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

[IN2VWS]

The Merc dealer is trying to get a sale, and is telling you BS.
Rule number 1 of selling, don't rubbish your opposition....its better to push your strong points (if they have any).

I have a MY11 132kw DSG. Early in its life, there was a software upgrade for the DSG, and it has performed flawlessly since then.
My local dealer (Burwin, ask for Rob) have been great with aftersales service. I cannot recommend them high enough. My van is serviced by them.
I suppose the aftersales service comes down to the relationship you have with the dealership. If you are going to get your van serviced elsewhere, and then only come back for warranty problems, then you might not be given special treatment.
IMO, you will be worse off with a 3-4 year old van.

[The_Hawk]

We have the 103 and love it. I still refer to it as a "Sports Van" as it goes sooo much better than many smaller cars I have had in the past Even the wife loves it!

We love the space, although being that much bigger you do notice all those car parks you can no longer drive into and how small normal car parking spaces have become! I'm paranoid someone is going to open their doors up onto it and am a little picky with where I park it.

As for your questions, we were looking at an older unit and was told to be a little aware of the older auto's and if they were serviced and looked after. When it comes to the DSG's they still scare me a little because they are so damn expensive if they break, but given a 5 year extended warranty it's a long time to work out the bugs (So far we haven't had any problems).

When it comes to ECU upgrades, I haven't looked in a long while. Personally I am still a little concerned with the whole warranty vs upgrade debate, but that is something that is a whole thread and conversation in itself and entirely dependant on your risk appetite. I would be *very* interested in buying from a dealer who had some sort affiliation with a tuner and played nice with the warranty.

[brasstinman]

I can't stress how happy we are with our 132kw Multivan with 4motion. Performed flawlessly on trip to Melbourne and then to the snow.
We've had it since end January 2011 and have put just over 21k on the clock. Only issue was a faulty pressure valve which was sorted out very quickly by the dealership.
Dont worry about the 7 sipped DSG, VVW over engineered them after the failures with the 6 speed DSG.
We looked everywhere for a manual T5 but the only ones we found where only 10-15 less than the new model and with 120+kms so we went with new as we plan to have it for 10 years.
It's been said but the auto on the T5 has been known to have issues if it's not serviced regularly. Other than that if you find a good manual out there with low Kim's for a good price then go for it.
Bt you wouldn't regret getting a new 103kw Multivan. We took one away for a long weekend before we got ours and loved it.

[Sunny43.5]

{Qoute}It's been said but the auto on the T5 has been known to have issues if it's not serviced regularly.
Here is the problem the DSG like the 6 speed Triptronic from the earlier T5,s is sealed for life VW wont service them because they have not a clue how to do them so if either one stuffs up and they will , you are faced with trying to find someone who is willing to work on it as VW will wipe their hands of the responsibility other than tell you as they did to me that if it stuffs up even a small problem Vw will only recommend a new transmision to be fitted because their service personell will not have been trained to service them only bolt in a new one . Howard