The end of an era...

[Arctra]

On 21 May 2009 I took delivery of my brand new Tig TDI. A couple of weeks back I rear-ended an idiot who started pulling away then suddenly slammed on his brakes. It was a very low speed impact as I was literally only just pulling away, but it did enough for the insurance company to deem it "uneconomical to repair" so it is now on t he "repairable write-off" register or something... immediately unregistered.






The bonnet started folding (as it is designed to) so it was always going to need replacing (and I can't open the bonnet at the moment to see what might have been damaged in the engine bay), and the front left mudguard got a bit crunched, but I would have thought it'd be repairable.

But it's not, so 10 years (almost to the day) after getting it she is dead. I always said when I bought it that I intended to keep it until it died, but I kinda expected that to be from old age rather than a bingle. I was already thinking how I might go about replacing the DPF when it finally failed as it is over 80% full of ash (not soot which can be burnt off with a regen or good hard drive), but I guess that won't be necessary anymore.

The biggest failure I experienced the whole time I have owned it is the turbo actuator failing (which I had fixed at the start of this year). Otherwise she's been a solid performed and a great vehicle to own.

I went to VW to take a look at the latest Tig, but when the sales staff seemed totally uninterested in helping me, combined with the pricetag compared to other comparable vehicles I am afraid I am leaving the VW family as well. Such a pity as I still like the brand, but VW Australia with their exorbitant pricing of spares (the famed "VW tax"), and the dealers that aren't up to scratch, I'm gonna let my wallet do the talking and take it elsewhere. I've decided on the latest Forrester - it'll be interesting to see how it compares over time.

Thank you all of you that have helped and provided advice to me. Miro in particular proved to be a wealth of knowledge and helped me several times with advice. UmaiNaa was great to deal with and helped out with working on my Tig a few times (dunno if he's still in business or not). And Alex G did a bang-up job of the bash plate which paid itself off more times than I can remember - so glad I spoke to him and got it made up.

I hope you guys enjoy your Tig and have many many years of problem free driving!

Vital stats:
Total milage - 189,000km
Total fuel used - 14,341L
Average milage - 7.63 l/100km (13.11 km/l)
Total sets of tyres - 3 (stock Bridgestones, Pirelli Scorpions, and Hankook Optimo's)
Total batteries - 3 (stock and 2 replacements - all Vatra)
Transmission, Haldex, and Diff oil changes - 2
Sets of shock absorbers - 2 (stock and a set of Bilstiens)
Kangaroo's killed - 1

So for the cost of the vehicle I think it ended up costing me about 25.5c a km, and about $400 a month (plus running costs of course). I'm OK with that.

[tigger73]

Sorry to hear the Tig has had an early end to it's life

I think you're one of the last "original" gen1 Tig owners on here.

I had a (short) interlude into the world of Subaru after my first Tig but have since seen the errors of my ways and have come back into the fold.

From all reports the new Forester is pretty good (albeit no XT version) but if you're not after a performance SUV and want something to tackle a few off-road tracks it should suit your needs. Also these come with eyesight standard (adaptive cruise) which VW should include across the range also rather than as an option pack.

[jets]

I think you're one of the last "original" gen1 Tig owners on here.

I am still here. Not an original but coming up to 6 years ownership. I don't normally post in this section as mine has only just clicked over 100,000km & have only replaced 1 part, other than tyres, battery, wiper rubbers etc. That part was a flap valve just after I bought it.
I am very pleased with the car, the only future concern is the life of the DPF. We use the Golf for all our short runs to minimise regens. in the Tig.

[Transporter]

It’s sad to see you leaving Dean. The Subarus are good cars, though the spare parts are at least as expensive as VW, the servicing parts are for sure dearer than VW.

We still have the 2010 and 2012 Tiguan TDIs and hope that the diesels will be back before we need to replace them.

[Dartiguan]

I am still here. Not an original but coming up to 6 years ownership. I don't normally post in this section as mine has only just clicked over 100,000km & have only replaced 1 part, other than tyres, battery, wiper rubbers etc. That part was a flap valve just after I bought it.
I am very pleased with the car, the only future concern is the life of the DPF. We use the Golf for all our short runs to minimise regens. in the Tig.

