too tecknikal for me
ther was no skool in my day

It has the exact same gearbox, engine and four wheel drive system as the A8. I hate this VAG group sharing stuff. Wish Audi would stick two fingers up at the group and go at it alone.

Anyway, don't let the marketeers fool you, the four wheel drive in the Phaeton is more 'quattro' than in an A3/TT which is haldex based.

Agree with Roberto, though. Buy an '8.

The W8 passat suffers gearbox issues (torque converter and sensor issues mainly) but not heard of anything specific with phaeton

Pretty sure early phaetons were old 5 speed zf box like d2 hence some go bang.

Steel, heavy, doesn't handle, slow and thirsty compared to any a8. Read the specs. Iirc the w12 phaeton has the same 0-60 as the 4.2 a8 :eek2:

Nice specs though.

IMO, will never look good with a vw badge on it, and should have been made from ally, otherwise I'd snap one up +++

Glad someone else asked this question as having a flic for a new car, i'd hit on the idea too. They are certainly undervalued for the piece of car on offer, but then the 8s are a bit too. Nice specs and comfort for the price that is for sure.

I really fancied a W12 Phaeton... in fact I set out looking for one of these rather than an A8. But they're so rare, and every W12 seller seems to take that as a cue to ask twice what it's worth.

Started looking into the A8s, and the lighter and unrustable ally body combined with much more choice on the used market and more sensible pricing swayed me away from the Phaeton (although I do actually like the look and image of the Phaeton... nobody can tell it apart from a Passat, could slip a TDi Bluemotion badge on the back of a W12 and surprise a few folk...)

Going to look at a nice 4.2 D3 next week, all being well!

I'm in the middle of breaking a W12 Phaeton 2004.

I bought it with a dead gearbox as I am using the engine for another project.

Although the gearbox needs a rebuild, I still managed to drive it for 3 months to work and back. With the gearbox stuck in 5th with an open torque convertor (Limp mode), I managed around 17-18mpg on the daily hack.

I could get 25-28mpg on a run at 70mph.

The technical stuff that's gone into the Phaeton is just amazing and makes the D2 S8 I had look dated. That said, I prefer the look of the S8! The Phaeton looks like a big Passat, not my style!

The gearbox (and 4WD) in the W12 is a 5HP24A... exactly the same as fitted to the D2 S8... with the same problems! When VW brought out the Phaeton W12 in 2003, they stated that the gearbox was 'filled for life'. A year later, they did a complete U-turn and stated that the gearbox oil should be changed every 40k!! There were several customers/dealers who fell foul of this and ended up having to shell out for a new gearbox as the warranty was void as the oil hadn't been changed!

The other Phaetons use a different ZF gearbox (6 speed) and these are more reliable.

The air suspension gives the car the very best ride that I have ever experienced in a car. I used to work for Porsche as a Master Tech and I've driven a lot of cars!

The W12 engine is just a mass of torque and just keeps pulling. The 3.0TDi in that Phaeton on ebay is a good reliable engine but you should still be checking for service history.

There is a very good Phaeton forum on the Vortex forums. These guys really know their Phaetons and are very happy to help out with any questions or info that you need.

Oh... the Phaeton has a steel body and as a result.. this is a very very heavy car! They weigh around 2300kg. As a result, don't expect it to be as nippy as an A8/S8. The W12 comes with the same brakes as the RS6, RS4, Lamborghini etc 365mm fronts and 330mm rears. They are needed!

MG