A couple of homework questions on buying a Multivan

[profanegardener]

Hi,

I'm just new here - I joined up to do some research on an upcoming family van purchase. I've test driven that limited edition (25?) van and the base model 103KW and have been pretty impressed. I went to Barlowworld in Moorabbin and was looked after by Paul who was great to deal with. I've got a few questions that you good people might be able to assist with:
- Are there any known reliability problems with the van? I'm not sure if this was BS from a local Merc dealer, but I heard that the 7 speed DSG can be a problem and he said that VW are difficult when it comes to warranty repairs.
- Is it worthwhile looking at a 3-4 year old used Multivan? Are the mechanicals on the newer version that much better than the previous model?
- Is it worthwhile investing in one of those blackbox computer upgrades that offer ~20% improvements in power & torque? I've heard good things about those ones from Diesel Performance in the UK, but don't know how effective they are for the VW engines


Any guidance you could give would be appreciated...

Cheers,

Tim