OV9

The next car on my Turo adventure is going to be a Touran, because they rent really nicely, often for longer periods

The next q is which gearbox. Usually I would go for auto, however wondered if there are any gremlins or when it comes to VW gearboxes? This car is likely to get a hard life and cover 30k a year so needs to be as bullet proof as possible.

What do you guys think?

A second car or a replacement for the bmw?

Second car once a car is purchased, photographed and listed on the platform it's super easy to manage and I'm getting solid income each month from it.

We've had two Passats with DSG, both older than 2015, neither gave us any bother. I think they're well established and well sorted.

Cool I would wayyyy prefer to get a DSG

VW have been making DSG for decades. They are pretty faultless these days.

I think the only thing you'd want to do would be to make sure it's definitely had DSG servicing done on it, and if in doubt, get one done.

There are shitloads of DSG VWs out there and you don't hear about them being flaky at all (unlike, say, BMW plastic water pump impellors, etc).

They seem pretty solid by all accounts, if serviced as required.

Thanks guys, this all sounds like great news time to go car shopping again

If you are running it on Turo, then auto/DSG does provide some protection from shit drivers

That's a good way of looking at it. I'd been assuming an auto would be a liability from a mechanical point of view. However, you're right, manual provides way more of the can't find it, grind it opportunities.

I had an older Audi A3 with the DSG box and it was fine. I'd just echo on the service being done. It wasn't that cheap from memory and think it's meant to be done every 40k miles.

Brannen wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 2:32 pm I had an older Audi A3 with the DSG box and it was fine. I'd just echo on the service being done. It wasn't that cheap from memory and think it's meant to be done every 40k miles.

A post hoc Google suggests the same, and a few hundred quid a time.

A local airport run taxi company I’ve used for years steer clear of all VAG autos as they have all let them down. I can’t remember how quickly but it wasn’t much more than 100k.

All their cars are high mileage A6 and A4 estates.

Dave!

They were likely the multitronic CVTs weren't they?

Gavster wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 1:15 pm Second car once a car is purchased, photographed and listed on the platform it's super easy to manage and I'm getting solid income each month from it.

After costs what is the BMW bringing in each month? A Touran sounds like a good way to go to maximise the rental opportunities.

I've watched a DSG dump all its fluid on the floor - 5 year old Audi TT, but this was back in 2013 before people thought about servicing them.

Also, not all DSGs are equal (e.g. wet or dry clutch) so that adds to the list when checking.

I'm not sure if it'd be relevant to a year you'll be looking at but some of the 7 speeds had a recall where the oil was changed to a different type. According to the handbook - and most service departments - the 7 speed is sealed for life and doesn't require servicing, but if they'd had that recall and the oil changed they then require servicing (every 40k iirc). Finding out whether a particular vehicle needed or has had the recall can be a complete pita.

I agree with mik about providing some protection from the ham-footed, and some will doubtless prefer it to a manual because they don't have to get used to a different clutch and gear change.

Jimexpl wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 4:50 pm

Gavster wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 1:15 pm Second car once a car is purchased, photographed and listed on the platform it's super easy to manage and I'm getting solid income each month from it.

After costs what is the BMW bringing in each month? A Touran sounds like a good way to go to maximise the rental opportunities.

I've watched a DSG dump all its fluid on the floor - 5 year old Audi TT, but this was back in 2013 before people thought about servicing them.

It's definitely covering all the costs, and that's while I'm still finding my feet in terms of price point, because I started low to get a quick uptake and build my profile. The three month mean average since I started on Turo is £740 each month. However, that figure is low, because the the daily price has gone up nearly 20% since I started and will go up another 20% or more.

One part of the process which I need to consider more carefully in future is depreciation, as that really eats into the profit. My 4-series is a bit of a liability in that respect as it will lose a lot of value when it gets to 100-120k and I underestimated the impact of that on the profit over 2 years.

Chatting to a guy tonight and he was convinced the make and model of a car isn't very important for Turo guests, they generally want a car that suits their needs at a given price point. Therefore, a cheap 7 seater like a Vauxhall Zafira would be a better car to list, because it will cost around £5k, compared to the Touran at £10-12k, as the Zafira won't depreciate as much.

Have you ever driven a zafira? It's up there with my worst car ever (modus).

Ford alternative would be a better steer and easier to live with imo e.g. c-max.

Misses has a manual touran and it's awful extended golf essentially.

If it is a 7 seater you want/need? The Touran is tiny wee and a bugger toy get in and out of the back row. Galaxy far better and it has the iShift which I believe is pretty solid.

A lot of DSG taxis (but this was 5 years or more ago and they would have been 3 years old then maybe) had problems and I know of two that had to replace something that sounded like mechatronic unit which was over a grand. May well have been ironed out but the Touran is small, feels small and is an old design now.

Gavin wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 9:04 am If it is a 7 seater you want/need? The Touran is tiny wee and a bugger toy get in and out of the back row. Galaxy far better and it has the iShift which I believe is pretty solid.

A lot of DSG taxis (but this was 5 years or more ago and they would have been 3 years old then maybe) had problems and I know of two that had to replace something that sounded like mechatronic unit which was over a grand. May well have been ironed out but the Touran is small, feels small and is an old design now.

The Mechatronic is common failure as is the reverse selector fork, both were design flaws and new parts are changed according to the link I found.

https://www.eco-torque.co.uk/dual-clutch-transmission