[drift]

Hi all,
I'm from North of Sydney.
Thinking of buying the V6 TDI facelifted 07 model when it comes out. Really impressed with the interior - very very swish, and the wife loves the look. But seen all the posts about the earlier models with reliability problems and I'm now having 2nd thoughts.

Questions:
1. In terms of reliability, are Australian ones any different to their US counterparts. For example, out of the Aussie Tregs you know of, what percentage has serious problems. Because there are some real lemons I've read about.

2. The MY07 is meant to have a lot of new parts, do you think these are to address reliability issues ? Would the facelifted version be more reliable than the 06 version ?

Many thanks in advance guys.

 

[Moonan]

G'day Drift,
I have an 05 R5 TDI, and so I was much closer (in time) to the early ones that all of the problems were reported on than you will be - and mine is bulletproof so far. Only issue was a faulty latch on external spare wheel (but mine was only 18th in oz with that option, and warranty service was good)
18 months and 70000km so far, and still smiling every time I get in it.
How far north of Sydney are you? I am in Newcastle.

If you look at the history of all of the "lemons" in the US, they apparently halted production and re-jigged the factory to sort those issues out in 2004 some time, and since then problems have been more typical of what you'd expect rather than common. (look for horror stories on BMW, rover, mb forums) Every year has got better! Aussie tregs ARE different from US ones in a couple of ways. They got much earlier production ones than we did, and ours are RHD models. As a generalisation - most "lemons" were LHD.

As far as I know, the facelift model is mostly cosmetic, the known "issues" were all engineered out earlier.

Life's too short to drive crappy cars, buy it and enjoy! TDI is king, and your V6 will be great.

cheers,

..Neil

 

[phybbs]

Life's too short to drive crappy cars, buy it and enjoy! TDI is king, and your V6 will be great.

Well said...

 

[ozvino]

Just make sure that you have a reliable and honest VW dealer near you, in my opinion the response of the dealer is key to your driving happiness; I had a few issues with my R5 TDI (stepper motor went at 3000km and my sunroof leaked) but not much since, however, the quality of VW service (in my experience) has been pretty pathetic, they are more geared up to selling Polo's and Golf's, not $80,000+ 4WD's. I know of 3 very ordinary VW dealerships in Melbourne.

Chances are high that your car will be reliable and trouble free, just understand that if you have issues and need to rely on a VW dealer, start praying......

 

[drift]

Moonan, I'm not as far North as you. I should have said slightly north-west as in Gladesville way, still in Syney metro.

I guess like Ozvino mentioned, the next step is finding a good dealer.

 

[Singh]

MYO5 and have done 55000kms. Only problem so far a loose connector under the passenger seat which set off the airbag light....fit finish and the interior of the Touareg is far better than any other....great on and off road!

 

[bobzed57]

Reliability

Welcome.

I've had my 05 R5 for about 14 months and just gone through 32k. I've had no show stoppers, only a few minor issues that were more niggling than real pain.

Wrt dealers, I'm lucky the guys here in Canberra (Lennock) have been outstanding, which is especially surprising given that they've got no competition. Given that Canberra's not that big a place, any stories of bad service would be around the place in a shot and I geuss, there would go their business.

When you get your Treg, and I know you won't be dissuaded by any stories concerning reliability, you'll have to come along to a meeting of the Sydney guys (check earlier posts) and get it dirty etc. I go along to provide comedy relief :wave: .

 

[Moonan]

I guess like Ozvino mentioned, the next step is finding a good dealer.

Chatswood Classic are good for service, I bought through a car broker on the net...

 

[barefoot]

I bought through a car broker on the net...

Anyone knows exactly how these guys work? I'm particularly interested in how they can do this:

http://www.discountnewcars.com.au/Volkswagen/Volkswagen-Touareg-V10-TDI.cfm

given VW Aust has already discounted the V10 from $136,900.00

Cheers

 

[bobzed57]

barefoot

New face lift model around the corner, so probably shifting soon to be superseded stock. They do all the shopping around for you and try to get the cheapest deal, so your car may come from inter or intra state, not that that should be an issue.

