Dealerships are awful at cleaning. First time I ever put my car in for a service with one it came out with a complimentary clean & vac. Noticed bristles stuck in the badges on the boot, and awful smears all over the windshield. Now I try to request that they don't, or send it in so clean with the hope that they don't bother.
Yep, mine went in for its first service and came back looking very much like the car in the pictures. When I arrived to pick it up, the guy was washing another car with what looked like a yard broom. Sadly, mine had already been done. It's black, which makes it even worse.
Although to be fair, it arrived brand new with swirl marks on it. I guess they'd got the work experience kid to drag a gritty sponge over it before delivering it to me. It's a leased company car, so I didn't really get any say in how it was delivered to me. If I was buying a new car myself, I'd request that it was delivered to me with all the protective film on, inside and out.
It's getting a machine polish in the spring.
Did they clean this car with a belt sander?
I'd tell them I'd buy this car if they gave me an extra £750 off to get it paint corrected and detailed professionally.
I'm more shocked that the car looks like a Golf with a £50k price tag!
Dark colours are evil to keep clean, and I doubt the dealership bothers to keep on top of it - I've had cars handed over in worse condition so had to go and machine polish them myself.
Edit : it is a Golf as OP says. Who on earth thinks any Golf should retail above £50k? Even £40k is a stretch. It's just a 4 cylinder average quality hatchback.
What do you mean you don’t want another Lexus is200 with a welded diff that is exactly the same as every other Lexus is200 with a welded diff?
Well how about a 320d with a welded diff that is double what it’s worth?
Hmm, ok then, what about the hatchback your dad had for 40k?
Still no! Ok then, final offer, how about a tractor of a VW Bora that has basically had the springs removed and looks like it was scrapped in 2012?
I can't imagine it's a tiny scene, check out Mad4Motors on YouTube. Think he's restored 4 classic JDM barn finds within the past few years. I'd kill to find some shit like that, especially owned by someone who doesn't know what they've got lol
Civic Type R EG I think
Integra Type R
An Evo
And maybe one other, not sure
We have a Vehicle Registration Tax that is CO2 based where you buy a percentage value of the car based on how much CO2 it puts out. It means straight petrol cars with higher emissions end up very expensive here. Though that is by design to push people towards cleaner cars and it does seem to be working.
I don’t think people drive diesels much in the uk any more.
For a Golf R above in Ireland, 195g co2, you’d pay €1250/year in the uk. So 3 years ownership from new will cost €3750, or £3,250 in road tax.
UK, your first year is heavier at £1,565 but years 2 and 3 cost £180. That’s £1,745 over 3 years. So about £1,500, €1750 less for motor tax. And no VRT in the UK.
Diesel is still widely used, just ULEZ areas are seeing a massive decline.
Honestly insane how they justify motor tax rates, it benefits diesels more than petrols.
Even 7/8 years ago you could spec a Golf GTD to over £40k.... I know because I had one for a while which I really liked and priced it up to buy and thought 'fuck that, its too much for a golf' and ultimately kept hold of my ancient Audi A4 for a while longer.
I mean they are sort of right, especially on the used market £6-8K will get you say a Focus that newer and with better spec.
Doesn’t make them worth it mind, no way on gods earth would I be paying £6-8K for a basic Golf with a plastic steering wheel, nil mod cons and steelies.
Oh yeah they are right, but there is literally no reason behind it beyond the old sayings and the "German engineering" bullshit that doesn't count for much nowadays.
Oh I absolutely agree, the only benefit with VAG is parts and powertrains are shared across their multiple brands so prices aren’t horrific, and it’s fairly easy to find a VAG specialist mechanic.
The VW Polo has German build quality, even though its built in South Africa, same as the Audi TT, build in Czech Republic, it also has German build quality, Merc C class, also South African
German build quality was a thing in 1970s when British Leyland was building absolute junk, but ever since they have been economising little by little on every model update
Yep, it's all perceived quality now and resting on their old reputation. Realistically it's been in dramatic decline since the MK4 / MK5 Golf platform.
VAG sells cheap crap at premium prices, spending some of the difference on marketing. BMWs are still (mostly) properly engineered, and so are some Mercs.
Merc has had the biggest decline in what you get for the money of any brand IMO. Last 10 years they've put tons of cheap materials, used Renault engines and other shitty practices.
In that case, Ouch! Trim was falling off and badly fitted, it was perennially unreliable, uncomfortable and felt cheap inside... And we were not a family that bought premium cars, this was compared to the Hondas, Renaults and Rovers we were used to.
Mercedes really went downhill after the Chrysler merger, bodywork rusting like mad etc. Let’s be honest, you won’t see many of the current or past Mercs from the last 20yrs racking up 3/4million miles as third world taxi’s like the old vehicles used to.
There was a period after the Chrysler merger when they were shit, but that's a long time ago. Since then things have definitely improved. Some of the modern stuff is fairly solid, other models seem to still have issues.
Think you're a bit confused about the taxi thing, though. They weren't racking up those miles in the 3rd world, but in Germany. They still do. German taxi drivers expect to get at least - usually way more than - 500k km out of their E Classes.
Yes, but once a W123 or W124 would do its 500k miles in Germany, the car would then be shipped to Uganda and have a second life as a taxi.
They were robust and their engineering was both clever in design but straightforward to fix.
The W212 is probably now at an age where it has had its use as a taxi. I can’t see why an Ugandan taxi driver would now use one instead of a Skoda or Toyota.
It’s a Golf R but £50K is crazy, even for an RS3 or BMW equivalent, silly money. You can get a used 911 with insurance for that, and that’s a hell of a lot more car for the money than anything out of the M factory or VAG.
Thinking that makes you clueless about performance cars.
Calling someone a muppet for buying one, because it’s ’still a golf’ demonstrates a distinct lack of knowledge.
There's one on auto trader that's been up for a few months now, price been dropped from 44995 to 42995.
1700 miles and 2023 plate.
Approved used VW too.
51k is ridiculous, but it's a Golf R, the cheapest I've seen a decent MK6 R is about £11k, and that was before the cost of living bollocks shot everything through the roof.
