I have a 2009 Volkswagen Routan sel. I bought it in April 2021 with 112,000 miles. Since I bought it I have had to put two new tires on, a purge valve, gas cap, battery (old one was too small) on top of all of that, it stalls out without warning. My wife is tired of dumping money into it. Do you think I should keep it or cut my losses and get rid of it. I paid $4,500 for it. I live in Philadelphia PA I love your videos. Please let me know what you think. Sincerely, Bob Ives
Any codes? The repairs thus far don't sound too terrible for a vehicle that age. When you buy 13-year-old used car you have to expect some repairs will be needed. Modern VWs tend to turn into money pits as they age but it sounds like yours may not have reached that stage yet if the stalling problem can be sorted out without major expense. In normal times I would not hesitate to get rid of it but the market is so crazy right now finding a suitable replacement could be expensive and in that area you have to be wary of flood cars.
The Routan isn't even a proper VW, it's just a rebadged Chrysler Town and Country
Ouch, I forgot about that, you are correct, it's a worse vehicle than it even appears to be at first blush. I would be concerned at that age and mileage of the transmission cratering. That changes things it may actually be better to get rid of it before a major breakdown despite the crazy market conditions.
I’m afraid the transmission may not last long either. I forgot to mention sometimes it won’t shift out of first gear. I have to shut the car off and restart it and sometimes I have to do it more than once and then it’s fine. The manual says to change the fluid at 120,000 miles. I haven’t done that yet
I had forgotten those things are rebadged Chrysler vans and the transmissions have a history of premature failure on those. If the fluid has never been changed that contributes to the problem. (It needs to be changed at more like 50K-60K miles.)
Best to get rid of that vehicle before the transmission on that thing grenades on you. It's already showing signs of problems but what you're reporting may be due to Chrysler's infamous electrical problems rather than mechanical failure. Just get rid of it.
You're not doing yourself any favors by holding onto that car. Get rid of it asap.
When I bought it, my brother in law was with me. Both of us were befuddled that it had a Chrysler motor in it. Even the used car salesman didn’t know about that. It wasn’t until we researched it after the fact that it was essentially a Chrysler minivan with a VW emblem on it. My late mother in law had a town and country and it was a hunk of garbage. It nickled and dimed her to death. Also, I worked at a Jeep dealership for a time and I saw all kinds of stuff break on them. We were looking around and my wife saw a Chrysler Pacifica and I’m telling her to avoid them since anything Chrysler is garbage anymore. What do you think? Thanks everyone for all of your help I greatly appreciate it
Stay away from Chrysler products manufactured after about 1972.
Dump it.
Could be something simple. Have a competant mechanic check it out and cost out the repair. Besides if you try to sell/trade with obvious stalling issue you will loose value.
Realize that the Routan is not really a VW, it's basically a rebadged Dodge Grand Caravan/ Chrysler Town and Country with VW Tiguan headlights and those vans are rolling piles of junk. I would get rid of it.
