[Booga]

Before I'm hunted down and lynched, this is a genuine query!! I'm asking all of you as you know about these vans.
I'm hunting for a good low milage T5 to convert into a camper. It''ll be used as my daily car for commuting to work etc as well, so it needs to be reliable. I've been reading reviews on the net from various sites and individuals and there seems to be quality issues with many of the vans out there..is this correct? It especially seems to be 2005 / 2007 model vans...whatever was gong on then.
Are these vans realiable or will it cost me a fortune in parts, time spent at the garage etc...??
Please be honest about your experiences. I've read some horror stories!

 

[rjm]

Re: Are T5'S Basically ****??

Firstly, may I suggest you change the title before offending others.

I have a T4 and a T5 and am more than happy with both.

 

[Booga]

Re: Are T5'S Basically ****??

I dont have a privilage to alter the thread title, so sorry if I'm offending anyone!!
Do you dive your vans on a daily basis?

 

[rjm]

Re: Are T5'S Basically ****??

Pay £10 and it will open up a greater range of what you can do on the forum.

Both are used every day.

 

[TonyR]

Re: Are T5'S Basically ****??

Yes. Yes they are.

*but that is only because I cant afford one

 

[oddboy]

Re: Are T5'S Basically ****??

i use my 2007 T5 daily and its not missed a beat

 

[WWW.BANWYVANS.CO.UK]

Yes they are great but TOTALLY different to the T4s, I love them both for different reasons.

 

[willonmitchell]

Yes they are great but TOTALLY different to the T4s, I love them both for different reasons.

Can you expand a little bit on that?

 

[redeamer]

seem to be issues with some T5's but you only hear about the bad ones, mines a basic T30 1.9 on a 04 plate- 115k on the clock and used every day, yes it plays up a little on cold morning & it takes 3 trys to start it, but it starts and goes great- would I buy my van again? DAM RIGHT! I love it

 

[vanbling]

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe they had a number of problems on some of the earlier models!?

 

[vanbling]

Yep thought as much!

 

[JIMMYJAMES]

Yep thought as much!

I've heard lots of negatives but then thats all you hear on forums, you never hear the good things. I had a Vauxhall Vectra DTi and cringed when i read the VVOC engine section; in fact it was really reliable and probably the most economical car i ever owned (better than the Vreg Tolledo TDi 110 with all its electrical issues).

 

[Stubee]

I hate to say this...........but the T5 I have just bought has turned out to be a total lemon.

We have owned lots of VWs, T4,Golfs in many guises, Passat, now T5, had problems with them all except the T4.

One bit of advice I have learnt this week............buy from a VW dealer, NOT auction.

 

[Booga]

I hate to say this...........but the T5 I have just bought has turned out to be a total lemon.
QUOTE]

Hi,
What year is your van? I'm looking for a 2007 oldest. I need this van to be realiable. All of the vans I've read bad reports on seem to be up to 2006 model....some brand new. Whats gone wrong with yours?

 

[cjm_2008]

apparently they do have a few weak points - mainly the dual mass flywheel, the gearbox in general seems to be an achilles heel - and I've heard about turbo issues. I was lucky enough to find a private seller who was astute enough to kick up a stink and get a new gearbox & clutch fitted 5 days before the VW warranty expired I:

positives outweigh the negatives by far. I absolutely love this van.

 

[AJC Conversions]

Love mine to bits.
Yes the clutch can be a issue, But a friend of mine says he is fed up of keep changing the clutch and flywheel on the ford tranny, So not just vw.
All makes of car forums will fill you with horror stories. But that is why alot of forums are there...to share problems...So then you end up with lots of threads with owners reporting faults.

I have had several early t5 models and had no probs with any. My last t5 was a 174 and had a few gearboxs in 120k miles (already had these done before i bought it)
In the end i decided that if the gearbox went it would be hard to find a replacment one, So i bought a 1.9 T5 instead. Parts are well available (same engine as passat/golf etc) So any probs on this engine and it would not break the bank. But where would i find a t5 174 box from if that went? Not cheap anyway.
Just my opion, not saying i am right or wrong. But i have lost nealry 100 bhp(last 174bhp, new one 85bhp) and still love my T5

Cheers Andy

 

[exocet]

Just adding to everyone comments, I just came back from a short week end trip to Les Arcs 2000, I was surprise to see so many T5's in such a small amount of time, most of them were carrying ski gear for ski clubs and holiday makers or just simply taxis from Bourg- saint-Maurice to all the ski stations around. My view if the T5 were that bad why would this people used them in such harsh conditions on a daily basis, in cold/icy weather, up and down the mountain!

Now for the stories, we went to Les Arcs in my friend's brand new 4x4 Free-Lander, big engine and high price tag, the car only has 5k and he already had to go back 3 times to the garage since he bought it. I would not suspect that kind of car to have problems but it did, no matters what car/van you go for their always will be someone with bad luck.

I'm going back snowboarding in 2 weeks, and this time we are going in my T5, are T5's any good well I let you judge with what I've just said, but you can guess my opinion .:ILU:
exo

 

[motoYAKA]

I have an '05 1.9 104 T5 SWB which I use as my only four wheeler. It is used for work, commuting, running around locally, trips to the dump, removal van, and most importantly as a camper van in UK for weekends away and summer trips to the Alps. So far there have been no real problems with it (touching wood, fingers crossed etc. I and I would definitely have another

As others have said, forums are a great place to hear of everyone woes, not necessarily of the good vehicles out there

 

[Stubee]

I hate to say this...........but the T5 I have just bought has turned out to be a total lemon.
QUOTE]

Hi,
What year is your van? I'm looking for a 2007 oldest. I need this van to be realiable. All of the vans I've read bad reports on seem to be up to 2006 model....some brand new. Whats gone wrong with yours?

Don't get me wrong, I love it to bits, I just think that you need to be ultra careful and check not just service history, but if possible have a dig into the vehicles past!

Mine is a 56 plate T28 SWB 174. It has had £15,000 worth of warranty work. Turbos x 2, Exhaust Sensors, DPF, Drive shaft.......and within 3 days I had a light on the dash telling me to take to a dealer, parking sensors not working and fluffy power delivery at low revs. A certain forum member kindly checked it with his VAG diagnostics and that found 3 faults!

I know a lot of people with these vans (130 and 174) and they have had no problems at all. It is just a shame you rarely find them moaning on websites/forums about their problems! A bit like the news really - no one cares about the happy stuff but wingeing is what us brits do best!

Maybe I should start a topic called..........'All fine today thanks!'............or someone else should, cos I wouldn't be able to post!!

I'm not giving up on this van, it is a beauty, I need it in my life!!!

 

[fiverods]

T:had mine since new 18000miles not one thing gone wrong with it.
1.9 102 se .