Volkswagen Routan - Reviews?

I love VW in general, but when it comes to repairs and maintenance they are incredibly expensive. I had a Jetta when my husband and I met and he refuses to look at VW's. He can fix a lot of car issues and the jetta sent him swearing and pulling his hair out-not to mention the $$ in out of pocket.

If the Routan is basically a repackaged T&C--look at those. That's what we decided on since we can't afford the H-Odd and it's nice and much less $$

The Routan is a rebadged Chrysler Town & Country / Dodge Caravan--it's a result of a 2005 partnership b/w VW and DiamlerChrysler. The engine in the 2010 is a Chrysler 3.6 L.

There was a recall in 2009 and 2010 for a fire hazard, so be sure that if you are interested in purchasing the vehicle that it has a service file for the recall.

If the Honda is out of your price range than I would recommend you look at a Kia/Hyundai. It has a 5 year 60,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty and a 10 year 100,000 mile power train warranty. You can extend the bumper to bumper warranty to a full 10 years for very MINIMAL money. The only real problem I have had with my Kia is power door issues. They have replaced the controllers that operate both doors under warranty and so far so good.

I can't tell you the peace of mind that comes with knowing that the manufacturer will handle all non maintenance repairs for the next 10 years.

I love VWs, but the Routan is just a Chrysler, so you might as well save the $$ and buy one of those that's a few years old from CarMax. We looked at them, but the Sienna is the best thing I've ever had. I had a T&C for a few years, and the Sienna blows it away. I got a fully loaded, fantastic Sienna at Car Max for a great price. It was 3 years old when I purchased it and I've had no issues at all. I also second the Kia/Hyundai recommendation. Those are GREAT minivans and everyone I know who owns one likes it.

Although it wasn't a Routan, I had a Passat wagon about 6 years ago. I loved the idea of that car. It handled like a dream, was smooth, quiet, I LOVED driving it. But it became so unreliable right off the bat. I sold it after 4 years at the recommendation of our mechanic (he said we could keep it if we wanted to put him through Cornell....) The reason is the VW parts are so specialized ALONG with the tools they use to fix/maitain them. He had to hire a guy who knew how to use VW tools and the computer to diagnose the problem. When I first got the car at the very first oil change (by the dealership for free) they used the wrong tool to replace the filter, denting and smashing it. All the oil drained out causing a lot of worry and inconvenience. Fortunately the engine wasn't damamged and none of the problems afterward indicated that it was. It burned a LOT of oil though which I heard was common for VWs. The car Always had electrical problems, lights burning out, blinkers, tail lights etc People often alerting me to this and I got a few warnings rather than fix it tickets because if it. We started to spend thousands of dollars every 3 months or so (The car wasn't even 4 years old!) and I felt like I was driving an old clunker that you didn't really know if you would make it to your destination without breaking down. I'm still bitter about this because it was an expensive car! I now drive a Hyndai and have had NO problems (knock on wood) with it.

Volkswagon's are notoriously expensive to fix, but most of them are not made with Chrysler engines so that would be my guess about the difference. If the engine is the same as a Chrysler, but has the VW stamp on it, they can (and most definitely WILL) charge you the VW prices.

As for buying a new 2010, that's just called a leftover which is a great way to save some major bucks. There's nothing wrong with a car hanging out for a little bit. I'm sure it's been test-driven several times.

I love mine and I have the 2010 that we only purchased a couple of months ago, we did purchase it new and got roughly $10,000 off the sticker price, so the price was right. My son this morning "Mommy I love your van it is cool" high praise from a 5 year old. I didn't want a van, but now I don't know how we survived with out it. Since mine is new I haven't had any issues with it and a lot of the common things are covered under the warrenty. Good luck with whatever you go with.

I have one and love it...but everything so far has fallen under warranty. It has had some recalls...but these days what cars haven't?