Stick or twist

54and56

Hi all,

I've a 2013 VW Touareg which I'm the 2nd owner of. Its a lovely car and has never ever given me any trouble, I love driving it and it still looks and feels great to drive but it's over 10 years old now and I'm thinking it might be time to change, possibly into a 2-3 year old ID.4 which are pretty good value at the moment.

I was at traffic lights this morning when I noticed a mint looking 2016 Range Rover Sport and it crossed my mind that instead of getting rid of the Touareg perhaps I should double down and actually invest a few grand in it to give it a bit of a rejuvenation e.g. get the paintwork smartened up where there's the odd little scratch, maybe some new alloys or just get the originals (which I like) refurbished, maybe show the engine some love if it needs it (I still get it serviced by VW annually), perhaps update the in car system to be Apple Car Play and Android Auto compatible etc.

My instinct is any money I put into an 11 year old car is money down the drain but if it meant I was happy to keep the car another 5 years (it's only done 190,000 KM's) then perhaps it would be actually a good investment?

Good / bad idea?

Recommendations for someone who does this sort of car restoration / refurb work?

blingrhino

keep ! looks good and more importantly its giving no trouble.

a few quid on a good valet and maybe refurb the wheels all for less than 500 quid.

54and56

Well that photo is from when I bought the car. It doesn't look quite as good now (kerbed alloys + a few little scratches) but I hear ya.

bazz26

Swapping to a 2 or 3 year old ID.4 is a downgrade of epic proportion imo. The ID.4 is an inferior product that was rushed to mass market by VW to catch the EV wave. Inferior build quality and cheap materials used plus software filled with bugs. Facelift model is much improved but they only came out earlier this year.

I guarantee you would regret it.

54and56

Thanks @bazz26 , I have similar concerns myself actually in that I just love how bullet proof the Touareg is even if it's a little dated which is why I'm hesitant to get rid of it.

coolbeans

Keep it but stop going to a VW dealer. You might as well burn your money. Go to a decent independent.

54and56

Thanks @coolbeans , if I do decide to keep it then maybe I will switch over to a good independent.

Any suggestions for one based in the Sandyford / Stepaside area?

Flinty997

I like EVs, but I would keep the Touareg if it's not causing you any problems and don't need to change it.

The older ID4 had lot of teething issues I think you'd really want the newest one you can get, better software etc. So I would stick with what you have for another bit.

I would wait to see what happens with EVs.

James Bond Junior

I had a 7P Touraeg for almost 3 years and it ran like a dream. It was since replaced by a C8 Audi A6 Avant and I will say the Touareg was a hard act to follow. We only changed as we moved back to Ireland from abroad and our Touareg was LHD and a 3.6l petrol. I think updgrading the headunit to something more modern would be a very smart use of your money plus a bumper to bumper clean and check up would be a better investment. They are a great all rounder of car, spacious, reliable and hold their own looks wise still.

Flinty997

Smart head unit is a good shout. I must do that on my older car.

54and56

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122456825#Comment_122456825

I like the idea of a smart head unit (wireless CarPlay and Android Auto etc) but my only concern is what effect it would have on the cars own system firmware / software which is also accessed and updated via the head unit. I obviously wouldn't care about losing VW navigation and handsfree dialling as these functions would be replaced with better smarter apps on the new head unit but how would a 3rd party head unit manage / interact with the cars own software?

Flinty997

What functionality is on the head unit that you would lose?

54and56

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122456761#Comment_122456761

Yeah, it really is a solid car and suits my needs perfectly. Mine is a 3L diesel and when it was brought in from the UK it was registered as a commercial for Road Tax (€200 PA) so it's very economical to run.

I like the idea of showing it some TLC so it not only lasts me another 5-10 years (which with my reduced driving due to WFH, Teams calls etc means the car would still only have done 350,000 KM's) but is something I'm happy with and actually look forward to driving for that period of time.

If I had a wish list of things to do to the car to give it some mid-life love it would include:-

• New smart head unit, preferably with some dashcam and rear parking camera functionality.
• Refurb the scuffed alloys
• Get the body work touched up where there are small scratches etc
• A bumper to bumper valet
• New Carpets and foot mats

Anything else I should add to the list?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122459402#Comment_122459402

All the car setting are controlled by the head unit.

54and56

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122459445#Comment_122459445

Yes, which is why I'm reluctant to mess with that unless the after market solution is tried and tested. I'm not worried about losing any sort of VW warranty or future firmware updates as that ship sailed a long time ago but I don't want to do anything which could compromise or in any way corrupt the cars own operating (non entertainment / navigation) software.

Flinty997

In my VW they aren't. Then just mount your mobile it's just as good most of the time.

54and56

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122459701#Comment_122459701

Yes, I currently have my mobile mounted and it also charges wirelessly in the mount cradle so it's a great workaround but if I'm going to put money in to upgrade the car so I really want to keep driving it for another 5-10 years it's things like wireless Android Auto that I'll want to do.

GPoint

absolutely keep it. Id4 is rubbish with cheap interior and stupid infotainment and bugs .
Nothing wrong with spending few k on 10 year old car it’s just maintenance.