Re: Diesel scrappage
Well we only took delivery of it on Thursday (1st March) as we wanted an '18' number plate; might as well have it completely new.
As expected, it has been horrible weather and, as my wife was flying to Vienna in the early afternoon, we wanted to book in to collect it at 9.00am and, of course, the roads were full of snow. I was becoming worried that we might not make it in time due to traffic holdups, but there was no problem after all.
All went smoothly. I drove it directly to the airport and then back home, so my wife (still in Austria) hasn't had a chance to drive it yet. I've driven it a couple of times since - short journeys only - and I can tell you it is fantastic to drive. Very smooth, responsive (although I've kept it well below 4000 rpm until run in), comfortable and you can appreciate the quality. There are also several 'extras' that I haven't experienced before in either of our old cars. Also, when the middle two cylinders cut out and switch back in, you'd never notice it apart from the light on the dashboard.
The changes in our insurance (two cars to one) mean a welcome refund of about £60 too, and we could cancel the breakdown cover as VW give you 3 years' free cover.
Yes, I'd definitely recommend it. Being a VW, it is a little more expensive than some others, but cheaper than an Audi for basically the same mechanics. I'd certainly go for the 1.5 EVO 130bhp rather than a smaller engine, and also avoid the basic 'S' trim as you get so much more with the 'SE' trim for not much more cost.
Having said all that, though, if we weren't benefiting from a £4000 diesel scrappage payment, we'd have bought nearly new or pre-registered. That would have made it a couple of thousand less, but the scrappage thing more than covered that, so it made sense to buy new just for once.