Now then guys, its been a while. Hope everyone is well...
I've recentley set up my own company (even in todays climate, i know!) and need a bigger car for carrying stock and commuting around 30 miles a day. I currently drive a 2004 Audi A3 2.0 tdi sport but i'm looking to change it for a Passat. I like the size of it, but i have just looked at the C-B-C Breakdown and its kinda put me off! I like the performance of the 2.0 but would like an auto as a luxury.
Could anyone shed any light on real life ownership on a day to day basis? I am looking at somethin with around 80k on it as it falls within budget. I know a number of you will reccommend the Mondeo right haha or have you guys gone off it? Not been on here in a while like i said...
Cheers in advance...
Sunny
Edited by Pugugly on 13/11/2008 at 18:20
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These that bad that no one owns one?!
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With the downturn in the car market will you be able to easily partex the A3 for the Passat? I'd ask around first. We have no idea how bulky your stock is and whether it would fit in an A3 but the distance is only 30 miles.
If you could get a good price (bearing in mind you'll lose on the A3 being traded in) I'd keep the A3 and get a cheap van for transporting stock.
Edited by rtj70 on 14/11/2008 at 01:32
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Get a warranty which covers the gearbox. I have a DSG, but never had one beyond warranty period, a business colleague has and at 4.5 years his DSG developed a fault.
He does business with a VW dealer and even at 'mate rates' they couldn't repair it for less than £1500.
At 80k the box should have just had it's second fluid change - 40k change intervals.
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In my option the 2.0tdi and dsg do not mate well. Certantly not smooth to say the least. Finally got ride of my Seat Toledeo with this setup yesterday.
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That's interesting, HJ raves about this set up in the VW Touran, and I'm picking up a new one next week. What did you dislike about it?
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If it's not smooth there's a problem.
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Ofcourse it al depends if and how far you have driven one. I drove 22k in mine, power deliver is harsh but very quick between 40 and 80mph. From stanstill there is a dangerious lag, well documented and cured when the engine is chipped. My average over 22k was 38mpg with the highest ever recorded 44mpg at 60mph.
The gearbox is far to quick to change up and down through the gears, and seems to confuse itself.
This was a 56 plate car, so hopefully the problems have been fixed, but I would not have another due to the economy issues. To put it into context the mpg was follows;
0-10k - 28mpg
10-15k - 33mpg
15-22k - 38mpg
This figures were taken overtime using the brim method.
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Sounds like yours had serious problems, or it spent all it's mileage round town.
I'm on my second DSG Audi. 35k in first one (05 reg), just shy of 20k in second.
Average comsumption for both is over 40 and I did 500 miles of motorway running last week at almost 50mpg.
I can get mid fifties during extended A road running. Round town is 35-40 depending on congestion and time of year.
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Mixture of B amd M road driving. Engine was never thrashed from cold and walways left to cool before turning off. never used any oil between changes. Overall the engine and gearbox was in top order, it just could not perform in the MPG stake very well at all.
Could achive an extra 2mpg when not using supermarket fuel.
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If it's not smooth there's a problem.
I had a few issues with my second DSG car a MKV Golf GTI including hesitance when accelerating from a low speed such as after slowing down for a roundabout. Also, the gear change from 2nd to 3rd was often not smooth. VW's view was that it was not an issue (subjective?) along with a number of other issues I had with the car. I eventually px'd it for and Audi which had a more traditional auto which I am much happier with and in my experience displays none of the negative traits of the DSG gearbox that I had.
My first DSG car was not delivered to me as VW were unable to fix a DSG gearbox fault at PDI.
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I know a number of you will reccommend the Mondeo right haha or have you guys gone off it? Not been on here in a while like i said...
Hi Sunny - I suppose someone has to do it ! First things first, may I wish you every success with your new venture. you are entering a sometimes lonely but often rewarding new lifestyle. Some days will be hard but others will, I trust, make it all worthwhile. Work hard and smart and with luck......... ;-)
I started out on my own some years ago. I had been fortunate enough to have quite good company cars for years. I fell into the trap of trying to keep up appearances at first by buying similarly "posh" cars. After a while though I changed that view. When you are funding everthing yourself it becomes clear that the car is first and foremost a tool. A workhorse, a necessary cost to enable you to do work. I bought the first of my Mondeo estates with some circumspection and was, I freely admit, a bit concerned about the "image" it portrayed of my business. Suffice it to say my fears were unfounded. The business thrived. I never needed to worry about car stuff because it was 100% reliable and I grew to really like it and appreciate its consummate practicality. It was replaced twice with updated versions of the same model. I recently bought a Vauxhall Signum to update the last one and while it's OK, I would have to say I prefer the Ford.
