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Hatchbacks Volkswagen Rabbit Volkswagen Rabbit: Prices Paid and Buying Experiences
123 messages, Last post on Nov 17, 2009 at 10:47 PM
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I'd rethink that "private company" warranty and seriously consider a VW factory warranty. Will be much less hassle in the long run, as you'll probaly need it at some time during your ownership period. On any model, why would one think about a "private company"? This is one thing I wouldn't "cheap out on" actually! The Sandman 
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Well, I promised myself that when everything was done, I would post a detailed report of my experience buying a Rabbit in the hopes that it helps someone else. I’m betting that it will get pretty lengthy so I’ll start with the quick and dirty then move on to a detailed account of my buying experience. If you don’t care…don’t read it. Just trying to give someone what I would have found helpful starting out. The quick and dirty… 2007 Rabbit MSRP: $19,655 Sale Price: $18,953 (+TTL and all that) Dealer in a major metropolitan area Interest rate 7.25 with a credit score of 677 (offered 9.6-something from e-loan, and 9% through another lender) I can’t give an easy OTD price since I still have to pay the tax on it, and I bought an extended warranty which further complicates matters. The longer story… Still with me? Great… Let’s start with two meaty subjects: Trade-in and Extended Warranty Trade-in – A 1999 Saturn SW2 99k miles. Was originally offered $1350 at a dealer in small mid-western town (where I live). The dealer in The Big City looked at it and (probably since I had told them what I had already been offered, came back and offered $1450. When I later told them that I planned to sell it to a private party…they told me they wanted to check to see if their “buyer already had a buyer lined up for it”. Yes they did – so hearing that I planned to sell it for $2350 offered me $2200. Now I couldn’t have bluffed that deal had I tried – but it is worth keeping in mind. Turns out that they had thought my 99 was a 2000 so that changed everything once that got cleared up and I went with the private party…but the lesson remains the same – try not to get low-balled on the trade-in. The Extended Warranty – no doubt the thing that I am least proud of. I’m preparing for people telling me how I got screwed on it – but here’s the story: I bought a VW factory warranty (Platinum – 100k/5 year $0 deductible) for $1840. When they initially hit me with it, I thought about it and looked at my payment with ($376) and without ($349), and said ‘No.’ She asked me why and I explained that, although I didn’t want to go with a third-party I would risk it given that they could give me the same warranty PLUS emissions coverage (EGR valve, etc) for $1518 (Warrantydirect.com). Her response: “Well, if you take this coverage I’ll be able to negotiate the loan terms with the bank and get you a lower rate. Instead of 7.62 we’ll do 7.25. Total savings: $240 over the length of the loan (60 mos). So I’m getting a $1840 warranty for $1600 (sort of – of course that .3-whatever percent off of my interest rate is worth more because I am now borrowing more). Also weighing in on my decision – I did a quick read of the warranty exclusions and could not find anything explicitly excluding coverage on emissions stuff (the closest I found was that they do not cover “Contaminated items” whatever-the-hell that means – probably emissions stuff). But I’ve got the peace of mind that VW is somehow, sort of behind this warranty… and I felt that an extended warranty was a necessary evil since I’m doing about 20k miles a year. Want more? It definitely helped that I knew something about options on warranties. She told me that no one ever asked if you could cancel the warranty within 30 days (you can) and furthermore no one had ever asked about emissions coverage (high-cost stuff that most warranties don’t touch). I had priced out other options and knew what they said that they covered and what they didn’t. I know that I could have easily walked out of there and called another dealer and started a bidding war (I had one on speed dial with this intention) – in my understanding you do not need to buy the warranty from the dealer that is selling you the car. Downside of this is that you cannot then roll it into your loan, and in my case I’d be getting a higher rate (though I’m sure if I tried that could have been negotiated – but I wasn’t sure by how much so I didn’t even try). Anyone still reading? If so…here’s a quick rundown of the deals that I found posted here in the forums, all in one tidy spot for your convenience...first I’ll post the exact deal that they got, then the deal relative to mine (basing the additions and subtractions of features on MSRP). See above for the deal that I got. Deal 1 - Virginia (the only deal that I found better than mine) 16” Alloys ESP Manual MSRP: $18,470 Sale Price: $17,764 +Sunroof ($1,000) +Mats ($185) Relative sale price: $18,949 ($4 less than mine) Deal 2 - Location unknown 16” Alloys ESP Satellite Sunroof MSRP: $19,845 Sale price: $20,343 -Satellite ($375) Relative sale price: $20,343 ($1,390 more than mine) Deal 3 – Cincinnati 16” Alloys ESP Satellite Sunroof MSRP: $19,845 Sale price: $20,156 -Satellite ($375) Relative sale price: $19,781 ($828 more than mine) Looking at these numbers (that I figured out awhile ago) I see that on some I missed compensating for the rubber mats, but we’re just talking $185 on those so I’ll let you do the math if you want. Even more…Why I went to The Big City to buy (and why it was worth my $27 bus ticket) Let’s just say that I wasn’t getting much offered from the dealer in my small Midwestern town in the way of discounts. He did say “Make sure we talk before you do anything else because we haven’t begun to negotiate…” But I hate negotiating and so was overjoyed when my big city dealer originally quoted me online at $702 under MSRP (and $100 under invoice – they said) for a car that is flying off of the lots (average time on the lot for one of these is 17 days nationally though I suspect less in my neighborhood). Furthermore…I ended up very close to just ordering