General Comments:

I purchased it in December 2017 and so far the high mileage hasn’t been an issue yet (said to have been mostly highway miles). I haven’t had a single problem with it for the 10 months I’ve had it, and have been very happy with it.

I purchased it for a good amount under the KBB price (even when factoring in the mileage) and in great condition. So for a college student like me, buying this was a no brainer. Buy a year or two newer Chevy Equinox with less amenities that looks dumpy? Or buy a 2013 Grand Cherokee with poor reliability ratings? Yeah, no thanks. I’ll take the Touareg.

Faults:

Front exhaust pipe/catalytic converter developed a leak (seems common on the 3.2 V6). Very expensive to repair as the new catalytic converter is required.

Air bag light caused by steering wheel sensor.

Rear hatch struts needed to be replaced at 100k. Involved as the headliner had to be dropped.

Passenger rear door had corrosion issue - VW replaced under 10 year warranty (surprising!).

Transmission sluggish to shift when cold, new 'lifetime' fluid seemed to help.

Seat belt receptacle covers broke on driver and rear passenger.

General Comments:

Drove quite nice, very good handling SUV. Stylish.

Good build quality.

Very nice brakes (6 piston calipers up front).

A bit loud (engine noise) and too many warning bells/beeps make you feel like the car was always yelling at you.

Overall nice vehicle, but if I wasn't an advanced DIYer, this vehicle would have been a disappointment.

Faults:

DPF filter failure @ 48,000 miles with the previous owner.

Both exhaust manifold flap motors failed @ 50,000 miles and at a cost of €1,100 + VAT + labour.

Bearing on the rear prop shaft failed @ 68,000 miles. VW wouldn't sell the bearing alone, only a new prop shaft @ €1,500 + VAT + labour.

Factory fitted detachable towbar was incredibly noisy when towing, and should have been replaced under warranty as it is a common fault on these. VW refused... so I never bothered as I rarely towed with it.

Four wheel drive system began giving trouble @ 85,000 miles... that's when I bailed out!

General Comments:

The Touareg was a vehicle I aspired to owning from the first time I saw one. I loved the looks, the comfort, the fantastic 3.0 V6 engine and its very high level of refinement.

However, it turned out to be the most disappointing vehicle I ever owned. It was incredibly unreliable. My one was spotless with a full VW service history, however I cannot remember a week of ownership where there was not something wrong. It was the only vehicle that ever left me on the side of the road.

It was also overly complex and had incredibly annoying quirks such as having to remove the bumper and headlight in order to replace a blown bulb (a 2 hour job; the manual recommends you take it to a main dealer to do this!). Replacing the battery required you to take out the passenger seat... the list goes on.

Overall it was laughably bad, but the poor level of service from VW was the low light for me. They had no problem asking for incredible sums to fix all of these problems.

I've met several Touareg owners since, and they all had bad experiences re reliability and running costs.