Multivan over IMAX purchase. Need your advice....

[FMJ]

Hi Guys


I was looking at purchasing an Imax until yesterday when I saw a new Multivan in the flesh at a dealership, a test drive will be arranged for next week. Whilst it’s more than I intended to spend the extra 12k for a TDI340 over an Imax seems a worthwhile investment (assuming its reliable). I’m considering a used vehicle also.

I really value your input on the following points

- Should I be concerned about DSG reliability especially if buying used? Ive read some threads here and am a little concerened... Are the issues related to particular production models and have they been resolved in the MY12/13? Whats the average lifespan of the 7 speed DSG?

- Has anyone driven both the TDI 340 and TDI400 and what where your impressions? My maximum load conditions would be 2 adults two kids and as much camping gear I can fit in the back….

- I haven’t purchased a new car before and am not sure how much room there is for discounting. The list price on the road for a comfortline 340TDI is about 56k but I’ve seen them online drive away for just under 50k. If it’s not rude to ask what did you pay for yours drive away?

Thanks in advance guys.

Cheers
Don

[Transporter]

I would be checking the Hyundai forum for the IMax related faults to make even more informed decision. You can also buy extended warranty for extra peace of mind.

T5 for me at any time.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

[Cousin]

FMJ, I can't help you comparing an IMax to a T5.2, as I have only gotten as far as a 2006 T5
But, have seriously been considering jumping ship lately, to the Hiundies
That got stopped dead in it's tracks last weekend
We spent 4 days in Tassie, poking around in an IMax
Petrol and auto
I came away completely disappointed in it
There were six adults with almost no luggage
The auto felt like it was a three speed job, constantly changing down, and nothing smooth about it
Fuel consumption was pretty average, although I didn't do the figures
Engine was very noisy and absolutely gutless
Going up an incline on the highway around 100 kph and it would change down a gear, then slow a bit more and have to change down again revving it's nuts off
One of the guys with us bought an ILoad for his work, and we got talking about that
Diesel with auto
He was getting around 800 ks to a 75 litre tank, and now they've put some gear in the back, he's a sparky and has around 200kg of gear, so not much at all, he's now getting around 600 ks to the tank of a combined weight of around 2.2 ton
It's nothing like their claimed 8.1 litres to 100 ks
I get around 950 ks to an 80 litre tank in my T5 Highline diesel auto with around 150 kgs of gear in the back, so around 2.4 ton
So I'll be passing on the Hyundai


M

[IN2VWS]

To date, The DSG in the Transporters have been good. They are not the same as the trouble plagued DSG's in the VW passenger cars.
IMO, there is no comparison between the Hyundai and the VW.
When negotiating with the VW dealer, get him to throw in the extended warranty.

I only have the Transporter, not a Multivan, but I drove both the 340 and 400 TDI's before purchasing. The 400 was enough difference for me to go with the 400. I carry tools and equipment in mine, as well as towing a tandem car trailer every now and again.

[Transporter]

Yes, the claimed fuel consumption has always been lets say inaccurate. Only Honda, MB and VW have figures that are close to these advertised in the brochures. Every car maker today has its own problems. The reliability of today’s cars is not any worst than it was 10 or 20 years ago, it's only media and mainly internet that gives the impression that they have more faults than before.

I was looking at Vito Crew van V6CDI last week even brought the brochure home, didn't read it yet. Simply, because I could see that the VW is much better made van (AT or DSG issues aside). Still would like that V6 diesel in my T5.

Hey Cousin, our T5s despite being 05 and 06 don't feel dated.

[Cousin]

Hey Cousin, our T5s despite being 05 and 06 don't feel dated.

No they don't, although I do like the look of the T5.2 nose
But that's just cosmetics
After my dummy spit a short while ago, I called into VW in Somerton and came damn close to buying a Caddy
The clincher was only offering me $11,000 for my Multi, so I walked
But driving home I thought what a dill I nearly was, auto problems aside, my Multi is till bloody lovely to drive


M

[joel0407]

About 6 months ago, I hired a I-MAX for a week. It was a terrible thing to drive. Thirsty on fuel, gutless, poor auto gearbox.

I drive a transporter at work and it gets a massive caining. I've had it over 180km/h and it's pretty good for a van.

Happy Days.

[jfoldbar]

The reliability of today’s cars is not any worst than it was 10 or 20 years ago, it's only media and mainly internet that gives the impression that they have more faults than before.

