Volkswagen Touran - Anything to be aware of when purchasing used one?

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Mon 15 Jul 2019 19:25
Volkswagen Touran - Anything to be aware of when purchasing used one? - Teshy

Hi all,

This has come to be my go-to place for any car related decisions nowadays as the most knowledgable forum :)

We are looking to puchase a 7 seater (or more accurately, a 5+2) as we occassionally have to provide a lift to aging parents (who we find increasingly need our help) in addition to our family of four.

We have seen a few cars (citroen c4, smax, etc) but the Touran seems to have a good blend of reliability, space and comfort.

We do approx 9-10k miles a year with a blend of local nursery drop offs/pick ups during the week and then further distances on the weekend (including into Londons soon-to-be extended ULEZ) as we are active and tend to be out and about.

I'm searching for the latest model in the latest shape (2016 onwards) with a max of 40k miles done. Armed with a budget of 15k, that gets us an SE 2016 example with a 1.6 diesel engine.

A few questions for this:

1) are there any gremlins about this car/engine that i should be aware of?

2) is there any significant work which would need to be done around 40-50k which i should budget for?

3) is 40k a reasonable top mileague or should i get more generous with my search?

Any help would be hugely appreciated! Thanks!

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Mon 15 Jul 2019 19:56
Volkswagen Touran - Anything to be aware of when purchasing used one? - badbusdriver

The 1.6 diesel in this car is the very same one at the heart of the 'dieselgate' scandal, and should be avoided like the plague.

If you want a reliable 5+2 seater, get a petrol engined Toyota Verso or Mazda 5.

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Mon 15 Jul 2019 20:09
Volkswagen Touran - Anything to be aware of when purchasing used one? - badbusdriver

Your budget would get you into a 2018 Verso 1.6 petrol, that is probably the safest place to put your money from a reliability point of view.Here is one from Motorpoint,

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20190710993...1

After looking, i see that the Maxda 5 was discontinued in 2015, but having said that, you'd get into a 2014/2015 like this car for about £10,

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20190615903...1

If you really wanted diesel, then a Kia Carens 1.7 CRDi is what i'd be looking at. Your budget would get you into a 2017/2018 car with 5/6 years warranty remaining. Here is one from a Kia dealer,

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20180530700...1

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Mon 15 Jul 2019 20:47
Volkswagen Touran - Anything to be aware of when purchasing used one? - SLO76
The post 2015 diesels weren’t affected by the emissions scandal and although EGR and DPF issues are still too common, particularly on cars used for low mileage but this engine isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be. There’s loads of Skoda taxis running it with massive mileages up and I personally have a Polo with the smaller 3cyl version which has proven very reliable, though the EGR cooler was replaced under warranty and numerous minor issues such as door locks have been a minor pain. It has recently been no bother at all despite being 7yrs old with 80k up.

If you’re a low to moderate mileage user I’d try to find one with the excellent belt driven 1.4 TSi. Buy at the same age and you’ll avoid the earlier versions timing chain worries. Just avoid any with the unreliable DSG gearbox.
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Mon 15 Jul 2019 22:01
Volkswagen Touran - Anything to be aware of when purchasing used one? - daveyjp
Plenty of issues. Look at VW, Audi Seat and Skoda. For your mileage leave the diesel on the forecourt.

They are a gamble and LEZ rules won’t get relaxed over the years.
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Tue 23 Jul 2019 14:34
Volkswagen Touran - Anything to be aware of when purchasing used one? - Teshy

Hi all,

Just wanted to circle back and thank everyone for their comments. On the back of your advice we are ditching the diesel idea and are looking at the petrols : most likely the 1.2 TSI (manual)

I noticed the 1.4 petrol was recommended but these may be a little out of our price range as they seem to be considerably more expensive to purchase.

Edited by Teshy on 23/07/2019 at 14:35

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Tue 23 Jul 2019 15:11
Volkswagen Touran - Anything to be aware of when purchasing used one? - Teshy

Badbusdriver - to confirm, we looked at these alternatives but we decided on the Touran because it has isofix points in the 3rd row (an essential for us) - albeit fully aware that those are more reliable options.

We also saw the Alhambra, Sharon, Galaxy etc but these were just too long for our needs.

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