Would you buy a VW?

[xaeniac]

Are they really that unreliable? I really like the Golf as a small car. Would you really stay away? There is many expressed negatives views when it comes to German reliability. What is your take?

 

[Sheep221]

German cars are very reliable.
It doesn't mean there is no need for servicing or occasional repair but if you like them go for it, VWs are cars of premium quality.

 

[Jumpem]

I would if they learned a little from Audi and started becoming AWD focused.

I am also still annoyed that they refuse to make a TDI Tiguan or an AWD TDI Golf.

 

[Jimzz]

German cars are very reliable.
It doesn't mean there is no need for servicing or occasional repair but if you like them go for it, VWs are cars of premium quality.

Hahahahahaaaa... maybe compared to 20 year old German cars.


I have a customer towing her VW to my place right now. My wife HAD to have a luxury German car. Had a E350 4matic with a pile of options etc... sold it after 1 year. She could not stand all the problems it had. My SiL had a Audi. With less than 60k had to sell it to CarMax as all the small problems did not kill it, but the bad engine did.


If you want reliable get a Asian or American car. Even when they need work it will be cheaper to maintain and repair than german cars.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

owned a 2008 GTI, 2010 Jetta TDI, and now a 2014 Passat TSI with 0 problems so far. Also have various other BMW, Mercedes, Porsche models in the family. Literally 0 problems other than routine maint.

The only car that's ever given me trouble was my 2005 Cobalt which made me swear off GM forever.

 

[Thump553]

I've owned an early 70's bug, a 2000 Passat and a 2002 Passat. At least with the bug you knew what you were getting and it was fine for broke student transportation.

The two Passats were alternatively awesome and horrendous-both were plagued with frequent electronic gremlins that were expensive as heck to repair. One example - a faulty ABS sensor that has no effect on driveability but lit the dash panel up like a nuclear plant going through meltdown and cost $700 to fix (mostly parts cost). Another thing I hated about the more modern VWs is how horrendously unfriendly they are to owner-servicing. Simple things like changing the oil are a complicated, hour+ long project (unless you have a car lift). Even changing a headlight bulb is an exercise in frustration.

Been sucker punched twice now by VW, things would have to really change before I'll go near buying one again. SMaybe they have changed in the decade since my cars were built-but I've heard that tune far too often from car manufacturers to blindly leap off that cliff again.

 

[thedarkwolf]

TDI only. Just had my first real problem with my 04 jetta wagon tdi with 226k mile on it. I was getting the code for underboost(computer wasn't seeing as much boost as it expected) so it would shut the turbo down as much as it could. A 1.9l turbo diesel ain't exacly speedy but a 1.9 non-turbo diesel is painfull. Anyway I found a bad check valve in the vacuum lines and pop in a new one for $10 problem solved.

Now the previous owners dropped some money on the car. My year is known for eating it's cam and they had to replace that and at the dealer that was over $2k.

 

[phucheneh]

German cars are very reliable.
It doesn't mean there is no need for servicing or occasional repair but if you like them go for it, VWs are cars of premium quality.

Funny how the people who say this are never the people who own 5-10+ year old German cars. And never mechanics.

Some Euro mechanics will uphold that they don't work on shitty cars, but that's only to preserve their own monetary interests. If people with the money to fix their broken German cars all just drove late-model Japanese cars instead, they'd be out of work.

On a good day, VW is the European equivalent of 1990's GM.

 

[Sheep221]

Funny how the people who say this are never the people who own 5-10+ year old German cars. And never mechanics.

Some Euro mechanics will uphold that they don't work on shitty cars, but that's only to preserve their own monetary interests. If people with the money to fix their broken German cars all just drove late-model Japanese cars instead, they'd be out of work.

On a good day, VW is the European equivalent of 1990's GM.

