Used Volkswagen Cargo Up review and buying guide (2012 to 2023): which one to buy and what to check

Which used Volkswagen Cargo Up should you buy?

Pick the Cargo Up with the healthiest clutch rather than a particular year, because that's the part Up owners have reported failing most. The van's an Up with the rear seats taken out, so the hatchback's experience counts here: clutches on Ups built between 2012 and 2018 have gone at 1604, 9,500 and 12,500 miles, and one 2017 car got through two in under 4000 miles.

The rust and blistered paint reports all involve 2012 and 2013 Ups, so give an early van a closer look round the body. The latest ones, sold up to 2023, barely feature in owners' reports at all. That's a gap rather than a clean bill of health, so check a late van just as carefully as an early one.

If the van you're looking at has the ASG automated manual, take a long drive first. Up owners with that gearbox have reported it sometimes not selecting a gear, stalling pulling away on a hill and refusing reverse when cold, and a software update only partly helped one of them. The ride also suffers on 17-inch wheels, so note what it's sitting on.

Which Cargo Up engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

On a manual Cargo Up, it's the clutch rather than the engine that Up owners have had the most trouble with. One 2018 Up gave off a hot clutch smell climbing motorway hills at 4800 miles, and a 2016 car had its clutch replaced under warranty at 9,000 miles, only to start smelling again at just under 30,000. The gearbox oil's due a change at three years, and that's easy to skip.

The manual box itself has had a couple of one-off failures on Ups. A 2013 car developed a whine at 30,000 miles that was put down to a bearing, and its owner was facing a £1500 bill. A 2012 car grew hard to put into first and reverse at 24,000 miles, then jumped out of fifth, and was quoted £2000 for a gearbox plus £500 to fit it.

Engine trouble on the Up shows up only as single reports, so none of them rules a van out. One 2013 car at 20,000 miles intermittently dropped onto two cylinders with the engine management and catalyst lights lit, a 2016 car failed its first MOT on emissions until a lambda sensor was replaced, and a 2012 car wouldn't start because of a fuel pump control circuit fault that came back three weeks later.

What should you check when viewing a used Cargo Up?

Pull back the driver's mat and feel the carpet for damp, since water getting in at the bulkhead has come up more than once on the Up. On a 2015 car a failed seal where the wiring passes through from the engine bay let rain in, and the owner was told it'd be £1k to put right. Another leak was blamed on blocked bulkhead drains or the pollen filter seal or cover.

Walk round the body and look at the tops of both front wheelarches for bubbling paint, the area around the fuel filler for rust, and the edges of the doors, tailgate and bonnet for blistered paint. On the drive, notice whether the clutch smells on a hill start, listen for a whine from the gearbox, and make sure first and reverse go in cleanly.

Watch the dash once it's running. A red power steering light on a 2015 Up at 20k miles meant no assistance at all, and its owner was quoted almost £2000 for a new column and control panel, while ABS and traction control lights appeared on a 2012 car. Both daytime running lights failed on a 2016 Up, and a 2013 car's rear drum brake cylinders began leaking at 32,000 miles.

Ask for receipts for any clutch work and for the gearbox oil change at three years. Some early 2013 Ups were recalled to have the airbag control unit reprogrammed, because the side crash sensor checks had been switched off and the warning light wouldn't come on; on a 2013 van, ask for proof that's been done.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.