Looking at a Touareg

[Tags]

All,

Our A4 avant is gone and we're looking to replace it with either a 2001-2004 Audi Allroad, 2001-2003 BMW X5 or a 2003-2004 VW Touareg. Is there anything specific to look for with the 2003-2004 3.2V6 Touareg? Problems etc...?

Thanks guys,

[Transporter]

Did you check this site?
http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f67/
Much more info on Treg there.
If the car you looking at was serviced at the dealer it should be up to date and all bugs should be fixed.
Our Treg V6 TDI is ok with no problems except noisy brakes in the morning during first couple meters. Which we get used to.

I think that in long run you could be beter of buying a new V6 TDI it depend of course how much is secondhand one.

[gerhard]

If buying something from those years, I think I'd rather buy a 2.5 diesel than the 3.2 V6. That engine is probably pretty thirsty in the 2600kg Touareg - it's thirsty in the R32 at 1000kg less. I have a 3.5V6 Jackaroo and that's thirsty - a common trait of V6s I think.

The 2.5 has parts from the Transporter which make certain things cheaper, such as brakes.

[Flipper Dog]

Nice choice of vehicles and I can see where you are looking with your budget.

With a Touareg you will be up for tyres and brakes every 25,000 to 50,000km depending on how you drive. That's about $3,000 to $3,500 all up. Some issues with electronics may also appear. Other than that general servicing costs will be what you have seen with Audi.
The 3.2 V6 is still getting around in some Audi/VW products so not too much to worry about there.
Points to note the Touareg has a space saver type spare tyre as standard (option full size rear mounted tyre) but real tyres not run flats like BMW and all the same size. The 3.2 V6 also liked to have a drink in town, no where as bad as a Range Rover 4.6 V8 but a lot more than your A4 (and on 98% preimum). Early models had a comfort pack with leather, auto wipers, auto lights and chrome trimmings where the standard version does without these.
I would not go for a Touareg built 2003 as there were problems with some of the early models.
If you can look for something with some form of VW extended warranty, it will be worth it in the long run.

Depending on what you will use it for the Touareg is a great vehicle for what they are worth, more capable off road than BMW.

The real pick of models in the Touareg would be a R5 TDI, 2.5 litre diesel. Same spec as the V6 had, better fuel econ and better drivability. Should be able to pick them up for just a little more than a V6 or the same price.

Good luck.

[Tags]

thanks for all the info guys.

I'll keep those things in mind when looking.

I'm bidding on a couple of X5's at auction tomorrow but if i don't have any luck there i'll be on the hunt for a Touareg.

I'll keep you posted.

[Tags]

well, nothing worked out with the X5's so im still hunting.

[Moonan]

IMHO R5 diesel is the pick of the second-hand ones of that time, economical to run, brakes more like 70 - 90k between changes (my rears are still original at 127k), second-half of 2004 build onwards are best (early assembly line problems gone by then). Look for evidence of "enhancement" campaign completed in 2007. Should be a sticker under the boot floor in the spare wheel well to say "90D7" IIRC. If an R5 it should have had the water pump replaced in that campaign, otherwise it will probably fail - redesigned pump went in in 2006 and free at the time of the "enhancement" campaign.

cheers

[Tags]

Well, I'm still looking. There isnt much for sale at the moment unfortunately.

[KWICKS]

What is your budget? And why are you not looking at anything brand new? What do you need it for?

[jamesatfish]

We had an MY05 3.2 V6 petrol Touareg up until a few months ago - it was the luxury pack so included the leather seats, dual-zone climate control, parking sensors etc etc.

The car was mainly used for city driving - we never went off-road but we wanted the extra space to carry things (it was a business vehicle) and the 3500kg towing capacity for our boat. I did love the build quality and interior appointments, but the V6 did struggle a bit if rapid acceleration was called upon for any reason, and it was certainly thirsty if driven harder or when towing.

We never had any issues with the car although VW did bring it in for a 'factory enhancement program' in around 2007, where they supposedly updated various electronic components free of charge. They left a sticker on the driver's door stating that this program had been completed - I'd check for that on any car you are looking at to make sure the upgrades were performed.

We also added the iPod adapter when it became available, which was a very worthwhile addition and integrated nicely (albeit very simply) into the standard (non-navigation) stereo.

Brakes were certainly an expensive component to replace - I think we got about 60,000kms out of the set of rotors but they cost close to $3000 to replace at dealer prices (I hadn't discovered the excellent services of my now preferred independent VW mechanic at the time). Being based on the Cayenne the car uses the same wheel PCD and offsets as their Porsche cousins, so wheel upgrades are relatively easy and you can also pick up a second set of OEM Touareg wheels for a cheap price if you don't like the space-saver spare. I sold our spare set of 17" OEMs a while ago and although I can't remember the exact price it certainly wasn't a fortune.

We eventually sold the car for what I thought was a bargain basement price, so you should be able to pick up a similar model fairly cheaply these days.

If there's anything else you'd like to know feel free to ask.