Ah that's the reason almost everyone in america now drives japanese or european cars then. Euro cars, not to mention german ones are made of best materials and technologies. Fuel consumption is much better on euro cars, so is performance. If GM cars are so awesome, why VW is second largest manufacturer in the world(just behind Toyota), and not GM? Because most of their cars are so unreliable and ugly looking?
Only american cars that are present outside america in some larger quatities are Ford and Jeep, some Chevrolets here and there but that's all. US roads are full of euro cars and you don't want to admit it.

Btw, we have 13 yr old BMW here and it just works all the time. There have been few flaws that got fixed but that's all. Just hop and go.

 

[Jimzz]

Ah that's the reason almost everyone in america now drives japanese or european cars then. Euro cars, not to mention german ones are made of best materials and technologies. Fuel consumption is much better on euro cars, so is performance. If GM cars are so awesome, why VW is second largest manufacturer in the world(just behind Toyota), and not GM? Because most of their cars are so unreliable and ugly looking?
Only american cars that are present outside america in some larger quatities are Ford and Jeep, some Chevrolets here and there but that's all. US roads are full of euro cars and you don't want to admit it.

Btw, we have 13 yr old BMW here and it just works all the time. There have been few flaws that got fixed but that's all. Just hop and go.

Hahahahhaaa... this has to be a joke account right?

Yea European cars tech is so great that's why Ferrari uses GMs magnetic shock system, BMW has used GM transmissions, etc...

Also why Mercedes had to recall their cars to remove the entire brake control system and convert it back to the same hydraulic one most car makers use.

Let me guess the kind of auto knowledge you have, my tire pressure should be set to sidewall right? :sneaky:

 

[KentState]

Ah that's the reason almost everyone in america now drives japanese or european cars then. Euro cars, not to mention german ones are made of best materials and technologies. Fuel consumption is much better on euro cars, so is performance. If GM cars are so awesome, why VW is second largest manufacturer in the world(just behind Toyota), and not GM? Because most of their cars are so unreliable and ugly looking?
Only american cars that are present outside america in some larger quatities are Ford and Jeep, some Chevrolets here and there but that's all. US roads are full of euro cars and you don't want to admit it.

Btw, we have 13 yr old BMW here and it just works all the time. There have been few flaws that got fixed but that's all. Just hop and go.

What? LOL

 

[Sheep221]

Hahahahhaaa... this has to be a joke account right?

Yea European cars tech is so great that's why Ferrari uses GMs magnetic shock system, BMW has used GM transmissions, etc...

Also why Mercedes had to recall their cars to remove the entire brake control system and convert it back to the same hydraulic one most car makers use.

Let me guess the kind of auto knowledge you have, my tire pressure should be set to sidewall right? :sneaky:

Ah, so how come they are so much worse than american ones if they are using their parts? Wanna accuse their engineering being bad now?

 

[Pocatello]

German cars are very reliable.
It doesn't mean there is no need for servicing or occasional repair but if you like them go for it, VWs are cars of premium quality.

Is this meant to be sarcastic or a joke? Saying the opposite of what is true?

 

[Berliner]

Good German cars are really reliable.

Unless they make them differently in the US.

 

[Sulaco]

Ah that's the reason almost everyone in america now drives japanese or european cars then. Euro cars, not to mention german ones are made of best materials and technologies. Fuel consumption is much better on euro cars, so is performance. If GM cars are so awesome, why VW is second largest manufacturer in the world(just behind Toyota), and not GM? Because most of their cars are so unreliable and ugly looking?
Only american cars that are present outside america in some larger quatities are Ford and Jeep, some Chevrolets here and there but that's all. US roads are full of euro cars and you don't want to admit it.

Btw, we have 13 yr old BMW here and it just works all the time. There have been few flaws that got fixed but that's all. Just hop and go.

That has to be some of the shoddiest, idiotic "logic" I've ever heard. And I read P&N discussions.

You do realize General Motors was the single largest auto company on the planet throughout much of the '80s and '90s, yes? The very height of the slipshod quality and junk they produced? But because they were bigger then, they built better cars, right?


