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2008 Volkswagen Crafter reviews
Volkswagen Crafter reviews by year of make: 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 Read all reviews
AJ Sidney, England
Volkswagen Crafter CR35 lwb 2008
Having owned 2 of these from new and covering 50k+a year I have a pretty good idea of what they are like. They are comfortable and carry weight no problem. The biggest problem with them are the dealers and ’mechanics’ they have working for them, who are just glorified tyre fitters who have no idea once the diagnostic machines fail to identify the problem. If you oWn a crafter you’d better have deep pockets unless you look after it and get a reliable mechanic to do your work cheaper than the £90 an hour VW charge. The dpf problem is all down to fuel and if you use cheap fuel you will have problems especially bio fuel, which these vans do not like at all. Regular servicing and an occasional fuel system cleaner will help. As for servicing, VW are extorionate; I was quoted £967 for a cam belt replacement!! Overall I am not happy with the van and I would not buy another as I think the extra you pay over a Transit would be better spent on maintaning the Transit as you will have just as much hassle as you do with any other 3.5 tonne van doing multidrop work. I have pondered getting a Sprinter when it is time to repace these Crafters, but I honestly believe the 2.0 diesel engines are over-worked and turbo problems are inevitable as forced torque never works reliably in cars, so vans will be the same. I could say a million other negatives about these vans, but I will just advise you do not waste your money on these pieces of rubbish. Stick with what you know and get something easy to fix.
Submitted: 28/01/2012 15:15:00
Dave, Oxfordshire
Volkswagen Crafter 109ps 2008
I am on my 3rd Crafter now. I buy them a couple years old with low miles and have kept each one for a couple of years until they reach about 200/250 thousand miles. I have had very few problems compaired to Transits and Sprinters and I will be buying one again.
Submitted: 16/09/2011 10:21:47
Ian Collins, Caerphilly
Volkswagen Crafter tdi 2008
This van is absolute horse c**p! My company has 2 x08 plate and if one gets a fault it’s a sure bet the other will get the same fault. I’d rather drive a horse and cart. The last straw was when the one I was driving suddenly lost all power GRrrr!!
Submitted: 28/07/2011 14:37:55
Ciaran Campbell, Ireland
Volkswagen Crafter lwb 2008
Bought two Crafters a year ago. First thing that went was the idler pully now the turbo has gone. The second van turbo is going the same way. Best thing to do is steer clear, too costy as always something going wrong!
Submitted: 06/06/2011 07:52:45
John Hyde , Lancashire
Volkswagen Crafter Crafter Lwb Cr35 136 2008
I have had my Crafter nearly 3 years now and only been in VW once and won’t be going back there. £75 an hour for labour from arrogant stuck-up staff made sure of that. It has just started to give me a glow plug light and goes into limp mode. Once it is switched off and back on again, it stops. If anybody else had this problem or has any clues what the problem is, email jammawdz[at]aol[dot]com
Submitted: 30/03/2011 13:00:55
Martin Gibbons, England
Volkswagen Crafter 2008
Have run old shape VW with no problems, new crafter is a pile of rubbish; dpf light always on, key problems, get a horse and cart instead.
Submitted: 17/03/2011 22:22:08
Jon Mather, Derbyshire
Volkswagen Crafter maxi-extra high 2008
Just reading these reviews seems like only the moaners post notes. We have two crafter vans which we use on a daily basis around the UK. Both vans have been totally reliable and quite economical when taking into account the body size.
Submitted: 13/02/2011 09:21:21
Martyn, Huntingdonshire
Volkswagen Crafter 35 109 2008
We got this last year at 1 year old and had been accident repaired at a main VW dealer with less than 5k on the clock; we got it very cheap! At 20k it needed a new sensor valve, however VW didn’t have it in stock and took over a week to fix. With 40k a scratching noise appeared over 3krpm, again VW rebuilt the turbo twice with two known recall faults. Then tried a new turbo, still didnt fix it. Turned out to be a hole in the manifold gasket. Whilst it was there for nearly three weeks they also did lots of other recall faults, too many to mention! Now at 52k for the size of van tyre wear is good along with brakes. It will pull fully loaded with trailer, so much torque, just a shame about the following: 1. Manual says don’t use the gearstick as an arm rest, so why didn’t they fit an arm rest?! 2. The 12v plug is nearly on the floor, useless for satnavs and phone chargers. 3. The engine is all torque and no power. 4. The heater is driven by the speed of the van and I am constantly changing it. 5. VW will let you down more when the van breaks down they have no idea about customers and helping them. Considering we got a bargain van it does what we need and nearly 50k in a year and only 6 weeks in the garage. However, I do drive at a constant speed twice a day for more than ten miles each way! Not a single dpf fault. Keep you posted for any major faults. I wouldn’t recommend this van but if driven hard maybe ok for some.
Submitted: 06/11/2010 20:55:29
John Mclain, Sussex
Volkswagen Crafter cr35 136 2008
I know the van is trouble some, but is this all the fault of VW, the van is actually made entirely by Merc using a VW engine only. The faults other than engine faults must affect sprinters as well. You can tell it is merc by the fact of the corrosion issues and somewhat antique electrical systems and poor quality components used, so dont blame VW entirely and I know that VW dealers hate them, the worst thing they have ever put their name to.
Submitted: 02/10/2010 20:47:51
Sean Sharp, Bedfordshire
Volkswagen Crafter cr35 163 2008
Had my Crafter from new. It has now done 50,000 miles and it has spent more tme in the VW workshop than on road. This van has now developed an engine knock and is breathing from dipstick say VW - they all breath, my arse they do. And for the knock they think it’s the flywheel but I can’t get it through to them to check compression. I will never buy another VW.
Submitted: 27/08/2009 08:53:57
Ryan Rich, Hampshire
Volkswagen Crafter mwb hi top 109 2008
I work for a maintenance firm and we have 5 Crafter’s. I drive a 58 reg 109 ps mwb hi top crafter.The van is a good size for my work and is nice to drive. The interior is comfortable and is well equipped as standard. The engine size of mine being 109 ps is what lets it down; it does not like hills and feels very gutless. It reminds me of the old Escort vans we used to drive; but in the performance stakes it does not seem to matter what gear it’s in going up hill it will only do 65 and if you change down a gear nothing happens - the noise from the engine just gets louder. The van has used 1 litre of oil every 6500 miles - apparently this is normal according to VW. This costs around £20 from the dealer as its special oil. The van has traction control which works well and it can be turned off but as soon as the wheel slips it just turns its self back on - not useful when you are trying to drive in snowy conditions as it just makes horrible noises and wont go anywhere! Having said all this, it has not gone wrong yet and is comfortable to drive. It has a 6 speed gearbox although this seems to be a bit stiff when cold. The build quality feels solid but it is a little flimsy; this can be seen when opening the back doors and the side of the van flexes quite a lot. I had the misfortune of lightly tapping a post with the front wing and it completely crumbled and the whole wing needed replacing.
Submitted: 06/05/2009 11:33:27
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