Ever since the VW Nationals I've been itching to ditch my falcon. A long time before then really, but especially so after my first drive in a new fangled water cooled dub> The Golf R and GTI are well out of my price range and if I'm honest, the trendlines probably will be as well.

Last weekend I went to the mitsubishi dealer to enquire about the new lancer, which would be my 3rd time. My 97 has well over 200K on the clock with almost no maintenance. The only problem with it being that bastards have tried to steal it 3 times. The new lancer is great value. Its the same price now as my first one bought back in 1993 but you get a shitload more car and thats not taking into account inflation You're actually getting a lot more for less. Only problem is, you are getting over 400kg more car. Its a freakin slug in 2 litre form. On paper the 2.4 litre isnt much better. Never the less I got them to send me out a quote for the lease company. Despite it being Saturday afternoon I got it in email a couple of hours later.

So off I goes to a VW dealer. The difference betwen mistsubishi is evident straight away. The only trendline they have there is a tdi dsg. (every mechanical combination in sedan and hatch was available at Mitsu). The tdi is a great engine. Plenty of poke. The dsg is a smooth shifting great unit going up. Its reluctant to shift down to second Would drive me nuts. And why the hell doesnt a 30 odd thousand dollar car not have cruise control as standard???? I'd have to drive around the country looking for a test drive of a manual in tdi and tsi before I made a decision but left my phone number for the "lease guy" to ring me. That didnt eventuate so I went on to the VW website and used the contact form asking for quotes. Still havent heard anything.

So a disapointing shopping trip all round. Let down by my 2 fave manufacturers for different reasons. At this rate I'll end up with a Focus or something.

if you went to southern classsic cars, its probably better that you dont get a reply!!!!!! best you go to another dealer if after sales service is important to you.

waiting for Phil to come and flame me......

Don't bother trying Moss Vale VW dealer either. I had a VERY bad experience (service) there with the T5.

Barloworld in Fivedock seem pretty friendly, got coffee whilst waiting! Dealer was friendly but not pushy. The spare parts guys were alright also. Didn't buy a car from them though so don't know what after sales support is like. Was by far the best dealership I visited.

When will VW ever get their act sorted. They've had some pretty crap importers in the past. One week on and I still havent been contacted. Not from the "lease guy" nore from the web enquiry. I went back to the dealer and he now says I have to contact the lease company and they have to contact volkswagen, because thats how it works. If only the lease company knew. And why didnt "lease guy" ring to tell me that?

So taday I ring the 5 dealers within a 57km radius and not one has a 90TSI manual available for test drive. Apparently they sold out in June and they are having trouble restocking. I did get a scoop that they are rumoured to be bringing out slightly up specced models though. The comfort pack (which contains things that should be standard on all new cars) will be standard in the trendlines, and possible another model as the base which will be mechanically equivalent to the Polo.

Now I am sitting around for 20 minutes waiting for another dealer to walk around his lot to see if he has a TSI in any configuration.

Is it any wonder VW are sitting at 10th in total sales? Luckily the cars sell themselves or they would be nowhere to be seen.

You may have to go further afield, my sister in law bought a Golf recently and the dealers were falling over themselves to do the deal. In Newcastle.

we enquired about a golf recently at Hornsby VW dealer and were treated exceptionally well by the young salesman who seemed genuinely interested in helping us.The brochures etc were posted to us by VWA .

Can't say i've had a bad run with VW either, Barloworld Mascot and Five Dock great dealers

Just got back from a drive to the Moss Vale dealer. Drove a 90TSI wagon, only it was DSG. Still its halfway there. And they gave me a price on hatch and wagon. I'd really like the hatch but in order to get the green light from the wife I think I'll have to get the wagon for the extra space. (we're replacing a falcon). I know the wagon is the MKV chassis but it seems good enough to me.

I'm super impressed with both the base spec engines. Diesel and pertrol have a surprising amount of poke, even if the 90/77kw figures dont seem much.

About 3 months ago i wanted to look at a LWB high roof crafter not 1 dealer in sydney had one. Went to brookvale vw dealer and they had short wheel base asked them for a test drive i got " aww sorry but someones miss placed the key"
They were supose to call me when they find the key, till today no call. Anyway i went to merc and guess what.
test drove a lwb van right away and got a good deal with out needing to go all over sydney and deal with bullshit service
Good on ya vw australia keep up the crap customer service. Good thing the cars are good.

Oh and they confirmed that trendlines will now get the previously optional comfort pack as standard.

Read on smh that vw are releasing a new cheaper golf, 77kw, engine from polo, but other existing features remain. And the other golf will have more options included, as amazeer mentioned.

So pretty good timing for ya amazeer!

You would think that every salesman would be striving for a new sale.

Very surprised .... make u think about your next car purchase though

The used car market is very slow at the moment. You may be able to pick up a very low k gti still under new car warranty if you are willing to go that way. I'm tossing up between a golf gti and a Mazda 3 sp23 and corrolla sportivo. The Toyota dealers were really nice the Mazda guys were pricks.

