considering buying a phaeton

[h999@fsmail.net]

I'm sorely tempted to buy a used Phaeton, as they seem remarkable value for money. I had a jaguar XF for a few months and it was a bit of a disappointment. Too many faults identified by other owners got me worried about reliability and long term costs and the ride was harsh on 20" wheels on South Yorkshire roads. I also felt a bit flash and the anonymity of a Phaeton is an attraction. I would be grateful for an overview from current Phaeton owners re satisfaction levels / relisbility / costs etc. The road tax is the first blow and I would need to be able to accepy paying out over £400 before turning a wheel.
thanks in anticipation of your views

[gartracescort]

I did, in April. A nervous decision. My previous was a W140 S500 Merc (not counting the LDV) which was amazing until it started to die, but it was 13 years old and high mileage/city/pool car use.

This car (V10 diesel) is far better, as quiet, faster, far more economical and seemingly more solid (10 years more development potential) and so far 100% fine, but I have bought a warranty for the first time.

VW, 48,000 miles when bought. Merc, 145,000 miles; not a particularly fair comparison for reliability.

It is very greedy on front tyres and I really miss the self-closing doors.

[towcestervag]

my freinds 3.0 tdi is amazing
bought at 6mths old at a snip
now had 3 yrs and the only thing ive had to do is servicing
never had anything go wrong !
did put a chip box on it and it improved performance/economy by miles
BUT do beware as if anything engine/gearbox wise goes wrong there is a special jig to remove these and will cost dearly

[swerve]

Looking at a 55 plate & a 56 plate phaeton and there is a £200 difference in the VED duty so if interested in a phaeton and cost of tax is a barrier do a check on the direct gov web site. Also can't believe that a car with this sort of technology is using a timing belt and not a chain.

[DSG4ME]

This is a very desirable car, i.e I really want one but can't justify the running cost's, well actually I can't but I would, the thing that puts me off is the repair cost's, from what I managed to obtain it's 3k for a hazzard light switch because it's integrated into the whole infotainment console, and 5k for 4 air shocks, alright if it's not you who pays, not so if it is though, still a beaut of a motor though, and the other thing is, a 300C looks like a Bentley, a Phaeton is a Bentley.

[green A8]

We've had six of these on our company fleet. All 3.0TDi's since the 55 plate. Seems like every time they fall due to be replaced at two years old another Phaeton with the current plate arrives in the car park. I had a chat to our fleet manager who is a man of few words. It would seem that there are no plans to replace the Phaeton's with anything other than another Phaeton! In six years not a single car has broken down , and just as importantly none have had to have anything other than menu services. The only other cars we run that can compete with that impressive record are the Lexus 600h (three on the fleet) and the Rolls Royce Phantom (Two on the fleet) . Neither of these do the miles that the Phaetons rack up (between 50-70K P/A) A magnificent car.
Hope this helps.

Kind Regards.

Paul.

[Crasher]

Looking at a 55 plate & a 56 plate phaeton and there is a £200 difference in the VED duty so if interested in a phaeton and cost of tax is a barrier do a check on the direct gov web site. Also can't believe that a car with this sort of technology is using a timing belt and not a chain.

Going back a bit BUT-only the 4.2 V8 has a timing belt. The 3 litre TDI has a pump belt but all the rest are chain or gear driven cams.

[WeegieBob]

Well after nearly 3 months, 5 'cold call' phone calls from various sales personel at the dealers trying to sell me an unrepeatable deal not one of them has returned their call when I raised the subject of the Phaeton as they promised and not a single returned call from the salesman who I bought the Golf off.

Disappointingly it appears that none of them can be <removed> to try, preferring to drop me as my question apparently is too hard - so tomorrow I go to my local Jaguar dealer to order a new XF. Sad really, I have the money, they have the car I wanted - all it needed was a bit of customer service and effort to meet in the middle of the shortfall and they could have moved on a car that's been sitting there for nearly 11 months earning absolutely nothing for them.

[Crasher]

I currently have charge of a 2004 LWB V10 TDI at the moment which I believe is for sale. These are extraordinarily complicated cars that require a USED purchase owner to exhibit a tremendous amount of patience and financial clout to be able to run, They are, in my honest opinion, the most sophisticated and describable exclusive saloon car every made but they do require continuous ownership. At the end of the Phaeton story you MUST remember that it gave birth to two new Bentleys which albeit half built in Germany are keeping many British artesian's in work and the Conti, Spur and Phaeton are utterly fantastic cars for the money, I personable am totally in love with the Phaeton and I wish I had the cash to throw at a LWB W12, fully loaded-absolute heaven on wheels...

[WeegieBob]

Hi Crasher,

I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to get over to me if your previous post is aimed at me.

The Phaeton is brand new, not second hand, I have the money to run the car, I have the understanding of the trade having worked in it (allbeit part-time) for 40 years and I have the patience of a saint when it comes down to the people who make a living in the motor trade as I know just how difficult it can be, however that does not excuse anybody in the trade from ignoring a potential customer because there are 'easier' deals to be made out there, which in my opinion is happening here. If VW sales staff prefer to ignore a customer with £35k to spend then so be it, I'll go somewhere else.

With regard to 'continuous ownership' - if VW deemed that desirable then why offer Phaetons on personal lease terms to ordinary punters like me? I'm sure many Phaetons in use just now by local authorities for example are tied into some form of limited term lease, not outright purchase.

(And I would apologise for the use of a word that apparently is deemed foul language on this web site, but just for the record for readers of this thread I didn't use anything that would obviously be considered by all sections of society as foul, it was a word which has common useage here in the West of Scotland and is part of day to day conversations. That said I will not make that error again and will mind my p's & q's in the future. )