'No Deal' of the Week

A VW Phaeton can be a great luxury used car, but make sure it's thoroughly inspected.
Photo © Volkswagen

The phrase “best used car luxury bargain the U.S. has ever seen” caught my eye while perusing www.thetruthaboutcars.com. It had a piece on the reintroduction of the VW Phaeton to the U.S. market in 2009.

The best used car quotation was linked to an online ad for a Phaeton, which I agree can be a great value, but not with this particular car.

It rates as my “No Deal” of the week for the following reasons:

• The dealership advertises this Phaeton as “certified pre-owned” but it’s certified by the dealership and not the manufacturer. Only a manufacturer can certify a pre-owned vehicle. Read my report on understanding certified pre-owned cars to learn why.

• The CarFax.com report shows:

1. The transmission was replaced slightly a year after it was purchased.
2. Six times in two-and-a-half years its engine/powertrain computer/module was checked.
3. It was in the shop 14 times in that same time frame or roughly once every two months.

• The price just isn’t right at $23,999. Edmunds.com says it’s worth $25,212 but a car with this many potential mechanical problems needs to get at least a 10 percent discount below that price. Maybe at $22,000 it would be worth it.