# New to VW... 2011 Routan SE w/RSE & Nav



## trippvail (Oct 30, 2015)

Hey everyone :wave:

Been lurking for about 2 weeks now as I have been in the process of purchasing a new to me 2011 VW Routan SE w/Dual RSE & Nav. As of yesterday I am officially the owner. :thumbup:  :thumbup:

Deep Claret Metallic with Aero Gray Interior, single previous owner, clean Carfax with no signs of physical damage under inspection, and 63k miles. I know I got it for a steal (I work at the dealership it was purchased at), and as I did my research on the car I feel like I made a good choice for my budget (under $15k financed, including work done and all).

Current vehicle lineup includes a 2006 Scion xB, a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a 2001 Ford Ranger (sold soon I hope). Scion has been extensively modified, nothing done to the other vehicles. Past vehicles were a 2000 Nissan Xterra, a 2006 Ford Expedition, 1999 Toyota Corrola, 1996 Honda Civic, and my first vehicle, a 1992 Ford Bronco Full Size.

Just wanted to give a big shout out to everyone on this forum for your extensive knowledge and willingness to help each other and provide information to the masses, as this is what ultimately led me to purchasing this vehicle instead of a 2009 Toyota Sienna SE with 109k miles for the same price. I have been a Toyota fan for quite awhile and have owned a couple vehicles from them, but this is my first German, and first minivan. Good job converting me!

Minivan bug hit me when we took a road trip in July and rented a Town & Country from Enterprise. The total enjoyment of every passenger that rode in that vehicle is what made me realize that a minivan would work for us. On top of that, I was notified in August that I was to be expecting our second child, another girl (we have a 3 year old girl right now). Case closed on the decision then.

So back to the van, I have had a couple things done so far. Rotors have been mech turned all around, new pads in, full balancing done and she drives great. Had a panel painted and a couple things touched up, front windows re-tinted (old tint looked terrible) and ordered a set of MonstorMats from the VW store to replace the cheap aftermarket wally world rubber mats that are in it (no carpet mats came with it). Any other ideas?

Other personal touches include a de-badge of the rear (other than VW logo of course) updating the NAV to latest software and maps, and a full detailing.

 Things on my to-do list include: Premium console upgrade, 2 new keys, new wipers (Bosch Evo ordered from Amazon, great deal right now), replace one wheel cap, ambient lighting like T&C except with red to match current lighting, Roku installation (already have the Roku, just need an inverter and install time), white led for cargo liftgate to match rest of car, and finally some full van window wind deflectors (i vape a lot and hate getting rained on).

:what: Things I want to look into as possible, but not confirmed are: look into SEL Premium Xenon Headlight housings, upgrade? maybe the antenna for FM (one on there is slightly bent and I have reception issues where I don't in other vehicles), maybe re-wrap the steering wheel (there are nicks in the leather that mess with my OCD), load leveling rear shocks (for the loaded up road trips), cross bars for the already install roof rails, fog light kit, nice set of aftermarket wheels and tires, maybe stow and go 2nd row, camping tent for hatch, matte black or chalkboard vinyl wrap of whole car (not crazy about color), power passenger seat, better rear view camera, Broadview rearview mirror, upgraded speaker system, and upgraded ir headphones for dvd systems.

:screwy: My dream things: Mobile Sat entertainment and internet system, or full vehicle sunroof (single piece front row, large single piece 2nd and 3rd row, saw one get installed on a Tahoe and it was amazing), touring suspension system, full leather upgrade w/carpet dyed and trim dyed to all black interior with black headliner, 8/9 speed transmission upgrade currently being equipped on newer 3.6L FCL motors, exhaust and intake mods, larger ducktail spoiler, and LED taillights.

I hope that anyone that wants to comment on this post feels obligated to do so, as feedback to my opinions and ideas are exactly what I am looking for. You can call my ideas stupid or idiotic or even unnecessary, but just remember they are my ideas for my car, and it is not going to hurt you at all. If it doesn't work, it's on me. :banghead: You can say "I told you so" though. 

Holy lifestory batman! :laugh: I know that was a lot to read. Those of you that made it all the way through, thank you for reading. I like to get involved with my cars and the model community as well. Hopefully I can make some posts that will help everyone out, or at least spark some ideas. Thanks again! opcorn:


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## rick chi-town (Jun 14, 2010)

Hey Tripp good morning! 

Whoa, that was definitely a life story post, haha. First & foremost, congrats on the new van! Mine is the post right below yours of my new ride, a new-to-me '09 Routan SE, with almost 100k miles. It's black/grey, with the RSE, window shades, and heated seats. And we're obviously on the same page, as I picked mine up on Friday... had windows tinted and de-badged on Saturday morning, Weather Tech front floor mats installed, and a full detail yesterday. I too have some pretty off the charts OCD, and the way dealerships "detail" cars is just a joke. 

Fog light kit ordered, hoping it arrives today. Looking around for some xenon upgrades, but they seem pricey. On mine, I got lucky with 4 brand new wheels & tires recently installed, a recent oil service by the dealer, and so far the brakes seem really decent (for now). I have been looking at wheels & tires, but as this is basically just an extra, road-trip car for the fam, doubt I'll do wheels. Tell me more about the ambient lighting addition? I have a couple Caravans at work that I drive occasionally, so I know exactly what you're talking about, but didn't realize you could retro fit, or change the color of it?

So far I love it!! I love that VW tried to make it feel a little more German than the disposable Dodge and Chrysler versions. Call me crazy, but when you close the front doors on mine, they actually close very vault-like, very solid. However, I'm thinking that's where the Germans ended, as I've got rust popping up in a couple spots, a la Chrysler, that I'll need to have addressed. 

