Volkswagen Amarok 2021 FAQs

Check out real-world situations relating to the Volkswagen Amarok here, particularly what our experts have to say about them.

• What tow vehicle or hybrid camper should I consider for after retirement?

  The last decade of dual-cab four-wheel-drive utes have emerged as the tow-vehicles of choice, and you see them everywhere filling roles exactly like the one you have planned. Popular models include the Ford Ranger you’ve nominated, Toyota HiLux, Mazda BT-50, VW Amarok, Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara and Isuzu D-Max. But there are also cheaper alternatives including makes like the South-Korean made Ssangyong and various Chinese brands like LDV and Great Wall.

  Just make sure you know exactly how much you need to tow before making a decision as some of the cheaper models don’t have the same outright towing capacity and even if they do, some of them don’t have the engine performance to make towing as easy as it should be. For parts availability, the Toyota would be king in really remote areas, but any of the major brands are pretty well covered in Australia.

  Meantime, don’t rule out ute-based wagons such as the Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Toyota Fortuna. These offer better ride comfort when unladen thanks to more sophisticated rear suspensions and most have as much or almost as much towing capacity as their ute brethren.

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• The tailshaft of my 2014 VW Amarok is wobbling

  It sounds like you’re chasing a problem that is a bit elusive. If your initial suspicions were that the centre bearing was worn, what makes you think the rear universal joint is now the problem? You could spend a lot of time and money replacing things that, ultimately, don’t fix the problem.

  The best advice is to take the car to a transmission specialist who will be able to diagnose what’s really going on and replace or repair those things. Even if the universal joint is worn out, replacing it can be a bit tricky as you have to maintain the driveshaft’s original alignment to avoid introducing new imbalance dramas into the equation. It’s not, therefore, as straight-forward as it looks on paper.

  But don’t rule out a damaged, bent or unbalanced driveshaft as this can also cause the sort of symptoms that a worn universal joint can contribute.

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• Is the 2016 VW Amarok diesel a good second-hand buy?

  While some cars are known lemons and should be avoided at all costs, the vast majority of cars and utes are okay as second-hand buys provided they’ve been serviced and maintained properly. And that goes for all makes and models, not just the VW Amarok. The point being that a well-maintained Amarok might be fine with 200,000km on board, while a neglected one will be junk by the time it has covered half that distance.

  That said, the current crop of modern turbo-diesel dual-cab utes are mostly tuned pretty highly which means that by 200,000km or so, many of them will be showing a bit of wear. This might be most apparent in the intake system, the turbocharger, emission systems, transmissions and many other hard-working parts. Again, it all depends on how they’ve been maintained and how they’ve been used. I’d be budgeting for at least some repairs on an Amarok with that many kilometres under its belt. At which point, of course, it all comes down to the purchase price.

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