Equating size of a multifaceted global corporate conglomerate with quality or reliability is laughably poor logic.

 

[bamx2]

Manual trans TDI only.

 

[cbrsurfr]

I had a GTI for 6 years and loved it. The only thing that broke outside of warranty was a door lock switch which I replaced myself for ~$130. And I beat the living shit out of it by tracking it for 3 years. It was also decently modified with all bolt-ons, stage 2 tune, suspension, sway bars, etc...

I'd still be in a VW if I didn't feel betrayed when VWOA said they were bringing 20% of the Golf R's with a DSG and then reneged. Maybe down the line I'll get another but I don't foresee getting rid of the Evo anytime soon. I do miss the hatch since the seats in the Evo do not fold down.

 

[dguy6789]

I would buy a VW if Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and Hyundai didn't have an alternative.

 

[nerp]

I will never buy a new VW again after making the mistake in 2003 with a Golf. Hello $500 window motor repairs for no reason. Twice. Engine gunked itself at 80,000 miles. I was religious with oil changes. Babied it. Headlights would burn out every year. You know you've made a mistake when you're replacing rear brake lights with only 15,000 miles on the odometer. I should have traded it in when I had the chance. Ended up donating it for a tax writeoff maybe 6 months after paid off. Shame. I loved it when it ran.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Are they really that unreliable? I really like the Golf as a small car. Would you really stay away? There is many expressed negatives views when it comes to German reliability. What is your take?

My wife had a Golf. It was the biggest piece of crap we've ever owned. Gutless, a PITA to work on, electrical problems, headliner falling out after a couple years.

No fucking way would I ever buy a VW again.

 

[MongGrel]

I test drove several cars in 2006 when in the market, and for some reason I felt very uncomfortable driving a GTI.

Maybe it's just me, I drove a Mazda3 Hatch with the 2.3 and 5 speed auto and fell in love with the handling in the price range myself and went that route.

I've been driving that myself since then, might be in the market for something else soon here also.

It still looks and drives well.

 

[Leyawiin]

Good German cars are really reliable.

Unless they make them differently in the US.

More like in Puebla, Mexico. That's where most of the VWs sold in the US are made.

 

[hans007]

i owned an audi once. a 2010 A4. after 33 months, it had broken down 3 times all drive train related type issues and was burning oil at a rate of about a quart every 700 miles.

i will NEVER buy another VW product. i've got so many friends who have had awful A4s, and jettas etc. oil sludging , oil burning etc. My friends sister had her 08 A4 towed out of her apartment complex numerous times.

I have nothing against german cars. (my bmw seems to be perfect, just like the 5 BMWs my parents have owned, and various BMWs most of my friends have had, that have had at worst things like window motors fail).

maybe they are better now (then again my A4 was fairly recent). but i think they deserve their reputation. want a car with a reliable drive train. buy a mercedes.... they really do wait longer to test things to make sure they work (hence why they hopped on the turbos and direct injection bandwagon later)

 

[Sheep221]

It seems that things mentioned here are very rare occurrence on old continent . Never heard of VWs being this bad. In europe they are popular cars of choice for many and are reliable. Maybe the US made ones or imported there are so crap? Oil/fluid leaks, broken engines on new cars seem as disastrous experience.

 

[ummduh]

Purchase? No. Never. Lease and give back before the b-t-b warranty expires? Perhaps for my daughter in a few years, lol.

SIL had to have the entire wiring harness replaced on her jetta (forget what year) to the tune of $2700, she had been putting up with more electrical gremlins than you could imagine. Her dealer told her that chasing down every problem just wasn't a problem, the whole harness had to be done.

Shortly after, the dash caught on fire.


I've checked out a few used one for people looking to buy and they all have had problems. Gremlins galore. 2 of them couldn't even communicate with the ecu via the obd port. I stopped bothering helping her look after the 4th total nightmare Jetta.

Also forgot about my aunt's 1.8t jetta being on its 3rd engine. She just keeps fixing it.