At $19,999, Is This 2004 Vw Touareg V10 Tdi A Daunting Deal?

If there's 1 point today's Nice Price aliases No Dice Touareg has successful spades, it's tarmac-torturing torque. That's made imaginable by its monster V10 TDI mill, which besides happens to make it 1 of nan hardest cars successful nan world to activity on. Let's spot if it's priced successful a measurement that makes that situation look appealing.

Set successful 1910's Iowa, Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man" is champion remembered for its show-stopping songs and nan movie version's main capacity of Henry Hill by an excessively charming Robert Preston. What stuck pinch maine astir nan story, however, was nan catchphrase uttered by nan mayor's daughter, Zaneeta, played by Susan Luckey successful nan movie, who punctuated astir sentences pinch "Ye Gods!"

Ye gods... er, nan gods weren't sparkling connected nan 1974 Buick Apollo 350 we looked astatine connected Tuesday, contempt nan car having been named for 1 of nan Greek Pantheon of other-earthly orchestrators of fate. At rumor were nan car's somewhat lackluster entreaty and, by contrast, its precocious $9,500 asking price. Sadly for its seller, that didn't guidelines a dream successful our vote, yet ending up pinch a 65% "No Dice" loss.

I don't deliberation anyone would reason Volkswagen sewage a small weird backmost successful nan early aughts. The company, known for and named for being nan car of nan people, attempted a push into nan rarified aerial of a higher-end, much exclusive (and hence much profitable) car category. This was astatine nan behest of nan past CEO Ferdinand Piëch, nan grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who drove nan company's R&D fund to historical heights. The consequence was a fistful of caller models, marketplace entries, and engines that made Audi execs go, "WTF?" Unfortunately for Piëch and VW, astir of those turned retired to beryllium flops. They were glorious flops, but flops nonetheless.

One conveyance introduced successful VW's upmarket push that survived, and successful fact, thrived was nan Touareg. An introduction into nan highly basking SUV/Crossover category, nan five-door 4Motion wagon deed a batch of nan correct chords for car buyers. It was besides 1 of nan astir costly cars VW ever offered, only ceding nan title to nan limited-production and crazily costly Phaeton.

Over nan people of its accumulation run, nan Touareg offered an astonishing array of motor displacements and cylinder counts. This 2004 Volkswagen Touareg has 1 of nan astir interesting—and astir difficult to maintain—engines successful that lineup: nan 5.0-liter V10 direct-injected turbo-diesel. That monolithic mill, crammed into nan tight confines of nan Touareg's motor bay, delivers a coagulated 309 horsepower and an astounding 553 pound-feet of torque. That was capable that, successful a promotional stunt, VW had a V10 Touareg tow a 747.

The problem, of course, pinch an motor truthful ample and analyzable successful truthful mini a abstraction is that almost each awesome repair is an engine-out affair. It's a bully thing, then, that this Touareg is said to travel pinch an extended work history successful its Carfax study and to beryllium a one-owner car pinch a specified 98,176 miles nether its belt. The trader offering nan car further claims it to beryllium "100% stock, pinch nary modifications!"

The seller besides notes nan Touareg V10's appreciable exclusivity. Not galore were sold present successful nan States, arsenic Volkswagen had problem gathering ever-tighter emissions regulations during nan model's accumulation run. That meant it sat retired nan 2005 exemplary twelvemonth and was only disposable successful immoderate states for nan adjacent 3 years until nan motor was pulled from nan action list. What VW later did to make its diesels look little soiled is scandalous, but that doesn't impact this model.

Its diesel motor whitethorn not beryllium nan cleanest successful nan world, but nan remainder of this Touareg does coming arsenic neat and tidy. The white-over-gray leather colour combo is described by nan seller arsenic "popular," but it's much inoffensive than aspirational. The advertisement accurately describes nan car arsenic having nary important flaws, pinch bodywork and overgarment appearing unmarred, and nan mill five-spoke alloys seemingly having nary history of curb encounters.

The compartment isn't conscionable clean; it looks almost arsenic new. As we discussed, this was portion of VW's effort astatine upmarket cars, and nan materials and specs carnivore that out. This Touareg is loaded to nan gills pinch features and luxury accommodations. It besides has much buttons than 1 mightiness beryllium utilized to coming from a much modern car. Yes, there's an infotainment surface successful nan dash pinch built-in navigation, but it's surrounded by a oversea of buttons and knobs. There's besides wood and brightwork, adding to nan fanciness.

With substance prices skyrocketing, this whitethorn not beryllium nan correct clip to moreover beryllium considering a V10-powered anything. Of course, those substance value increases are only felt by nan poors, serving only arsenic a insignificant inconvenience for nan wealthy. This Touareg was primitively intended for nan well-to-do, and that shouldn't alteration now. Let's now thief them retired and counsel connected nan worth of this clean-title Touareg astatine its $19,999 asking price.

What do you deliberation astir spending a subordinate awkward of 20 expansive for this uncommon twenty-two-year-old ten-cylinder SUV? Does that look for illustration a bully woody and a coagulated plan? Or is that excessively overmuch for what's apt nan extremity of nan iceberg connected substance and attraction costs, nary matter really richy-rich you mightiness be?

You decide!

Portland, Oregon, Craigslist, aliases spell here if nan advertisement disappears.

H/T to Chris Reyes for nan hookup!

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