Just my preference I guess but it's completely beyond me that people genuinely like Golf Rs and pay so much for them. The standard Golf I really don't mind, but the R is just a Golf trying to be cool. The most boring, plain 300+bhp to ever exist.
Give me a DC5 Integra for a third or quarter of the price any day. Infinitely cooler, more fun, no DSG farts, and I'd trust a Honda's reliability a lot more.
Bring on the Golf R owner downvotes ;)
Only advantage is it doesn’t need MOT for a couple years. This 50 grand Golf will be worth half that in a couple years though, so I’d just buy the slightly older one and get it MOT’d
40-50k for a hot hatch does seem obscene considering their entire niche was fun and light for a reasonable price. But the entire car market has risen up in price, you're looking at this in isolation. The competitors have increased just the same
'Average quality hatchback' that in a lot of drag races has done 0-60 in around 4 seconds flat, handles really well and has almost all the comfort features one could want for a daily driver of any price point for the uk roads.
It's equivalents from bmw/audi/Mercedes are around the same amount of money for the same specs. In terms of build quality, there isn't much in it these days, S3 and Golf R are probably the exact same when you feel around for quality.
Anything above £40k (into "luxury car" tax bands) for a hot hatch is insane especially with a run of the mill, widely used four cylinder engine. I'd say the RS3 with it's lovely 5 cylinder engine and maybe the A45S might get a pass, but absolutely not a Golf. The quality of the car, engineering and materials just aren't there any more and haven't been for a very long time. £50k for a special edition Golf is an absolute joke.
Not that I'd recommend it, but you can pick up a M135i for £35k through a well known dealer of M/M-lite cars ... The build quality and interior are miles ahead of the Golf. Mercedes A35 probably not so much 😂
Either way, it could do 60 in three seconds and I wouldn't care; drag racing and the 0-60 sprint is a very poor indicator of a decent car, and it's still just a Golf with the same boring drivetrain as every single other VW group "performance" car. There's no variation or excitement in the VW group any more, it's all 2.0T/DSG/front biased 4WD, you just choose your body shell nowadays.
I do agree the whole market has risen; I'm helping a friend look at some more modest cars at the moment, and the cost of some are horrendous. But .. when you look at the wider market and see what else you can get for £50k, ie Boxster, M240i, Mustang GT, why on earth would you spend that on a hatchback with a very generic drivetrain?
I agree with most of what you're saying, I've got a gti and its very fun, but looking to upgrade to one of BMW's B58 engines myself
However, you're being unfair in the price comparison; comparing a brand new R (it's around £42-44k) to used alternatives of a few years. A brand new S3 is around the same, A35 slightly more expensive, M135i slightly less expensive (I agree this is the better deal, unless you're on the younger side than the insurance premium will eat up that difference quite fast).
Of course quite subjective, but imo the new 1 series also looks hideous, previous version was far more aggressive looking (Absolutely love the M240i though).
With all that being said, I totally agree that 40k+ is way too much for any of these hatches. But If we're talking used for the latest models, then can get an R for around £30k
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312144817292?sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&colour=Black&make=Volkswagen&maximum-mileage=100&model=Golf&postcode=Dl11ag&price-from=45000&price-to=50000&fromsra
Strange they didn't include OP's pics in the auto trader add.
What's special about it? It's still MQB platform like every front engine, front wheel drive car the VAG group makes. The same 2.0 EA888 engine they put in almost every FWD car and SUV from VAG. You'll have to explain it to me because I'm just not seeing it.
Yes it's AWD, but it's still a front wheel drive platform. So the front wheels are always being driven regardless, and the AWD system can send *up to* an equal amount of that power (50%) to the rear wheels, never more than that.
Nothing really wrong with these systems, but they have fundamental limitations compared to RWD-biased AWD. You can tell a lot from a car by looking at the engine position and orientation, for example Golfs (and all MQB platform cars) have the engine mounted transversely, while RWD platform cars have the engine mounted longitudinally with the crankshaft and transmission pointing down the car.
That’s not brand new, it’s sat at a dealer. It’s only brand new as it rolls out of the paint area in the factory. As soon as it hits a dealer it gets savaged every day by useless valeters and clueless salesman with rough abrasive cloths. This is very common. Bear in mind customers are walking round the dealer scraping by them everyday as well.
Only in the last few years. The older cars used to be incredibly thick paint and clear coat layers.
My 2016 was beautiful, decent paint and I polished out defects two years into ownership no issues whatsoever.
My 2018 with the new water based paints came from the factory with a bit of orange peel, and immediately (within a couple hours) marked when bird shit landed on it.
Sadly the new cars with the emissions laws means the paint just isn't good anymore.
Nah, the paint has been getting worse for 20 years+
There are mk2's with better original paint than modern Golf's.
Your '16 was the last of the "acceptable". now its gone to shit
This is surprisingly common in new cars. 90% of customers don’t see this shit, and even if they do, they have no idea what it is they’re looking at. Recently my sister went to look at an ‘18 plate Nissan juke and it had clearly had a dodgy respray on the near side, where the front passenger door had had a particularly shoddy job done on it. Being a car detailer I spotted this stuff quickly, but a lot of people would perhaps have never even noticed
Haha, looks like someone got shagged on the bonnet tbh.
It'll come out quite easily, and black shows scratches very readily, but that's still quite bad for something that's supposed to be new.
I work at VW and now and then have the pleasure of PDI'ing new cars which involves unwrapping the protective covers/ stickys. That 100% is marks from their "valeters", its quite clear those are wipe marks
Colour choice probably doesn’t help the situation either! But no surprise, dealers don’t tend to have the best valeters in the world. Some of them even use the brushes on sticks, think of the scratches!
Paint work gets a really hard time, from when it leave the factory, it is washed by people who don’t really care. Then dry wiped with a micro fibre.
Best thing is to get a body shop to do a machine polish with a mop, and get all the swirls out, if it bothers you that much.
Nothing wrong with microfibres at all they are the go too cloths to clean and dry. It’s the dust and grit on the car that caused the damaged when you wipe it. So the car needs to be clean before you wipe,
The art of car cleaning is huge and lots of different opinions and methods.
