VW Phaeton, worth a punt?

[BigMonk]

Ok unexpected new job means i need to replace my leggy st220.

Always liked Phaetons, but are they a bit of a money pit? Looking at the 3.0 tdi for about £15k, budget is flexible. Love the looks, interior is brillaint too though never driven one. Just worried about servicing and repair costs.

requirements are for =

140 mile commute
reasonable fuel economy
super comfortable
8.6 seconds to 60 is fast enough

will be doing 1000 miles a month on the continent (mostly at night), so needs to cruise at 120mph without breaking a sweat and while remaining brilliantly quiet.
large boot for transporting cargo.
all weather capability, it gets snowy in germany

Phaeton ticks all these. Other considerations are a 650i which i think would be cheaper to run bar fuel, but would need to up the budget by 7k. of course I could always buy the cheap and bland mondeo estate tdci, but i think the 2.0 tdci will be revving its tits off on the autobahn, plus sitting in the phaeton makes me all warm and cossey, and thats what being a PH'er is all about.

[jamiebae]

Phaeton sounds perfect for that job, go for it!

[General Price]

BigMonk said:

Ok unexpected new job means i need to replace my leggy st220.

Always liked Phaetons, but are they a bit of a money pit? Looking at the 3.0 tdi for about £15k, budget is flexible. Love the looks, interior is brillaint too though never driven one. Just worried about servicing and repair costs.

requirements are for =

140 mile commute
reasonable fuel economy
super comfortable
8.6 seconds to 60 is fast enough

will be doing 1000 miles a month on the continent (mostly at night), so needs to cruise at 120mph without breaking a sweat and while remaining brilliantly quiet.
large boot for transporting cargo.
all weather capability, it gets snowy in germany

Phaeton ticks all these. Other considerations are a 650i which i think would be cheaper to run bar fuel, but would need to up the budget by 7k. of course I could always buy the cheap and bland mondeo estate tdci, but i think the 2.0 tdci will be revving its tits off on the autobahn, plus sitting in the phaeton makes me all warm and cossey, and thats what being a PH'er is all about.

Are you replacing the Audi?

[Thankyou4calling]

I had a W12, 03 reg with the 2 rear seats and exec pack. Was an amazing cars and would think a lot is present in the diesel. I liked its understated looks combined with all the kit and performance but.....the brake discs needed replacing.....£1000 for the front, new tyres £170 each. But I gues you have to expect that as the car was £80k new. Maybe consider a Chysler 300c, I have one at the mo and its worth a look.

[Ari]

General Price said:

BigMonk said:

Ok unexpected new job means i need to replace my leggy st220.

Always liked Phaetons, but are they a bit of a money pit? Looking at the 3.0 tdi for about £15k, budget is flexible. Love the looks, interior is brillaint too though never driven one. Just worried about servicing and repair costs.

requirements are for =

140 mile commute
reasonable fuel economy
super comfortable
8.6 seconds to 60 is fast enough

will be doing 1000 miles a month on the continent (mostly at night), so needs to cruise at 120mph without breaking a sweat and while remaining brilliantly quiet.
large boot for transporting cargo.
all weather capability, it gets snowy in germany

Phaeton ticks all these. Other considerations are a 650i which i think would be cheaper to run bar fuel, but would need to up the budget by 7k. of course I could always buy the cheap and bland mondeo estate tdci, but i think the 2.0 tdci will be revving its tits off on the autobahn, plus sitting in the phaeton makes me all warm and cossey, and thats what being a PH'er is all about.

Are you replacing the Audi?

Exactly my thoughts!

[Robscim]

I've got a '57 Phaeton - absolutely great! True autobahn cruiser and fab in the snow!

Just don't tell everyone what a bargain they are too!

Shout if I can help

Rob

[Garlick]

I like your style

[BigMonk]

Thankyou4calling said:

I had a W12, 03 reg with the 2 rear seats and exec pack. Was an amazing cars and would think a lot is present in the diesel. I liked its understated looks combined with all the kit and performance but.....the brake discs needed replacing.....£1000 for the front, new tyres £170 each. But I gues you have to expect that as the car was £80k new. Maybe consider a Chysler 300c, I have one at the mo and its worth a look.