I’m still here too 2010 TDI sold 2011 and aside from a DPF clean still going strong at 180K

[Bayman]

Sorry to hear the Tig has had an early end to it's life

I think you're one of the last "original" gen1 Tig owners on here.

I had a (short) interlude into the world of Subaru after my first Tig but have since seen the errors of my ways and have come back into the fold.

From all reports the new Forester is pretty good (albeit no XT version) but if you're not after a performance SUV and want something to tackle a few off-road tracks it should suit your needs. Also these come with eyesight standard (adaptive cruise) which VW should include across the range also rather than as an option pack.

I'm still doing OK with my Tiggy, done 150,000kms and looking to buy a new one and keep this tig for family member. I've endured inlet manifold switch issues and VW tax implied a whole new manifold and of course a new EGR valve cause it was leaking oil, plus a boot lock stuffed mechanism and a front door strap noisey, so a recent $3K that hurt. Car still not 23R7'd so drives better than new. Too good to hand to someone else for a miserable 8K or less. The vehicle still my best ever owned and my brakes have avoided 2 collisions similar to this rear ender. The brakes are mind blowing I find and best I've ever experienced even better than our Golf and heaps better than other makes I've driven.


Cheers

[jcubed]

Hi Dean,

Trolling the forum to catch up, and commiserations, mate. I have "known" that car since Feb 2010, as you were one of the first respondents - possibly just beaten by jimbomort - re the spacers since I joined the VWWatercooled forum.

I'll add some more responses within your text below.

Best regards

Johnie

It was a very low speed impact as I was literally only just pulling away, but it did enough for the insurance company to deem it "uneconomical to repair" so it is now on the "repairable write-off" register or something... immediately unregistered.

But it's not, so 10 years (almost to the day) after getting it she is dead. I always said when I bought it that I intended to keep it until it died, but I kinda expected that to be from old age rather than a bingle.

I had the same intention with my Freelander 2, and actually thought it would last forever, but just short of 240 000 km (12 years), the Toyota component failed. Yes, that Aisin-Warner 6-speed auto transmission - the Tiguan had the same - has been the cause of many economically unrepairable write-offs, primarily due to some vehicle brands declaring a "sealed-for-life" maintenance policy, never changing the oil.

Otherwise she's been a solid performed and a great vehicle to own.

Likewise with the Freelander 2.

I went to VW to take a look at the latest Tig, but when the sales staff seemed totally uninterested in helping me, combined with the pricetag compared to other comparable vehicles I am afraid I am leaving the VW family as well.

If you have not replaced it yet, have a look at a 2014 to run-out previous gen Volvo XC60 - avoid the R-Design models though, due to the stiffened suspension. I've had mine for just over a year now and it is the best compromise of the lot. Similarly to the Tiguan, I've done some modifications - why buy an SUV otherwise? - which you can read about here: Volvo XC60 Translation: The "S" in SUV from "snow" to "sand", or for a practical review, here: Volvo XC60: Review

Miro in particular proved to be a wealth of knowledge and helped me several times with advice.

Howzit, Miro! Dang, it's like a reunion!

As before, you're welcome to continue the conversation where we left off

[ian]

Out of curiosity what was the insurance Payout , as I've just sold my 2015 TDI 140 Kw and I sold it for $22,000 with just 19,000KW on the speedo , Having two vehicles and paying two insurances just was practical any more ,

[Arctra]

Out of curiosity what was the insurance Payout , as I've just sold my 2015 TDI 140 Kw and I sold it for $22,000 with just 19,000KW on the speedo , Having two vehicles and paying two insurances just was practical any more ,

Hi Ian

I had insured the vehicle for an "Agreed value" of $10,000. There is no ways I would have got $10k for it had I tried to sell it privately imo, and trade-in would have been even worse, so at the end of the day I think I am happy with it being written off.

[Sunny43.5]

Out of curiosity what was the insurance Payout , as I've just sold my 2015 TDI 140 Kw and I sold it for $22,000 with just 19,000KW on the speedo , Having two vehicles and paying two insurances just was practical any more ,

With 19,000KW on it I was surprised it sold for so little , that sort of engine output it would shame the HSV brigrade by a country mile . Tongue in cheek .