Regular readers of this blog will have no doubt stumbled across some of my previous content about my 2006 first generation Volkswagen Touareg.
This car, being charitable about things, has been a bit “hit and miss” in the reliability department. When working well, it has been a superb vehicle, but it has had more than its fair share of mechanical maladies.
Just recently I posted about the fact that the Touareg was going in for diagnosis of an apparent steering angle sensor failure, with a view to have this repaired under extended warranty.
The mechanic shop was hopeful that such a repair could be carried out under warranty, but we’ve just had the grim verdict back from the extended warranty company that they won’t be covering the repair as they class the particular component that failed as part of the airbag system, and airbag repairs aren’t covered under the warranty I’ve got.
This means it could be the end of the road for the Touareg, as the car really is at that point where it makes little sense from an economical standpoint to spend probably 50% of the car’s private resale value ($5000 NZD at best – repair would be around $2500 with a new part) in order to fix it.
There are a few different issues to unpack here, all of which will feature in some future content on the site:
- The ultimate outcome for the Touareg, including whether or not I am able to source a more affordable way of paying for the repair out of pocket. I am currently awaiting pricing for a repair using a second hand sensor, which is about 1/10th the cost of a new part.
- A deeper dive into the economics of owning and running one of these heavily-depreciated old bangers, and what I should have done instead.
- A review of the warranty provider (currently nameless – but not for long) and the innocuous sounding wording in the policy that basically means I can’t claim on the policy.
In other words, stay tuned for more news and updates!
Update
It turns out the local VW mechanic has been able to source a used spare for much less than the cost of a new clock spring sensor. Considering the excess on the extended warranty that I would have to have paid (if the warranty company had been more amenable to paying for the repair) it’s only a few hundred dollars difference for me to pay “out of pocket”.
With that bit of pretty good news, I’m likely to just have the car repaired and see if I can keep it fighting for another day.
I’m still going to do a deeper dive into the economics of buying, owning and maintaining an old luxury motor, as well as review the ins and outs of the warranty that has ultimately let me down.
