2008 GTI with 20k miles for $20,995?

[Pat the Rat]

A local dealer is bringing in a GTI from their sister dealership about an hour or so away for me to look at later. Here is the car:
http://www.sutliffchevrolet.com/VehicleDetails/610223263

Was wondering what you guys thought? It has the leather, DSG, and relatively low mileage I'm looking for as well as 4 doors. I do have sort of a red flag I just discovered, though. Most every other car on their lot has a carfax link, but this one and an R32 they have do not. Kinda makes me wonder what they're hiding.

Thanks.

 

[cicatrizdare]

Just ask them for the carfax, they might have just gotten the car in and not gotten to it yet.

 

[Pat the Rat]

Well, they said the car was discounted recently, so that makes me think they've had it a while and are having trouble getting rid of it. Maybe now that there's no carfax to check they'll be able to. ;-)

 

[Dybz]

just ask and don't make assumptions. just because it's not right there in front of you doesn't mean they're trying to hide it.

 

[Pat the Rat]

Exactly. That's what I intend to do.

 

[Pat the Rat]

BTW, i read somewhere that you have to do some required maintenance on the DSG tranny at 40k miles that costs over $600? Wow! I'm assuming it voids the warranty if you don't.

 

[shortwave360]

I drove mine off the lot new for $21,383 before taxes and registration. My options were a little different, only had huffs + cold weather and MMats. I think you could do better on the price, but could work them on the finance rate if possible. Is leather and a sunroof that important? Cloth looks better for longer IMO (depends who owns it).

 

[Pat the Rat]

I'm not a huge fan of leather, but just don't like the looks of the interlagos pattern. I could probably live with it though.

 

[Dybz]

how did you get 21,383? dealer wouldnt budge past 23000. i have the DSG, but that's only 1200 more or so.

 

[shortwave360]

how did you get 21,383? dealer wouldnt budge past 23000. i have the DSG, but that's only 1200 more or so.

I shopped for over a month and went to 4 dealers. It was my third new car I had bought, my gf at the time was an Ford stealer, so I had a little bit of insight on how to deal with these types. I bought it July 08 when VW was giving out 0% to good little kids. 72 months :wink: no money down.

The mats and huffs came out of another car and were "throw ins" to the deal. I made it seem as though I would walk away from the deal if I did not get 18" wheels without a sunroof. Barley any cars had this combo of options, but I stood to it hard. The mats slid in the trunk real quietly after the salesman and I chatted for a bit and became "pals". I think they wanted to dump the last of the FSI motors as well. I feel like I was the last person to buy one new off the lot.

I did trade in my 08 rabbit that I had only driven for about 4 months for a loss of about $2k. I did not buy the rabbit and the GTi at the same dealer. The rate I was financed for on that vehicle was enough that by the time I had paid it off, I could have bought a GTi.

I waited til the last day of the month, which is important to try and get salesmen to not care as much about %, but spiffs. Spiffs are bonuses that floor managers or desk bosses offer the staff who make a certain # of sales in a given time period. Dealer holdbacks also come into effect. Don't quote me but I think that VW gives the dealer a % of the total sale back to dealership somehow. Go to edmunds.com and read up on the car and the car buying guide. Very helpful stuff. One dealer did say this to me during a tough negotiating session "don't edmunds your way out of this car"! Needless to say I didn't buy it from them and ended up paying thousands less then what was their "bottom" price.

Pretty much you need to find a good salesman who you like and can communicate with comfortably and say these things in a round about way: I don't want to see your four square price vs everything else equation. I hope you are in line for a spiff because there is no way any money is getting made on this car besides a dealer holdback. I am going to pay under invoice for this car if you want to make the sale. Tell them you have been elsewhere and after speaking to a few dealerships in the area I think you could sweeten the deal a little bit more. Negotiate with presenting yourself as a potential service customer. Ask about referral awards, then after the sale ask for a stack of business card for your glove box. Try to be polite and confident, don't smile like a sick bastard who is about to drive a GTi. Please test drive the car, talk about it and then drive home in the same busted ass car you came onto the lot with at least once.

The rules are a bit different with used cars and if you have a trade in or not. Really do your research on what finance rate is the lowest you can get. Don't put money down unless you have it to spend. Good luck!

 

[Graymalkin2]

Depending on how far you want to drive, Sharrett VW in Hagerstown MD has been advertising a NEW 2009 TR 5-door GTI DSG for ~$6k off sticker, which would put it around $21k. I don't know all the specifics on the car (I don't need both a 08 and 09 5-door w/DSG, so I was not paying much attention to the ad and haven't looked at the car), but it might be worth a look if they still have it.

 

[Pat the Rat]

I found that car on their site but don't see the $6k savings marked anywhere. Is this the one? http://www.sharrettvw.com/VehicleDetails/451080703
Doesn't seem to have leather, but the price could be a good point of argument at least.

 

[kyle]

I bought my CPO 08 4-dr. DSG (no packages) with 5k on the odo for $19k even in Dec 08. Based on the mileage of the car you're looking at and the fact that it is not CPO, I think you can do ALOT better on the price.

 

[TwentyonePSI]

That is overpriced.

 

[Pat the Rat]

Ok, I got to look at the car. It's silver and pretty well optioned (leather, moon roof, heated seats, side curtain air bags, etc). It drove pretty well, although, I thought when it was cold that it shifted a tad harshly in first couple of gears, but I can't tell whether that would be normal or not. I got him to run a carfax, which he gladly did in front of me and it came out clean I guess. You can check it out on the link in my original post. The leather interior is extremely comfortable and the heated seats were a major plus tonight (cold night in PA)! So, I'm interested, but I just wondering how much I can get him down. They are/were a Saturn dealer and you know how they are with sticker price. To me that should only be for Saturns, though. KBB lists SRP as $22,470 if I figured it out right as a CPO car or $22,190 if not. I'm not sure because the internet sales person said if I get it from their other dealership (VW) instead of their local Buick dealership, I can get the certified preowned warranty (which seems like bullshit to me). Any idea what a fair price for this car might be?

just noticed they put 4k miles on it since 12/03/09???