VW PHAETON (Anybody driven one)

[Rob77]

A bloke at work bought a W12, with an amazing array of toys on it, a few months back. I know he was delighted with it at first but haven't spoken to him about it much recently. As far as I know, he's still in love with it but I'll ask him for an update.

 

[TonyVianoAmbiente]

You beat me to it - the car is a Bentley under the skin

The truth is that the Bentley is a VW Phaeton under the skin.

Sales of the Phaeton have been extremely disappointing, so VW sensibly chose to use its chassis, inner body structure and drive train for the Bentley Continental R coupé and subsequently the Bentley Flying Spur saloon. The Bentley models have been hugely successful.

 

[st4]

me too

then again E500's are getting very cheap these days....

True. Even at main dealers there were mint 6k milliage examples for sub £25k. Thats a bargain I just can't quite afford the fuel bills as I do 25k miles+/year.

 

[BTB 500]

Speaking of bonkers VWs, who remembers the W8 engined Passat? I was considering an estate one a few years back.

 

[mattc]

like this?
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/374102.htm

 

[st4]

Speaking of bonkers VWs, who remembers the W8 engined Passat? I was considering an estate one a few years back.

Someone had one in Helensburgh. One of only 300 odd sold in the UK. It sounded NICE and it would lose you on the roundabout leading onto the dual carriage way.

 

[ant500sl]

Had the pleasure of being taken to the airport from my hotel in Amsterdam in the v6 diesel version a few months back.

Initially thought it was the new Passat until we got inside!

One of the best put together interiors I have seen, excellent ride and very quiet. Amazingly in the Netherlands the entry level diesel costs 107,000 euro.

Another few years of depreciation and I will definitely be on the lookout for a W12 instead of the S600 I had planned for when I retire my 560.

 

[Setanta]

Engine out with the W12 to change the alternator apparently.

lots of electrical problems/niggles and dealers who may not know exactly what they are doing

Top used car buy though and great owner network/forums on the net *like here really!*

 

[BTB 500]

Engine out with the W12 to change the alternator apparently.

Like an A Class then?

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Page 62 of this weeks AUTOEXPRESS has a 'Caught in the Classifields' VW Phaeton mini review.

 

[jeremytaylor]

Speaking of bonkers VWs, who remembers the W8 engined Passat? I was considering an estate one a few years back.

One of my wife's employees has one of those - estate.

 

[Mambo]

I like them, think I will wait for them to drop a bit more and then get one for the missus

 

[axesrus]

Mercedes wins again. bought an S500

HERE ENDITH THIS THREAD,,I BOUGHT AN S500

 

[Setanta]

Nice - nothing like a 5 litre V8

Just drove mine into the office (sad case working on the weekend) and drove up some deserted back streets in the financial district here in London

Windows downs, roof open, planted it....*laughing* oh the noise!

Got a thumbs up from some backpackers

 

[jaymanek]

Just drove mine into the office (

Bet your boss wont be happy

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Bet your boss wont be happy

Dieselman's humour is catching!!

 

[jaymanek]

drove up some deserted back streets in the financial district here in London

Windows downs, roof open, planted it....*laughing* oh the noise!

Got a thumbs up from some backpackers

that takes me back about 5 years... i used to go into work regularly on sundays and with my SL in the summer was great fun... through the tunnel by embankment with the roof down.. had to brake sharply for the speed camera though!

 

[A-AvantGarde]

that takes me back about 5 years... i used to go into work regularly on sundays and with my SL in the summer was great fun... through the tunnel by embankment with the roof down.. had to brake sharply for the speed camera though!

Love that one too, the AMG exhaust on our W203 sounds nice through there too - right about the camera - it comes up quickly

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

that takes me back about 5 years... i used to go into work regularly on sundays and with my SL in the summer was great fun... through the tunnel by embankment with the roof down.. had to brake sharply for the speed camera though!

It's not quite the same, but similar fun can be had around the area of the old eye hospital in Birmingham. Tall buildings and tunnels.

 

[fyonn]

Sales of the Phaeton have been extremely disappointing

Didn't the head of volkswagen state that the phaeton was all about raising VW's image and the success of the car would be judged not on how many units it sold, but on how many golf gti's it sold?

I've always marked the phaeton down as a future cheap classic, and would probably look for the 3l tdi myself, but the truth is, while it's depreciation has been pretty steep, the sheer rarity value of them is keeping prices higher than they should be and if I was in the market for such a car I'd probably buy an audi a8 instead which are more available at cheaper prices. very similar chassis, but in aluminium, not steel, hence lighter. also a more sporty profile, great road presence and a dealer network that knows how to service them

that said, I couldn't afford the fuel bill so my next car will likely be something cheaper to run than my current SLK, possibly a golf gti (see above), or audi or a beamer.


dave

PS. nice s class