Luxury for a Bargain

Every now and again you find a real gem. It's a car that is overlooked by most yet contains a little something special that just isn't quite reflected by the price tag. When I was driving to work yesterday, I was reminded of this by a VW Phaeton that shared the lane next to me.

It really got me thinking about what a great bargain the car is. The Phaeton was a car that came to the US in 2004 and had both a V8 and a W12 engine offered. The car was not well accepted, and although the factory that produced the car could make 20,000 cars a year, only 25,000 cars were made in a total of 4 years. I think the reason is that most people didn't want to pay upwards of $80,000 for a car that looks a bit like a Passat and an Audi A8 had babies and then came out with too many V's and W's and not enough rings. Most people don't realize, though, that the VW actually shares more in common with a Bentley Continental than an A8. It shares the same basic steel platform of its Bentley brother and takes the strong engine lineup from the Audis.

When new, the W12 Phaeton fetched about $95,000 while today, you can find them on ebay and craigslist for less that $25,000. That's amazing considering the car you're getting is basically a Volkswaggened Bentley that goes 0-60mph in 5.9 seconds using it's 420hp 6.0 liter engine. Not only that, the car has 4Motion and an air suspension system that load levels based on the mass in the vehicle. Every seat has a heater, and the front seats are massaging 18-way adjustables that will relax you as you listen to the 12 speaker audio system and remain at a steady temperature since the windows are made with metalized foil that reflect heat. I really don't think you can find a better deal for a luxury car.