New T5 Maybe

[Sunny43.5]

Ok guys I have ranted and raved long enough it seems fairly evident that VW are just burying their collective heads in the sand and are not even considering acknowledging they have problems with the Triptronic autos as fitted to our T5. I have discussed our dilemma with my wife and we are now considering buying a new van , I know what you are all thinking after all my criticism of VW we do not have a real choice , if we hang onto the current one we could stand to see some other problem occur as it seems clear that they are not designed to last anymore than 130.000[dealer warned of turbo oil leak] $6000 to sort if required . So do we cut our losses $14000-$15000 now spent in the last two months alone on repairs auto rebuild etc . I have found some 10th month 2011 build T5,s here in Qld for a driveaway price of $33970 brand new , they are DSG {groan} with the 103 kw motor . From your personal experiences is the 103 up to the job or am I going to be disappointed . I have driven my mates one and was happy with the performance in a short drive but not the auto box . With that in mind any purchase made by me will now make any service department cringe as the slightest hiccup in the DSG will unleash the vengeful feeling I have now developed towards their autos . Open to opinions . Howard

[Sunny43.5]

Okay before you all jump on me and say why are you buying another VW if you have had such a bad run , there are several important reasons for the T5 transporter first , we cannot use a higher specd model as there is not enough headroom for our two disabled children who are in wheel chairs to sit inside with the roof air etc . Next the VW is about the only van on the market that is approved for conversion by specialist companies . Headroom /rear loading/under carpark access/plus the ride quality . Hi Ace commuter rides like a truck and well looks like a box on wheels ugly . Hyundai Iload Imax to small internally . Vito drove one and the gear box was worse than the VW Renault etc all not suitable . So VW does tick suitability for our needs .

[Jmac]

Why Groan at the DSG, its a good unit in the new T5 mate, the new timing belt driven motor with the DSG is a great package i reckon, i normally would have baulked at the T5 well 2.5 anyway if my beloved T4 ever gave up, perish the thought, ive driven a few of the new ones and they are pretty damn good i reckon and i have serviced a few now with plenty ks on them and havent had half the dramas the gear driven unit had/has. If i had to buy a newer van to replace my workhorse it would be that one for sure.
Anyway good luck mate
Cheers
Jmac

[Sunny43.5]

Thanks Jim I will let you know what decision is made . PS Jim I am still waiting for a booking date for my sons T4 .

[IN2VWS]

My opinion......Don't do it.

[Transporter]

My opinion......Don't do it.

Easier said than done, when you're not in his shoes mate.

I believe that Howard considered his options and IMO whatever van you buy today, you run the risk that it will need some expensive repairs later/or shortly after the warranty. I always look for the reliability and try to think about the reliability in the cars as follow: did the vehicle let you stranded somewhere or even worse? Did you always make it safely home when the problem developed? Some cars can drive with the fault for long enough to get you home where you can get it repaired. Some will stop and don't move an inch when the fault happens, leaving you stranded, and I don’t believe the T5 is one of them.

[Silver Caravelle]

I am in the same boat as Howard. When you are carrying disabled children or adults in a wheel chair, one's options for appropriate transport are few and far between. I transport a 14 year old disabled son along with two other boys (and the wife). The roof height can be an issue (although the wheel chair we use has a fairly low centre of gravity that provides for reasonable head room below the rear aircon vents). To be quite honest, if I was buying another one, I would buy the petrol version next time.

The is an element to the 5 cyclinder TDI, that I can't totally trust, such as replaced DPF, lumpy running/rough idle at present and who knows what else to expect in the future with a diesel engine..

Cheers, Scott

[IN2VWS]

Easier said than done, when you're not in his shoes mate.

I believe that Howard considered his options and IMO whatever van you buy today, you run the risk that it will need some expensive repairs later/or shortly after the warranty. I always look for the reliability and try to think about the reliability in the cars as follow: did the vehicle let you stranded somewhere or even worse? Did you always make it safely home when the problem developed? Some cars can drive with the fault for long enough to get you home where you can get it repaired. Some will stop and don't move an inch when the fault happens, leaving you stranded, and I don’t believe the T5 is one of them.

Fair enough.....My comment was purely selfish. I don't think I can handle another 3-5 years of hearing how crap the VW auto's and DSG's are. Basically, Howard has never had a nice thing to say about the VW, so, I have to ask, Why put yourself through that again if you know they are that bad?????

[Transporter]

I don't think I can handle another 3-5 years of hearing how crap the VW auto's and DSG's are. Basically, Howard has never had a nice thing to say about the VW,

there is also ignore button.

No offence, Howard.

Just helping here.

Sent from my GT-N8000

[Sunny43.5]

Fair enough.....My comment was purely selfish. I don't think I can handle another 3-5 years of hearing how crap the VW auto's and DSG's are. Basically, Howard has never had a nice thing to say about the VW, so, I have to ask, Why put yourself through that again if you know they are that bad?????

Hey I am not down on VW overall its just one bad apple has spoilt the bunch , My very first foray into VW,s was a second hand T4 I bought for my business in 2000 I really only had one issue that I can recall the old faithful relay problem . The van was just so tough I was smitten with its power its car like drive and relay aside reliability , I nearly cried when I wrote it off driving into the back of a lo loader car transporter I managed to clock up nearly 200.000kays before it died in only four and a bit years . At the same time we bought our first brand new T4 as the kids had grown too big to take out of their chairs and put in the back seat of the Verada plus fitting folded wheel chairs in the wagon left no room for any thing else . That T4 was also a bloody good van maybe I was critical about the adaptive auto but it also never let us down . Then VW announces the T5 and they certainly pushed the fact that the 2.5 turbo diesel with Triptronic was if I remember one the worlds most powerful vans at the time plus it won all sorts of awards , so we fell for it , the rest of the vans life has been well documented in this forum , by comparison lets add up some costs water pump fail $1400 sliding door rollers $160 turbo intercooler coupling fails $600-$800 if done but I ended up fixing myself with two screws Diesel fuel cooler holed because of bad placement again if done $600 plus again removed so saved money . Then the auto wanted it fixed at 70.000 VW no can do , now $11000 out of pocket plus another $3600 for auto service that killed it and a simple bearing in an air con compressor that could not be repaired by VW then told the turbo is leaking internally and they quote $6000 to repair . Add them up around $20.000 in only 135000kms and 7 years yes I am Peed off yes I hate VW a $50.000 European supposed quality vehicle with so many ridiculous costs to keep on the road and I would say I could not attribute one failure to the way the van was driven , we were let down by a company who arrogantly ignore some basic Australian circumstances . Autos with no external cooler in our climate " very stupid" / auto with a no service design and because of that piece its failed , a simple $45 filter and half an hour labour would save hundrerds of people money because of their" VWs" stupidity and ignorance of their market place . Last thing why did a $50.000 van have so many faults and costs when my T5 2.0 manual petrol that I bought to replace old faithfull T4 has now nearly clocked up 200.000 kms and what have I spent clutch $600 / waterpump timing belt $600 other than servicing which is done rarely on this one {do it myself}brake pads $200 plus and add it up $30.000 van $1500 repairs $50.000 van $20.000 for repairs off course I am going to vent my spleen where I can , and as this is a public forum I cant see the problem , now as I said if I buy another one I will continue to complain when I see fit because if the world just sits back and lets huge corporations get away with it then God help the worlds future .