New car trade in - am I crazy?

Doyler99

Hey guys, have quite the first world dilemma here so any advice would be appreciated!

Bought a 181 1.4 petrol golf HL (bought outright) in Jan which is a lovely pokey car to drive. However, I’ve always been in love with the GTIs and I’m always thinking to myself maybe I should have saved a bit more and went for a GTI. At the time I didn’t really have the funds and got a really good deal for the current car. In the New Year I will have enough for a 161-181 GTI looking at the prices online. Does it make any sense trading my car for a 161/171 + some cash? Am I crazy for even thinking of a trade like this? :eek:

Should I just stick with my car and maybe sell in 2021?:rolleyes:

Badger2009

Just do it. You won't regret it.

wpd

the dealer isnt going to do you any favours - you will see dollar signs in his eyes when you have this conversation

Shefwedfan

Dont do via a dealer...they will rob you blind

Start advertising it now on car website and see if you can sell at decent value that way

omri

I'm about to potentialy do the same thing with my car, I want bigger car with more powaaahh

JC01

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Dont do via a dealer...they will rob you blind

Start advertising it now on car website and see if you can sell at decent value that way

It’ll be almost impossible to sell that kind of car privately unless the OP takes a massive hit on value, who’s going to hand over that kind of money in a private deal with absolutely zero protection? Never mind the market for people buying a new golf for cash is tiny in the first place.

OP, if you really want a GTI then do it but it is going to sting cost wise, you’ll also need to have your sums done regarding what you’ll lose on the 1.4 and how much the GTI itself is going to actually cost.

_Brian

You already realise this is going to cost big time.

Go on in and see what the cost of change is going to be, it won’t hurt to ask.

Oh, price your insurance too.

Del2005

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Dont do via a dealer...they will rob you blind

Start advertising it now on car website and see if you can sell at decent value that way

If I saw a <9 month old car for private sale it would be ringing so many alarms I'd go deaf. A dealer will have fat to do a deal a private buyer with that amount of cash would be crazy to buy private.

omri

@OP

It wont cost you a lot to put it for sale privately. €10 at most and few minutes of your time. If someone buys it great if not it's not a big loss either.

Few phone calls to dealers for a potential trade in will again take a bit of your time and wont cost you anything more above that - you don't need to take their offers either.

Some garages in the North will take your irish car as a trade in - on what terms I don't know but that's again few phone calls and you'll have all the info you need.

At the end of the day its your car, your money and your decision. If it's worth it for you then that's what matters.

Shefwedfan

Del2005 wrote: »

If I saw a <9 month old car for private sale it would be ringing so many alarms I'd go deaf. A dealer will have fat to do a deal a private buyer with that amount of cash would be crazy to buy private.

Car will have manufacturer warranty.....anything major goes bang it will be covered. I think on Golf it is 4 years?



you can bring to VW and get them to check over before buying....they provide a full report now with video of underneath etc.....



If someone was in the market for a nearly new car it could make sense and then take the dealer margin out of it.....


It costs a tenner to advertise so what is going to hurt from putting it up?

JoeA3

Del2005 wrote: »

If I saw a <9 month old car for private sale it would be ringing so many alarms I'd go deaf. A dealer will have fat to do a deal a private buyer with that amount of cash would be crazy to buy private.

It's hardly that unusual. People sell up early for all sorts of reasons. The car will still be under a comprehensive manufacturer's warranty which takes away a big chunk of any perceived risk...

That said, it'll need to be a fair bit cheaper than similar cars on dealer forecourts to attract a buyer.

declan123

There are plenty of private customers for expensive cars, not as many as the cheaper stuff. Look at all the folks buying expensive stuff in the UK, they are cash buyers. I'f your priced competitively with an equivalent import and you are able to present it for sale in good condition you will sell.

Doyler99

Thanks for all the feedback. Don't think I'll go down the road of selling it privately just don't have the time for it tbh!

I know most comments are saying the dealer will essentially be making a big buck off me which is fair enough and I'll have to accept that to get my dream car I suppose! On a side note, wouldn't the depreciation of the car counter that to an extent? As in my car will have probably lost around 5-7k if not more of its value in Jan 2019 but as new cars take a bigger depreciation hit in the first three years and if I went for say a 2015/2016 GTI would that balance out or no?

I see people on here saying that there is a tonne of VW PCPs up in 2019....will that be more of a good or negative factor in selling a car and looking for a 2nd hand one?

Hitman3000

Do what makes you happy if you can afford it.

