Polestar offer

[MOzS90]

Thanks. I presume eco-mode remains as “eco” as before??

[Quacker]

Originally Posted by apnicolle

I’ve found that the gearbox changes are smoother and more appropriate (if that makes sense). If you’re accelerating the gearbox seems to hold on to the gear for longer and change up later, but that’s maybe a little bit subjective.

I drove a rental non-Polestar V90 D4 back to back with mine a few weeks ago, and this just reinforced my perception of the normal gearbox being slightly dim witted and lethargic.

Regarding return on investment...who cares really. £800 is 2% of the cost of a £40k car. What irks me is that Volvo should really deliver the car as standard with an optimised gearbox not one that is not quite right.

£800 that could be spent elsewhere or saved.
For enhanced engine and gearbox performance, there is always Dynamic mode.
The standard setup is perfectly good. The Polestar is slightly different. Then there's towing mode, which is yet another map that comes with the tow hitch and which is actioned automatically when a trailer is fitted.
The Polestar sounds very much like the towing mode to me, only permanently switched on and not just when the system detects a 13 pin socket connected. It effectively costs Volvo zero, apart from the badge and you have to pay the dealer to flash it or just switch it on.

[apnicolle]

Originally Posted by MOzS90

Thanks. I presume eco-mode remains as “eco” as before??

All drive modes are available, from Eco to Individual. I presume the Polestar engine and gearbox map are applied universally, but it’s software so who knows !

[apnicolle]

Just wondering out loud here, but is the Polestar ‘portable’ ?
So if I sell my V90 in a few years, can I have the dealer remove the map and then apply it to a new V90 ?

[lalith16]

Originally Posted by Quacker

Would you like to define the two terms and the difference between them other than the dealer's margin?
Good luck with that.

There's only a few things that increase the desirability and therefore the value of a certain used cars. Colour and trim, including leather on high end models. Engine and transmission choice. Some physical extras like a pano roof will add some, but only a fraction of the purchase price.

See any used car value site and figure out how much value extras add to a car's price. Near enough zero is the answer, whether you are buying or selling.

Ask yourself whether you would pay a significant amount extra for a car with a Polestar badge on its tailgate. If you would, I can assure you that you are in a very rare group of people indeed. Ask the leasing company how much they value it or any other extra when it comes to selling the car.

Let’s say there is car ‘A’

In my original post I was comparing car A’s residual value with that same car A’s resale value. The car is the same but with two different values. One being the residual value and the other resale value. I believe the residual value is lower than the resale value.

This is why: The way I see it, residual value is calculated by the finance company based on parameters such as age, mileage, or even maybe based on something like: what is the future of diesel engines in few years’ time etc.; basically any parameter that can and will change the depreciation of the car. Residual value is calculated on the base price (i.e. not including any value add-ons) of the car minus the depreciation that is brought on by the above parameters; this is why the residual value quoted by Volvo’s finance calculator doesn’t change no matter how many value add-ons are added or removed to the build.

However, the resale value i.e. the price I am willing to sell my car for should take into account the car as a whole including the value add-ons. I believe every value add-on will add some value whether low or high to the resale price but how much that is is another question, which depends on other factors like desirability etc.

Let’s say at the end of a PCP term for example, I want to sell the car in the open market. Since I know the residual value of the car a.k.a GMFV or balloon payment given by the finance company, which was calculated just on the base price of the car without taking into account the value add-ons, I will now price my car higher than the residual value since I am not just selling the basic version of the car but also the value add-ons. In other words the buyer will be getting more than the basic version and hence I would expect them to pay more. How much higher than the residual value would I want to sell the car for depends on whole load of other factors and one can never accurately calculate it. If I price my car expecting too much out of my value add-ons then my car may never get sold or would take much longer to sell; if I price my car expecting too little out of my value add-ons then I will sell the car fast but will be loosing out on the sale. The point is, I will most likely sell the car for a value that is more than the residual value quoted by the finance company.

[Considered1]

I believe most finance companies GMFV and balloon on PCP does reflect the options taken ( that add value anyway) this is what I am seeing on quotes for different specs, we’ll on a Mercedes a45 AMG anyway! FHWSCUASF (For he who still costs us a small fortune!, only kidding, son’s next car..)

[JC888]

Craving extra performance however looking at the blurb it's very little increase in power for my D5. The petrol variants seems to get bigger power gains. I suppose can't expect much just from a software upgrade.

Better gear changes is definitely welcomed as the Dynamic Mode doesn't hold onto gears long enough. However as another poster mentioned, £800 just for a software upgrade seems tad too much.

[lalith16]

Originally Posted by Considered1

I believe most finance companies GMFV and balloon on PCP does reflect the options taken ( that add value anyway) this is what I am seeing on quotes for different specs

Originally Posted by lalith16

this is why the residual value quoted by Volvo’s finance calculator doesn’t change no matter how many value add-ons are added or removed to the build.

As mentioned in my post, not according to Volvo’s PCP finance calculator. I have tested it myself quite a number of times adding as many value add-ons or removing all the value add-ons to the standard spec, the GMFV hasn’t changed a penny. It is obvious from their PCP calculator that the GMFV doesn’t reflect the value add-ons taken/not taken.

[Ringthane]

Having read the various opinions in this thread, and the comments regarding the P* upgrade in the threads in the post from lalith16, it occurred to me that, given that the P* upgrade is a software re-mapping, what happens if there is a software upgrade applied to your car?

To be specific, there are several threads, on this site, to do with gearbox issues, resolved with software upgrades. Given that one of the improvements that are touted for the P* software upgrade is better gearbox response, does a dealer software upgrade overwrite the P*?

With regard to whether or not the P* should even be an option, my personal opinion is that we are paying big money for these cars, so why aren’t they the best they can be? After all, if I buy an M5, I know what I’m getting. An AMG Mercedes is what it is; you pay for the engine.

[simonjedrake]

Originally Posted by Ringthane

Having read the various opinions in this thread, and the comments regarding the P* upgrade in the threads in the post from lalith16, it occurred to me that, given that the P* upgrade is a software re-mapping, what happens if there is a software upgrade applied to your car?

To be specific, there are several threads, on this site, to do with gearbox issues, resolved with software upgrades. Given that one of the improvements that are touted for the P* software upgrade is better gearbox response, does a dealer software upgrade overwrite the P*?

With regard to whether or not the P* should even be an option, my personal opinion is that we are paying big money for these cars, so why aren’t they the best they can be? After all, if I buy an M5, I know what I’m getting. An AMG Mercedes is what it is; you pay for the engine.

Any Dealer software upgrades will NOT have any effect upon your already installed Polestar as you would expect........