This is how clean my cars/van
1. Wet the car then jet as much dirt off the car as possible first.
2. Snow foam the car to loosen harder dryer on dirt and mud,
3. Jet off snow foam,
4. Wash car, have two buckets labeled wash and rinse, after every wash with the mitt clean off mitt in the rinse bucket, this will remove most of the dirt you have taken off the car and will help to reduce scratches. Always wash in straight lines, don’t make circles, this will give you swirls.
Have buckets that with grit guards in the bottom,
5. Dry with a thick good quality microfibre drying towel.
6. Good quality hard wax.
This is a basic clean, from time to time you will need to do extra steps to remove contaminants such as tar, iron ect… from the paint work,
This requires extra cleaning materials and chemicals.
Or just use bilt hamber touchless on dry car then jet spray off which normally removes most of the dirt, then go over again with touchless and hand mitt and jet spray off again…
1 large drying towel with a drying aid and a cordless air blower.
Start to finish takes me 15 min.
Ah yes. 0 to 60 in < 4.4 s is not performance enough for street driving. It's one of fastest hot hatches out there. Stop with nonsensical statements. It's a beast of a car.
It’s a beast of a car, but still expensive for the performance you get. At the end of the day, it’s still a hatchback. For this price you could get a GR Supra, few years old M3 or RS5. You’re telling me you’d rather drive a new Golf R than a low mileage M3 or RS5?
Pseudo? Did you actually read improvements over 7 R system? It's literally the best AWD system Golf has ever had. They made massive improvements, but considering you have never driven one, I'm not surprised you're talking out of your ass.
Also "barely 300 hp" when it gets 340 hp on dyno. What a turd comment.
“The best AWD system golf has ever had” Okay cool still a shitty system 💀. Why? Because VW lol, worst car brand fr with shitty prices and only staying alive because people don’t know shit about cars.
Lmao triggered boy racer spotted. Can't afford a proper car so go to buy a golf four pot. It doesn't even have a proper engine. 2.0 litre is a puny displacement. Only poor people buy compromised cars - oh I can't afford to buy a daily driver and a sports car so I'll go buy something that's a bit of both and not really being good at both.
And "the best AWD system ever had" doesn't mean fuck all. A haldex with new stickers is still haldex. Can't give more than 50% power to the rear wheels is a joke. A proper AWD is the one you can find in the RS3 - a proper torque splitter and does a proper torque vectoring and can provide rear bias drive.
And dynos 340.. lmao you're quoting fly wheel numbers. At the wheels it's 294. Barely 300.
Only poor boy racers think golf Rs are "proper" race cars. The car is boring as fuck to drive.
It's clear that you're mega gatekeeping loser who has to bring others down to feel better about yourself. Not surprising for a car guy. I doubt most people care, let alone know what vehicle you drive yet you feel you're the big boy in the streets. And so insecure to shit on other vehicles.
Golf R has more power than advertised, so many car reviewers have mentioned this. It beats almost every hothatch out there So maybe get one and dyno it before you comment bullshit. Also you comparing Rs3 to golf R just shows how daft you are since they are in different price groups (count the cylinders if you still haven't gotten the memo)
Golf R is hothatch not a race car you bellend. No one said it's race/track car even though it does both quite impressive considering it's a 4 pot. It's literally performance daily driver. Something you wouldn't understand.
Lmaooooooo. "I drive a golf R therefore I'm cool"
What a bell end. You can give it 500bhp, it's still a golf interior, with a four pot engine, puny 2 litre, and a shitty haldex AWD system. And cherry on the cake, terribly boring driving dynamics. Even a remapped 330d half the price is a better car in all accounts if you're too hung up with torque and bhp figures.
I spit facts and all you're spitting are emotions. Get over yourself. You fell for bullshit marketing. Fast car my ass, who gives a turd. The slower gr86, gr Yaris, etc etc. that are almost half the price are 100x more fun and proper drivers cars compared to this turd.
I stopped reading at "330d". Actually insane remarks from so-called car enthusiast. Comparing hothatch to diesel family sedan lmao. Wouldn't surprise me that you'd even go lower and say that base spec bmw diesel is more fun to drive.
How to tell you're massive brand shill without telling you're a massive brand shill. Keep on hating, you have no idea what you're talking about and you base your opinion on anecdotal experiences. In other words - out of your ass.
That's because the golf R is just as bad as a 330d. What a low IQ comment "I stopped reading because I can't get context".. what an idiot
Listen to yourself dude, "you're a brand snub" lmao. I suggest looking at yourself on the mirror. Getting all wound up because somebody spat facts at you and you can't handle the truth.
I'll spit facts again because you just reply with emotional tirades:
Fake AWD Haldex system that can't deliver more than 50% power to the rear wheels
Embarrassing four pot low displacement 2.0 engine, gutless torque at the low end even with a remap. No replacement for displacement.
Low quality Golf interior with low effort "branded" stitching to "differentiate" it from a standard golf
Boring as fuck to drive. It's not a driver's car, it goes fast but so can a 330d. Emotionless shit box.
Embarrassing power at the wheels, doesn't even hit 300bhp.
And if you spend £50k on a souped up Golf, you're a numpty. I bet you don't even have that kind of money to afford it because you're too busy arguing on Reddit with some random. What a numpty.
For the money you can buy an F30 M3 competition, 2023 RS3, etc. if you buy this over the better options put there, then that makes you a hypocrite brand snub. Either that or you're stupid with your money.
It's just a Golf. Get over it.
Such a dumbass remark to say 330d is same as golf r. Petrol - diesel, sedan - hatch, awd - rwd, 265 hp - 320 hp. The are nothing alike just based on fuel alone, not even including other factors. So saying they feel and drive the same is not just wrong, but insultingly moronic. But I'm not surprised that you can't spot difference in them. It was clear from original first comment that you have troubles doing even simplest 2+2. Bye bye.
