Topic: Trading in or Selling? VW Golf

[Zorro]

I’ve been thinking lately about getting rid of the Golf. I really like the car but it’s horrible on gas, we get ~425 km/tank and that’s just not gonna cut it.

I’ve looked at the CDN black book (online), the trade in value is $7800-$9500 and selling value is $9850. Will dealers use this as a measuring stick or completely low-ball me? The car looks great nothing wrong with it, and in fact I have just put some new tires. Is there a chance that I can get in the $9000 range from the dealer?

Or should I just sell it privately? Is there more of a chance that I will get close to $9850?

Part 2 of my question is concerning the new car I would get. I need something that gets me at least 500km/tank city driving (well mostly) and is reliable and fairly inexpensive to maintain. My max budget is $10 000, preferably a little less.

Specs on my Golf:

-2006 GLS model year (late ’05 model), so it’s an MK4
-4 door, silver
-Auto trans/power everything + power sunroof
-87000 km

Thank you for the help

[articsteve]

First off you're going to lose $1000 just in sales tax.

Trading into a dealer for another used car is pointless.  You will get killed $$$$ on the deal.

You'll need to sell privately first and then buy privately.  Honda or Toyota in that price range ($9000 plus HST).

[Zorro]

Good point, didn't think about that. Thanks

Is getting ~$9300 privately a reasonable objective?

[articsteve]

Is getting ~$9300 privately a reasonable objective?

The selling price is market driven.  If you were down in The GTA I'd say not a chance.  But in Ottawa region who knows.  Place ad in KIJIJI.  A potential buyer will be someone attracted primarily to VWs so you never know.  They are an odd bunch. 

[mmorriso]

if fuel consumption is your main concern then private sale, private purchase is your best bet.

if overall operating costs are the main concern and you actually like the car keep it.

also, L/100km is the standard units for fuel consumption here in canada.  if you refer to your fuel economy as per tank you could solve all of your problems by getting a larger gas tank  

[Zorro]

if fuel consumption is your main concern then private sale, private purchase is your best bet.

if overall operating costs are the main concern and you actually like the car keep it.

also, L/100km is the standard units for fuel consumption here in canada.  if you refer to your fuel economy as per tank you could solve all of your problems by getting a larger gas tank  

My bad....I'm getting around 12.9l/100km. The car is rated at around 10l/100km, so if I could get at least that I would be happy.

[DKaz]

I was offered $7,000 twice for my 2007 Mazda 5 with 152,000km on it and an official Canadian Black Book trade in value of $3,600 low to $5,600 high. Realistically I think I could get $8,000, maybe $8,500 for it on the private market. Seeing how I get $490 PST credit on the $7,000 trade in, to me it wouldn't quite be worth the hassle to go after that $500 to $1,000.

BTW, I was also contemplating trading in my Mazda 5 because of fuel economy. I decided to buy an Ultra Gauge and alter my driving habits instead. I kid you not, reduced my gas consumption by 15%. Part of it is knowing real time how much gas you're using, the other part is doing something about it.

[airbalancer]

I was offered $7,000 twice for my 2007 Mazda 5 with 152,000km on it and an official Canadian Black Book trade in value of $3,600 low to $5,600 high. Realistically I think I could get $8,000, maybe $8,500 for it on the private market. Seeing how I get $490 PST credit on the $7,000 trade in, to me it wouldn't quite be worth the hassle to go after that $500 to $1,000.

BTW, I was also contemplating trading in my Mazda 5 because of fuel economy. I decided to buy an Ultra Gauge and alter my driving habits instead. I kid you not, reduced my gas consumption by 15%. Part of it is knowing real time how much gas you're using, the other part is doing something about it.

2 l/100 can easily be made up by the driver

[mmorriso]

http://www.edmunds.com/calculators/gas-guzzler.html

the link is for the US but it still applies.

happy gas guzzling!

save up for a polo

[DKaz]

Yep. It's not like I was getting horrible mileage to begin with, my car's rated 10.6/8.1 and I was averaging 10.7 typical city/suburban mix, but now I'm averaging 9.0. Improved my average highway average from 8.5 to 7.3 too.

With your Golf... accelerate at 80% throttle but don't let the engine rev over 2,500 RPM, let off the gas closer to 2,500 RPM to force the transmission to up shift. Thankfully VW engines tend to have better low end torque than average so it shouldn't be too painfully slow. I have a feeling city acceleration is your culprit, what are you getting on the highway?

[aquadorhj]

Holy cow. 12l/100 is close to what I get.  Also have 08 rabbit with 2.5 that gets 10/100. How the heck r u getting 12/100 with your 2.0?

Like people above said, changing your driving habit would be your best bet.

But you can get earlier Honda fit or corolla that gets better gas mileage if you really wanted a different car.
My fit used to get 7.5 in the city driven enthusiastically but it has really small gas tank.

[2latecrew]

Getting a car that gets 2l/100km better mileage will save you about $500 a year in gas (if you drive 20,000 a year.

[quadzilla]

My bad....I'm getting around 12.9l/100km. The car is rated at around 10l/100km, so if I could get at least that I would be happy.

Please describe your daily route. As mentioned above, how you drive makes a large impact but so does your route. Short distance, stops signs, rush hour traffic....these just murder fuel economy.

[Brigitte]

~425 km per tank?  That's crazy.    Something is definitely wrong.  Are you sure your tires are inflated?   

Seriously, there's no reason why you can't make it to over 550 km/tank.  My car is much older than yours, and gets that in spades.

[micha]

I used to get 9l/100km on a 2001 VW Golf 2.0 in city only.

FWIW it went up to over 12l/100km, when the oxygen sensor broke.

[quadzilla]

My bad....I'm getting around 12.9l/100km. The car is rated at around 10l/100km, so if I could get at least that I would be happy.

Isn't the gas tank only 55L on a Golf? If you filled up with 5L still in the tank that would be 50L/450km = 11.1L/100. If you ran out of gas, that would be 12.2l/100. Is my math wrong?

[Zorro]

i doubled checked with the gf as she's the one that drives the car on a daily basis and she said that usually by the time she gets to 450km the light will come on.

The tires are properly inflated and i checked the air filters and they're good to go. We do watch our driving habits, no hard accelreations etc...

I don't think the oxygen sensor is broken...would i get a light on the dash if it were?

One thing that i overlooked when purchasing this car was that it had an ancient engine/trans. (8 valve & 4 speed AT), hence why i wouldn't mind selling for something with at least 5speed and 16 valves.

thanks everyone for the help... 

[Julie]

Not sure selling it for gas alone mileage is worth it.  You're likely going to lose some $$ trading cars, unless you can get a great price both for selling and buying privately.

Although I agree with the others, not sure how you get 12.9 L/100 km.  You're into M3 territory.  *pokes aquadorhj for fun  *

Unless you want to change cars for other reasons as well...  or just because. 

[articsteve]

Get RID OF IT, while the going is good, before it does what VWs of that era do when they get that age. 

[mmorriso]

+1

if the gf will drive a corolla/matrix/vibe get one.  civic or mazda3 (2L) may meet your needs as well.

happy shopping!