2005 VW Sharan 1.9tdi 130 SE - thinking of buying

[Matt UK]

Morning all, bit of a boring one, but hey ho..

We've decided a bus would be a useful addition to the fleet and a 2005 VW Sharan 1.9tdi 130 SE has come up locally with a sensible sounding 65k on the clock.

I'm using a Passat as a daily with this engine so know what it's good / not good at, but anyone got any thoughts on the Sharan in terms of what to look out for / horror story running costs?

[excel monkey]

Matt UK said:

a 2005 VW Sharan 1.9tdi 130 SE has come up locally with a sensible sounding 65k on the clock.

No specific thoughts on the Sharan, but double check the mileage/history to make sure it hasn't been clocked.

[Matt UK]

excel monkey said:

Matt UK said:

a 2005 VW Sharan 1.9tdi 130 SE has come up locally with a sensible sounding 65k on the clock.

No specific thoughts on the Sharan, but double check the mileage/history to make sure it hasn't been clocked.

Good call, it's a bit of an 'airport' type car

[mk1matt]

We've got a Galaxy 115 Tdi in the same shape. They're generally pretty good, though there are a few things to watch our for:

• ARB drop links fail quite regularly. OE lasted only slightly longer than aftermarket for me.
• Wiper mechanisms can seize up - either replace or strip the linkage apart and regrease it.
• Auxilliary heaters can fail. These are separate diesel powered heaters underneath the car which help boost the heating since the engine doesn't put out much heat and it takes ages to warm up. Not all cars have them. If you've got one, chances are it won't work - the glow plug fails and it won't start. After 5 starts the ECU locks it out. You'll need to use VAG COM to clear the faults after replacing the plugs.
• Aux water pump fails. Cars with the aux heater and secondary heater matrix have a 2nd electric water pump fitted to the bulkhead. After a while the motor brushes wear and they stop working. A new pump is ~£100 or so.
• MAFs are a common fault. Ours is ok but generally MAFs fail regularly on the PD engines.
• Aircon pipes split. These get brittle and crack on the bends. New ones are expensive and awkward to fit.
• EGR valves get gunked up. Ours has noticably dropped off in terms of performance and MPG. To be fair, it's got 180,000 miles of exhaust deposits in it!

Other than the above, which are hardly major points, they're great bits of kit. Ours is a combination family bus and builders van, and copes with both tasks very well. With all the seats out you can get a medium sized 3 seat sofa in the back and still close the boot.

I won't lie to you about the driving though - it's not what I'd call exciting to drive, but then again that's not what it's for really.

[Matt UK]

Appreciate that Matt, thanks