Tiguan Three-Year Ownership Cost: A Consistent Worksheet

Fix the horizon, ordinary duty and starting readiness point

Record expected annual distance, traffic, climate, passengers, luggage and any supported trailer task. Identify the point at which the buyer can actually use the accepted vehicle. Use the landed-cost guide for import acquisition and put local alternatives on the same completed boundary. Count inspection, essential preparation and applicable destination work once, not again as running costs. Optional equipment and styling remain separate from necessary readiness. Three years is not a statement about battery, DSG or engine life. A clear starting boundary prevents a low vehicle ask from being mistaken for a complete ownership figure while transport, registration or required work is still unpriced.

Use energy inputs suited to the actual propulsion

For petrol and diesel, retain original-market fuel requirements and credible observations through the fuel-use guide. For a relevant eHybrid, use actual permitted charging access and the plug-in purchase file rather than a weighted brochure figure as the entire fuel bill. Keep electric-only, fuel-led and mixed duties distinct. Record dated local fuel and electricity costs with appropriate session or billed-use context where supported. Do not borrow an ideal fully charged trip for a buyer who rarely plugs in. A conservative access or tariff case can reveal whether the preferred premium depends on conditions the next owner cannot repeat in ordinary use.

Price applicable scheduled maintenance and consumables

Obtain time- and distance-based requirements for the exact engine, gearbox, drive and electrical arrangement using the maintenance guide. Keep DSG service evidence and timing-drive applicability specific rather than use one interval across the family. Ask qualified receiving providers for complete scoped parts, materials, labour and setup estimates. Include tyres, braking and chassis items with current findings and credible duty, not an invented universal replacement schedule. Low annual distance does not automatically remove calendar requirements. A cheap advertised service is meaningful only when its scope matches what the accepted configuration actually needs.

Distinguish diagnosed preparation from future uncertainty

Use the inspection checklist to identify current findings before acceptance. Supported defined work belongs in preparation with a complete estimate; an unexplained symptom needs relevant assessment before it becomes a predictable cost. The negotiation guide keeps those cases separate. For future exposure, describe meaningful uncertainty and the buyer’s decision boundary without forecasting a failure date or guaranteeing a reserve covers it. Confirm coverage with its provider and exact paid repair capability independently. Avoid both assuming every expensive component must fail and treating a familiar warranty headline as proof that no later expense can arise for an original-market import at this destination.

Obtain local fixed-cost inputs and a cautious exit case

Ask competent local providers about applicable insurance, tax, registration, parking and other relevant expenses for the actual vehicle and intended use. No universal eligibility, premium or rate is asserted. Keep financing separate from cash comparisons unless equivalent terms are properly understood. For exit value, use clearly labelled conservative scenarios with suitable evidence where available through the used-value guide. Do not promise a fixed premium for R-Line, 4MOTION or the newest generation. The import-versus-local comparison explains why exact support and readiness routes matter without assigning one universal resale penalty to all China-market imports. Include relevant disposal or selling responsibilities rather than assume an estimated future figure is a certain net receipt.

Calculate comparable totals and test meaningful changes

Add acquisition, routine inputs and supported additional costs, then deduct only the explicit assumed exit value. Show a base case and plausible adverse cases instead of one falsely precise prediction. Change distance, energy access, prices and exit assumptions consistently across alternatives. A preferred generation, engine or drive package is worthwhile when its practical benefit and complete budget remain acceptable, not because the spreadsheet uses the most optimistic assumption for it alone. Request missing provider answers or revise the package when ordinary changes erase its advantage. Recalculate for a substituted VIN so an earlier favourable worksheet cannot approve another configuration, condition record or delivery boundary.

Compare the acceptance conditions

Worksheet supports a decision

Identified acquisition scope, credible duty and exact servicing inputs make base and adverse cases understandable.

Resolve a missing assumption

Excluded local work, unsupported energy use or an undiagnosed symptom is carrying the apparent advantage.

Premium is fragile

Ordinary changes in charging, prices or exit assumptions remove useful value; reconsider the package rather than promise a fixed saving.

Buyer evidence checklist

• Same horizon, duty and readiness boundary
• Propulsion-specific energy assumptions
• Scoped exact-configuration servicing
• Current work distinct from future exposure
• Local fixed costs and explicit exit scenarios

Questions before you buy