VW Phaeton 3.0 V6 TDI (2008) CAR review

Interesting to hear about other problems with turbos on the 3.0 V6 TDI. I had a V10 5.0 LWB  for 2 years and 60,000 miles and it was the best car I have ever had by a long way - except the turbos failed twice. Repaired under warranty both times but took two weeks (with a courtesy Polo! - VW dealers have no clue how to deal with luxury car drivers) involved dropping the front suspension and taking the engine out and according to the dealer would have cots me £5k each time if I had been paying. Apparently a design fault caused by the position of the turbos where road muck could get to the electronic switches that controlled them and caused corrosion. In these days of the fitter rather than the mechanic, a failed switch means a new turbo! VW UK denied any suggestion that there might be a problem with the design and were rude and unhelpful (strange they no longer produce the V10 Phaeton!) so the car went the day the warranty ran out. Have been through Mercedes R class LWB ( very average), a Lexus (first and last Japanese) since and now a Jaguar XJ LWB which is good but doesn't get close to the V10 Phaeton. Thinking about a V6 to get back to Phaeton ownership but seriously worried to hear they have dodgy turbos as well.

Has any one else come across turbo problems?

By the way my back screen was broken by a failed boot mechanism as well - another desingn fault?

 I bought a 5LV10 04 car as an ex-demo from a VW Dealer five years and 96,000 miles ago, one of the best things I ever did. Absolute q-car hiding behind a Passat shape and VW badge to confuse people. The interior is amazing and everyone who rides in the car just goes quiet and looks at the quality of the fittings. The performance and economy of the V10 are fantastic, play well and you see 30mpg, on a bad day little is faster. I wish they still did the V10 (as long as I can buy it second hand!). It has to be one of the most comfortable ways to do 100,000 miles.

Servicing has been very cheap, I know one MB S-Class owner who has paid for one service almost everything I have paid for four years+. It has never failed despite being loaded with almost every gadget and being driven hard and put away wet. A few things have needed replacement, brakes for example at 80,000 but given the weight and speed this is no no great surprise.

I think it is one of the most underestimated buys on the market (secondhand) and a steal as an ex-demo if you barter hard, they get big rebates from VW for selling them that way. If you can get an ex-demo for £32k then compare for what BMW or Audi provide for that money !

The Phaeton has been the car to prove once and for all that car buyers on the whole (and especially luxury car buyers) are badge led, when Volkswagen cannot sell the car successfully in any market but can use it to provide the basis of the Continental GT sold at over double the price.

I realise the stretched passat looks don't exactly help as people to like in some way to demonstrate their wealth, but the engineering prowess behind the car isn't in any doubt. The fact remains that this size car has always been a depreciation nightmare, and without the right badge is even worse. I'd also agree that a VW Phaeton would make a great used car buy, especially if you can find a W12 version on the cheap.