Thinking about purchasing a 2011 Routan SE, 8000 miles, some questions for the experts

[Camps]

Hi All,

We went to a VW dealership last w/e and by sheer coincidence, a Routan had just been brought in from a VW dealership manager across town. It was a demo car I guess. Twlight gray, beige interior, SE but loaded (Nav, dual DVD, power everything, they said leather - - but do they mean leatherETTE?, lots of good stuff).

Of course it is a "special" :-) They are asking $26,450. We have a trade in that shouldn't get us any more than $2,500-$3,000.

We looked at Siennas, I don't like them. Honda Odyssey's are pretty fabulous, and expensive. Don't want to spend that much right now. Found a 2010 loaded Honda Odyssey EX-L with 33,000 miles for $27,000 and that makes our decision harder (but is has a dirty Carfax, accident with functional damage...)

I am on the fence about the Routan, I've read horror stories about the brakes but think that much of this issue was resolved for the 2011 models.

Help me out. What do you think about the price and the car in general. I know it's not a true VW, but that's okay with me. Chrysler has been making vans for a long time, I'm okay with that partnership.

Thanks for any help!

[tuanies]

If you could talk them down, maybe. But I paid $30k new for my 2011 with RSE and Navigation with 0% financing for 72 months.

You might be better off waiting until the end of Summer (I bought on July 31) for a 2012 model with better financing for not much more.

As for mine, its been great at close to 9k miles so far. Nothing wrong with the brakes, a plastic clip broke off the rear grab handle, which the dealer replaced. Been solid.

[paf]

IF you will trust Kelly's Blue Book, here is what the car is worth on a trade-in:

Excellent
$20,225
Very Good
$19,825
Good
$19,075
Fair
$17,025

From a time's perspective, brand new 2010's were selling for 26,500 to 29,500 with 0 miles at the end of the year in 2010, so I would think that 26,500 is bit overpriced for a car with 8000 miles. I would basically compare it to certified used cars and see what the asking/selling prices for this model are on the web.

[MikeF74]

Is it being sold as "NEW" or "USED"? Can it even be sold as new with 8,000 miles on it? If it can be sold as new, it might fetch a little more than the KBB values since it may retain more of its warranty. But certainly not $26K.

[58kafer]

Not sure where you live but dorschelvw.com usually is giving 10K of the Routan. Effectively you could get the same thing listed at $36K for $26K, but for a 2012 with Zero miles. Yes the SE's come with leatherette not leather. If you look at the seat cushion there will be 2 large panels and the leather seats have 3 smaller panels.

I'll preface the next comment by saying "I would never own an asian vehicle", that being said the ridiculous prices they fetch for the used Odyssey is crazy. Now couple that with 33K and a dirty carfax I'd stay clear. When the Tsunami hit the cost of used asian vehicles went thru the roof. Friends were leasing an Odyssey and it was coming up to turn it in. They were on the fence on getting a new one, their salesman told them that if they turn it in the dealer is going to out it on the lot for $27K---For an 09 with NOTHING in it, No DVD, No NAV, No sunroof---NADA, ZIP, ZERO---Are you kidding me! I think their buyout was around $17K! Their kids like to ride in our Routan, the power of DVD!

Are there issues with the brakes on the Routan, YES, but they seem to be more under control in 2011 and 2012 SO FAR. Aside from that, our 2010 has been spot on mechanically. There has been a few minor issues we had, squeaky drivers slider and a roofline strip that buckled(covered under warranty). Our Radio had an issue 2 or 3 times a while back but has since not given us any problems. In just over a year and a half of ownership and 31K miles we are thrilled with it. As with any vehicle, some have problems some don't.

Visit an Odyssey forum, I read the 2011 or 2012 EX-L some were eating transmissions, not to say Chrysler didn't have any problems but they all seem to be ironed out. I'd say the only current issue with the Routan trans is the way the ECON mode works, some don't like the way it shifts/clunks but it seems to be the nature of the beast, you can always run without the ECON mode selected.

A lot of people seem to really like the mileage they are getting from the new 3.6 Pentastar engine

Long story short, Do a little more leg work and you might be surprised what kind of deal you can get! Hope to see you around the forums!

[GuyContinental]

Funny you should post this- I was looking at basically the same deal for a 2011 CPO Routan SE. Found 2 nationally that sold for $23-24K with sub 10K miles. Neither had RES and shipping would have added an additional $1K to price.

This weekend I wandered into my local (Fairfax VA) VW dealer so that my wife could test drive an SE and they got super aggressive on a new one (I'd stated that I wanted a 2011 CPO- which they did not have). With very little negotiation (and no trade) I walked out the door with a 2012 SE RSE for $26,500 and 1.85%/60 months. You might try looking at new ones and bargaining hard.

There is no way that I could have touched a comparably equipped Honda or Toyota for that price. I assume that depreciation will be rough but I intend on keeping it for many moons (with the reported issues I did spring for an extended warranty to 70K). Also, it's really nice, with all of the cool little features that make life a little easier (bluetooth, RSE, backup camera, heated (front) seats, remote operated doors/gate, etc). I already ordered the SEL center console ($100) and monster mats ($100)- can't think of anything that I need to add... Also, with kids, I prefer the leatherette- it's plenty supportive and super easy to clean.

