VW Phaeton - Worth a Purchase

[Mr.Nobody]

I’m looking for a bit of a barge. To load my tools in. But I also want something I can use on the weekends. I was thinking of the Phaeton. They look okay I think, plenty of toys on them and should be okay I would imagine on running costs.

I’ve around £7k spend on something. I’m also open to other suggestions.

I do around 15k
Auto would be great
Plenty of toys

[ZX10R NIN]

Going for something like the Phaeton isn't to bad but there weight means they're heavier on fuel than their A8 brethren & parts may be more expensive than the Audi.

There are a few other options worth a look.

The Infiniti FX will cost you less to run maintenance wise but still give you the luxo barge feel you're looking for & they also benefit from being ULEZ/CAZ compliant:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201071...

They also do a saloon version called the M30d but they're hard to find & the smaller EX with the same drivetrain:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112040...

I know it's the obvious answer is something like a low mileage CLS:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201051...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201111...

[Jamescrs]

I would probably go for an A8 instead for more parts availability generally. A guy I work.with had one until recently and it was a lovely barge, it was probably around 10 years old if now a few years older than that but still seemed to move very well.

He dud complain it was too big though and has a 10 player Passat Cc now.

[Mr.Nobody]

The CLS looks to be a good option. I will have a look at the A8? Any particular spec and engine?

[fflump]

Any toys will be 10 years old I would not bother if I were you.

[Mr.Nobody]

fflump said:

Any toys will be 10 years old I would not bother if I were you.

Fair enough. The options on a Phaeton are still good I believe anyway. Would anyone have any other cars they would recommend?

[Jamescrs]

I don't think the "toys" on a Phaeton will be out of date personally with the exception of probably the Satnav which is likely old at this point nless you find a really keen owner who has kept it updated

[Mr.Nobody]

Jamescrs said:

I don't think the "toys" on a Phaeton will be out of date personally with the exception of probably the Satnav which is likely old at this point nless you find a really keen owner who has kept it updated

That was my thoughts. I use Google Maps or Waze on my phone. So it’s not a big deal. Most sat navs are clunky anyway from the few older cars I’ve had.

[ajprice]

Mr.Nobody said:

Jamescrs said:

I don't think the "toys" on a Phaeton will be out of date personally with the exception of probably the Satnav which is likely old at this point nless you find a really keen owner who has kept it updated

That was my thoughts. I use Google Maps or Waze on my phone. So it’s not a big deal. Most sat navs are clunky anyway from the few older cars I’ve had.

If the head unit can be changed to a double din then you could put a Carplay/Android Auto unit in there. Or there might be a more up to date VW head unit that fits.

[LayZ]

CLS is good (I had one for a few years) but I would be pained at paying the current retail prices for a 10-15 year old one.

Mercedes of this era, (IMHO of course) 2009 MY to 2011 E and S class derivatives are really good. They fixed most of the problems and they are mature platforms. Also if you want modern tech there are tons of aftermarket android units that go straight in to replace an old COMAND unit.

e.g. this https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109237...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112260...

More good news is on these pre-bluetec OM642 3.0 diesels (230 PS stock) you can buy a Brabus D6 III tuning box on ebay for £150-200 and plug and play for 280 PS power (I even have a spare one of these). Obviously if you buy an S class look for one that has very good history and not one run on a shoestring.

Oh I forgot one more thing, all Phaetons are full fat (£600 ish) tax. This would put me off. These diesel mercs fall below 225g/km co2 so they aren't the top bracket.

Edited by LayZ on Thursday 20th January 10:26

Edited by LayZ on Thursday 20th January 10:27

[ilikejam]

Depends on your attitude to risk. Phaeton are quite famous for seemingly innocuous things costing a fortune. I seem to remember something about the boot hinges potentially being write off material.

Infiniti is probably where my money would go.

Worth checking the 'Best Smoker Barges' thread on General Gassing for other options too.

[ajprice]

ilikejam said:

I seem to remember something about the boot hinges potentially being write off material.

They were a bit special though

[eleveneleven]

I was looking into a Phaeton last year.

might want to watch this first
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzImp-p0QPc

This is worst case scenario and his was the W12... and he lives in Switzerland where labor costs are insane by the sounds of it...
but you get the point. These are very complicated cars, according to what I've read you'll also need to find a Phaeton specialist to sort out any issues.

I suppose if you go into it knowing what to expect, you find a well looked after one and set aside a suitable sizable budget for anything that goes wrong then might be worth a shot.

Personally I wouldn't risk it, Id be looking at a Lexus LS430/460 instead A GS300 will also do the trick.

Edited by eleveneleven on Thursday 20th January 12:30

[Mr.Nobody]

Lexus sounds like a good choice. I did have an IS200 and IS250 a few years ago. I do like the LS versions or even the GS. It’s finding a good one with the Lexus Service History.

Infinity look good. I believe they are part of Nissan. I’m just not too keen on that model. So I may see what other models there is. I’m just looking at local cars that I can look at:

Phaeton:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107074...


Jaguar XF:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110158...

Mercedes E Class:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111239...

Left field choice - Mercedes R Class:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202111290...


Audi A8:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108246...

Jaguar XJ:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109097...

Edited by Mr.Nobody on Thursday 20th January 13:06

[ooid]

If you want a hassle-free motoring, you need Japanese Craftmanship and reliability.

Lexus

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109287...

Honda

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110018...

[Jim on the hill]

ooid said:

If you want a hassle-free motoring, you need Japanese Craftmanship and reliability.

Lexus

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109287...

Honda

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110018...

That Lexus looks great. Bit different to the usual boring German stuff

[Mr.Nobody]

ooid said:

If you want a hassle-free motoring, you need Japanese Craftmanship and reliability.

Lexus

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109287...

Honda

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110018...

The Lexus looks good. The Honda Legend looks interesting, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one.

[Roger Irrelevant]

I can't comment on the Phaeton as I know nowt about them, but from experience I would say that if you're buying an older car to do a lot of miles in then I'd go for something a bit more mainstream. I ran an ageing Subaru Outback for three years/50,000 miles and although the fact that you don't see many of them about was good, it also meant it was often difficult to get parts and they were never cheap. If I was doing 5k miles p.a. I probably wouldn't have cared as I wouldn't have needed bits very often, but at near 20k p.a. it became a PITA.

[GreatGranny]

I was just about to post a Jaguar XJ.

Yes they are old school and were probably not that reliable but IMO they look fantastic.



The latest XJ's are getting reasonable as well.



https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112080...

[chip*]

My FIL was deciding between a brand new S Class and a Phaeton, and bought the Phaeton 3.0 diesel instead (poor choice imo) Within 3 months of ownership, he had all sorts of electrical gremlins and radio issues. VW spent ages but could not identify the fault, so they gave him a brand new replacement car instead. He experienced door corrison (apparently a common fault) last year, and ended buying a new door! (not cheap) There is a long existing issue with the heating (or the lack of heating) which remain unresolved despite paying huge sum of diagnosis cost to VW. He has mentioned plenty other issues on the Phaeton too, but I can't stand him and tend to blank him out whenever he starts talking...
If it was my money, I wouldn't buy a Phaeton as parts are pricey and they ain't as reliable as you think.

Edit to add: Whenever the FIL starts talking about another issue on his Phaeton, I purposely wind him up by saying "Except for a new battery, our Ford Mondeo has been totally faultless during 6 years of ownership"

Edited by chip* on Thursday 20th January 15:20