Casati

I do think you’d be mad getting an older GTI as really the difference between your 1.4 and the GTI isn’t going to be as great as you think. That 1.4 is a peach of an engine with 150bhp and 250nm at a low 1500rev’s. The ACT is technology missing from the GTI too

The spec on the Highline especially if you got the tech pack, is probably better than what you’d find on a GTI two years older too

If you really want more power then I’d get it remapped, close to 180ps and over 300nm is feasible and that gets you a car that is fairly close to the GTI too

Pkiernan

JC01 wrote: »

It’ll be almost impossible to sell that kind of car privately unless the OP takes a massive hit on value, who’s going to hand over that kind of money in a private deal with absolutely zero protection? Never mind the market for people buying a new golf for cash is tiny in the first place.

OP, if you really want a GTI then do it but it is going to sting cost wise, you’ll also need to have your sums done regarding what you’ll lose on the 1.4 and how much the GTI itself is going to actually cost.

It will have full VW warranty remaining on it

JC01

Pkiernan wrote: »

It will have full VW warranty remaining on it

That’s far from full protection on a car, could be crashed, stolen and cloned, a particularly troublesome car etc. etc.

I’m sure it’s none of the above but there all going to be things in a potential customers mind when they hand over 25k+ to a random stranger in any car deal not just the OPs

Shefwedfan

JC01 wrote: »

That’s far from full protection on a car, could be crashed, stolen and cloned, a particularly troublesome car etc. etc.

I’m sure it’s none of the above but there all going to be things in a potential customers mind when they hand over 25k+ to a random stranger in any car deal not just the OPs

You do realise people buy cars all the time for 25k+ second hand. Not from garages either, from people on the street. High end BMW, Merc, Audi etc will not be less than 25k and people sell privately



Of course having a VW warranty is a very good protection.



All the other items you listed can be done on a car check from the many vendors....


A particularly troublesome car has what protection from a garage? that would be covered by the manufacturer warranty.....

Casati

Shefwedfan wrote: »

You do realise people buy cars all the time for 25k+ second hand. Not from garages either, from people on the street. High end BMW, Merc, Audi etc will not be less than 25k and people sell privately



Of course having a VW warranty is a very good protection.



All the other items you listed can be done on a car check from the many vendors....


A particularly troublesome car has what protection from a garage? that would be covered by the manufacturer warranty.....

I’d say one stumbling block is availablilty of credit with private purchase, I might be wrong but I think credit unions/ banks might want you buying off a garage??

I’ve personally bought one car over 20k and sold two over 15k via donedeal. No issue either way bar confirming payment as banks won’t confirm bank drafts over the phone, but the last car I sold we did electronic payment there and then. An online report for 20 quid will confirm if written off, finance outstanding etc and with manufacturers warranty remaining I agree that the risk is minimal

JC01

Shefwedfan wrote: »

You do realise people buy cars all the time for 25k+ second hand. Not from garages either, from people on the street. High end BMW, Merc, Audi etc will not be less than 25k and people sell privately



Of course having a VW warranty is a very good protection.



All the other items you listed can be done on a car check from the many vendors....


A particularly troublesome car has what protection from a garage? that would be covered by the manufacturer warranty.....

Of course I do, I’ve sold a few, each sale has been a nightmare. The experience has thought me that there is a very small pool of customers at that end of the market for the simple reason that most people spending decent money will go to a dealer.

A dealer will sell a 25k car a lot easier than a private individual that’s a fact.

As for your manufacture warranty point it’s really not that simple in practice. I’m ex motor trade so I’ve been on both sides of the counter on that one.

milhous

I'm in the same boat. Bought in Jan. I'm in a kind of worse situation where I bought a vw but want to go buy a different make. By the sounds of the garages I've visited I'll have lost the guts of 9k.... a grand a month

So looks like I'm gonna keep this car for another year or two hahaha

Doyler99

milhous wrote: »

I'm in the same boat. Bought in Jan. I'm in a kind of worse situation where I bought a vw but want to go buy a different make. By the sounds of the garages I've visited I'll have lost the guts of 9k.... a grand a month

So looks like I'm gonna keep this car for another year or two hahaha

Depreciation is a killer.... This was the first brand new car I bought so learned a few lessons but I'll never probably be buying a new car again. I think it's best to stick with the 3 year old bracket to avoid the mega deprecation!

milhous

Doyler99 wrote: »

Depreciation is a killer.... This was the first brand new car I bought so learned a few lessons but I'll never probably be buying a new car again. I think it's best to stick with the 3 year old bracket to avoid the mega deprecation!

3years is prob where it's at, I'd say we'll keep one new(for the wife and kids) and one fun car (bought two new ones this year). I'm aiming to keep the fun one for 5 years when I buy it so will need to be fresh enough, not completely set on what it will be though.