[58kafer]

can't think of anything that I need to add...

Nope, cause I already shipped your dead pedal!

BTW, that is a smokin' deal!

[paf]

I just got a little promo e-mail from my dealer about some specials they are running:

$6000 OFF MSRP on Routan
$6000 OFF MSRP on Touareg Gasoline (INCLUDING HYBRID)
$3000 OFF MSRP on Passat (gasoline engine only).
$2500 OFF MSRP on Tiguan (LE, SE, SEL)
$2500 OFF MSRP on Beetle
$2500 OFF MSRP on 2013 CC
$2000 OFF MSRP on Jetta (excluding TDI & S models)
$2000 OFF MSRP on Golf (excluding TDI)

so for example on this 2012 SE w RSE

http://www.westhoustonvw.com/Vehicle...-TX/1705518553

you could get it for 28,310... and that's the advertised price (got mine lower than advertised when I purchased my 2010).

I'd say pass on the 2011 w 10K and negotiate a good price on a 2012....

[GuyContinental]

Nope, cause I already shipped your dead pedal!

BTW, that is a smokin' deal!

Drat! I should have given you the free press! The console, the mats and the dead pedal, NOW I'm set... those seem to be the most discussed add-ons (plus fog lights and the radio lock pick- neither of which interest me)

[58kafer]

Drat! I should have given you the free press! The console, the mats and the dead pedal, NOW I'm set... those seem to be the most discussed add-ons (plus fog lights and the radio lock pick- neither of which interest me)

Oh yeah, the fogs too, I put them in our SEL made an improvement in local backroads driving. They really light up the ditches, now I can spot the green deer eyes.

[bigwyt1]

My wife and i are interested in purchasing a 2011 SEL with NAV but no DVD.

Dealer incentive was 11,000 off of the MSRP of 38,830. So $27,830. We will work more on that..

We almost jumped on the deal but we had other things to figure out first. Like which car to trade in and so on.

Well the reviews that i have been reading on the Routans are horrible. What are your thoughts.

Pulling to the right, Steering lines leaking, VW techs cant fix these cars because they are chryslers..

Any suggestions on should we buy or walk???

Please let me know your experiences with these vehicles.

Thanks

[VWroutanvanman]

Yeah, my local dealer here in Fl is also offering $6K off a '12 Routan SE w/RSE, and had maybe 4 in stock.
As far as the dealer repairs go, it may have been true in '09 when the Routans first came out that they didn't know much about the vans, but with 4 model years under their belt, the shops should be able to handle any problem. The '09s had more probelms than the later models, and each year they just kept getting better. I have a '10 SE, and it is the best screwed together van out of the previous 7 Chrysler vans we've had over the years, and the '11s and '12s are even better yet. I did have the brake problem (warped rotors), but the dealer replaced the 4 corners at no charge and no hassle. The only other problem I've had is the belt tentioner became very noisy at about 25K and was replaced at no charge. Overall, my dealer experience has been very positive.

[thenew3]

If you can wait a few more months until the 2013 comes out, you can get some nice deals on remaining 2012s.

My local dealer had two 2011 SEL Premium, brand new, both stickered at $44k+ they were selling for $30k or less.

One had about 100 miles, the other had 60 miles on it when I went to look at it.

Almost bought one but the wife still doesn't like Mini Van or SUV's.

[GuyContinental]

The data supports the anecdotes-

http://truedelta.com/Volkswagen-Routan/reliability-826

2009 was pretty bad, 2010 was approaching OK and 2011 is pretty dang good. I made the leap (for a 2012) because the price was so dang good even with an extended warranty that I felt that it was worth some risk.

For the record, the parts wholesale cost on super high end rotors for the Routan is about $60 (each) & pads $50/axle. Total parts cost on the job = $340 and actual labor is less than an hour. If you need brakes keep these numbers in mind when negotiating. Any indy shop is going to at least try to add a 100% mark up (yup, 100%; dealer would be 150%)) but the job is dead simple and low skill so negotiate hard. I'd feel pretty good if I walked out of a 4 wheel brake job with these parts for about $550. Even if I have to do that every 20K miles I'm still way ahead of the game on total cost of ownership vs comparative Japanese models (considerably more if I just do the job myself... which I probably won't).

[kat505]

We got our 2011 SE mid February at the dealer blowout. They had all Routans 10k below MSRP. Ours was $22,600. Had looked at T&C and Caravans. Dodge salesman couldn't come close with features VW SE has. VW is much more stylish. Just took it in for the 90 day check. All is good. No problems. Shifts smooth (even in econ). Premium console will be here tomorrow. That's my weekend project. Mileage could be better. We've some some hills in and out of our area, so I suppose a little less (ave 18.5) in normal. Overall, a great van. This is a huge improvement over the '03 Windstar we traded. Love it!!