Does any one own a VW Tiguan?

Wanted to see if any one owns of these cars? Mom got hit and totaled her car. Now we are looking at a replacement and looking at the 2021 Tiguan. If you own please share your pros and cons and we have never owned a VW.

 

My best friend has one. He bought it new several years ago and is pushing 200k miles on it now. I know he replaced the turbo in it at about 130k miles but he drives it hard. Stuffed all of our fishing gear in it one year and drove it to Northern Ontario. Thats a zippy little car! Seems to be a solid well built car. I know he has no complaints.

 

Everyone should own a VW!! Great cars!! My cousins both have one each and love them! 100,000 is timing chain and water pumps! I’ve owned several VWs when I was younger…GTIs and Jetta’s and a corrado g60…Go test drive one, my wife and I did and ended up with Audi Q5 just due the room issues..I’m 6’4 so the Tiguan was a little tight for us

 

I love VW’s: super well engineered and constructed. But very expensive to repair and will need repair well before a Toyota would.

 

Thank you. Considering the VWs as it’s more affordable at the moment. All Toyota small suvs are almost 40k. Also the Tiguan has a 3rd row which my mom likes the ideas so she can fit all her grandkids.

 

Thanks for the info. My mom won’t be driving it hard at all but the turbos are a good point. Sooner or later they will go. Never thought about that.

 

Thanks for the info. I’ll be taking my mom down so she can sit on one and all that.

 

If I were looking for a three row SUV, I'd consider any of the following before I looked at a VW:

Honda Pilot
Hyundai Palisade
Kia Telluride
Kia Sorento
Mazda CX-9

(Also the Toyota Highlander but you mentioned those are too pricy right now.)

Heck, I'd consider a Chevy Traverse before any VW.

 

Why a no go on a VW? Honda Pilot was on the list but at 43k was quickly off the list. A 3rd row isn’t 100 necessary but would be nice. She was driving a 2011 Honda CR-V and was a great little car.

 

From what I've heard and read, I just don't think the reliability is good enough for me.

 

Most of the bad reputation VWs get is from neglected VWs. They're reasonably affordable to buy but German car prices to keep them going. If your mom drives like a mom the turbo won't be a problem. I've been beating on my old GTI at triple the boost for years on a 260k mile turbo.

There are a few things VW does badly. They're bad with electrical things. They're bad with power windows. They like using plastic piping on the coolant system.

They get great gas mileage. They are smooth and quiet. Nice styling inside and out, its pretty hard not to like the interior at that price point.

If the extra row isn't a must, I would look at a Forester. Same price range, more dependable, more power, awd, and built with love. My sister in law has one that I drove a few times, its a good feeling car.

 

Having a Kia Sorento, I'd say we've have been on track to add to this statistical reliability rating. Right on par. Wouldn't buy another one unless you're planning on getting rid of it before 100k.

 

You must have been looking at the highest trim level. We bought a 2021 Passport EX-L in March for $35k.

 

Passport and pilot are 2 different things

 

Does a 58' VW ( year after Oval rear window-56-57) sedan count?? My first car bought 17 yrs old, with own scratch... Did lots of mods to that classic.. Paint...Replaced stock40hp, to a 1835 dual carb webers, Okasa crank, Engle cams, heads ported polushed...replaced all rubbers, interior, etc...fast little car for a two seater... Sold before trip with Uncle Sam...miss that Classio.

 

I've never owned one but my brother has been selling VWs for 10+ years now so I have driven a ton of them. Most of his customers are repeat and he sells a boat load of them so I'm guessing with normal maintenance they are a good vehicle. If I'm not mistaken they come with a "free" maintenance plan up to 40k and you can prepay for a maintenance package all the way up to 100k...

 

Vw no competition

 

I bought a 2013 VW Tiguan in 2015. It had a bad clockspring which was a known recall just not for my model... 114000 miles in, the Check Engine is on. No clue what's wrong with it as my ex kept it after the divorce.

 

VW excels at making fun to drive cars and marketing them - they are as owner loyal as any Japanese make.

They also engineer them to the point that they break down so infrequently - but when they do…it’s never simple.

I’ve owned Toureg, Atlas, Passat and a Audi suv - alot of fun for the money - and none ever have me any problems - but I sold all before they hit 12 years old too. Much beyond 12 years or 125-150k miles - your rolling the dice on a pricey fix with the brand.

 

German cars are to be leased not owned.
If I wanted to BUY my mother something reliable and she didn’t need the 3rd row for much more than dwarfs, Lexus GX460. Hands down.

 

What is this list? Not a reliability list without the GX460. #1 in reliability.

 

Had a 2006 APR Stage 2+ GTI that I completely beat to shit and tracked often. Thing was a beast and the interior was nice as hell for the price. Ran high 12’s in the quarter mile and got 35mpg on the way to the track. Ran like a dream. Sold it with 100k and i know the current owner has about 165k on it and still runs great.

I wouldn’t hesitate to own another.

 

My buddy's wife has an Atlas. It's a nice vehicle and they like it a lot, but when the water pump went out VERY early, there was only one replacement for it in the entire united states.

One.

And the dealer that had it wasn't willing to let it go. They waited over a month before another pump could be had. That's the kind of thing that would keep me from buying a vehicle.

 

I looked at the Tiguan and Atlas. Tiguan was not comfortable and had no umpf. I ended up buying an Acura RDX. Comfortable and quick.

 

I am honestly out on VWs. I own a GTI (2.0l turbo) and a Touareg. They're great cars BUT you pay to play. I'm a bit older now and while I do agree with "buy once, cry once", you'll cry everytime you service it or something goes wrong. I've even done quite a lot of wrenching on my GTI and still a bit of a money pit. With that being said, it now has over 190k on it and the Treg has 130k (with basically only normal wear and tear-which is great, bc if something on that broke I'd be screwed).

Also consider all our VWs now are made in TN, USA. I love the fit and finish of my dubs, but there is a difference. If you close the door on my '07 GTI and the door of a newer Jetta. One feels like a Liberty safe while the other feels like shutting a household cupboard.

I think my wife will likely go with the new three row Suba or possibly Toyota (Honda's have never felt comfortable to me). Also the third row on a tig is tiny. Might be better served with se Atlas. Whatever your family decides I hope for the best.

 

They are only different in that the passport has no 3rd row seat. They are both built off the same platform.

 

It’s been a while, but I’ve owned a Rabbit GTI and a Golf. Both were fun to drive but they did require repair from time to time. Nothing like a Dodge but not as good as a Toyota. Their engineering is good but not optimized for easy repair.,had to remove many things to reach what’s needed. Plus very few repair shops outside the dealer. IMHO not bad vehicles but just be aware of the additional requirements.

 

It's a sight someone on this forum posted. Pretty cool.
You can check it out here for for just about every car.

http://www.dashboard-light.com

 

I always learned that if there wasn’t a light on in my VWs that something was wrong…every dam idiot light they had was always on and that made me feel more comfortable! If you were into the tuning world with a dub you know all too well what I mean!!

 

I swore off VWs after my first new car - 1987 Golf. It went back to the dealer 12 times in the 16 months I owned it. Everything from mirrors falling off (inside and out), exterior trim falling off, wiring harnesses going bad (all lights flashing at once). I traded it for an '88 4Runner and never looked back. Wish I still had the 4R.