Anywho, congrats on the new ride, and good luck in the mod world!! 

Rick


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## trippvail (Oct 30, 2015)

Hey Rick thanks for the congrats, and back at you! It's good to see that there is still some of these vans being picked up each and every day.

I am pretty good with detail, but since I work at the dealership I got it from I get to be OCD with them and make sure they do everything perfect for what I am looking for. I got all the normal things done, oil filter change, tires balanced, inspection, and had the car looked over in what we call a 150 point inspection to check for anything it might need. I was surprised when it came back with a perfect score!

The ambient lighting will be similar to the T&C, just in a red color to match the VW red back-lighting on dash/doors and what not. I have not done it on the van yet, but have done lighting on my Scion and have a pretty good idea of what I am going to do. Should be as simple as making a small hole in forward most point in the crevices that run down each side of the over head console, plopping in some red led strips that will run full length (measurements not yet taken lol) and running wiring from that point forward. Not sure where it will end up after that, but thinking I might try to retrofit the T&C switch that is combined with the light dimmer into the existing switch somehow. Not sure if they are the same size, or the same color plastics, but I can always dye/trim and get it where I want. I will have to scuff up the light bar a little to make it fade out better and put more scattered light, but once done it should look good. Of course I will put up some pics once I get around to it.

I am lucky to have no rust on mine yet, but it was also garaged and taken well care of before (talked to previous owner who traded it in). Xenon upgrade is basically looking at the SEL Premium headlight housings and picking up a bulb ballast combo from your favorite lighting source (mine is theretrofitsource, not paid or sponsored just had excellent luck with them). Or you can bake open the lights and retro in some projectors yourself. I have done this as well on another vehicle, and while it might be more work then most people want to do, my outcome was 100x better then the scatter halogen lights I had before in that vehicle.

Hopefully we get the same use out of this that we have out of the Scion (going on 10 years now), because as this is for my wife mostly, my car will be the next upgrade and I will have to wait until this one is paid down quite a bit.

Hope you enjoy yours and let us know if you do any mods!


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## trbochrg (Dec 1, 2004)

Congrats on the purchase! We just traded ours in and for a minute i thought maybe you ended up with it. Ours was also a 2011 SE with RSE, Claret Red with the Aero Gray interior...but ours had 38K miles.

Hopefully someone ends up with it. It was in great shape mechanically (Did need new tires and rear brakes but otherwise good)


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## trippvail (Oct 30, 2015)

*Pics*

Hey guys just an update. Got her detailed finally now that the paint work is done and she looks good. Here are some pics.





































And my favorite one...










Not sure why I didn't take any photos of the debadged rear. I was busy at the time and only had a couple minutes to snap these off before sundown.

I will be getting a better license plate mount for the front, as the previous owner/dealership drilled into the bumper. I figured something metal backed with a small border and a washer or shim behind it to make is straight perpendicular to the ground. OCD has me freaking out about it being slanted right now.


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## trbochrg (Dec 1, 2004)

Looks good!


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## rick chi-town (Jun 14, 2010)

looks great, yes! I like the red a lot ... any plans to tint the front windows by chance? :thumbup:


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## trippvail (Oct 30, 2015)

Front windows are already tinted to exact match the rear. Our tinter uses a nifty scanner to figure out the exact level the stock tint is, and matches it with whatever rolls it requires. It's a cool process actually, and requires a full mobile unit built into the back of a van just to do it.


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## rick chi-town (Jun 14, 2010)

trippvail said:


> Front windows are already tinted to exact match the rear. Our tinter uses a nifty scanner to figure out the exact level the stock tint is, and matches it with whatever rolls it requires. It's a cool process actually, and requires a full mobile unit built into the back of a van just to do it.


well poop, upon another gander, they certainly are! Really looks clean, very subtle and nicely done.


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## rick chi-town (Jun 14, 2010)

and mine looks almost exactly the same, only black... debadged, tinted the back up lens and blacked out the chrome under the windows, that's probably about all I'll do to it.


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## bpbevins (Feb 14, 2007)

Vans look good, where did you get the fog lights from?


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## trippvail (Oct 30, 2015)

I like the window trim blacked out like that! I dont think it would look good on my Red but looks very subtle on the black, like it was meant to be like that. I am going to have the grey background of the grill repainted black to pop the chrome out more and when I do that have the backgrounds of all the VW logos redone with a new coat of black. I figure it will help the chrome stand out over the red a bit.


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## routan2010se (Jun 17, 2013)

Please do tell how you tinted the chrome?


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## rick chi-town (Jun 14, 2010)

routan2010se said:


> Please do tell how you tinted the chrome?


black vinyl... much like electrical tape really, only a little shinier and wider. very pliable, and if you mess up, easy enough to pull back a section and re-do.


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## trippvail (Oct 30, 2015)

Funny that's what my scion has on its frames from the factory! People started pulling it off after the car came out and figured out there is legit paint underneath with a clearcoat, matching the factory paint. Some say it looks better with the vinyl removed, some say its better on there. I think it depends on the color of the car.


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## random775 (Dec 14, 2015)

Same here.....just picked this beauty. 2011 Routan SE w/RSE & Nav with....drum roll.....less than 12,000 miles.


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## trippvail (Oct 30, 2015)

Less than 12,000?! That's insane! Good find!



random775 said:


> Same here.....just picked this beauty. 2011 Routan SE w/RSE & Nav with....drum roll.....less than 12,000 miles.


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## sladethesleeper (Oct 28, 2011)

Welcome!

my 2011 is now up to 93k miles. Bought it off the lot with 2 miles on it. 

I do swear it has some serious software gremlins in it, but overall I can't complain. It's stylish, and does a pretty good job as a work horse.


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