Volkswagen Oz Screwing Oz Buyers

[guliver_twist]

i don't see why if someone orders a golf that is factory built and are prepared to wait 3-4 months for their order, they should not be allowed to get *ALL* the available options. This does not place any additional pressure on VW to stock cars with unpopular options, and allows them to upsell a car with more options (bigger margin)..

This can often be pretty annoying especially with petty options like folding mirrors which a lot of ppl like.
My 2C

[Corey_R]

Yeah, my thoughts are about the same guliver_twist.
Though I do understand that there are still additional things that VW needs to do for Australia to meet local market regulations, plus they'd need to keep stock of spares. Things like folding mirrors means VW would need to keep spare mirror assemblies etc locally and that adds costs. So it is more complicated than simply saying "if one country has it and it comes from the factory..."

[MurphyTheElf]

Yeah, my thoughts are about the same guliver_twist.
Though I do understand that there are still additional things that VW needs to do for Australia to meet local market regulations, plus they'd need to keep stock of spares. Things like folding mirrors means VW would need to keep spare mirror assemblies etc locally and that adds costs. So it is more complicated than simply saying "if one country has it and it comes from the factory..."

Why would they need to stock more mirror assemblies if folding mirrors were standard? Since the stock mirrors are electrically adjustable, it's not much of a stretch to have them fold. How much more could it cost, really? Obviously, it's not a deal-breaker, but it is a good feature. It pulls them out of the way so they don't get knocked around in car parks and garages.

[Maverick]

i don't see why if someone orders a golf that is factory built and are prepared to wait 3-4 months for their order, they should not be allowed to get *ALL* the available options. This does not place any additional pressure on VW to stock cars with unpopular options, and allows them to upsell a car with more options (bigger margin)..

I agree within reason but there is the parts issue as coreying mentioned and the market in Australia isn't big enough to accommodate every single option being available.

The folding mirrors also come with puddle lights FYI.

[Maverick]

Why would they need to stock more mirror assemblies if folding mirrors were standard? Since the stock mirrors are electrically adjustable, it's not much of a stretch to have them fold.

And what about all the non folding mirrors in Australia, they have to keep stock of those for warranty/repair work and can't just drop support for them because a new mirror is standard.

How much more could it cost, really? Obviously, it's not a deal-breaker, but it is a good feature. It pulls them out of the way so they don't get knocked around in car parks and garages.

It's one more thing to go wrong so there's the warranty aspect to take into account. It requires support from the dealership (look at all the questions on the forums in Australia about really basic features that are detailed in the manual and an ounce of common sense would see them figure it out). How many people really need the feature in Australia? Not many so why should everyone pay the $100-200 extra it would cost if it were standard on all models?

The fold in mirrors barely fold in anyway so are kind of useless.

[MurphyTheElf]

Not many so why should everyone pay the $100-200 extra it would cost if it were standard on all models?

The fold in mirrors barely fold in anyway so are kind of useless.

I doubt it would cost that much. As I said before, the mirrors are already electric, so they just need to allow the extra 70 odd degrees of articulation, plus the extra option on the control knob.

As I said before, I know it's not a major problem, but it's a missing piece of the puzzle. Along with the position memory on the electric driver's seat. Inferior vehicles have both, so why not the Golf?

[motk]

Accessories and options pricing for VW in AU is generally insane gouging - you'll never make even close to the extra money back on resale. $4k for Satnav? Madness! I guess they're relying on the whole novated-lease phenomenon to soak up the extra costs and resale thumping.

[G-rig]

Isn't sat nav only 2500 with new orders?

[Corey_R]

I doubt it would cost that much. As I said before, the mirrors are already electric, so they just need to allow the extra 70 odd degrees of articulation, plus the extra option on the control knob.

As I said before, I know it's not a major problem, but it's a missing piece of the puzzle. Along with the position memory on the electric driver's seat. Inferior vehicles have both, so why not the Golf?

The mirror glass is electric, not the mirror housing. It is a separate motor etc which does it.
But as I and Maverick have said. You can't just introduce new options/parts and not keep stock of it for warranty repairs and motor accidents. So you have the cost of the inventory, and the cost of storing, distributing and tracking that inventory. Plus any testing or certification which may be required for local regulations or conditions.

It's never as easy as it should be

[Maverick]

I doubt it would cost that much. As I said before, the mirrors are already electric, so they just need to allow the extra 70 odd degrees of articulation, plus the extra option on the control knob.

As I said before, I know it's not a major problem, but it's a missing piece of the puzzle. Along with the position memory on the electric driver's seat. Inferior vehicles have both, so why not the Golf?

It does cost that much, actually more if you look at the part prices and it's no that easy to put a motor in a small area that has to swivel the mirror back, be able to take hard knocks and be manually pulled into place and still operate plus keep working for the life of the car.

It also adds in puddle lights as well which is another cost.

You forget that the Golf is a not a premium luxury car but it's a low end car for Volkswagen, the technology that it has is miles in front of equivilant cars however.

[motk]

Isn't sat nav only 2500 with new orders?

Hrm:

GPS (Satellite Navigation) RNS510

$3,000.00
GPS (Satellite Navigation) RNS510 + Dynaudio

$4,000.00

The actual numbers seem to change a lot, not exactly amazing value however you cut it.

[G-rig]

That's why I sourced mine for 2k which is a significant saving, but as an option with a new car they are/were $2,500 which is pretty good and wouldn't bother retrofitting one, but it's cool that you can.

[Corey_R]

@motk, the RNS-510 is only $2500 when ordered with your car.
Dynaudio (speaker and amplification upgrade) is a separate option which is a $1300 upgrade (yes, they can go together).

Both of these are great value when compared to other manufacturers. As one of the members with an Audi S3 has said - his integrated Sat Nav cost ~$5500 and is not as good as the RNS-510.

[motk]

@motk, the RNS-510 is only $2500 when ordered with your car.
Dynaudio (speaker and amplification upgrade) is a separate option which is a $1300 upgrade (yes, they can go together).

Both of these are great value when compared to other manufacturers. As one of the members with an Audi S3 has said - his integrated Sat Nav cost ~$5500 and is not as good as the RNS-510.

Looks like it's gone up $500 then for a new car order. Add it to , alarm, park sensors and some good-to-haves and you can really add it up.
For example, the not-unreasonable addition of ipod dock, park sensors, fog lamps, alarm and gps adds up to $4,770.00, which you'll never see again at resale. It's just gravy for the dealers, and whilst i don't deny them a living it's just not worth the money. Add to this the fact that they options offered are silly things like sunroofs and leather trim (in Australia? please!) instead of things that might actually be useful like bixenon headlights and it's all quite depressing.

Makes for some decent value on the second hand market I guess!

[G-rig]

That is quite good value compared to retro-fitting the unit and next time I would just order it from the factory, as you also get the proper antenna which has no delay in your position apparently.