2008 Volkswagen Touran 1.9L Diesel · SW57 EKM

A picture of mechanical deterioration emerges clearly from the MOT record of this eighteen-year-old Volkswagen Touran, with a cluster of serious front-end and braking system defects dominating the most recent testing cycles. The 2025 sequence shows a failed attempt in April with five major defects, a further fail on the same date in May after repairs, and a pass on the same day that nevertheless carried over four advisories from the earlier assessment. The pattern is consistent and worsening rather than improving: an ABS warning lamp, an electronic stability control fault, an insecure offside front anti-roll bar linkage, an excessively worn suspension arm ball joint, and front brake imbalance across an axle were all flagged within the same test, suggesting that the braking, suspension, and stability control systems are degrading in parallel. A successful pass later the same day does not offset the seriousness of these concurrent majors, and the carry-over advisories on ball joint play and edge tyre wear confirm that residual issues were left unresolved. Mileage data shows an annual accumulation of roughly 8,139 miles over eighteen years, which sits broadly in line with typical usage for a vehicle of this age. There is, however, a significant testing gap between the January 2019 entry and the August 2023 failure, a period of over four years during which no MOT was recorded in the data supplied, and a further near-twelve-month interval between the April 2024 cycle and the April 2025 attempt. These gaps, combined with the high overall mileage of 146,500, suggest a working vehicle that has covered sustained real-world miles rather than one left idle, and that places predictable demand on suspension components, brake consumables, and underbody corrosion protection. For a prospective buyer, the offside front quadrant should be treated as the primary inspection zone. The fractured offside front and rear coil springs recorded in April 2024 and the excessively worn offside front suspension arm ball joint and anti-roll bar linkage flagged in April 2025 indicate that this corner of the vehicle has absorbed disproportionate stress or corrosion. On the road, listen for clonking or rattling over uneven surfaces, particularly at low speed over speed humps, and feel for imprecise steering with a delay before the front wheels respond to inputs. A raised stance or visible leaning to the offside front when parked on level ground would suggest a weakened or collapsed spring, and any knocking transmitted through the steering wheel under braking or on rough roads would warrant investigation of the anti-roll bar ball joint and drop link. Inspect the offside front inner wheelarch liner and suspension turret for corrosion, as the offside sill was previously recorded as holed forward of the rear arch. The braking system requires equally close scrutiny. The dangerous brake hose failure recorded in August 2023, in which the offside front flexi hose was leaking at the caliper connection, means that all four flexible brake hoses should now be examined for cracking, bulging under pedal pressure, and corrosion at the crimped ends, with particular attention to the offside front caliper area where the original leak originated. The ABS warning lamp has appeared across three separate test cycles spanning 2023, 2024, and 2025, indicating a persistent fault that has not been fully resolved; a pre-purchase diagnostic read of stored ABS and electronic stability control fault codes is essential, as wheel speed sensors, the ABS modulator, or relay faults can recur intermittently and prove costly. Finally, check the front brake disc and pad condition for the imbalance previously flagged, feel for any pulling or juddering under heavy braking, and confirm that the handbrake holds the vehicle on an incline, given the 2024 advisory that it only met minimum requirements.