My parents are looking to take one off their friends hand who never drive it and buy it for my little brother. It's an 2003, not sure which motor. I just wanted to know some opinions on the Touaregs reliability and VW's reliability and the cost of maintenance and service. My sister bought a Jetta right out of school but she had to get another car because of the cost to repair it. Go!

2/20/2007 4:39:27 PM

Your sister already awnsered your question!

2/20/2007 4:55:18 PM

a touareg for a young kid? how old is he?

that's very silly.

did you think about gas, reliability, environment, etc?

get a relaible, fuel-efficient kid-friendly car, like a camry, accord, altima, maxima, heck even a 350Z.

if he really wants an SUV for some reason, there are much better alternatives, such as from nissan, toyota, mazda, honda, etc.

2/20/2007 5:03:51 PM

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2346738

2/20/2007 5:16:16 PM

dont bother asking about the reliability and such of a VW in here, everyones just going to bitch about horror stories theyve heard and tell you not to buy it, check out the vortex and read how things really work.

2/20/2007 6:30:51 PM

a 350Z is kid-friendly? How's that?

The Touareg may not be very fuel-efficient but it is big and safe, which a lot of parents want for first-time drivers. However I personally wouldn't put an inexperienced driver in an SUV because of the high center of gravity.

I have no informed comment to make on the reliability so I will refrain.

2/20/2007 7:17:10 PM

suvs are not safe, not sure why people think that.

2/20/2007 7:22:43 PM

The only reason my parents have interest in the VW is because they were offered a price they almost can't give up. Who cares how old my brother is.

[Edited on February 20, 2007 at 7:41 PM. Reason : gff]

2/20/2007 7:38:17 PM

Perhaps they could keep the Touareg and give him one of their cars?

Or are theirs even nicer than the Touareg (jesus)?

2/20/2007 8:03:23 PM

Quote :

"Who cares how old my brother is. "

i wouldnt give a new driver an suv

2/20/2007 8:15:28 PM

touaregs are the more reliable of Volkswagens, however they are very pricey to maintain. also if your worried about the $$$ factor, a touareg eats up gas like its nothing.

2/20/2007 10:23:32 PM

Something silly is always going wrong with the vws i know...
but i still love the cars.

coil packs maf sensors etc.

2/20/2007 10:40:11 PM

Quote :

"i wouldnt give a new driver an suv"

My first car was a Cherokee and then a Suburban after a few months. And my parents cars he are not better, one is a truck, the other is a full-size suv.

2/20/2007 11:30:07 PM

Quote :

"touaregs are the more reliable of Volkswagens, however they are very pricey to maintain. also if your worried about the $$$ factor, a touareg eats up gas like its nothing."

i guess you could say that. if um, well... no.

avoid a first year model like the plauge.

2/20/2007 11:49:34 PM

the newer vw's are a LITTLE more reliable than before, but not much.

[Edited on February 21, 2007 at 1:03 AM. Reason : rh]

2/21/2007 1:03:01 AM

Quote :

"the newer vw's are a LITTLE more reliable than before"

interesting.. i have a 91 with over 180k on it and it still starts every time and runs fine...

i've had it for over a year and all that i've had to replace are items that would normally wear out after that many miles (wheel bearings, shocks, tires, etc)

2/21/2007 9:14:59 AM

Quote :

"And my parents cars he are not better, one is a truck, the other is a full-size suv."

Ah, give him one of those and let them keep/resell the nice one! Haha...

My first car was a Cherokee as well. It's ridiculously easy to learn to drive in one of those, and it has a lot of steel. Granted it only has a 3 star crash test safety rating, but that's just incentive to drive better.

2/21/2007 9:28:20 AM

my parents had a Touareg, but eventually had to get their money back from the dealer under Maryland lemon laws - they didn't drive it all that much and had to take it to the shop every few weeks to get something fixed.

2/21/2007 9:39:20 AM