jhibbin Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 Long time since I last posted here ; Apologies for being the prodigal member of tyresmoke I need some advice my 2 yr lease on my GTi DSG is up and I have have been looking over the last few months for a replacement. Reading reviews and doing the odd test drive. The bottom line is unless you are willing to sacrifice either performance, quality or practicality then nothing comes close to the GTi for smiles per miles. So I started looking at replacing new for old with the GTi ; I have been looking at imports and found a potential deal but on a manual Ed30 not a DSG GTi (which is what i was looking for). Motorpoint have Ed30 s at £20K and with a reasonable part Ex on my old GTi this makes for a potentially good deal. Speaking with them they say the car in question is a Feb 08 build import from Germany ... "EU Spec"... which I suspect means inflation pack, driving lights etc. Mixed reviews of motorpoint but I can't see how they could have kept a Ed30 for very long and provided it is delivery miles only etc then should be sound. On the other hand I have been offered a GTi DSG for £21K with leather (is this now standard ?) but with a less attractive part Ex. making for a less attractive deal overall... nearly £1.5K more cost of change. I could look to sell the GTi privately or to a VW dealer (do they take cars for cash?) to improve the cost of change here. My dilemma is that whilst I can see the attraction of "upgrading" to an Ed30 for the extra power I fear I would miss the DSG too much. It would help if I saw the Ed 30 as aesthetically more pleasing but i'm not a big fan of the wheels or red stitching . . . not seen one in the flesh though. Any thoughts?? Need to make a decision soon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonC Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 There's quite a bit of info in the search archives about DSG versus manual etc. It's such a subjective view, Hibbsy and one that only you can make. There have been some problems reported with DSG, but none of which make it universally poor. For what it's worth, in my opinion, the DSG goes beyond superb and I cannot see myself ever returning to manual. An Ed 30 with manual would be equally as awesome so I reckon you've got to try both out for a good 24hr test drive each and go from there. The DSG is very easy to live with and silky smooth with super rapid gear change which can be driven in "manual" with the paddleshift, F1-style! The "traditional" manual on the other hand offers, some would say, a more "engaging" drive and there's a lot to be said on that too. Whichever you decide, enjoy as either car will give you miles of driving pleasure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt R Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 IIRC you are quite local to me, my demo Edition 30 manual will be on the forecourt next weekend, maybe you could drive that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSheds Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 If you already have doubts about some parts of the looks of the ED30 and its not an DSG version then I think you would miss having DSG even more IMO ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhibbin Posted March 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 Hey thanks; was thinking of popping in this weekend anyway to see if dealer was interested in buying the car for used stock. Will see what I'm doing next weekend; what's your view Ed30 or stick with DSG GTi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 Was it your golf that got re-shelled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyGTi Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 Hibbsy, if I remember correctly you got your current GTI from Motorprovider just after me ? Seems like you do the same as me with financing your car over 2 / 3 years. Since then I have already traded in my 06 GTi DSG against a 57 reg. manual ED30. I got a pretty good part ex. deal with Allbrandsnew in Hull this time. They paid all outstanding finance off the old car and got me a low APR on the new ED30. My new ED 30 is manual and if I'm honest I do miss the DSG a lot, particularly in stop start traffic which I do quite a lot of. Once out on an open road however, there is not as big a difference, with the ED 30 winning on the motorway due to it's power advantage and DSG not being as important. In the end you have to make a balanced decision, personal to you, and it depends how strongly you weight various factors like DSG. The max torque on the ED30 is slightly higher up the rev range than the standard GTi due to the bigger turbo I think. You definitley feel this difference when first stepping into the ED30. Plus points for the ED 30 (for me anyway) are : 1. The engine (more powerful, significantly so after 3000rpm, right up the red line) 2. The seats - half leather, heated and electronic lumbar adjustment. 3. The sound ! - exhaust note is much deeper. 4. Colour coding of sills etc 5. Smoked rear lights If I had to make the same decision again I would try and get a DSG ED 30 !! If I could'nt find one I would go for the manual ED 30 again, but only by a whisker. This would be solely due to it's motorway amd open road performance. If I did'nt do as much motorway driving I'd stick to a standard DSG GTi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swale Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 Just took delivery of an ed30 08/08 gtifrom simaler source imported, with uk spec i too had dsg before hand and have had i very good deal on an ed30 manual to be honest i'm not really missing the DSG as good as what it is, it's just a different driving expereince, if anything i might go as far as saying it's more fun!! go for it mine cam with heated seat centre armrest auto lights cruise control,and have just retrofitted rns 510 wich is awesome also, all of extras except nav which i thought were not on the vehicle, am over the moon!!!! £20,000 is no money for an ed30 import or not they are exactly the same as far as i can see. think they will command storming resale prices myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyGTi Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 [ QUOTE ] £20,000 is no money for an ed30 import or not they are exactly the same as far as i can see. think they will command storming resale prices myself [/ QUOTE ] Agree with you there...there are a lot of new ED30's for sale about now...but IF they stop producing them (which I know is a debate going on at the moment).. then they should retain a good resale value into the future ... especially because of their easy tuning ability to 300bhp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ92 Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 there are a lot of new ED30's for sale about now...but IF they stop producing them (which I know is a debate going on at the moment).. then they should retain a good resale value into the future ... especially because of their easy tuning ability to 300bhp. [/ QUOTE ].....My thoughts exactly.