SWMBO, must be obeyed.

I can give you a BIG fault with the VW. The DSG transmission, if something goes wrong with this baby it means a new box at around $15k. You can not even buy oil from the usual sources either, must be genuine. This is from a mechanic friend who told me this when I suggested selling my wifes 1998 Volvo V40T for a VW Golf. I'll admit it, I am a Volvo enthusiast before I owned a Land Rover, and have never been let down majorly, (the odd flat battery) by a Volvo like I have been with the Disco that I bought new. Currently I have an original red 1969 1800S (my baby) and the family V40T as well as my 04 TD5 Disco. Apart from wear and tear and everyday service costs in my mind you could do a lot worse than a Volvo.
Regards
Robbo.

You're calling one of the most highly acclaimed gearboxes on the market as a big flaw?
Maybe your mechanic is way too Volvo biased or just passing on 3rd hand information?
You won't find many reports of the DSG failing and if you do, I can bet you that they've seen some serious neglect.

With a 3 year warranty on this VW, I'm not worried about a fantastic gearbox failing.

g'day Chris,

Have you looked at the Skoda Superb. More room than the disco and Passat. They loose money when bought new but are cheap new and they are trying to establish a name so offer some awesome deals. Built on the same platform at the VW....Well worth a look at as a new model can be had for the same price as a second hand Passat.

Cheers

BTW - I am also starting to be worried about the Disco and something major happening and costing a motsa....so I'm with you and keen to see what you end up doing here..

edit: actually Skoda has a heap more features such as umbrellas in the back door and active xenon headlights.....has a few more too.

Hi Sully.

The first thing I would be worried about is finding what you want from a car. Maybe you have not been specific enough yet?

From what I have gathered, you want a roomy, reliable stationwagon. Do you want something safe? Nice to drive? Impeccably finished? Individual? I think it is important to really lay out what you are looking for before you start picking at options. Do you have a ballpark price range?

Sam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by catch-22

g'day Chris,

Have you looked at the Skoda Superb. More room than the disco and Passat. They loose money when bought new but are cheap new and they are trying to establish a name so offer some awesome deals. Built on the same platform at the VW....Well worth a look at as a new model can be had for the same price as a second hand Passat.

Cheers

BTW - I am also starting to be worried about the Disco and something major happening and costing a motsa....so I'm with you and keen to see what you end up doing here..

edit: actually Skoda has a heap more features such as umbrellas in the back door and active xenon headlights.....has a few more too.

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Thanks for the post. I did look at the Superb, but they aren't as cheap as a used Passat. Mostly over 35k versus mid to high 20's for a Passat.
As for features, they are pretty close to each other. The Passat (which I purchased btw) has leather seats, sunroof, dual climate control, sat nav, phone, cruise, heated seats, auto lights, auto wipers, 8 speaker stereo with 6 disc and aux input, chilled glove box, 17 inch alloys including spare, dark tint, a tow bar and numerous other little features I'm yet to discover, including the umbrella holder in the drivers door.
Size wise; the skoda is only slightly longer by a few mm, is narrower and has a smaller track. It's also heavier and slightly more thirsty.

Both good cars, but VW won out purely on value for money. There's a lot of kit for a sub 30k car in the Passat.

Just for kicks, here's pics of the purchase.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...011/06/957.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...011/06/958.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...011/06/959.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...011/06/960.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...011/06/961.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...011/06/962.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...011/06/963.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by series3

Hi Sully.

The first thing I would be worried about is finding what you want from a car. Maybe you have not been specific enough yet?

From what I have gathered, you want a roomy, reliable stationwagon. Do you want something safe? Nice to drive? Impeccably finished? Individual? I think it is important to really lay out what you are looking for before you start picking at options. Do you have a ballpark price range?

Sam

---

Thanks for the post Sam. Initially I wanted something cheap, reliable and safe. I quickly found that wasn't going to happen, so I did what you've suggested and drilled down to the important stuff. Reliability, safety, creature comforts, economy and the potential to keep the car for many years came into play. So a relatively new diesel, mid sized to large car with lots of bells and whistles, with impeccable service history and good after ales service was what I went for.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sully

You're calling one of the most highly acclaimed gearboxes on the market as a big flaw?
Maybe your mechanic is way too Volvo biased or just passing on 3rd hand information?
You won't find many reports of the DSG failing and if you do, I can bet you that they've seen some serious neglect.

With a 3 year warranty on this VW, I'm not worried about a fantastic gearbox failing.

---

Good luck with that. :o

Good choice on the Passat but the back seat space does not come close to the Superb. But they are similar in other ways.....in fact near the same car.

I don't know why but I thought you were going for a newer model. Either way, top car there....

It's a bit late now but I was going to say if you've got a little one almost here I'd definitely not be having them in a defender or disco. It's a right PITA, not enough boot space for all their paraphenalia (especially if you ever want to accomplish food shopping while having a pram in the car) and very very tight having them rear facing. Our son couldn't fit in the defender rear facing, he had to wait until he was old enough to forward face...by which time they're not so fragile and it's not as scary for the resident SWMBO ;)

Sarah

Quote:

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Originally Posted by robbotd5

Good luck with that. :o

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Hmmm...

Thanks so much for your positive and ever so informative input. If there was an "unthanks" button I'd press it.

Surely you can't blame me for thinking it a bit strange that your third hand information is a bit harsh given that you have no real proof apart from stating that a transmission, which is critically acclaimed worldwide, is a "big flaw" based on what some "mechanic mate" told you.

I've had "mechanics" tell me all sorts of things in the past that turned out to be either complete crap or a personal opinion because they didn't know any better.

In any case, I've trawled through all sorts of reports on the VW's and didn't find any reports on the DSG being troublesome.

If you're unable to provide any constructive feedback and just feel like poking at me for the sake of covering up for your posts of useless information, then take it to the soapbox thread.

You enjoy the magic that is the Land Rover 4 speed clunker and I'll enjoy the silky smooth "flawed" 6 spd DSG. I'll be sure to toot and wave if I see you on the side of the road after your inhibitor switch has failed, or the transfer case has imploded, or the CDL locks up, or the DCJ explodes... What were you saying about flawed gearboxes?

Moving on....

Catch-22 - Yep, an 07 model was as far as the budget would stretch and time really isn't on our side now that the baby has arrived.
Leg room isn't really that important at the moment as it's just us and the small one, so the mid sized car will do just fine.
If I did have more money to throw at it, I would have looked at the new Superb's a lot more closely.

Sarah, thanks for that info, I agree. In the short time we've had the baby, it's been a bit of a pain for the missus to be climbing in and out of the back seat.
Although I will miss the Disco, I'm sure that the choice we made is a good one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sully

Sarah, thanks for that info, I agree. In the short time we've had the baby, it's been a bit of a pain for the missus to be climbing in and out of the back seat.
Although I will miss the Disco, I'm sure that the choice we made is a good one.

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Yes, climbing in and out a normal height car is bad enough, in and out of a 4wd with a newborn in the centre seat wouldn't be a lot of fun.

Don't worry, our boy loved the Defender and now rides in our D1...there will always be another Rover. I had to tell that to Mr LSD repeatedly, selling his 'fender a few months back was really hard for him. Your child will appreciate it more when they're a bit older anyway

I swear a love of rovers is genetic...

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...011/06/916.jpg