins...

$40,000 drive away with front and rear mats, tinted windows, and cloth treatment guaranteed for 10 years for a brand new Silver GTi!

Only problem, after all my CW dreams I had to settle for silver, however its metallicy goodness with DSG with a on the road price aroun d$9k less then usual - not a bad second choice!!

I take delivery on Tuesday.

Way happy!

Glad to be apart of the family

Thanks again for all the feedback and assistance!!

Korbin

[WEDEL.1]

Well CONGRATULATIONS!! Well done.

I love a happy ending!

[Russ59]

Pleased to hear it's all worked out OK. Don't forget to post some pics in the MK V photo thread when you get it. Happy motoring


Russ

[Korbin]

Picked up the car!!

Best thing ever and of course as my journey wouldn't be complete with one final twist.

They were getting the car off a hoist a air hose put two very small scratches in the drivers side door. All good, the dealer just replaced the skin!

gota love a good customer service experience.

Also I ended up going with VW finance and managed to save myself around $50 a month (fixed at 7.05%, checked all the fine print no nasty's not usually found in finance contracts)

Everything is good in the world, and the car has made me very very happy!

Link to appropriate post in: My Golf Arrives Thread with picture:

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newf...177#post290177