Comments on: 2008 Volkswagen Caddy Maxi Van First Steer

By: Allan Leggett

Allan Leggett — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:50:36 +0000

I purchased a new 1.9 TDI with DSG in late 2007 and have covered 66000 km. It has been faultless in that time and the DSG is the best Auto I have used. The vehicle is extremely solid and well built.I have towed a trailer with about a half ton on board for around 10,000km.Fuel consumption averages 7.0 Litres per 100km. (not with the trailer on). I previously had a T4 Transporter turbo Diesel manual which had 155,000 km on it when I sold it and the only problem I had in that time was when the Turbo failed at 60,000. It turned out to be just a bad connection but did take the dealer a couple of days to find the problem. The original brake pads still had over 50% of wear left in them when I sold it. Overall, I would have to say they have both been excellent vehicles.

By: Des Hackett

Des Hackett — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:38:24 +0000

Yesterday, traded my 1.6lt petrol Caddy (owned for 4 years – 41,000KM)on 1.9lt Maxi Auto. Trade-in $12,000. No-Price on new vehicle wasn’t jacked. Magic vehicle – only thing I had to do in four years was fill windscreen washer bottle regularly. Absolutely nothing else needed doing. Have purchased additional 3 yrs warranty (6 yrs all up) due to presence of turbo. Last vehicle admittedly didn’t have to work too hard, but it’s overall reliablity and resale value outshines anything else I’ve owned in last 40+ years. An absolute winner.

By: Greg fraser

Greg fraser — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 23:43:44 +0000

Last July I purchased a VW Caddy diesel, 7 seater. With one exception, I can’t speak highly enough of the car. Torque to talk about! BUT at 13,000 the manuel gear box completely failed. My dealer, Wippels, and VW Assist were great. And in a week I had a new gear box. Having read of the gear box issue above, I think I will take out an extended warranty …. although, I think they should cover it anyway.

By: J5

J5 — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:35:44 +0000

having driven every van under the sun in the last 15 years and running my own service business i went for the caddy as soon as i saw it as having just come out of a hiace petrol that needced fuel every 400K and the size and handling was rubbish

the little caddy does everything it needs to in a small package that is easy to drive and park , why go for a larger van with higer lease , insurance and fuel costs when you dont need to

have just clicked over 30K in the last 11 months

as mentioned traction is a problem due to the garbage tyres which are at the wear markers at 30K

mine is 1.9 TDi manual , didnt go DSG dues to initial cost and potential repair costs $$$$$

i almost went with a berlingo petrol on the road at sub $19K but the cargo capacity wasnt there

mine weighs about 1750kg loaded with racking and parts

i do suburban driving and get around 700k till the fuel light comes on 7.5-8L/100k, i rarely rev about 2500rpm

i have it on a 2.5 year lease and resale looks to be fantastic so when the lease comes around the maxi will be the next choice

why the hell would you go with the hyundai , resale will be rubbish, unknown reliability and for the same money
you could buy a transporter or hiace

By: CaddyDaddy

CaddyDaddy — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:40:53 +0000

ROB.. If you check these forums again please contact me i am interested in the power upgrade..
Just purchased a Caddy maxi TDI 5sp man.
Only thing that lets them down is the after sales service..
Hard to get ya car in, if they answer the phones..
Maybe they are just selling too many??

By: EZZA

EZZA — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:34:02 +0000

just bought one from ferntree gully, good price. salesman actually knows what they are talking about.
bought caddy maxi in black manual been told 7 – 10 days wait.
caddy based heavily on golf so i assume it should be reliable. tdi wow enough to go around and i can get into carpark finally
can’t wait

By: EZZA

EZZA — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:01:36 +0000

Ram – so you reckon a Kia or Holden has a better resale value? Just look on carsales.com and find out the truth buddy.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:33:09 +0000

I’ve had my Caddy for more than 2 years now and I LOVE it.Fuel economy has not changed since purchase.The only major problem was the gear box which started playing up around the 80,000 mark but was replaced by Volkswagen at 104,000 km.I can not praise Volkswagen Assist and my local service centre Mcgrath enough.Note to Rob I get the same fuel consumption. On a trip from Sydney to Armidale carring 120 kg in weight I got 916 km befor I needed to fuel up. Note I am a courier and I’m on the road for about 10 hours a day.

