I am looking at buying a T5 170PS LWB caravelle on a 06 plate for a good price.

But looking at some VW forums I am completely confused as to the reliability of the engine.

Anyone here have any real life experiences of using owning one?

and what should I look out for?

cheers

I've got a 130lwb on an '08. mines been rock solid but then again I wouldn't expect anything else in 20k miles.

I think the big problem with any forum is that people are quick to bash a product but less quick to tell people how nothing remarkable has happened to their cars/bikes/tv's whatever.

VW have sold a million of these vans so it's only normal that some have reported problems.

'Common' problems seem to be the Dual Mass flywheel giving up the ghost but this is not just common to VW, it's a problem on most cars/vans with one, they're just not as reliable as solid ones, they are a consumable item, if an expensive one.

Most of the other problems seem to have been caught by warranty recalls so check if your intended van has had any/all of the work done. mine had 3 recalls done on it when it went in for it's 1st service, none were causing problems but were sorted anyway.

I think a lot of the problems with that big engine is the fact people who buy the big power ones tend to drive them like they stole em, often remapping them up to over 200bhp, can't be good for them??

Have a look over on http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk and http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/ for a lot more info.

I dont have one but a Vavaro van But when I was looking at one
It is better to get the larger size engine rather than the
smaller one this includes when it comes to selling it on later.
But very good vans.

I have been looking at other vans but the VW is the only one that is common in the 2.5 variant and with air con

Most others are 1.9 and no air con, and I need poweful engines to pull people and trailers up alpine roads

Ower of a remapped 174, now 213 bhp and 440 Newton metre torques. No probs but not mega miles. The oem 174 has beefier internals over the 130. Runs well, smooth and drives like a big car. As above folk will post about problems rather than praise. The dm flywheels have had mixed reviews as has the dpf filter and the way it regenerates. Maybe look for the pattern of usage by the previous owner and regular servicing as an indicator of reliability.

+1 for the forums mentioned and there is also a very comprehensive T5 Board run from Germany. If your doing Alpine stuff, buy a left hooker and have a 4 motion option that is available in mainland Europe or Southern Ireland, but not here. Is power really an issue? Most people very happy with 130's.

hth