Introduction

Welcome to the Finding Phaeton blog.

The lease on my SUV is ending soon and I'll be returning it to the dealer. Since my other car, a 2000 VW Golf TDI is too small to fit two child seats in the back (one rear-facing), I need to find a newer, larger car to transport the family. I've always been driving large cars, from my dad's 1980's Chevrolet Caprice when I got my driver's license at 16, and later his 1992 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham D'Elegance. A friend had a decent classic car collection that my brother and I had the fortune of caring for and showing for him. I learned to drive standard on his 1958 Bentley, in a parade. Poor clutch.

My own first large car was a 1985 Buick Park Avenue that was given to me by my grandparents in 1997. More recently, I've owned two Mercedes-Benz station wagons, a diesel (W123 300TD) from 1982 which I still own, and a 1992 (W124 300TE) that was a great car until I traded it in on the SUV. So I've got a penchant for these big things, even in this era of fuel conservation. But then, I've got a motorcycle and the Golf for those purposes. No, I need something big and luxurious, hence the Volkswagen Phaeton.

I've been watching the Phaeton since it was debuted in 2003 as a 2004 model. The most expensive VW ever (some were priced at 6-figures) was doomed from the start in North America since few people were willing to shell out for such a high-priced "budget" car. The mistake made by VW was that it was marketed as a VW and not on it's own like Mercedes-Benz did with the reborn Maybach (also a flop). But where some may fail, others can benefit since resale values for the Phaeton have plummeted. So I -could- pick up a new base-model Chevrolet Impala, or I could go for the gold in an reliable and over-engineered car that has luxury not found in the other high-end marques.

This is a chronicle of the search for my very own Phaeton and experiences of future ownership.