As for my concerns over the subliminal messages such a vehicle sends out, well all I can tell you is that most people don't care what car you turn up in provided the the goods or services you are providing are in some way more attractive to them than your competitors. The odd customer who is car savvy will understand your choice as a business workhorse and I have found that even the ones who are not, are quietly impressed that I can seem to run them to huge mileages without problems.
The Mondeo, particularly in estate form, is my ideal work car. Sure I'd like a flashmobile again one day and could probably even afford one now but it has just slipped down my list of urgent things to do.
I guess what I'm really saying is at this stage, buy something you don't have to think too hard about costwise and which meets your practical needs. There will be other matters more immediately pressing in the next couple of years.....
Good Luck !!
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 14/11/2008 at 11:50
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I have to agree with some of the comments that the DSG is not all it is hyped up to be. My experiance is with a 2.0 TDI 140bhp in an Octavia with DSG.
Take off can be fun on a roundabout as there is serious lag. It is even worse if you are slowing not to a complete stop then having to accelerate away as the box will juggle between gears and leave you to roll onto the roundabout before deciding to power away. Now this could be due to my driving style but I didn't have any issue with my previous car with a conventional auto box. If you have the DSG in sport mode it becomes a bit more responsive but then holds onto gears more and in town driving you don't want to be going around everywhere in 2nd or 3rd.
Downchanges when coming to a stop can be abrupt.
Generally I find the DSG box is easy to confuse meaning some changes can be rough with gears banging into place. Otherwise once on the move it is smooth to change, but then so is a normal auto.
Overall remember that DSG is an auto box with clutches and don't expect it to be as smooth as other autos. Take it on an extended drive round heavy traffic and see how you get on with it.
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Take off can be fun on a roundabout as there is serious lag. It is even worse if you are slowing not to a complete stop then having to accelerate away as the box will juggle between gears and leave you to roll onto the roundabout before deciding to power away. Now this could be due to my driving style but I didn't have any issue with my previous car with a conventional auto box.
I expereinced exactly the same with my DSG equipped MKV Golf. Not a pleasent experince committing to enter a roundabout and finding lag / no power. I much prefer the conventional auto that I have now.
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This thread is getting me alarmed now, especially as our new DSG car is for the wife and children primarily.
Is there any technique one can use to avoid this lag issue at roundabouts and the like?
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Don't stop !
;-)
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.>> Don't stop !;-)
Yes, that would be one way! :-)
I suppose the answer is not to go for gaps on roundabouts which you may otherwise go for, being careful to stop in such a way as to avoid the person behind assuming you'll go for it and slamming you up the rear, i.e not too suddenly.
Not aiming criticism at any posters in this thread, but thinking about it, it sounds like the problem may be down to trying to get on to roundabouts when it may be better stopping and waiting a bit.
Or is there some way of getting the transmission to down shift early enough as one would do with a manual? Or is this the problem, that it's just not possible with DSG?
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"Or is there some way of getting the transmission to down shift early enough as one would do with a manual?"
One reason for DSG is that it does offer manual and automatic modes. So I would think you could manually change down yourself. But a lot of people will use it like an auto and why not.
It sounds to me that the gearbox is getting caught out. Using the dual clutches it preselect the next gear (either up or down) ready for the change. So if you're slowing down it will have pre-selected the next gear down. You then floor it and it's got the wrong gear selected and needs reselect the next one up instead. But why would that result in a temporary loss of power?
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Just a problems with DSG - very slow to move off to start with, then goes like a bat out of hell. Quite scary the first couple of times.
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Is there any technique one can use to avoid this lag issue at roundabouts and the like?
Yes - anticipation and learning how and when it changes gear.
In the very early days I got caught out a couple of times, especially in crawling traffic on the approach to roundabouts - as soon as you move off it will change into 2nd, even if you are barely rolling - to counterqact this I often slip it into S in queues as then it stays in 1st for longer. If it does this and then you get to the front of the queue and possibly slow slightly, when you want to go it may be between 1st and 2nd. You can control this by anticipating what is happening on the roundabout. If it looks like you can go don't slow and it will take off in 2nd. If you need to slow, ensure you do enough so it drops into 1st.
Like a manual you just need to adjust your driving to the way it changes gear and use your right foot to get it to change rather than the left foot, right foot, left hand combination.
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