Very shocked at current VW build quality and price

Hades · 12 Apr 2010 at 19:29

I'm a VAG fan through and through, having had a series of Golfs, Scirocco's and TT's. My current car is a mk4 V6 4Motion which I think has very good build quality and good quality plastics. Today I found myself in my local garage parts dept and then casually took a look at the new Golfs. I was gobsmacked to find that not only was there a GTD on the forecourt, admittedly with leather and all the toys, for an astonishing £30k, but I thought the feel of the plastics and the switches had really gone a bit downhill. They felt flimsy and one of the switches in the roof (for a rear passenger light) flexed a large amount when I pressed it.

I really can't see me replacing my 4Mo with a mk6 anytime soon. I was quite disappointed to be honest.

iaind · 12 Apr 2010 at 19:31

You would dismiss a car entirely because some switches felt a bit flimsy :confused:

I think you've just explained why VW, as a mainstream manufacturer, seem to get away with such high prices

shrek2 · 12 Apr 2010 at 19:32

Why VW don't let Audi take the premium end of the market is beyond me tbh.
Golfs for 30k is ridiculous.

NathanE · 12 Apr 2010 at 19:39

30k for a VW hatchback is ridiculous.

Hades · 12 Apr 2010 at 19:42

iaind said:
You would dismiss a car entirely because some switches felt a bit flimsy

Of course not. But it would certainly count very much against any car that's over £30k.

Begbie · 12 Apr 2010 at 19:45

30k for a Golf is why I wouldn't go near one.

Joshy · 12 Apr 2010 at 19:47

When you say MK4, do you mean a MK4 golf? If so, I'm surprised because from what I've been told by countless VAG people that the MK4 Golf wasn't exactly VW's finest hour when it came to build quality?

Hades · 12 Apr 2010 at 19:47

I should add that the GTD was used and a year old. So god knows what its new list price was.

iaind · 12 Apr 2010 at 19:51

Joshy said:
When you say MK4, do you mean a MK4 golf? If so, I'm surprised because from what I've been told by countless VAG people that the MK4 Golf wasn't exactly VW's finest hour when it came to build quality?

The ones I've been in have been very good IMO

Hades said:
I should add that the GTD was used and a year old. So god knows what its new list price was.

Not that much more tbh, the residuals are ridiculous on these

Eliot · 12 Apr 2010 at 19:56

And people say focus rss are expensive

s0ck · 12 Apr 2010 at 20:05

iaind said:
You would dismiss a car entirely because some switches felt a bit flimsy

As would anyone who was used to a quality interior and about to spend phat moola on new tin.

peterattheboro · 12 Apr 2010 at 20:07

/waits for RobbieG....

iaind · 12 Apr 2010 at 20:08

s0ck said:
As would anyone who was used to a quality interior and about to spend phat moola on new tin.

Well it's fair enough if you're used to Audi interiors, you might not feel as happy in an Alfa - but it's not like the Mk4 is the ultimate quality interior and the Mk6 golf is a flimsy mess. Both are fairly solid mid sized hatchbacks. I cant believe anyone seriously looking to move from a Mk4 to a Mk6 would change thier mind because of interior quality

Participant · 12 Apr 2010 at 20:26

OP has every right to his opinion. It's just strange that the entire motoring press disagrees with him in terms of the refinement of the MkVI (but for JC). It's hard to comment on its build quality without driving it...I wonder if Hades did that or not. However, I agree that they're 'optimistically' priced.

You get many MkIV owners trying to convince themselves that the reason they won't buy a MkVI is that they're not very good. Very few will admit that the real reason is that they couldn't afford one.

[TW]Fox · 12 Apr 2010 at 20:29

Robbie G said:
You get many MkIV owners trying to convince themselves that the reason they won't buy a MkVI is that they're not very good. Very few will admit that the real reason is that they couldn't afford one.

As long as I have been on this forum I have remembered Hades having a Golf 4Motion. I suspect he bought it new - if not new, he certainly bought it nearly new.

He's probably in a better position to afford it than you were with your scrappage scheme finance deal. But then I can't say yet another 'I am rich, I drive an 09 Golf' comment from you came as a suprise.

[TW]Fox · 12 Apr 2010 at 20:30

iaind said:
I cant believe anyone seriously looking to move from a Mk4 to a Mk6 would change thier mind because of interior quality

Why not? It's one of the big reasons I refuse to move to E60.

iaind · 12 Apr 2010 at 20:33

[TW]Fox;16349722 said:
Why not? It's one of the big reasons I refuse to move to E60.

I cant comment on the 5 as I've got no real experience of either, but in my experience the difference between the Golf mk4, 5 and 6 is pretty negligible

smokedog · 12 Apr 2010 at 20:55

I sometime wonder who spends that kind of money on a Golf.

mattyprice4004 · 12 Apr 2010 at 21:38

Build quality (interior) is pretty damn important IMO, I would base a car choice on this if needsbe.

The reason I have a Mk1 ZS is because the Mk2 was truly horrific in the way it was put together.

Hades · 12 Apr 2010 at 22:21

Robbie G said:
OP has every right to his opinion. It's just strange that the entire motoring press disagrees with him in terms of the refinement of the MkVI (but for JC). It's hard to comment on its build quality without driving it...I wonder if Hades did that or not. However, I agree that they're 'optimistically' priced.

You get many MkIV owners trying to convince themselves that the reason they won't buy a MkVI is that they're not very good. Very few will admit that the real reason is that they couldn't afford one.

I didn't drive it and didn't view it with any intention of driving it quite yet. I just happened to be there getting a spare part. But as my cars are frequently from VAG, there is every chance it may have been in consideration in the future (I've owned a mk1, several mk2's, a mk3, a mk4 and other VAG cars). So first impressions count for quite a lot. It looked great inside, seemed a very nice place to be, and it may feel more solid than I think if I were to test drive it. But the window switches really were flimsy and when I pushed the roof lining light switch the whole console it was attached to flexed into the lining. The plastic just didn't feel as good as I'm used to either. It didn't feel the kind of quality I've had in previous Golfs. I've not read any reviews of the car though.

To be honest I don't have the cash right now to buy a new Golf. In pure cash terms I'm not far from broke! But if a new car became a priority in my life then I'd simply sell off some of my investments. While I won't rule it out for the future I generally don't buy cars on any kind of loan. I'd rather put that money into an asset for the future instead. But buying a depreciating asset, such as a car, with a loan just isn't the kind of thing I'd do nowadays.

[TW]Fox;16349719 said:
As long as I have been on this forum I have remembered Hades having a Golf 4Motion. I suspect he bought it new - if not new, he certainly bought it nearly new.

He's probably in a better position to afford it than you were with your scrappage scheme finance deal. But then I can't say yet another 'I am rich, I drive an 09 Golf' comment from you came as a suprise.

Wow, you've got a good memory. I bought it cash from VW as an ex-demo model in 2004 when it was about 6 months old. That now seems completely silly to me. I think I was nuts spending that kind of money on a Golf (depreciating asset, etc). What I should have done was buy a 3 or 4 year old one for a lot less. or buy an even older BMW/Mercedes/etc. But obviously that's just personal opinion and it was nice doing the new/nearly new thing for a bit.