Should I buy a 2006 or 2007 Touareg?

[CA Touareg]

Originally Posted by Hydrogen

What would you all do?....

Two options for us:

Both 2007 Treg Reflex Silver / Anthracite (our favorite)

1. V6 w/ PKG 1 + Xenon + Trailer Hitch

2. (350hp/updated) V8 w/ PKG 2 + Cargo Mat Kit

I ask because to us PKG 2 is overkill... more things to go wrong. I want the V8 though, but the dealer only has PKG 1 V8s in color choices less than desirable for us.

I'm afraid I'll regret the V6 purchase, but also afraid I could regret PKG 2.... all i need is a seatbelt not adjusting properly or a car starting or stopping itself.

If I were you I would find a good dealer who has exactly what you want. I would not compromise because you almost always will regret it. If you live in Southern California I know of a great, great dealership that I have personally bought 5 VW's from and no other dealer has been able to match the deals. They are the largest dealership in Southern CA and they are called South Bay VW in National City, CA.

It is worth the drive to find the right car. If you cannot do that I would choose the one you could live with most. If you really use the power of the V8 and you can afford the gas mileage hit then I would go for it. It is covered under warranty so if there are problems at least you will be covered. I feel the same way about having too many bells and whistles. I go for the least to keep complications to a minimum.

[Godwine]

Hi All, I also just bought a 07 V6. Just the base model with no Options. I picked up the car 2 weeks ago. Loved it.

I did shop around when I was looking at this car, I looked at the Infiniti FX, the Lexus RX, Audi Q7, MB ML, and BMW X5

The X5 is just out of my price rang, and it doesn't really come with too much more than what you are getting out of the T-Reg. The FX and RX just doesn't handle the way I expected out of a SUV. The RX being the worst in terms of handling, its like driving a boat. Audi Q7 is great, but I look too old in that car. I need something that look sportier so I dropped the Q7 (mind you, I did have 2 Audi in the past, love them).

MB. I don't have anytihng to complain about the MB, but a friend of mine had a bit of a problems with his. What happened was that his mom backed out of the garage with the door half way opened. It destroyed the car's roof, so thats cosmetic. But his tranmission gave up on him since the accident, MB told them the problem with the tranny was cause by the accident. A "scraping" accident destroy a tranny? How does that pass for a "super durable offroad machine".. strange.... Not long after this incident (and fixed the cosmetic probelms) he traded the car in with the tranny problem, for another ML, a 06. He had nothing but problem since, noise issue, electrical problem, problems with his vent. Lighting.. .........


schrodinger_III, the 3 problems you listed, I do agree the second and the third are something that worth complaining about, well, number 3 also depends on how conservative you are with your battery too right, not implying that you abused it, but there are many things you could do with this car, which uses batteris without the engine running. While number 1 really depends how hard you drive the vehicle

Not trying to defend the VW (Somewhat, given that I've been a VW/Audi fan all my life), but one's experieince with a vehicle really depends on luck. like in my friend's case, he had bad luck with 2 MB, my ex girlfriend's 5 series were giving her all kind of problems after a year, while my brother in law have a lot of problems with both his camry. Many out there have problems with VW/Audi, where in my case, I am problem free......

[pcrage]

Originally Posted by Godwine

Hi All, I also just bought a 07 V6. Just the base model with no Options. I picked up the car 2 weeks ago. Loved it.

I did shop around when I was looking at this car, I looked at the Infiniti FX, the Lexus RX, Audi Q7, MB ML, and BMW X5

The X5 is just out of my price rang, and it doesn't really come with too much more than what you are getting out of the T-Reg. The FX and RX just doesn't handle the way I expected out of a SUV. The RX being the worst in terms of handling, its like driving a boat. Audi Q7 is great, but I look too old in that car. I need something that look sportier so I dropped the Q7 (mind you, I did have 2 Audi in the past, love them).

MB. I don't have anytihng to complain about the MB, but a friend of mine had a bit of a problems with his. What happened was that his mom backed out of the garage with the door half way opened. It destroyed the car's roof, so thats cosmetic. But his tranmission gave up on him since the accident, MB told them the problem with the tranny was cause by the accident. A "scraping" accident destroy a tranny? How does that pass for a "super durable offroad machine".. strange.... Not long after this incident (and fixed the cosmetic probelms) he traded the car in with the tranny problem, for another ML, a 06. He had nothing but problem since, noise issue, electrical problem, problems with his vent. Lighting.. .........


schrodinger_III, the 3 problems you listed, I do agree the second and the third are something that worth complaining about, well, number 3 also depends on how conservative you are with your battery too right, not implying that you abused it, but there are many things you could do with this car, which uses batteris without the engine running. While number 1 really depends how hard you drive the vehicle

Not trying to defend the VW (Somewhat, given that I've been a VW/Audi fan all my life), but one's experieince with a vehicle really depends on luck. like in my friend's case, he had bad luck with 2 MB, my ex girlfriend's 5 series were giving her all kind of problems after a year, while my brother in law have a lot of problems with both his camry. Many out there have problems with VW/Audi, where in my case, I am problem free......

Luck? You have to be kidding me...since when was quality workmanship and dependability replaced with luck?

I certainly hope the airlines you fly when you travel don't have the same opinion about their plane purchases

[Godwine]

Ok, I agree, what you purchase is of bad quality...