Before I bought the Treg I was looking at this mob based on a recommendation from someone at work. The guy took too long to get back to me, so I gave him the shunt.

Bob

 

[matthew@f]

after a month laying idle i turned the key on the tdi today, fired up instantly. very nice!
with a trip computer and water pump problem only in some 80,000kms. good truck for sure...

 

[Mel_and_toby]

"given VW Aust has already discounted the V10 from $136,900.00"

I got my V10 for $135,000 on the road, (15k discount) plus free servicing for 100k plus 4.9% finance in December 05. Still think that was a good price even with price drop and option changes (Sunroof and Sat Nav seem to no longer be standard).
Had an issue with electronics dropping out some accessories - turned out to be a faulty battery and the Egg was clever enough to shut down stuff that isn't essential to ensure it would start. Impressive!
It exceeds my expectations - and I have had MB 2001, RR 1996, 3*Sahara and Patrol over the years so am in a position to compare. Fuel economy is amazing - better than MB 2.7 TDI - and there is no comparison in car's ability.
So impressed I am going to change reps cars from Falcons to Jetta TD. Even VW service (Austral) has been excellent - only thing missing is the fancy waiting room, coffee, free food and free net connection. Oh yes - I even got a loan car without a booking!
As I have said before - LOVE the Egg and love the understatement of being "just a VW" and yet so fantastic.

IAN

 

[matthew@f]

Mcarrolls VW @ Waitara has all the wait room goodies :drunk: :drunk: nice folk too

 

[Moonan]

I bought through a car broker on the net...

Anyone knows exactly how these guys work?

Not sure how the "discount new cars" work, but the way it went with my purchase was:

1. Look on carbroker.com.au
2. Exactly specify the car you want
3. Pay $60 (I think) to the broker
4. Get an e-mailed formal quote including EVERYTHING including your specified rego type, plates (if requested), all other on-road costs, a full tank of fuel, and delivery to your address.
5. commit to the purchase if you want to.

The broker makes his money by getting a flat $1000 commission from the dealer. He deals with fleet depts of large dealers by offering them a diversified volume of sales over time if they give him the best price.
I got $8k off the on-road price of my R5 in mid-'05, and $4k better than I could get myelf from a dealer.
If you have a trade, you should get a realistic idea of its wholesale price before getting into this, because the dealer who has given your broker such a good deal will only offer that for the trade-in of your old car.

cheers,

..Neil

 

[V10-downunder]

Hi Drift,

Have just turned over 50,000km on the V10, no mechanical problems. Find yourself a good service outlet, plenty of advice on this forum from local guys in your area.

Take Neil's advice, you will save yourself some serious dollars, put it towards some accessories.

Keep it away from wifes, it's a boy's toy, no just kidding!

Just remember you only live ones......

Good luck

Gerald

 

[barefoot]

only thing missing is ..., coffee,

actually, there is an espresso machine upstairs, which makes ok coffee (once fruit cake was even passed around), I always get a loan car too, but if my service manager tells me it's less than an hour (one of the benefit of the onboard computer - quick diagnosis), I usually wait upstairs. A mate of mine who lives on the sunny coast takes his car to Garry Crick says he gets none of the above, not to mention they had never heard of the condensating windscreen TSB - they actually told him they could do nothing about it.

btw, looks like there's a few brissy t'regers around now, perhaps an outing? (around april?)

cheers

 

[Treggie]

Well, I have March 2004 V8 Treg. I have just clocked up 74000km and with only a couple of minor issues - Stepper Motor done at 15000km service, Noisy aircon fan fixed and the dash storage box replaced due to faulty hinges @ 60000km service, all has been great.

I am now looking into getting one of the extended warranty packages to take me through to the end of my lease in March 2008. I am already considering what will be my next vehicle - V6TDI Treg or V10TDI Treg.

I love the car and really enjoy driving it. Since new, fuel has 14.6L/100km avg which is truly amazing.

Honestly the best car I have owned.