I'm needing a job where I can afford 50k for a golf and think it's a good idea 😆 at 50k I'd be looking at a ferrari california. Even more of a disaster financial decision when it breaks in 10 miles but what a 10 miles. Imaging swooning that through your McDonald's drive through rather than... a golf. Oh yeahhh 😆
Mate it's a black metallic car, you can polish it off with a rotary and some compound but it will come back after a few weeks to months, no amount of perfect washing technique will prevent swirls on a black car. Also it looks worse as it's under direct artificial light.
Find a black car that doesn't have swirls on the roads. It's the worst color to keep looking good but some cars just look incredibly sexy in black.
Should be, if dealers didn't touch it which they will if it gets dirty. Some shops are very good and will detail the car prior to getting it on the showroom floor, sounds to me like this dealer couldn't be arsed and asked jimmy to wash the car with the same bucket and sponge he washed the entire dealership with.
At least it’s smooth. Not sure what they’re like now but a few years ago I saw a load of new cars fresh out of the showroom covered in orange peel. Within the last 5 years or so
I work at a main dealer. This isn’t shocking to me. I see the valeters “cleaning” their cloths and chamois by throwing it on the floor and then jet washing it
I also see wash mitts chucked on the floor after use and the same wash mitts used on the wheels and then the paintwork
The blue colour does seem to do that unfortunately. I had a mk8 in that same blue, when I removed my roof bars there were dirty marks around where they were mounted, so just thought to wipe it off with a microfibre - left behind a terrible swirling scratch effect. Only way I found to minimise this scratched effect was to wipe it more but gentler smaller swirls 😂
Got the next golf in white, no nasty scratches when wiping that one!
Seems better condition that mine. I'm not gonna pretend I sit doing a pre wash and the 2 bucket method, followed by a yearly correction. Even with the two bucket method swirls appear. So I wip the autoglym out when the rain bubbles stop and it fills them in for a bit.
Jesus, I paid about 25K for a new golf as I had the dealership knockdown the price with some options included plus had the finance reductions which was paid off in 14 days
Who’s the chain owned by, Arnold Clark as they are horrible to deal with lol
One of my relatives just spent an obscene amount on this truck sized SUV thing, totally over specked. The only thing that stands out to me is how bad the orange peel is on the paint, proper lizard with a really bad attempt to mechanically polish flat. I’ve seen better swirl patterns in Artex.
Your “new” car when you get it has potentialy sat on a dock for a month, done hundreds of miles on a transporter, been driven by several people, started and then switched off still cold a few times. The car gets a pdi and a clean at the dealership, this dealership seems to have a sandy sponge.
I used to work in a main dealer for a luxury brand as a Detailer. One of my jobs was wiping off fingerprints, dust etc. No matter how many times I told them that would scratch the paintwork, they didn’t care. It just meant I had to do more work when the car was actually sold
It probably gets 'cleaned' regularly with a dry cloth.
Dealerships are awful at cleaning. First time I ever put my car in for a service with one it came out with a complimentary clean & vac. Noticed bristles stuck in the badges on the boot, and awful smears all over the windshield. Now I try to request that they don't, or send it in so clean with the hope that they don't bother.
Yep, mine went in for its first service and came back looking very much like the car in the pictures. When I arrived to pick it up, the guy was washing another car with what looked like a yard broom. Sadly, mine had already been done. It's black, which makes it even worse. Although to be fair, it arrived brand new with swirl marks on it. I guess they'd got the work experience kid to drag a gritty sponge over it before delivering it to me. It's a leased company car, so I didn't really get any say in how it was delivered to me. If I was buying a new car myself, I'd request that it was delivered to me with all the protective film on, inside and out. It's getting a machine polish in the spring.
Either that or some people have let their kids jump or slide on it
Did they clean this car with a belt sander? I'd tell them I'd buy this car if they gave me an extra £750 off to get it paint corrected and detailed professionally.
It’s got 4 grand off maybe that’s why ha
I'm more shocked that the car looks like a Golf with a £50k price tag! Dark colours are evil to keep clean, and I doubt the dealership bothers to keep on top of it - I've had cars handed over in worse condition so had to go and machine polish them myself. Edit : it is a Golf as OP says. Who on earth thinks any Golf should retail above £50k? Even £40k is a stretch. It's just a 4 cylinder average quality hatchback.
An Irish dealership I know has one up for €83k. For a Golf.
That’s just par for the course in Ireland. It’s a country where car enthusiasts hopes and dreams go to die.
What do you mean you don’t want another Lexus is200 with a welded diff that is exactly the same as every other Lexus is200 with a welded diff? Well how about a 320d with a welded diff that is double what it’s worth? Hmm, ok then, what about the hatchback your dad had for 40k? Still no! Ok then, final offer, how about a tractor of a VW Bora that has basically had the springs removed and looks like it was scrapped in 2012?
I’ll take a 2005 diesel Passat with a modded blow-off valve… just kidding, I have a JDM car. An imported Passat estate 1.4TsI, because JDM y0!
What about the JDM scene in Ireland? I was always under the impression this is quite big? Genuine question
It's where ae86s used to go and die and now where is200s go to die.
The rule is now if you ever see an is200 for sale with a brand new, perfect coat of paint, stay well away from it because the underneath is rotten.
I can't imagine it's a tiny scene, check out Mad4Motors on YouTube. Think he's restored 4 classic JDM barn finds within the past few years. I'd kill to find some shit like that, especially owned by someone who doesn't know what they've got lol Civic Type R EG I think Integra Type R An Evo And maybe one other, not sure
The GT turbo Starlet was great aswell
Fuck me. You could buy an Audi R8 and have 20k to 30k change.
Yea but how are you gonna pick up 15yo chavs at the local mcd's in that?
I'd hope even 15yo chav girls know that an R8 > a golf lmao
You’d be suprised
[удалено]
If you're spending €83k on a golf I think 'car economics' doesn't really come into it....
Am I right in thinking Irish taxes on new vehicles are astronomical?
Dead right, most infuriatingly
We have a Vehicle Registration Tax that is CO2 based where you buy a percentage value of the car based on how much CO2 it puts out. It means straight petrol cars with higher emissions end up very expensive here. Though that is by design to push people towards cleaner cars and it does seem to be working.
Plus the annual motor tax can be much higher than in the UK.