up a Rabbit and waiting the 3-4 months of it to be built because my small town dealer said that he had done a search of an 8 state radius and could not find any car that met my specs – either in the showroom or on order. Somehow the Big City dealer was able to find my car…not only that but it was only 2-4 weeks out. So – not sure why the small town guy couldn’t see this car (maybe they don’t play nice with the dealer that had it) but frankly, if they couldn’t even tell me that the car that I wanted to buy existed, then we were done talking. Moral of the story – The Big City dealer was pushing more product so could easily, confidently offer me a better deal. They either had better relationships with other dealers than the small town folks or a better search engine, but in the end they were able to offer me options that they small town dude just didn’t have. Please understand that I am not knocking all, or even my small town dealer…but be aware of what you might be up against so that you can talk them down off of their MSRP (or above MSRP). I would have been happy to negotiate with |
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...to negotiate with him using the Internet quoted price from the big city had they been able to actually see all of the cars out there. It would have been infinitely more convenient for me to buy here (rather than 150 miles from here)…but that convenience ain’t worth $700+. Miscellaneous things to consider if you’ve read this far… The guitar that you get now with the car is fetching $500+ on eBay…Don’t believe me? Search for yourself So you may want to factor that into your deal…ESPECIALLY if you are buying around X-Mas. Also, if the dealer lets you put money down on a credit card (as mine did), and you go with a VW Credit Card (0% for 12 mos), you will also get $50 gift certificate… Anyway, good luck with your own VW deal. Feel free to provide feedback on any part of the deal that I got (especially the extended warranty – if you can talk me out of it in my 30-day cancellation window I’ll send you a Lobstergram). Oh and I kept the town and city names out of this because I didn’t want people to pin it down to an exact dealer out of respect for those that make their livelihood selling cars, use this to negotiate a good deal – not to track down my specific dealer and demand the same, or better deal. Had they tried to sell me VIN etching, I may have not been so considerate. |
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i have a 07 4dr rabbit and the volume on the stereo seems to go up and down by itself while iam driveing.the sound also becomes muffled and distorted when this happens.anyone else experience this with their 4dr rabbit's stereo?
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Replying to: steven39 (Nov 04, 2006 8:38 pm) |
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Furthermore…I ended up very close to just ordering up a Rabbit and waiting the 3-4 months of it to be built because my small town dealer said that he had done a search of an 8 state radius and could not find any car that met my specs – either in the showroom or on order. That sounds really familar But I think it's a line of BS. Here my story I intially went to a dealer where I got my 04 golf. small dealer but nice guys. I wanted a 2 door manual rabbit with ESP and tire pressure option. ESP was a must the tire presure indicator was a nice option but not a deal breaker. I was told the 8 state radius line of BS. I was very close to doing a deal with them for a car in their inventory until I checked a dealer that was right around the corner from me. First Rabbit I looked at 2 door manual with ESP and 16 in alloy wheels. Needless to say I did the deal for the car I wanted. MSRP was 16,480 I paid 16,400 + tax and got a set of VW Rubber mats thrown in as well. THE TMV price is 16,470 mine is a 2007 model United Gray I feel I got a good deal. Had my financing pre approved through my CU and took delivery of the car the next day after doing the deal. I would just say if a dealer tell you we looked in an 8 state radius .... Just get up and walk away. Do some more searches on the internet. work the phones and you'll find the car with the options you want. BTW I love my Rabbit. |
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Hi, has anyone bought a VW Rabbit lately? And what has been their prices/experiences? My son (new college grad) has expressed interest in this car. We live in the LA area. TIA!
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Hi I'm looking to lease a 2007 Rabbit, can you please provide the residuals and the money factors for the following, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, I'll be trading in a 1998 Audi A6 Quattro with 134k on it in good shape...just wondering what a ballpark monthly payment should look like with this trade. 2007 Rabbit Automatic Sunroof 3/36k miles Thanks, Jason |
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Replying to: olddog7 (Jul 22, 2007 2:44 pm) So you have a little price comparison: 2008 reflex silver 4 door automatic transmission electronic stability program ground effects kit w/rear spoiler no wheel upgrade (I'm going to get aftermarket 18" rims for summertime and use the stock 15's in the winter) Price: $20,875 |
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I put $3k down, of which $2300 actually went against the car. I am paying $159 am month ( incl. taxes ) for 4 years with a 12k miles per year limit. That is cheap motoring! I bought at Gunther VW in Coconut Creek ( Broward County, FL ) from a guy called Kelly Clemson who was very responsive. I did it over the net and only actually spoke to him when the deal was done. I didn't get any bull from them when I went in to sign the contract and pick the car up - unlike the Volvo I bought from Maroone last year where they tried to add umpteen things to the lease based on scaring me about gap insurance, costs when returning the vehicle etc. I know somebody else who bought a Passat from Gunther and got the best deal there ( a real hard nosed lady who always drives a hard bargain ). The only downside was that they kept me waiting too long but overall I would give them an A- . |
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