"lorem ipsum" (nothing123456789)
08/04/2013 at 20:50 • Filed to: Jalopnik
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"lorem ipsum" (nothing123456789)
08/04/2013 at 20:50 • Filed to: Jalopnik | 1
| 15 |
Last night, as I was looking through various comments on various articles on Jalopnik or Oppo, I came across a reference to the Volkswagen Phaeton, and its being able to be had for “well under $10k”. I looked it up on eBay , and, sure enough, a model (and not a bad one, at that) had popped up for the bargain price of $5900.
Now, I don’t really know what the catch is here, but I’m assuming there is none. It’s a VW, so it must be pretty reliable, the mileage isn’t terrible , I’m assuming it’s a little bit comfortable/luxurious, it’s sub-7-seconds-to-60, and you don’t look like an asshole driving it, because it looks like a bigger version of a Passat from that era. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there doesn’t seem to be much (if anything) wrong with it.
Now, I was having breakfast with my brother this morning, and I shared what I had learned with him. His first reaction was, “That sounds like my first car”. I agree wholeheartedly. For that price, what else is as good? I was thinking of the various sports cars you could get with that money, but I figured they’d not be worth the trouble it’d be to own them. Then, I said jokingly that I’d still rather have an E-Type.
He wasn’t convinced. He said that they break down all the time, that you could never drive it like you meant it because you’d be afraid of it breaking down, that you’d never use it as a daily driver because it’s too precious/unreliable/unpractical, and that, when all is said and done, the Phaeton would be his choice over the E-Type. For me, the thought of a Series 1 E-Type convertible is just about heaven, but I can’t deny his logic. The only counterargument I had was: “But…it’s an E-Type”. I think that’s the only counterargument I needed, but what say you, Oppo?
CB
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08/04/2013 at 20:54 |
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Wait, he was arguing that a Phaeton was more reliable than an E-Type?
Blondude
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08/04/2013 at 20:56 |
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Yup, you definitely won that argument.
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> CB
08/04/2013 at 20:57 |
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That was one part of his argument. The bigger picture was that he'd have a Phaeton over an E-Type.
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CB
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08/04/2013 at 20:59 |
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I know, but does he know how much it costs to maintain a Phaeton? I'd think as much, if not more than the Jag.
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> CB
08/04/2013 at 21:02 |
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I did ask in the prompt what the catch was with the Phaeton— is it unreliable/expensive?
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CB
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08/04/2013 at 21:07 |
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I believe Jagvar is our resident expert here, so he would know more than I would. But I recall a figure saying that it would cost $7,000 to fix/replace the suspension if it broke.
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> CB
08/04/2013 at 21:11 |
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Is that for a Phaeton or an E-Type? I think his argument was that the Phaeton would break down less/drink less.
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CB
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08/04/2013 at 21:11 |
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That's for the Phaeton.
McMike
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08/04/2013 at 21:21 |
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Trust me, you don't want a $10K E-Type.
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> McMike
08/04/2013 at 21:25 |
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Can you even get a Series 1 for that money? I thought they were all 30+ at this point. You probably can, but it won't have a floor/engine/anything necessary for functioning.
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McMike
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08/04/2013 at 21:34 |
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E-Type pecking order (high to low):
S1 roadster
S3 roadster
S2 roadster
S1 coupe
S3 coupe
S2 coupe
S1 2+2
S2 2+2
The only think you could get for 10K is a ratty S2 2+2.
archovist
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08/04/2013 at 22:01 |
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It seems to me that by the time you bought a S1 E-Type and put the necessary money into it to make it DD-able - oh, say, 40K at least (probably more like 60k to do it right) you'd have a set of wheels that would last longer and be more reliable in the long run than the 'dub. So yeah, you won the argument.
nataku83
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08/05/2013 at 09:25 |
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Just a heads up, the Phaeton may look like a larger Passat, but it's really a VW badged Audi A8 and the maintenance costs are consistent with that. Lookup some of Jagvar's posts on her about his Phaeton - I recall seeing some posts about $2k+ services at the dealership. I too would go with the E-type... (the sound alone is worth it).
johncalvinyoung
> McMike
08/05/2013 at 23:30 |
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No way. Barn find E-Types are hovering around $30k right now. (and I mean barn find as in nesting chickens condition...) If you *could* find a S2 2+2 for 10K, I'd thoroughly love to give it a home...
Brian Tschiegg
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08/06/2013 at 08:02 |
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Also remember that a lot of the bits and pieces in a Phaeton are from VW's high end luxury cars, so they are pretty expensive to replace. I've had good experiences with the dealership, but I can still imagine that maintaining a VW with more expensive parts could get ruiniously expensive. German cars tend to be overengineered so a lot of the time it is very time consuming to replace basic parts. These are problems I've run into when trying to replace things like the starter motor all the way down to simple things like the air filter (took me two hours to figure out how to disconnect all the hoses). You have to move a bunch of other shit before you ever get to what you want. Also, trying to find a good diagram of the fuse box is on par with trying to find the mythical city of El Dorado.