The lease on my Stinger is ending soon and I think I’m getting an SUV this time (looking to spend less as well).
I totally disqualified the Tiguan because it’s so freaking slow. However, my local VW dealer is a certified APR tuner. After reading about the tune, this would be the only way I’d ever consider a Tiguan.
I chatted with someone at the dealer to see if this leads to implications with VW at lease return, as this would technically be a ‘dealer accessory’, and he said it’s fine but they keep it quiet for the most part.
It’s a very reputable VW dealer and the biggest one near me - is this worth the risk at all?
Technically, yes it could because it’s aftermarket. However, the likelihood is extremely remote especially considering it’s a stage 1. While the power curves are eye opening, the feel is too. I had one on an A4 years back and while it gave it more overall power (premium required), it made the turbo lag much more noticeable.
I had a stage 2 on my 2011 S4…very happy to see APR stepping in here. It baffles me how VW hasn’t given the US a Tiguan trim that does 0-60 under 10 seconds.
Yes. All ECU flashes will be represented as a “TD1” when the dealership scans your car. This is a requirement by VW/Audi.
APR gets around this by offering their own power train warranties on their stage 1 tunes to give their customers peace of mind.
A “tuner” friendly dealer will go the extra mile to do warranty work on your car on the areas not affected by the tune. Let’s say you have an APR tune on your car and the infotainment is buggy and you try to get warranty serviced on it, they won’t automatically deny the work just because there’s a tune because a tune affects tires, engine, and transmission.
Magnusson Warranty Act requires that manufacturers prove the modifications directly led to the failure of the component in order to deny warranty work. Most manufacturers will simply deny reimbursing the dealer that did warranty work if there is any kind of modification anywhere, but they’re not supposed to and the burden is on them to prove otherwise.
There actually is no such thing as “voiding” the warranty, only work a manufacturer will not reimburse a dealership for doing due to whatever reason.
Most dealers that are APR friendly either do goodwill servicing or most likely make warranty claims with the company that underwrites APRs warranty.
By the way, there’s no such thing as “flashing back” to stock. VW/Audi software will always be able to detect if an ECU has been flashed or modified in anyway regardless of what it is.
All of this is 100% true. However, I’m guessing that if you returned your VW lease at this APR dealer, you wouldn’t have any issues with the flag. The only problem is you have no way of knowing how APR friendly the dealer will be 2/3 years down the road when it’s actually time to turn in the lease
I’ve seen similar issues on the forums. Basically APR claiming the tune didn’t cause the problem and making it VW’s problem and VW saying APR caused the problem.
In a lease, it’s honest to god just way too much of a headache to even try to deal with. I always ask myself this question mentally when I get a turbo car. “Is a tune even worth it at this stage?”
I’ve got a lot of time left, but I tend to look at 15-20 cars before making a decision.
I’m probably trying to keep it under $500/mo ($0 down), which I believe could get me into some nicer things. Probably will end up with like a base Stelvio or a Volvo V60 Cross Country.
Don’t know about the V60 Cross Country, but the Stelvio will easily come in below the 500 a month and be your best bet for the power and driving experience. I wouldn’t even bother with the Tiguan.
Agreed - I miss the old Tiguan. Only was considering it because you can get them for dirt cheap…after the tune, the price isn’t too far off from better options (my bad for not doing research pre-post).
The 24 month term you can seemingly get pretty easily on the Stelvio is also appealing.
Why bother with the Cross Country if he’s trying to get more power. Stelvio does 280 hp on an I4 and the chassis and suspension is actually designed for spirited driving.
Maybe I’m missing something but Tiguans are not dirt cheap relative to the features offered. An S trim is so barebones does it even include a steering wheel?
Tiguan SEL Premium R-Line 4Motion tops 40k. That’s a lot of dime. May as well just get the Mazda CX-5 Signature for 39k. More power and similarly equipped with better road manners.
Not sure if it could be had under 500 a month, though. Haven’t run numbers.