Maybe VW have been speaking to Clarendon

Hi Chris, no I'm not going to flame you! You're looking for a new VW and that's great. It's a pity that morons at the shiny dealerships are spoiling the experience.

I've only personally dealt with Barloworld at Five Dock - they treated me fine and did a good job on my Mk3 Golf. Barloworld are a South African-owned company who have a long history of working with VW, and their two Sydney sites are VW-only. By contrast, many of today's shiny new VW dealers are just franchises who have taken on selling VWs as an 'addition' - Paul Wakeling, McGraths, Nepean Group etc etc.

Buckles at Brookvale won VW Dealer of the Year in 2007 but not since - the award has gone to Melbourne dealers the last few years. Denlo at parramatta have been trying to get involved with the VW Nationals so that's a good sign. I have heard stories of lack of communication between VWGA and their dealers, especially over dealers wanting to take orders on the Amarok and not being told prices and specs.

I read in Sunday's paper that VW want to DOUBLE their Australian sales within five years - that means 60,000 vehicles a year. They have a lot of work to do first.

Chris,
Did you try the new dealer in Nowra? Kinghorn Volkswagen, they are trying very hard to sell cars.
Dave

just go out to Penrith Toyota and buy a Toyota kluger or something , I guess they'd be heaps cheaper on the services.

Yeah Dave, I tried Kinghorn. They dont have a TSI at the moment in either manual or dsg.

But there's more badderer news than that. I'm being told by Leaseplan that I cant have a Volkswagen. They need to be either made in Australia, have sufficient Australian content, or give the government a big enough discount. Can only have ford mitsubishi holden nissan or subaru.

I tried to reason with them but it doesnt seem to do any good. I've spoken to 3 different people there now. They just dont listen. (There's probably nothing they can do) There's a guy sitting next to me at work who has a Kia carnival on lease. All they say is that the list changes pretty often and 3 years ago, Kia must have been on the list.

I cant really afford a VW at all, its only for love that I would stretch myself. If you take away the $4k discount I'm screwed. The Mazda 3 is supposed to be almost as good as a golf, but its also not on the list. In that case I'll stay with the shitbox ford.

Go the Soob, you wont be disapointed.

they make Mazda's cheap now, hard ride and lots of road noise.
subaru don't seem to have the room in them that they used to.
I think the small Holden's come out of the Daewoo factory.

My dad always gets Commodores on lease, they're excellent lease cars. He makes sure always to option a towbar and towing pack, that way the work car can be used for towing boats, trailer-loads of rubbish to the tip, etc.

The Focus is a very nice car, I've driven the 2 litre manual one before and it was very sporty. Nice tight gearshift and suspension. The Mazda 3 is the same car underneath, but personally I prefer the Focus styling and interior.

I test-drove the base model Impreza recently and was very disappointed. The turning circle is enormous and the engine was gutless, noisy and rough. It rumbled and vibrated more than my Beetle, which I thought was a bit unacceptable in a new car, and with AWD and no turbo they are really quite slow.

I'm surprised the Lancer was a slug, I hear the cops like them but maybe they have the 2.4lt ?!

Commodore and falcon may be OK for lease but they need to be replaced before the warranty runs out.
My falcon and lots of others have brake issues from the start. The handbrake is not self adjusting and goes off very quick. It works like a drum brake inside the rear disk. You have to take the disk off to adjust it. Its plain stupid. The front discs warp. I have 111,000 on mine and have had them machined twice. Its worse in the hipo braked XR’s apparently. The central lock remotes are crap. The lock button has broken off the circuit board in both of mine. The bonnet release levers are shit. They clip onto the fuse box and break off. Guaranteed to last 37 months. There’s an untraceable knock in the rear end. I think it’s a diff mount but mechanics cant pinpoint it. You have to pull half the car apart to get in there. The bootlid struts go weak. I know commodore owners who have had engine and gearbox issues. 1 mate opened his glovebox and it fell on the floor. Been dumb enough to buy 2 aussie cars, wont be doing it again.

The lancer is really skatey on the back end too. I got the stability control going on Dapto offramp without trying. Wouldnt want to be using one as a pursuit car. A big disspointment to me having been a deciphle for 17 years now

Well another day comes to an end without a quote. I thought the latest dealer was going to be different. We went to his office, we went through books, we priced options, he was going to send me the official quote today. Is this what it feels like when your date says he/she will call you in the morning and doesnt?

So what have you decided on, Chris?

I suppose you can put up with driving a new Falcon if work is paying for it.

If I could get a quote i'd send it in and have one last try!

Unfortunately, work is not paying for it. I'm looking for a novated lease, salary sacrifice. Getting it through work qualifies me for the government discount and I think gst free. Perks sure but balance still coming out of my pocket.

Not sure that I like the impreza, havent driven one. Couldnt live with myself if I got a 3rd Falcon. Commodore and Liberty are a bit more money than I'd like for something I dont love. And Mazda isnt on the magic list.

Just keep driving the BF till it breaks and park under as many dodgy looking trees as possible.