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt R Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 [ QUOTE ] Hey thanks; was thinking of popping in this weekend anyway to see if dealer was interested in buying the car for used stock. Will see what I'm doing next weekend; what's your view Ed30 or stick with DSG GTi [/ QUOTE ] Having driven nearly all different specs of GTI, I would only buy an ED30 if: A) I wanted to tune it B) Not doing lots of miles I find the ED30 is much heavier on fuel than the 200ps engine, 27mpg vs 35mpg on my fairly standard run to work which is over 25 miles and mainly motorway. Personally if it was my own money I would go for a 200ps DSG, especially now as it comes with leather standard which makes it a very sensible solution especially if financing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhibbin Posted March 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 Matt - Thanks ! It kinda confirms what I was thinking anyway. It's a shame the deal on the Ed30 is so much better than the 200PS GTI. I have a few quotes outstanding on GTI DSG imports so will see what they net. The more I thought about driving a new GTI the more I realised it was actually a slightly better spec DSG model I wanted not really any more power. I rarely find myself thinking if only this had 30 more horses but I could see myself driving the Ed30 thinking if only this had DSG. On the right road the best driving experience I have had is nailing the perfect series of shifts between sweeping bends or knocking off 3 gears going into a sharp bend. The DSG flatters the driver and at the end of the day its that part of the experience that makes the car so special for me. As a major F1 fan (5th for Lewis today ) its probably as close as I will get. I understand why people talk about connection with a manual gearbox, but if you drive a DSG in manual most of the time you get a whole new challenge in learning how best to use a sequential box. When you get it right the rewards are higher than a manual IMO. Will let you know how the hunt goes ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 [ QUOTE ] As a major F1 fan (5th for Lewis today ) [/ QUOTE ] ....Why the f*ck did you find it necessary to write that!!!!! - You've just spoilt my whole Sunday afternoon when I was going to enjoy seeing the outcome on TV! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swale Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 Had the same choice also, but went ed30 if nothing else it looks miles on front of the ordinary gti with matt black plastics, and inside theres so much detail, OMHO an ordinary gti doesn't stand next to an ed30, have you had a proper look at both in the flesh??? In my opinion if you can get an ed30 for £20k buy it you can't lose out, i haven't had lond enough to determine mpg properly, aswell as the fact my engine is very tight as it needs to be runned in, but it seems next to no diffrence mpg wise to the normal gti DSG i was only getting around 300 miles to a tank in the dsg and it seems at mo with new engine im getting around 280miles in ed30 (280 benefit of the doubt thinking its a little better than that) ed30 is the better buy if you can afford, but i guess it depends on your circumstances, and how much the DSG means to you, i must admit the DSG is very very good infact it's about the best gearbox going currently (not drivin new m3 smg gearbox yet) but theres something about the manual that makes this car exciting, and i'm not normaly a fan of manuals at all!!! can you not test drive both???? [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Hey thanks; was thinking of popping in this weekend anyway to see if dealer was interested in buying the car for used stock. Will see what I'm doing next weekend; what's your view Ed30 or stick with DSG GTi [/ QUOTE ] Having driven nearly all different specs of GTI, I would only buy an ED30 if: A) I wanted to tune it B) Not doing lots of miles I find the ED30 is much heavier on fuel than the 200ps engine, 27mpg vs 35mpg on my fairly standard run to work which is over 25 miles and mainly motorway. Personally if it was my own money I would go for a 200ps DSG, especially now as it comes with leather standard which makes it a very sensible solution especially if financing. [/ QUOTE ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSheds Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] As a major F1 fan (5th for Lewis today ) [/ QUOTE ] ....Why the f*ck did you find it necessary to write that!!!!! - You've just spoilt my whole Sunday afternoon when I was going to enjoy seeing the outcome on TV! [/ QUOTE ] DITTO..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyGTi Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 My average mpg comparison for exactly the same driving conditions, over many months is : 29mpg for the DSG GTi 27mpg for the manual ED30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmerpalmer Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 i have a manual ED30, and over the last 3000 miles, have averaged 29 mpg, which is mixed driving. Quite pleased, considering it gets a good run out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhibbin Posted March 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] As a major F1 fan (5th for Lewis today ) [/ QUOTE ] ....Why the f*ck did you find it necessary to write that!!!!! - You've just spoilt my whole Sunday afternoon when I was going to enjoy seeing the outcome on TV! [/ QUOTE ] DITTO..... [/ QUOTE ] So all you big F1 fans couldn't get your lazy bums out of bed at 7am to watch it ... Seriously guys very sorry to spoil the action for those who read the result here and were waiting for the rerun I appologise unreservedly ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 If your comparing prices also try brokers as well as importers theres some cracking deals on new GTIs out there from UK dealer sources at the moment. As for F1 i don't care were he came theres more than one bloody driver in F1 and i wish the presenters would realise it!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhibbin Posted March 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Thanks for the tip Snoopy but any clues to where you can find Brokers for GTi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswastle Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 For what its worth i mananged a £1450 discount on a £21k car from a uk dealer, What car were advertising a similar deal ( about £1600) using a Broker my be worth a check.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petsy Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 [ QUOTE ] Thanks for the tip Snoopy but any clues to where you can find Brokers for GTi? [/ QUOTE ] just enter "car broker" in your search engine and you'll get quite a few hits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyGTi Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Here's an interesting one to get started : http://www.autoebid.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 [ QUOTE ] Thanks for the tip Snoopy but any clues to where you can find Brokers for GTi? [/ QUOTE ] I use to have a list that covered 3 sides of A4 paper but i don't know were i have filed it. You can often find adverts for different ones in Whatcar, Autocar and one or two in Autoexpress as well as other car mags. I have bought cars through a couple myself www.drivethedeal.com and www.carselect.lloydstsb.com and had great service from both and have no problems recomending them to others and would use them again myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swale Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 was it new faxctory ordered car or a demo??? the best i can do as a corprate customer is 5% was under the impression nobody cant get that from an ordinary garage??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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