Tiptronic Transmission Questions???

[archiebug]

If things go to plan I might be purchasing a New Beetle Convertible to replace my rubbish 2005 Peugeot 307 Coupe Cabriolet. (I've had 8 NB's in the past, and we currently also have a 2007 2.0 NB (Manual) and a 1958 Beetle. I know a lot about the manual transmissions but nothing about the auto's!

I'm based in the UK, and a lot of the NBC's I'm looking at are 03 to 05 with the Tiptronic transmission, having covered around 50 thousand miles, not much is known about these transmissions on the UK formums so I've got a few questions about these transmissions.

How reliable are they?
What sort of mileage are they good for?
What should I look out for/check when buying one?
How often should they be serviced and what does it involve?

Any info you can all give is much appreciated - I really dont want to buy a Lemon!

[IndyTom]

I personally would stay away from the early VW automatics mainly the 4 speed O1M and even the 5 speed Tiptronic.
The 6 Speed Tiptronic is a bit better and some improvements
were made in 2006. The early models had weak valve bodies which in turn failed and destroyed the transmission. Changing fluid is a must even if VW deems it to be a lifetime fill it really isn't. I would recommend a fluid change every 40,000 to 50,000 Miles to be on the safe side. Not sure if they offered the DSG type transmission in the UK but those seem to be the transmissions of choice if you go automatic. HOwever they do need a bit more maintanence and fluid changed are recommended every 20k-30k miles on the DSG.
Another thing to watch out for on the Tiptronic is the magnets in the shifter plate. They sometime break off their holder and then make the Tiptronic function inoperable. That isn't a big thing unless you like to shift the automatic manually at times. And with new magnets you can fix that problem yourself fairly easily.
The Automatics are not as durable as the manual counterparts but most of the newer 2006+ transmissions aren't too bad. Just make sure the car shifts properly when you test drive it and change the fluid regardless of what year automatic you will get.