volkswagen phaeton | FerrariChat

volkswagen phaeton

Discussion in 'Other German' started by ferraripete, Oct 16, 2004.

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  1. ferraripete

    ferraripete F1 World Champ

    what has become of this vw branded a-8? did any sell? are there any sitting on lots w/ factory funny money? does anyone online have one and if so, what did it sell for? just curious...did they all go back to germany to get audi badges?

    pcb
     
  2. s_eric09

    s_eric09 Formula Junior

    Feb 7, 2004
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    George
    It's funny, today i was wondering the exact same thing, i though i saw one but it was just a biffed up passat. I dont think i have ever seen one on the road. I did sat on one, and i think they look nice, but you are buying a volkswagen. They should leave expensive luxury cars to Audi.

    George.
     
  3. F456 V12

    F456 V12 F1 Rookie
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    I saw one today heading east on OSO Parkway in So. Cal. Black, Black and yeah it sort of looks like an Audi,

    MB
     
  4. ferraripete

    ferraripete F1 World Champ

    george,

    i too sat in one at the san diego car show...it was very nice but again...who is going to buy a $70k vw. i am actually looking for a new daily driver and i was thinking that in order to move these cars off the lot, they might be heavily susidised. i wonder what they will be trading for? actually, i wonder how many dealers were asked to stock the car?
     
  5. Aureus

    Aureus Formula 3

    I've seen 3 or 4. They look fine to me. The problem is that it is a VW and there is a stigma around it. There is a reason Toyota sells its expensive cars as a Lexus in the United States and as Toyotas elsewhere in the world. However to call it a rebadged Audi is um... wrong. All they share is the engine. Everything else is different. For one thing the A8 is aluminum, the Phaeton is not. One of them packs on an 1,000 lbs+... I'll let you guess.
     
  6. sjb509

    sjb509 Guest

    I think Volkswagen is going to find it tough to move upmarket. The buying public thinks of VW as Golfs, Rabbits, and Beetles, not $70k luxury cars. The success of the Toureg actually surprises me, but it only costs about 2/3 that of the Phaeton and probably appeals to more buyers.

    I thought the major car companies purchasing smaller manufacturers was an acknowledgment of this difficulty moving into a higher range of status vehicles. Ford owns Volvo, Aston Martin, Jaguar, etc. Even VW owns other luxury brands, so it would appear they are competing with themselves, poaching away Audi customers with the Phaeton. However, if it is VW's strategy to build up their brand image to Audi-like levels, then sell off Audi as redundant, it could make sense.
     
  7. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    Bingo!!!

    DL
     
  8. VROOM!!!

    VROOM!!! Formula 3

    Feb 11, 2004
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    I saw one a few days ago not to fa from my house. I have to say, it looks really awesome..... I would rather have one of those then a MBZ S430, they are starting to get VERY played out. Everywhere i look there is a S class.
     
  9. whart

    whart F1 Veteran
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    Dec 5, 2001
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    I test drove one early on; it was a pig; the interior was impressive, but lacked things such as a hands-free phone system. It was also not easy to get one with the split rear seat console; that was, i was told, a special order on the 8 cyl. car. At the time we were shopping, they were still looking for close to sticker; now, its my understanding that they'll lose money leasing one to you. The VW badge did not put me off; sort of reverse chic, like having a Mattel sportscar worth 300k. The drive itself, though, was ponderous, it handled like a big american car because of its weight and size, and there was no incentive to go for it, as opposed to a big BMW or Mercedes, at around the same numbers. (I also remained underimpressed by the dealer network; it was not really used to high-end customers and, as you know, most hi-line car dealers know how to play the game at this point).
     
  10. Ryan S.

    Ryan S. Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Just buy an A8.
     
  11. tbakowsky

    tbakowsky F1 World Champ
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    Sep 18, 2002
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    Tom
    Well they just built the Bently out of the car so it can't be that bad
    '
     
  12. brendon0

    brendon0 Formula Junior

    Dec 13, 2003
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    Right and wrong. The W12 (v-12) in the audi has a dry sump lubrication and
    pushes more power. Its also mounted lower in the A8 to lower the center
    of gravity. The V8's are the same. Also in europe, the VW is offered with
    the massive V10 TurboDiesel. You wont ever find an oil burner in an
    audi. I expect the V10 TD to be offered in the VW in the USA, since its
    now an option on the Toureg.

    And yes, the AUDI has an alumium body, and comes in short and long
    body versions, whereas the VW only comes as a long chassis. The Audi
    is standard Quattro, I dont know about the VW.