I appreciate £1000 for discs, thats normal on a car of this value i think. I just dont want to get a bill for £900 for a faulty window wiper arm or some other such stupid utility.

what mpg did you get out of the w12? pretty certain I want the diesel, but it would be nice to tick the W12 box...

[635djimmy]

V10 diesel for sale here.

Had a look at it, fantastic thing. Hot sure how these big diesel engines run though..

http://users.autoexposure.co.uk/vehicle.cfm?Accoun...

[R12HCO]

I was doing 110 mph in a 2.0 tdi passat today, and it was doing a tad over 3k rpm in 6th. Really quiet, really comfortable. Ovbiously the phaton will be faster, but i think that the passat is plenty fast enough whilst still doing 30+ mpg at them speeds.

Its a cheaper option where you could rack up the miles and not really care.

[Garlick]

635djimmy said:

V10 diesel for sale here.

Had a look at it, fantastic thing. Hot sure how these big diesel engines run though..

http://users.autoexposure.co.uk/vehicle.cfm?Accoun...

A recent Autocar article suggested costly problems with the V10 dervs. No first hand experience myself, just what I read.

[char5]

Go for the Phaeton. Always loved how understated but luxurious they are. Out of interest what is your new job? Just ignore me if you think I am being a bit nosey

[BigMonk]

R12HCO said:

I was doing 110 mph in a 2.0 tdi passat today, and it was doing a tad over 3k rpm in 6th. Really quiet, really comfortable. Ovbiously the phaton will be faster, but i think that the passat is plenty fast enough whilst still doing 30+ mpg at them speeds.

Its a cheaper option where you could rack up the miles and not really care.

I see what your saying, and yes I have been out in a new passat, it was nice. However ive also been out in a new S class, and the road noise in that at 110mph, was the same at 30mph, I suspect the Phaeton will be the same.

as said, just paranoid about stupid electrical issues etc.

[Rich_W]

One of the more common problems on the V10 (Phaeton and Touareg) is the Turbos letting go. Lots of labour.

Bear in mind that the basic underneath shares a lot with the A8. Which also have crashed in value. And the new Phaet is due now/soon

[BigMonk]

730D is a good shout, yes, definately worth looking at.

Audi A8 are similar to the Phaeton but are aluminum on a space frame chassis, perhaps thats a better car.

[Davie_GLA]

These have been catching my eye recently. But running costs are a consideration. Are the parts really that much? A grand for a set of front discs? I'd want all of the discs and pads replaced with a fluid change for that!

[croyde]

Just because a car is £80K new, why should the brake discs cost £1000. Just a bit of metal surely. I would understand that the calipers might be syht3 hot and costly but the discs?

[McSam]

Ari said:

General Price said:

BigMonk said:

requirements are for =

140 mile commute
reasonable fuel economy
super comfortable
8.6 seconds to 60 is fast enough

will be doing 1000 miles a month on the continent (mostly at night), so needs to cruise at 120mph without breaking a sweat and while remaining brilliantly quiet.
large boot for transporting cargo.
all weather capability, it gets snowy in germany

Are you replacing the Audi?

Exactly my thoughts!

Me too excellent stuff.

In seriousness, the A8 would be the only other consideration for this, but a Phaeton probably gets my vote. There's something very cool about those things, and as you've noticed, an obscene amount of car for the money!

[Davie_GLA]

Is it a case of because the car is what it is then the command a "tax" on the parts?

Based on a bently floor pan aren't they? Any other shared parts from the VW parts bin shared with much more expensive marques?

D.

[croyde]

Yep! I think it was the McClaren F1 that used the same mirrors as the Citroen CX but I bet if you broke one it would not be Citroen money to replace.

Edited to say it may be the XJ220 that shares mirrors with the CX.

Edited by croyde on Tuesday 15th March 23:03