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| Performance | 1/10  |
|---|---|
| Practicality | 7/10 |
| Reliability | 1/10 |
| Value for Money | 3/10 |
| Reviewer Rating | 1/10 |
| Overall Rating | 2/10  |
Full review by
Jon atkinson
on 6th Feb 2008
User Rating : 1
Respect :
0
Good Points: Good looking van and comfortable to sit in when you are waiting for the AA to recover your broken van. I loved this van at first as do most t5 drivers, but this honeymoon period never lasts.
Bad Points: The new VW transporter van is the most disappointing vehicle i have ever owned. My local dealership couldn't be worse, if i want to book a service or spend money with them they would bend over backwards to help, but if i have a problem with my van that is covered under warranty it normally takes 2 days of continuous phone calls to get any response. I don't know if VW policy has always been like this as the last 2 transporter vans i have owned never broke down. But since owning the new T5 i am on first name terms with the reception staff.
General comments: At 45k miles the fly wheel came off and went through the engine sump, destroying the clutch in the process. The vw dealership had to replace the starter motor (as they killed it trying to find the fault), the sump, the fly wheel and the clutch. (all fixed under warranty). This is an increasing common problem as the number of t5 vans increase.
At 50k miles a sensor failed on the cam shaft, Layerthorpe VW quoted me £375 to replace the sensor. I bought a sensor from them for £27 and a friend replaced it in 25 mins without having to remove any parts other than the belly pan.
At 3 years old the paint on the door sills has rubbed away and the paint around the door handles has started to flake off, this annoyed me at first but I can now see it is in keeping with the door handles where the paint flaked off after 12 months. It's not the look I wanted, but it's what you get with a new VW Van.
The air conditioning only worked correctly for the first 18 months and after repeated trips to VW it still doesn't, but now the warranty has expired its "not their problem now". This could have upset me, but since the dial that changes the direction from windscreen to face or feet broke after 2 years I have given up caring.
My 54 plate van developed a clunking noise from the steering coulomb, I mentioned it when it was in for its first service but they couldn't hear it. This noise persisted without any real problem until the warranty expired, within 3 weeks it got unbelievably loud, i took it to the VW dealership where they said there have seen lots of these problems on all the T5 range but its not dangerous so they are not recalling them. They are not fixing it for free as the warranty has expired even though i pointed out this problem at the first service. Some people have had theirs repaired for free out of warranty but i don't know how VW choose who pays and who doesn't, even though the same parts have to be replaced.
My van is going back to the VW dealership tomorrow and whilst the work is being carried out I will be at Mercedes looking at Vito Vans.
The problems I have had are not isolated, all the problems i have had with my T5 are common and generally start at about 45k miles. This is the worst van I have owned, it is a shame as I have had 2 other VW transporter vans in the last 10 years without any problems.
If you want to spend more time in a hire van than your own van, buy a VW transporter T5 van.
Jon atkinson's review and ratings | 600 words