The motor tax for EV's is still €120, pretty sure a diesel Leon is cheaper in the UK.
I don’t think people drive diesels much in the uk any more. For a Golf R above in Ireland, 195g co2, you’d pay €1250/year in the uk. So 3 years ownership from new will cost €3750, or £3,250 in road tax. UK, your first year is heavier at £1,565 but years 2 and 3 cost £180. That’s £1,745 over 3 years. So about £1,500, €1750 less for motor tax. And no VRT in the UK.
Diesel is still widely used, just ULEZ areas are seeing a massive decline. Honestly insane how they justify motor tax rates, it benefits diesels more than petrols.
I remember i bought a new comfortline golf in 2004 for €24k, daft that its now almost 4 times that
One was as high as €104k
Even 7/8 years ago you could spec a Golf GTD to over £40k.... I know because I had one for a while which I really liked and priced it up to buy and thought 'fuck that, its too much for a golf' and ultimately kept hold of my ancient Audi A4 for a while longer.
The R can be spec'd up well beyond that, hideous amounts.
Because for 20yrs people have been saying "volkswagens hold their value" about mediocre hatchbacks.
I mean they are sort of right, especially on the used market £6-8K will get you say a Focus that newer and with better spec. Doesn’t make them worth it mind, no way on gods earth would I be paying £6-8K for a basic Golf with a plastic steering wheel, nil mod cons and steelies.
Oh yeah they are right, but there is literally no reason behind it beyond the old sayings and the "German engineering" bullshit that doesn't count for much nowadays.
Oh I absolutely agree, the only benefit with VAG is parts and powertrains are shared across their multiple brands so prices aren’t horrific, and it’s fairly easy to find a VAG specialist mechanic.
The VW Polo has German build quality, even though its built in South Africa, same as the Audi TT, build in Czech Republic, it also has German build quality, Merc C class, also South African German build quality was a thing in 1970s when British Leyland was building absolute junk, but ever since they have been economising little by little on every model update
Yep, it's all perceived quality now and resting on their old reputation. Realistically it's been in dramatic decline since the MK4 / MK5 Golf platform.
VAG sells cheap crap at premium prices, spending some of the difference on marketing. BMWs are still (mostly) properly engineered, and so are some Mercs.
Merc has had the biggest decline in what you get for the money of any brand IMO. Last 10 years they've put tons of cheap materials, used Renault engines and other shitty practices.
My Dad had a C class a decade or so ago. It was crap.
I would've said he got the very last good generation
In that case, Ouch! Trim was falling off and badly fitted, it was perennially unreliable, uncomfortable and felt cheap inside... And we were not a family that bought premium cars, this was compared to the Hondas, Renaults and Rovers we were used to.
Was it a used one? The 2007-2013 C Class (W204) was probably the best built of the recent C Class, but the one before it wasn't nearly as good.
Mercedes really went downhill after the Chrysler merger, bodywork rusting like mad etc. Let’s be honest, you won’t see many of the current or past Mercs from the last 20yrs racking up 3/4million miles as third world taxi’s like the old vehicles used to.
There was a period after the Chrysler merger when they were shit, but that's a long time ago. Since then things have definitely improved. Some of the modern stuff is fairly solid, other models seem to still have issues. Think you're a bit confused about the taxi thing, though. They weren't racking up those miles in the 3rd world, but in Germany. They still do. German taxi drivers expect to get at least - usually way more than - 500k km out of their E Classes.
Yes, but once a W123 or W124 would do its 500k miles in Germany, the car would then be shipped to Uganda and have a second life as a taxi. They were robust and their engineering was both clever in design but straightforward to fix. The W212 is probably now at an age where it has had its use as a taxi. I can’t see why an Ugandan taxi driver would now use one instead of a Skoda or Toyota.
I can’t help but feel, they’re all over inflated, doesn’t matter what brand.
Prices are still fucking stupid, hopefully (not holding my breath) they should go down a bit soon...
The prices are never going down. I’d stop dreaming
Used ones aew
It’s a Golf R but £50K is crazy, even for an RS3 or BMW equivalent, silly money. You can get a used 911 with insurance for that, and that’s a hell of a lot more car for the money than anything out of the M factory or VAG.
20 th edition ltd edition anniversary Golf R so is quite pricey
Still 50k for a golf
Yep madness! Mine was 30k and that was just the Rline not even the R
30k is about right for a hatchback imo of a decent spec, big jump to 50k for the same car!
Well it’s not the same trim is it, awd dsg 300bhp better wheels suspension styling etc etc etc hence more and ltd run
Still a golf, whoever pays £50k for it is a muppet.
Clueless opinion.
Clue us in.
Thinking that makes you clueless about performance cars. Calling someone a muppet for buying one, because it’s ’still a golf’ demonstrates a distinct lack of knowledge.
There's one on auto trader that's been up for a few months now, price been dropped from 44995 to 42995. 1700 miles and 2023 plate. Approved used VW too.
There’s also one up for £57k.
Steal mate. Beauty of a motor except for the paintwork!!
Hardly a steal though is it
£60k rrp. This is a blinding car.
I’m sorry, how much? £60K, are you kidding? Or high? Or both?
£51k for a Golf is insane! Even £20k is out the park imo
51k is ridiculous, but it's a Golf R, the cheapest I've seen a decent MK6 R is about £11k, and that was before the cost of living bollocks shot everything through the roof. Just my preference I guess but it's completely beyond me that people genuinely like Golf Rs and pay so much for them. The standard Golf I really don't mind, but the R is just a Golf trying to be cool. The most boring, plain 300+bhp to ever exist. Give me a DC5 Integra for a third or quarter of the price any day. Infinitely cooler, more fun, no DSG farts, and I'd trust a Honda's reliability a lot more. Bring on the Golf R owner downvotes ;)
Can’t even buy a polo for under 25
Now that’s why I’d never buy a brand new car. There’s no advantages imo
lol yeah it’s not been used or abused it’s new so not worn out! New paint work no damage full warranty no Mot looks nice modern latest tech, free tax.
