Why is the mk6 so cheap?

have a 2012 GTI base 4door DSG w/26,000 miles and was offered $16,000 at CarMax and $15,250 at VW. The new MK7 coming out hurt us all(or so they say).

My base 2012 GTI was worth around 18K when I traded it in in early 2013 with 19k miles.

Prices have drastically dropped the past few months. A look on cars.com shows many 2012 GTI being sold from dealers around 17k with under 30k on them. about 6 months ago, they were selling for around 20k.

If you want resale, get a WRX/STI. You can usually buy them brand new for cheaper than whats on the used market.

Part of me curious as to what I would get for my trade in....but I know I don't want to leave the dealership all upset LOL. What will affect me most was a stupid 'no-fault' accident (some hitch fell out of truck and hit my rim/wheel/front panel on the hwy).

I'm sure that will ding me as well but again, I am curious to say the least. I would hope I would get 11k for it as a trade in but if they offered me 13-14k; I'd be looking for a new car to say the least : 2010 2Dr GTI Autobahn 6MT

I have a 2012 TDI with 75k miles and was offered only 10k for trade in. Needless to say I didn't trade it in.

NecioVato said:

Part of me curious as to what I would get for my trade in....but I know I don't want to leave the dealership all upset LOL. What will affect me most was a stupid 'no-fault' accident (some hitch fell out of truck and hit my rim/wheel/front panel on the hwy).

I'm sure that will ding me as well but again, I am curious to say the least. I would hope I would get 11k for it as a trade in but if they offered me 13-14k; I'd be looking for a new car to say the least : 2010 2Dr GTI Autobahn 6MT

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You're fine, a rim/wheel, and a front panel are all "bolt-on" items and won't affect the value of your car.

I hit a Semi-truck tire re-tread in the middle of the freeway in Alabama with my lowered MINI Cooper S, in total it did over $14,000 in damage, I only bought the car for $16,000. The initial estimate was only $7,000 so once the first check was cashed by the dealership, the insurance company was forced to stay in for the "river". It ripped through the car destroying everything from radiators, intercoolers, bumpers, exhaust system, AC condensers/compressors, fuel tank, fuel pump, and the list goes on. This accident did nothing to the value of my car since everything was "bolt-on" items.
Fast forward a year, and a Hummer H3 slid into the driver's rear quarter panel (Because there was an inch of snow on the ground and he replaced his stock wheels/tires for some 20" chrome wheels and tires from eBay, thus rendering his off-road vehicle useless). The rear quarter panel was creased, so instead of fixing the original one, MINI decided to cut the old one out, and replace it. Total cost of the accident: $2,800. But since it was not a "bolt-on" piece and thus the factory seal inside the trunk opening and door jam was "altered", this is considered "frame damage" according to the Carfax. This made the value of my MINI go from $10,600 down to a flat $5k. Lesson learned, get your car appraised after any accident, and make sure you get "value lost" from the insurance agency before you sign that paper ending the ability for future claims. A $3,000 fender bender ruins my resale value, but a $15,000 accident does nothing????

Traded in my '13 with 19k on it for $19.5k. I got lucky.

I traded in my '13 2 door gti with 42k on it back in October for $15k, took quite a hit but it had quite a few imperfections on it from slamming it. Plus it was on steelies which didn't help much.

The mk7 definitely killed the value too. I brought it in thinking of trading in back in June with about 35k and was offered $19k.


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cheese said:

Prices have drastically dropped the past few months. A look on cars.com shows many 2012 GTI being sold from dealers around 17k with under 30k on them. about 6 months ago, they were selling for around 20k.

If you want resale, get a WRX/STI. You can usually buy them brand new for cheaper than whats on the used market.

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trust me, i bought mine with 33,000 miles on it for 20k, it's hurting right now... lol

Sadly, no one wants my Autobahn with 19,200 miles on it it's very close to being flawless.

Definitely a niche vehicle. I think mainly due to the fact that it looks a bit unassuming, not many "get it". I was told the reliability factor with VW is mainly with their "lower end" vehicles of the past. The GTI's and Golf R's fair much better in reliability. Unfortunately to most people both vehicles get swept under that label.

Had a few low ball offers which would have made sense if it were a 2012 with more mileage.

Gotta say, I'm glad I managed to total mine. The insurance company paid out almost 5k more than the best trade offer that I got at a dealership.

Had a '12 Autobahn in mint condition with 34k on it. Couldn't get a dealer to give me more than 17k trade in. These cars suck ass. Glad to be rid of it.

A car depreciating appx $2000/year is great compared to many cars. Compare an Audi or a highline car. For less depreciation, buy a Subaru, Mini Cooper or Honda.....

Truth about the MINIs, I had one before my GTI, it was an 08 MINI cooper S, bought it in 2010 for $17500, traded it in for my GTI in 2012 for $17000. Only depreciated $500 in the two years I owned it. But that is also because MINI keeps the same body style around forever.

You got lucky, mini cooper values have been plummeting.

latehourinsomnia said:

Sadly, no one wants my Autobahn with 19,200 miles on it it's very close to being flawless.
Had a few low ball offers which would have made sense if it were a 2012 with more mileage.

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You need to consider it's basically 3 years old. Low miles is nice but I'm guessing you were offered 17-18k tops.