By: rob

rob — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:54:52 +0000

just sold my ss ute and bought a caddy 1.9tdi 5spd man. goes great.real zippy and cruises on the hwy with power to overtake and gets 900kms to a 60l tank. cant wait to get the diesel tuner to bump up the 77kw engine to just under 100kw. should realy get up and go then.

By: bas

bas — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:33:23 +0000

let us know how it is in fuel consumption.
Did you get any extras or just basic van ?

By: GTREA

GTREA — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 10:08:08 +0000

Well I bought the Caddy Maxi TDi 5spd Manual this week.

3 week wait on delivery.

FTR, Did’nt go DSG on either my Caddy or Crafter as I see this as one more thing to go wrong, and its not like the manuals are hard or a chore to drive.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:26:15 +0000

hi everybody, there was no real mentioning of fuel consumption…! on top all the advandages it has my caddy 1.9 diesel takes between 4 and 6 ltr. per 100 km. i reckon thats world class. that is getting more and more an importance, just look at those fuel prices now -

By: Lee1

Lee1 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:38:08 +0000

Hey Matthew (21/04/2008),

How has your Caddy performed in terms of reliability in the time you have had it?

Do you carry much load? What sort of fuel economy do you get?

Would love to get your feedback.

Cheers.

By: Lee1

Lee1 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:12:20 +0000

Thanks for the feedback Golfschwein. Good to hear you’ve had a good run.

Does anyone else have experience, good or bad, with these T/diesels with manual transmissions?

My 2nd Transporter is just about to shred its transmission, so I need to make a decision very soon.

All feedback very gratefully received.

By: Golfschwein

Golfschwein — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:19:01 +0000

My Golf’s ticked over 50,000 kms, Lee1, with the engine you’re contemplating. Its only warranty claim related to a fault in the intake manifold that caused a gruff shut-down, but it drove normally until fixed. Its manual is beautiful to use.

In short, thoroughly recommended.

By: Lee1

Lee1 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:43:24 +0000

Hi guys & girls,
I want to buy a Caddy Maxi, but I am concerned about the gearbox.
I have 2 T4 Transporter 2.5L T/Diesels and the transmission (auto) went after 80,000km on one, and 120,000km on the other.
Very, very expensive to fix.
Its the only fault I can find in otherwise great vehicles, but has me thinking VW may not be the way to go in the future.
Is the Caddy T/diesel manual a reliable unit, does anyone know?

Any info much appreciated.

By: GTREA

GTREA — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:37:54 +0000

I test drove a Caddy Maxi TDi last week, it went very well indeed, I already own an VW Crafter which gets along very nicely,but the Caddy was a whole heap quicker again.

yes VW are more expensive than the competition, except Mercedes and possibly Iveco, but theres more to a vehicle than what you read on a spec sheet, such as build quailty feel, comfort etc…here the Caddy wins hands down

Rear Seat is not available from the Factory but I was told they are available thru the dealer from an aftermarket supplier fully ADR’d for $2000 ;)

I concur on the iload being to big for what I imagine a Caddy, Combo, Bertlingo, Kangoo buyer would want ie fuel efficiency and nibbleness.

By: Angus

Angus — Sun, 04 May 2008 01:47:00 +0000

Oh dear, but for an edit function… VW, not Volvo. I blame diesel fumes in the crappy transit for my dyslexia.

By: Angus

Angus — Sun, 04 May 2008 00:36:29 +0000

Something like this is getting close to my ideal car…all it needs is a useable rear seat arrangement of some kind for kids/friends, and selective AWD for towing & launching/retrieving the boat. The I-load crew van is close to the mark but just too big for daily zipping about. The Volvo is much more car like, economical, and practical in this longer form, by the sounds of it. Volvo! Build me a passenger version of this car, with some kind of AWD for when it’s needed, and I’ll buy it.

My 2 cents.

By: phaeton

phaeton — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:35:11 +0000

Well said Davidt :)