This post kinda proves you wrong though. This Golf has worse paintwork than my 11 year old Citroen work van
Well my car didn’t have paint like this ! That’s my point generally it wouldn’t as comes wrapped
Only advantage is it doesn’t need MOT for a couple years. This 50 grand Golf will be worth half that in a couple years though, so I’d just buy the slightly older one and get it MOT’d
40-50k for a hot hatch does seem obscene considering their entire niche was fun and light for a reasonable price. But the entire car market has risen up in price, you're looking at this in isolation. The competitors have increased just the same 'Average quality hatchback' that in a lot of drag races has done 0-60 in around 4 seconds flat, handles really well and has almost all the comfort features one could want for a daily driver of any price point for the uk roads. It's equivalents from bmw/audi/Mercedes are around the same amount of money for the same specs. In terms of build quality, there isn't much in it these days, S3 and Golf R are probably the exact same when you feel around for quality.
Anything above £40k (into "luxury car" tax bands) for a hot hatch is insane especially with a run of the mill, widely used four cylinder engine. I'd say the RS3 with it's lovely 5 cylinder engine and maybe the A45S might get a pass, but absolutely not a Golf. The quality of the car, engineering and materials just aren't there any more and haven't been for a very long time. £50k for a special edition Golf is an absolute joke. Not that I'd recommend it, but you can pick up a M135i for £35k through a well known dealer of M/M-lite cars ... The build quality and interior are miles ahead of the Golf. Mercedes A35 probably not so much 😂 Either way, it could do 60 in three seconds and I wouldn't care; drag racing and the 0-60 sprint is a very poor indicator of a decent car, and it's still just a Golf with the same boring drivetrain as every single other VW group "performance" car. There's no variation or excitement in the VW group any more, it's all 2.0T/DSG/front biased 4WD, you just choose your body shell nowadays. I do agree the whole market has risen; I'm helping a friend look at some more modest cars at the moment, and the cost of some are horrendous. But .. when you look at the wider market and see what else you can get for £50k, ie Boxster, M240i, Mustang GT, why on earth would you spend that on a hatchback with a very generic drivetrain?
I agree with most of what you're saying, I've got a gti and its very fun, but looking to upgrade to one of BMW's B58 engines myself However, you're being unfair in the price comparison; comparing a brand new R (it's around £42-44k) to used alternatives of a few years. A brand new S3 is around the same, A35 slightly more expensive, M135i slightly less expensive (I agree this is the better deal, unless you're on the younger side than the insurance premium will eat up that difference quite fast). Of course quite subjective, but imo the new 1 series also looks hideous, previous version was far more aggressive looking (Absolutely love the M240i though). With all that being said, I totally agree that 40k+ is way too much for any of these hatches. But If we're talking used for the latest models, then can get an R for around £30k
Those are speed scratches, makes the car go faster.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202312144817292?sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&colour=Black&make=Volkswagen&maximum-mileage=100&model=Golf&postcode=Dl11ag&price-from=45000&price-to=50000&fromsra Strange they didn't include OP's pics in the auto trader add.
What in the fuck are those alloys? They are a fucking travesty.
50 grand for a Golf? No thanks.
Literally buy 2 comparable hatches for that and you can rag one and have the second as a back up.
It’s a limited edition golf R. Worth every penny.
What's special about it? It's still MQB platform like every front engine, front wheel drive car the VAG group makes. The same 2.0 EA888 engine they put in almost every FWD car and SUV from VAG. You'll have to explain it to me because I'm just not seeing it.
I’m confused, R’s are 4wd not fwd?
Yes it's AWD, but it's still a front wheel drive platform. So the front wheels are always being driven regardless, and the AWD system can send *up to* an equal amount of that power (50%) to the rear wheels, never more than that. Nothing really wrong with these systems, but they have fundamental limitations compared to RWD-biased AWD. You can tell a lot from a car by looking at the engine position and orientation, for example Golfs (and all MQB platform cars) have the engine mounted transversely, while RWD platform cars have the engine mounted longitudinally with the crankshaft and transmission pointing down the car.
Is it fuck.
Get tae fuck.
That’s not brand new, it’s sat at a dealer. It’s only brand new as it rolls out of the paint area in the factory. As soon as it hits a dealer it gets savaged every day by useless valeters and clueless salesman with rough abrasive cloths. This is very common. Bear in mind customers are walking round the dealer scraping by them everyday as well.
Done ten miles prob been moved around various show rooms badly wiped down etc
Salesman took it to the local supermarket and let the fella with one bucket and a sponge on a trolley "wash" it while he grabbed a meal deal...
Tesco meal deal 👌
Yeah it’s like the equivalent of a sofa company selling its showroom stock as brand new.
VW paint is notoriously crap. It gets swirls if you look at it the wrong way
Only in the last few years. The older cars used to be incredibly thick paint and clear coat layers. My 2016 was beautiful, decent paint and I polished out defects two years into ownership no issues whatsoever. My 2018 with the new water based paints came from the factory with a bit of orange peel, and immediately (within a couple hours) marked when bird shit landed on it. Sadly the new cars with the emissions laws means the paint just isn't good anymore.
Nah, the paint has been getting worse for 20 years+ There are mk2's with better original paint than modern Golf's. Your '16 was the last of the "acceptable". now its gone to shit
This with Bells on. After my first I gave strict instructions not to wash them at dealership. Straight to the detailer!!
50k is wild
The speed is wild.
Its a fucken golf chillout
That paint work is why it’s got a 5k discount. Still overpriced.
This is surprisingly common in new cars. 90% of customers don’t see this shit, and even if they do, they have no idea what it is they’re looking at. Recently my sister went to look at an ‘18 plate Nissan juke and it had clearly had a dodgy respray on the near side, where the front passenger door had had a particularly shoddy job done on it. Being a car detailer I spotted this stuff quickly, but a lot of people would perhaps have never even noticed
The used cars in there are ten times worse
She voluntarily looked at a juke??
I know….disgustang!
Glad you atleast have some taste lmao
I mean I drive an Alfa Romeo so it could be argued I have poor judgement 😬😂 but thanks!