You cannot generalize and say that "made by such and such are of bad quality"? There are lot of metrics to determine if the design or the product is of high quality. I guess i can consider VW and Audi are amazing in their quality since my extreme pleasent experience with everything I've owned? Consistency is what determines the quality factor, its not a failure/defect until you can consistently reproduce it. Until then, all experience are unique, hence consider a luck thing....

Funny you mention that, I happened to be in quality management, I managed test team in software test work in various area, including the aerospace field, testing software that controls landing gear and other safety feature for various aerospace equipment manufacturer........

[czechT698]

Originally Posted by Godwine

Hi All, I also just bought a 07 V6. Just the base model with no Options. I picked up the car 2 weeks ago. Loved it.

I did shop around when I was looking at this car, I looked at the Infiniti FX, the Lexus RX, Audi Q7, MB ML, and BMW X5

The X5 is just out of my price rang, and it doesn't really come with too much more than what you are getting out of the T-Reg. The FX and RX just doesn't handle the way I expected out of a SUV. The RX being the worst in terms of handling, its like driving a boat. Audi Q7 is great, but I look too old in that car. I need something that look sportier so I dropped the Q7 (mind you, I did have 2 Audi in the past, love them).

MB. I don't have anytihng to complain about the MB, but a friend of mine had a bit of a problems with his. What happened was that his mom backed out of the garage with the door half way opened. It destroyed the car's roof, so thats cosmetic. But his tranmission gave up on him since the accident, MB told them the problem with the tranny was cause by the accident. A "scraping" accident destroy a tranny? How does that pass for a "super durable offroad machine".. strange.... Not long after this incident (and fixed the cosmetic probelms) he traded the car in with the tranny problem, for another ML, a 06. He had nothing but problem since, noise issue, electrical problem, problems with his vent. Lighting.. .........


schrodinger_III, the 3 problems you listed, I do agree the second and the third are something that worth complaining about, well, number 3 also depends on how conservative you are with your battery too right, not implying that you abused it, but there are many things you could do with this car, which uses batteris without the engine running. While number 1 really depends how hard you drive the vehicle

Not trying to defend the VW (Somewhat, given that I've been a VW/Audi fan all my life), but one's experieince with a vehicle really depends on luck. like in my friend's case, he had bad luck with 2 MB, my ex girlfriend's 5 series were giving her all kind of problems after a year, while my brother in law have a lot of problems with both his camry. Many out there have problems with VW/Audi, where in my case, I am problem free......

Godwine is it a 3,6FSI?

[Godwine]

Yup 3.6 FSI

[Twin Turbo V10]

My 04 was real bad and I make no excuses.
The New one is wonderful and far better.
Being a car guy I can tell you for sure Mercedes is no better.
My friends have had at least the same dramas with the Benz.

They are indeed at the bottom of the list these days.

My BMW had it's issues also and the X5's live in the shop.
The Germans need to find better vendors for parts.

All car companies go through these issues in a cyclic fashion then get their Sh*t together. This is what you are seeing now especially ALL the German firms and especially Mercedes.

[pcrage]

Twin... All car companies do not necessarily go through these issues....

I have had several Toyotas and Hondas including my newest addition, a 2006 Land Cruiser, and I will tell you that SOME companies do not go through cyclic issues especially on the backs and in the pocket books of their customers.

[CA Touareg]

Maybe all car companies don't go through the issues but do they handle and perform like a German car? No way. I have had many Toyotas and Hondas before we knew about the difference. I now will choose the German car and its problems vs a bad handling Japanese or American car ANYDAY. I recently tried to go back to a Toyota and ended up hating it. It handled SOOOOOOOO.... bad. I was spoiled by the BMW's & VW's we had.

I have hope for the German market with reliability. If you buy a newer one you may have better luck. I know you do not want to buy another but you may be back after having to put up with Japanese cars.

I try to buy new and with the least amount of gadgets in hopes of minimizing the problems. I also do not keep a car/suv past the warranty and not just because of problems/exspense it is because I love new cars and all the updates.

Answer: if a person doesn't know the difference or just doesn't care about handling/safety then a Japanese car is great. If you do not drive sporty or faster than 70MPH than you may be able to tolerate one.

Sure, the Jap car will have a 5 star rating but when you are in one it feels like a tin can. It does not have the solidness of a German car plus it will weigh about half and when in comes to heavy vs light weight car/suv in an accident = the heavy will ALWAYS win.

By the way, VW in Europe is known for their reliability. 2003/2004 Touaregs (some 05's) had their problems but they are better now. I have'nt had any problems with mine at all.

Really - good luck!

[Twin Turbo V10]

Pcrage,
Agreed.
Toyota is amazing. However the rapid growth they have earned due to their stellar reliability has now brought them into the arena of recalls.
My new Civic Coupe Grocery getter has a leaking drivers side window, the outlet no longer works for accessories and it has a rattle at a certain rpm from underneath. It also has a paint blemish where the factory tried to touh it up.....
I would still have to say they all go through this and even mighty Toyota is feeling the pain....remember when Jap cars were known for reliability but they turned to complete rust buckets...all the old Toyota pickups have hand made wooden beds or fenders flopping off the back.
lets not get into styling...have you ever seen a collectable class styled Jap car. They just get old looking. You will never see one on Barett Jackson for sure. They have no "New" inventive technology. They are masters of copy cat work. Zero inventiveness happening there.