I'm hunting for the perfect GTI, and the vast majority of GTIs sold by VW dealers are absolute base model with zero extras, are far more expensive than independent dealers / private, and in short are nothing special. You get the extra peace of mind that a VW dealer may give you, and if it is less than 3 yrs old you get a 1 yr warranty from them. Worth the extra £1000 - £1500?
I echo the sentiment of buying off a long-time poster in the forum.
It's amazing how hard it is to find the perfect car once you get picky about the spec:
- Black, silver, blue or grey (basically not red or white)
- DSG
- MFSW, Highline, Cruise Control, Parking sensors
- Sunroof would be nice, not essential
- 2006-2007
- Low miles (max 40k)