OT: Turbos in newer used cars

[B1GEast]

I'm interested in a few cars and many have 3 or 4 cylinder turbos

One specifically is the Volkswagen Tiguan and the GMC Terrain both are 2020's

Even the Ford Edge Titanium I believe has a turbo as well as the newer Rogues

It's only replacing a third aging vehicle, not a daily but I like having a spare third car.

Ive heard that turbos can be expensive when things go wrong. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

If I had to take a shot in the dark, I’d guess a reasonable mechanic will probably be in the $2k’ish range for purely a turbo replacement. They can be a pain to change because of difficulty in getting to them (depending on model of car) and seized bolts, but it’s not an otherwise difficult job.

The turbos you’re talking about are to push really moderate boost pressure to eek a bit more out of a smaller engine, not a turbo pushing massive boost on a performance car that can make things go boom. They’re engineered to be reliable. Doesn't mean things couldn’t go wrong, but I wouldn’t be too concerned.

 

[husky429]

A lot of cars made recently have turbos to meet efficiency requirements. Theu're plenty reliable.

They're becoming so standard I wouldn't even worry about the replacement cost. Half the issue with turbos was always finding parts but nowadays there's so many used cars around with them I'm sure there's plenty around if you're buying a major brand.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'm interested in a few cars and many have 3 or 4 cylinder turbos

One specifically is the Volkswagen Tiguan and the GMC Terrain both are 2020's

Even the Ford Edge Titanium I believe has a turbo as well as the newer Rogues

It's only replacing a third aging vehicle, not a daily but I like having a spare third car.

Ive heard that turbos can be expensive when things go wrong. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

I wouldn’t worry about turbos anymore. They haven’t been a point of failure in many years. The old Saabs were bad. As for that Tiguan, check the specific years and reliability. It varies quite a bit, and might be worth getting a slightly newer one.

 

[boba]

A lot of cars made recently have turbos to meet efficiency requirements. Theu're plenty reliable.

They're becoming so standard I wouldn't even worry about the replacement cost. Half the issue with turbos was always finding parts but nowadays there's so many used cars around with them I'm sure there's plenty around if you're buying a major brand.

10 year old VW Beetle owner here, and it's as 429 describes, the recent turbos are for increasing efficiency and reducing emissions. As far as I can tell, the turbo is always engaged, so it's not on and off like earlier versions. That enage disengage action is usually the culprit in failure.

 

[Hoophound]

I like Tiguans. I wanted to get one for my daughter but she wanted something else.

Honestly, the Rogue is the best car you mentioned. Those cars are bulletproof and Rogue owners are super loyal. I’ve yet to meet anyone that didn’t love their Rogue.

It sounds like you want an all wheel drive suv as your third car. If that’s the case and capability matters, VW 4Motion is a great system. Another option that I like is the Jeep Compass. I rented one a few months ago and it had the off road package. It was “Trail Rated”. I really enjoyed zipping around in it for a week. I see that they are pretty cheap lightly used. I’d consider that for sure if you want a small, snow worthy suv.

 

[Fishy]

I'm interested in a few cars and many have 3 or 4 cylinder turbos

One specifically is the Volkswagen Tiguan and the GMC Terrain both are 2020's

Even the Ford Edge Titanium I believe has a turbo as well as the newer Rogues

It's only replacing a third aging vehicle, not a daily but I like having a spare third car.

Ive heard that turbos can be expensive when things go wrong. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Modern turbochargers are very reliable. Not a significant concern.

I like Tiguans. I wanted to get one for my daughter but she wanted something else.

Honestly, the Rogue is the best car you mentioned. Those cars are bulletproof and Rogue owners are super loyal. I’ve yet to meet anyone that didn’t love their Rogue.

It sounds like you want an all wheel drive suv as your third car. If that’s the case and capability matters, VW 4Motion is a great system. Another option that I like is the Jeep Compass. I rented one a few months ago and it had the off road package. It was “Trail Rated”. I really enjoyed zipping around in it for a week. I see that they are pretty cheap lightly used. I’d consider that for sure if you want a small, snow worthy suv.

If you enjoy expensive repairs, go Volkswagen. If you enjoy terminal transmission failures, go with the Rogue. If you just like throwing your money away, go with Jeep or any Stellantis vehicle. Jesus.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Don’t let this distract you from the fact that Hector is going to be running three Honda civics with spoon engines, and on top of that, he just went into Harry’s and bought three t66 turbos with nos, and a motec exhaust system.

 

[alphasigko]

I had a 2017 NX200t with a 4 Cyl Turbo. That car could get up and go when needed and performed well, with really decent gas mileage.

 

[Hoophound]

Modern turbochargers are very reliable. Not a significant concern.


If you enjoy expensive repairs, go Volkswagen. If you enjoy terminal transmission failures, go with the Rogue. If you just like throwing your money away, go with Jeep or any Stellantis vehicle. Jesus.

He didn’t say Honda or Toyota. Presumably, because he didn’t want to pay for them. The VW and GMC don’t hold their value as well and I presume that’s what he was after, a third vehicle with all wheel drive at a lowish price. Options 1 and 1a are obviously CRV and RAV4 if he wants to pay.

I’ve owned a bunch of vehicles and have always preferred Japanese vehicles for reliability. They are the best. I’ve also had three Jeeps with zero problems and the upkeep was cheap. Frankly, I’ve been surprised by the reliability I’ve experienced with Jeep. We have a Rubicon because my wife wanted it and it’s been fine and we’ve had two beautiful Grand Cherokees that were pretty much flawless for near 100k miles.

Newish Rogues are very reliable. You have to go back to 2017 and before to find the transmission issues.