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2005 - Rare Car And Very Well Maintained! Black On Tan Leather - Just Detailed on 2040-cars

US $9,000.00
Year:2005 Mileage:146450 Color: paint
Location:

Sunnyvale, California, United States

Sunnyvale, California, United States
Advertising:

Selling a rare 2005 V8 Volkswagen Phaeton that has been well-cared for over the years.

As for this car specifically, it was built in the famous Transparent Factory in Dresden, Germany in January 2005 (forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1837641-A-Photo-Tour-of-the-Transparent-Factory-in-Dresden). First sold in Tampa, Florida, the car was then bought at auction by a Phaeton and Audi collector in Irvine, CA in 2009. The collector (known as Audi Bob on VW forums) drove it across the country and sold it to its current owner, a business executive in Silicon Valley. The car has been very well-maintained over the years at the local VW dealer and a specialty shop, European Auto Works (yelp.com/biz/european-auto-works-sunnyvale?osq=european+autoworks). 

It drives extremely well - starts up instantly, engine pulls strong and the transmission shifts seamlessly through every gear. You can easily do +100 mph in this thing and have no idea until you glance at the speedometer. It really is a big, confident, autobahn bruiser. The interior is exceptionally clean with beautiful leather, wood, and chrome accents. The sliding vent covers are cool to see in action, too.

One of the other great things about this car is that not only is it incredibly solid and comfortable, it's also understated. People will often notice it and think it's a new Passat or CC; but really, it's like owning a baby Bentley without the flash.

Other features include:
• Black Klavierlack exterior paint
• Sonnen Beige leather interior
• 4.2-liter 40-valve V8 (335 horsepower @ 6500 rpm and 317 torque @ 3500 rpm)
• VW 4Motion all-wheel-drive system (identical to Audi's renowned Quattro setup)
• 0-60 in 6.5 seconds
• 18" optional alloy rims
• Standard 190-watt AM/FM sound system w/6-disc CD changer in the glovebox: 10 speakers, 8-channel amplifier, subwoofer
• DVD-based navigation system
• Ski pass in the trunk
• Power sunroof with power sunshade
• Manual sunshades on the rear door windows
• Power sunshade on the rear window
• Soft-close feature on all four doors (you can just touch the doors to the side of the car and they close themselves)
• 12-way adjustable and heated front seats with 3-way memory feature
• Wood grain front cupholders that integrate into the dash
• Rear cupholders and first aid kit in the center armrest
• Rear foot rests
• Original, factory first aid kit in the rear armrest
• Homelink and OnStar capable
• Dual front, front side, rear side, and front and rear curtain airbags - 10 in total
• Clean title
• 1 key and original manual
• CarFax on hand

Known problems:
Having over 140,000 miles, there are some small paint chips in the hood and front fascia. Each rim also has some curb rash as they've been rotated over the years. It seems like the front headlight washers have cracked the surrounding plastic on the front bumper (I've seen this on another Phaeton as well, it may be a design flaw). The rear windows are sometimes glitchy and the driver's side buttons may need to be pressed twice to get them to close all the way. There is also some normal wear on the steering wheel (also because of the miles), and the paint on the trunk was recently touched up as the shine on the lip was fading after a poor wax job (you seriously cannot tell the difference, it looks great).

Otherwise, everything on the Phaeton is operationally sound; other than what's listed above, there are no known electrical or mechanical problems, but you're welcome to have a third party take a look at it. Routine maintenance has always been performed, including the timing belt replacement (we have the shop records). It was just professionally detailed and is ready for its next owner! Please note this vehicle is also being sold locally on Craigslist.


A little background on the Volkswagen Phaeton in general:

If you haven't heard of the Phaeton before, this was Volkswagen's answer to the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-series. Being in the VW family, the Phaeton is essentially part Bentley Continental (built on the same chassis and in the same specialty built factory in Germany), with key components borrowed from the Audi A8L (4.2-liter V8 engine, transmission, Quattro all-wheel-drive system). A $70,000 engineering marvel, the Phaeton was designed by Volkswagen's Ferdinand Piech to meet some incredible parameters. Notable features include:

• You should be able to drive it all day at 186 mph in 122 degree weather with a maintained interior temperature of 71.6 degrees.
• Has an extreme torsional rigidity of 37,000 Nm/degree (for perspective, a Bugatti Veyron is the most rigid car in the world at 60,000 Nm/degree, a Rolls Royce Phantom is second at 40,500 Nm/degree, the Phaeton is third at 37,000 Nm/degree, a Ferrari F50 comes in at 34,600 Nm/degree, while a Porsche 911 has 30,000 Nm/degree.)
• Draftless 4-zone climate control system with sliding wood vent covers and integrated humidity control.
• Because of the high speed capability of the car, the hood was specially designed to stay rigid and aerodynamic at high speeds, the windows have two layers of glass for improved sound insulation, and the exterior panel gaps are 3 millimeters wide to reduce wind noise.
• Self-leveling suspension system with 3 height settings (the car will automatically lower itself when traveling over 87 mph).
• According to the popular British car show, "Top Gear," the W12 model can reach 201 mph.
• The car is equipped with 2 batteries, each on either side of the trunk. One is used to start the car and the other is for the accessories. If the starter battery is dead, the accessories battery can be engaged to start the car. If it's below 50 degrees outside, both batteries will engage to start the car. As a safety feature, if one or more airbags are deployed in a crash, an explosive charge will detonate and disconnect the starter battery.

If you're interested, here's the Top Gear review: youtube.com/watch?v=xm2swohEtYM

A note on safety: here's a video of a crash test between a Phaeton and a VW Polo. Where the Audi A8L cousin is made of aluminum, the Phaeton is steel and weighs around 5,100 lbs. The Polo literally bounces off the Phaeton as it continues forward: youtube.com/watch?v=PIsao6YG4Zo

SHIPPING: Buyer will be responsible for coordinating and paying for shipping. Seller will help coordinate within reason.

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