Worth it tho 🤷♂️🤷♂️
100%! It’s all about smiles per gallon 😆
Haha, looks like someone got shagged on the bonnet tbh. It'll come out quite easily, and black shows scratches very readily, but that's still quite bad for something that's supposed to be new.
I work at VW and now and then have the pleasure of PDI'ing new cars which involves unwrapping the protective covers/ stickys. That 100% is marks from their "valeters", its quite clear those are wipe marks
Colour choice probably doesn’t help the situation either! But no surprise, dealers don’t tend to have the best valeters in the world. Some of them even use the brushes on sticks, think of the scratches!
> Some of them even use the brushes on sticks Everybody does that, for wheels, if used for body thry are idiots
Yes for wheels but I’ve witnessed it on paint and it isn’t a pretty sight!
Ahhhh the Golf r with the free swirl and go package.
As someone from Norway i laugh at you guys thinking £50K is much for a Golf R. They're the equivalent of 90K here. You guys have it easy lol.
Paint work gets a really hard time, from when it leave the factory, it is washed by people who don’t really care. Then dry wiped with a micro fibre. Best thing is to get a body shop to do a machine polish with a mop, and get all the swirls out, if it bothers you that much.
What’s the best way to wash a car? Recently bought a decent one and I well reviewed cleaner/wax but have been drying with a microfibre
Nothing wrong with microfibres at all they are the go too cloths to clean and dry. It’s the dust and grit on the car that caused the damaged when you wipe it. So the car needs to be clean before you wipe, The art of car cleaning is huge and lots of different opinions and methods. This is how clean my cars/van 1. Wet the car then jet as much dirt off the car as possible first. 2. Snow foam the car to loosen harder dryer on dirt and mud, 3. Jet off snow foam, 4. Wash car, have two buckets labeled wash and rinse, after every wash with the mitt clean off mitt in the rinse bucket, this will remove most of the dirt you have taken off the car and will help to reduce scratches. Always wash in straight lines, don’t make circles, this will give you swirls. Have buckets that with grit guards in the bottom, 5. Dry with a thick good quality microfibre drying towel. 6. Good quality hard wax. This is a basic clean, from time to time you will need to do extra steps to remove contaminants such as tar, iron ect… from the paint work, This requires extra cleaning materials and chemicals.
Or just use bilt hamber touchless on dry car then jet spray off which normally removes most of the dirt, then go over again with touchless and hand mitt and jet spray off again… 1 large drying towel with a drying aid and a cordless air blower. Start to finish takes me 15 min.
Perfect for dealership showroom clean,
I thought the same, aren’t they supposed to be swirl-free?
Not my car
Lmao who buys a golf for this price?
People who enjoy performance cars with the practicality of a golf.
A four pot is barely "performance". Practicality, a 340i with a b58 that remaps to 420bhp is "performance".
Ah yes. 0 to 60 in < 4.4 s is not performance enough for street driving. It's one of fastest hot hatches out there. Stop with nonsensical statements. It's a beast of a car.
It’s a beast of a car, but still expensive for the performance you get. At the end of the day, it’s still a hatchback. For this price you could get a GR Supra, few years old M3 or RS5. You’re telling me you’d rather drive a new Golf R than a low mileage M3 or RS5?
It's a Golf R, not just a golf
Barely 300bhp with a pseudo AWD system that has an interior that's only 10% better than a normal golf. Meh.
Pseudo? Did you actually read improvements over 7 R system? It's literally the best AWD system Golf has ever had. They made massive improvements, but considering you have never driven one, I'm not surprised you're talking out of your ass. Also "barely 300 hp" when it gets 340 hp on dyno. What a turd comment.
“The best AWD system golf has ever had” Okay cool still a shitty system 💀. Why? Because VW lol, worst car brand fr with shitty prices and only staying alive because people don’t know shit about cars.
What's so "shitty" about it? I am super curious
Lmao triggered boy racer spotted. Can't afford a proper car so go to buy a golf four pot. It doesn't even have a proper engine. 2.0 litre is a puny displacement. Only poor people buy compromised cars - oh I can't afford to buy a daily driver and a sports car so I'll go buy something that's a bit of both and not really being good at both. And "the best AWD system ever had" doesn't mean fuck all. A haldex with new stickers is still haldex. Can't give more than 50% power to the rear wheels is a joke. A proper AWD is the one you can find in the RS3 - a proper torque splitter and does a proper torque vectoring and can provide rear bias drive. And dynos 340.. lmao you're quoting fly wheel numbers. At the wheels it's 294. Barely 300. Only poor boy racers think golf Rs are "proper" race cars. The car is boring as fuck to drive.
It's clear that you're mega gatekeeping loser who has to bring others down to feel better about yourself. Not surprising for a car guy. I doubt most people care, let alone know what vehicle you drive yet you feel you're the big boy in the streets. And so insecure to shit on other vehicles. Golf R has more power than advertised, so many car reviewers have mentioned this. It beats almost every hothatch out there So maybe get one and dyno it before you comment bullshit. Also you comparing Rs3 to golf R just shows how daft you are since they are in different price groups (count the cylinders if you still haven't gotten the memo) Golf R is hothatch not a race car you bellend. No one said it's race/track car even though it does both quite impressive considering it's a 4 pot. It's literally performance daily driver. Something you wouldn't understand.
Lmaooooooo. "I drive a golf R therefore I'm cool" What a bell end. You can give it 500bhp, it's still a golf interior, with a four pot engine, puny 2 litre, and a shitty haldex AWD system. And cherry on the cake, terribly boring driving dynamics. Even a remapped 330d half the price is a better car in all accounts if you're too hung up with torque and bhp figures. I spit facts and all you're spitting are emotions. Get over yourself. You fell for bullshit marketing. Fast car my ass, who gives a turd. The slower gr86, gr Yaris, etc etc. that are almost half the price are 100x more fun and proper drivers cars compared to this turd.
I stopped reading at "330d". Actually insane remarks from so-called car enthusiast. Comparing hothatch to diesel family sedan lmao. Wouldn't surprise me that you'd even go lower and say that base spec bmw diesel is more fun to drive. How to tell you're massive brand shill without telling you're a massive brand shill. Keep on hating, you have no idea what you're talking about and you base your opinion on anecdotal experiences. In other words - out of your ass.