    IMHO, the VW is a good buy for the money, if I was shopping this
    class, I would seriously conisder the VW.
     
  13. gentry

    gentry Guest

    the Phaeton is nicer on the inside than the A8 in alot of ways. But that is purely opinion. I test drove them both and love them both. I like how solid the Phaeton feels, but it should since it weighs signifigantly more.

    The phaeton also had a bigger back seat.
     
  14. youngtifosi

    youngtifosi Karting

    Jun 6, 2004
    90
    1) In Europe, Audi offers and have offered diesels, particularly the 3.0 and 4.0 TDI V8's in the A8. However, the lack of highly refined diesel in North America leaves us without these options.
    2) VW has 4Motion (non-Haldex) AWD as standard on the Phaeton.

    The Phaeton is a well built and thoughtfully designed, but the A8 is better. That being said, I'm reminded of the Aston Martin Lagonda, in that the Phaeton is out of character for VW and is in some respects ahead of its time.
     
  15. jhl1963

    jhl1963 Karting

    Jan 1, 2004
    59
    I recently shopped one for my father-in-law and paid $61K - he came from an S class and we both absolutely adore the car. Sure its no AMG, but with the 6 speed auto its geared pretty well and is faster than you would think. He went with the audi as he liked the interior better and wasn't crazy about potential aluminum repair if necessary. Build quality is better than the S in my opinion.

    Apparently they have not sold as well as they thought, so the good news is they will continue to be rare and when VW kills the brand you can still get parts in any audi dealer for the drive train.
     
  16. sjb509

    sjb509 Guest

    After reading this thread I went and did a sample spec of a Phaeton on the VW.com website.

    A W-12 version with a few options (but not all available) is over $105 MSRP? Why would anyone seriously buy one over a Quattroporte? Or for just $5k more, an S55 AMG? Just going on MSRP of each.

    Asking prices for these seem to be less than $80k already. The depreciation on these cars may be worse than Jaguar. In two or three years, these cars will probably be 40% of original MSRP.
     
  17. ghost

    ghost F1 World Champ
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    The VW Phaeton continues to sell poorly, primarily due to two key issues: (i) as people have noted, it retains the "stigma" of being a VW, and (ii) it doesn't differentiate enough from the A8. In fact, one of the car rags had a comparsion between the Phaeton and the A8 and concluded that it was hard to justify paying the extra $'s for the Phaeton, when much of it is already available on the sumptuous A8. Performance and creature-comforts aside, I believe that even aesthetically, the A8 has a leg-up on the Phaeton.

    It's a long road ahead for VW with the Phaeton.
     
  18. jm2

    jm2 F1 World Champ
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    I had an opportunity to drive a W-12 Phaeton for a 4 day weekend.I also spent time in an A8L Audi.For me personally i preferred the A8 over the VW.It's not so much that it's a VW,in my opinion the Audi was a much better looking car , and i preferred the interior of the Audi as well.There is a sense of desperation with many VW dealers.So if you are in the market for such a car, a good deal can be had.

    As an aside , the plant that manufactures the Phaeton is a literal work of art.Too bad the car has met with limited acceptance.
     
  19. scycle2020

    scycle2020 F1 Rookie

    Jan 26, 2004
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    potomac
    my friend just leased one...very nice car...they have only sold 1600 total in the us....they are offering huge discounts...up to 10-15 k below list..my friend got a 0 down lease, 3 years for 700$ a month..
     
  20. bdog

    bdog Formula Junior

    Jul 10, 2004
    330
    Because of the 12 cilander engine
     
  21. sjb509

    sjb509 Guest

    In that case get an S600 for $20k more. The VW will depreciate like crazy, much faster than the S600, plus you get an additional 20% or so horsepower in the Benz.

    I'm not putting down the Phaeton with respect to the car itself, but the pricing structure within the VW family doesn't make sense. Someone has to really, really want a W-12 engine to pay the addtional $25k over the V-8 for one in the Phaeton.
     
  22. jm2

    jm2 F1 World Champ
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    Just as a follow up , yesterday's Automotive News had a front page article that says VW is offering $10,000.- rebates on the Phaeton. They will only sell @1500 cars this year.
     
  23. amenasce

    amenasce Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Oct 17, 2001
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    Interior is impressive if somewhat bland. Quality is better than MB/BMW. But Exterior is serioulsy ugly. And Its a heavy pig.
     
  24. tfazio

    tfazio Formula 3
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    Apr 20, 2004
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    Here is a link to the article that was in Automotive news.

    http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101091
     

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