.

try telling that to the people that owned them. and mechanics.

ive been lately considering buying new isuzu or ud. (cause i cant find old one in good nic) went to yap to a few diesel mechanics and they soon talked me out of it. 1 guy had isuzu with 200k and up for new motor and said that seems to be the norm these days.
difference between old and new is diagnosis.
if you misdiagnose the old thing you waste 2 or 3k. if you misdiagnose new you waste 20 or 30k.
but then, how do you compare apples with oranges? theyve all got their good and bad points.

difference between misdiagnosis between vw and hyundia could be similar cause korean parts are much cheaper than german, so changing parts willy nilly wouldnt hurt as much. but then human nature is that at the time, you would think it is.

[The_Hawk]

When we bought our multi we did look at the iMax or what ever the Hyundai equivalent is and still walked away with the mulitvan

We have the 103TDI which I believe is now called the 340 (single turbo model) and its great to drive even with a van full of people. You can definitely feel it when there four adults two kids and luggage with fuel consumption up and get up and go down, but its still a good drive. That said if I was carrying that much weight all the time I'd seriously look into the extra power. But day to day with two adults and three kids its not an issue at all.

My only complaint is that you need to lay the back seat flat to slide it. A real pain in the arse I you have three child seats in place. Very often I would be great to kick the whole thing forward to put something in the back but moving the seats in and out is all too much effort and I find myself trying to cram things into the cabin instead.

Otherwise we are 60,000 km into our ownership and would happily buy another one.

[Sharkie]

I too did testdrive both the Imax and and the TDI340 (and TDI400) before we bought the Multivan. Simply put, there is no comparison, the $10K (RRP) more it costs really should be like $25K, so much is the difference in drive and general feeling of quality the Multivan has over the Imax.

I complain about the DSG a lot, but to be honest its more a personal thing rather than actual problems with it. I like manual gearboxes and petrol engines ..... so much so that I am ordering a new Multivan in petrol ..... still DSG, but with the extra petrol power and possibly a DSG tune I think I should be able to live with it

As a family car the Multivan is unbeatable. We recently went to Thredbo (from Brisbane), 4 adult and 3 kids and luggage for a week and it coped well with the luggage and performance was still acceptable. Fuel consumption with that load also at less than 8l/100km ....

Go the Multivan, you and your family will love it ....

PS. I can sell you a TDI340 (2years old & 25K kms) for a lot less than a new one ...... it was RRP$ 63K new with a number of extras .... and we wont use it much before the new 1 arrives. Click on my signature for pics.

[FMJ]

Thanks guys. Given the feedback it seems not too many concerns regarding the DSG or if there are on balance its still
a great van and worth the compromise. Cant wait to test drive one soon....

[Sunny43.5]

Yes don,t let my rantings put you off as most members will quickly point out and I would agree so far the DSG has not been plagued with mechanical failures . It is evident that VW had some issues and software updates sorted those out , it was just a pity that they VW changed their stance on service intervals after the Triptronic was finished production .

[Diesel_vert]

Thanks guys. Given the feedback it seems not too many concerns regarding the DSG or if there are on balance its still
a great van and worth the compromise. Cant wait to test drive one soon....

Be sure to get the extended warranty thrown in for free or something.

[Tornado T5]

Yes don,t let my rantings put you off as most members will quickly point out and I would agree so far the DSG has not been plagued with mechanical failures . It is evident that VW had some issues and software updates sorted those out , it was just a pity that they VW changed their stance on service intervals after the Triptronic was finished production .

This is the part that really should be remembered, especially by VW Aust.

I had my A6 changed under warranty a few years ago, ironically after I had it serviced by the dealer at my request as a form of preventative maintenance even though I wasn't required according to my vehicle's service schedule book. I'm tempted to get direct feedback from the supplier through the dealer on what exactly was done to the supplied unit to ensure the issues with the orginal don't happen again. I 'll add when speaking to a salesman of another VW dealer when I was considering buying a T5GP a few months ago the first thing the chap said was we always thoroughly "suss out" auto T5's during trade-in evaluations, this said after I mentioned it wasn't the original box.

Oops not really relevant to this thread...so maybe this is better...has anyone seen any MY13 T5's in dealers? VW Aust. website still shows MY12 specs in download section.

[Seano]

For the money/size/space/mechanicals argument...I reckon that the Ford Transit is worth more of a squiz than the Hyundai. But then the ILoad is selling by the boatload so what would I know?