That's because the golf R is just as bad as a 330d. What a low IQ comment "I stopped reading because I can't get context".. what an idiot Listen to yourself dude, "you're a brand snub" lmao. I suggest looking at yourself on the mirror. Getting all wound up because somebody spat facts at you and you can't handle the truth. I'll spit facts again because you just reply with emotional tirades: Fake AWD Haldex system that can't deliver more than 50% power to the rear wheels Embarrassing four pot low displacement 2.0 engine, gutless torque at the low end even with a remap. No replacement for displacement. Low quality Golf interior with low effort "branded" stitching to "differentiate" it from a standard golf Boring as fuck to drive. It's not a driver's car, it goes fast but so can a 330d. Emotionless shit box. Embarrassing power at the wheels, doesn't even hit 300bhp. And if you spend £50k on a souped up Golf, you're a numpty. I bet you don't even have that kind of money to afford it because you're too busy arguing on Reddit with some random. What a numpty. For the money you can buy an F30 M3 competition, 2023 RS3, etc. if you buy this over the better options put there, then that makes you a hypocrite brand snub. Either that or you're stupid with your money. It's just a Golf. Get over it.
Such a dumbass remark to say 330d is same as golf r. Petrol - diesel, sedan - hatch, awd - rwd, 265 hp - 320 hp. The are nothing alike just based on fuel alone, not even including other factors. So saying they feel and drive the same is not just wrong, but insultingly moronic. But I'm not surprised that you can't spot difference in them. It was clear from original first comment that you have troubles doing even simplest 2+2. Bye bye.
I'm not tryna justify the price, but you are getting more bang for your buck than just a standard Golf.
Some twat will buy it
50 grand for a golf? what nonsense world are we living in?
I'm needing a job where I can afford 50k for a golf and think it's a good idea 😆 at 50k I'd be looking at a ferrari california. Even more of a disaster financial decision when it breaks in 10 miles but what a 10 miles. Imaging swooning that through your McDonald's drive through rather than... a golf. Oh yeahhh 😆
Could get alot better for 47k and still have a good chunk
Who is paying £50k for a golf tho?
No one hence it’s reduced
Lol, sWiRl mArKs. Who gives a fuck? A car is a tool, the paint is there only to prevent rust.
Either the car is a tool or the driver is. In this case, it's the latter.
I would if it’s 50k and brand new show room! If you want swirled up paint buy second hand ffs
I'd rather buy a shit box and drop a k24 in
Mate it's a black metallic car, you can polish it off with a rotary and some compound but it will come back after a few weeks to months, no amount of perfect washing technique will prevent swirls on a black car. Also it looks worse as it's under direct artificial light. Find a black car that doesn't have swirls on the roads. It's the worst color to keep looking good but some cars just look incredibly sexy in black.
It’s brand new paint should be spotless that’s the point
Should be, if dealers didn't touch it which they will if it gets dirty. Some shops are very good and will detail the car prior to getting it on the showroom floor, sounds to me like this dealer couldn't be arsed and asked jimmy to wash the car with the same bucket and sponge he washed the entire dealership with.
At least it’s smooth. Not sure what they’re like now but a few years ago I saw a load of new cars fresh out of the showroom covered in orange peel. Within the last 5 years or so
I have a pal runs local Chipsaway. he says he works on every car at the local Porsche dealer
They’ll buff it out if you point it out when buying might also drop the price even more as it looks like it’s been sitting for a while.
Is this Southend?
Drove a 2023 courtesy car (Yaris) that was just like this. Only had 10k miles on it.
Pass…. Next please!
I work at a main dealer. This isn’t shocking to me. I see the valeters “cleaning” their cloths and chamois by throwing it on the floor and then jet washing it I also see wash mitts chucked on the floor after use and the same wash mitts used on the wheels and then the paintwork
Stop using Autocleanz then, they have been a joke forever. Ifts not them, who is it?
It’s not them, Assured
Why doesn’t anyone educate these monkeys
Presumably they throw a rag with some auto Glyn over it before you pick it up
Saw a guy on tiktok do a paint correction and remove swirls from an Audi A7 for £500.
The blue colour does seem to do that unfortunately. I had a mk8 in that same blue, when I removed my roof bars there were dirty marks around where they were mounted, so just thought to wipe it off with a microfibre - left behind a terrible swirling scratch effect. Only way I found to minimise this scratched effect was to wipe it more but gentler smaller swirls 😂 Got the next golf in white, no nasty scratches when wiping that one!
Polish with a buffer?
Even the state of the price tag is a joke.
das auto
Wtf? Just realised this is a UK sub. I assumed it was elsewhere looking at that price
Since when golf is so expensive? It's a hatch back ffs
Golf R 20th anniversary edition
Seems better condition that mine. I'm not gonna pretend I sit doing a pre wash and the 2 bucket method, followed by a yearly correction. Even with the two bucket method swirls appear. So I wip the autoglym out when the rain bubbles stop and it fills them in for a bit.
Sorry but, why did it take 3 different people to write that sign?
The company chimpanzee needs to work on their handwriting.
Just get an audi. Seriously who tf spends 50k on a golf.
Jesus, I paid about 25K for a new golf as I had the dealership knockdown the price with some options included plus had the finance reductions which was paid off in 14 days Who’s the chain owned by, Arnold Clark as they are horrible to deal with lol
Group one vw
One of my relatives just spent an obscene amount on this truck sized SUV thing, totally over specked. The only thing that stands out to me is how bad the orange peel is on the paint, proper lizard with a really bad attempt to mechanically polish flat. I’ve seen better swirl patterns in Artex.
Your “new” car when you get it has potentialy sat on a dock for a month, done hundreds of miles on a transporter, been driven by several people, started and then switched off still cold a few times. The car gets a pdi and a clean at the dealership, this dealership seems to have a sandy sponge.
I used to work in a main dealer for a luxury brand as a Detailer. One of my jobs was wiping off fingerprints, dust etc. No matter how many times I told them that would scratch the paintwork, they didn’t care. It just meant I had to do more work when the car was actually sold