Would you buy a VW?

[mmntech]

You buy German cars for performance, not reliability. They're good at making utilitarian cars that go fast. Yet they haven't quite figured out the finer points of things like comfort or not having the damn thing fall apart.

Volkswagen's biggest issue has always been electrical problems. Everybody I know that own's one has had some sort of issue with the electronics. My dad's 2006 Audi A6 additionally won't start unless you give it gas. Turns over, idles rough a few seconds, then conks out. No idea why. Mechanics don't seem to know either. I think it did get new plugs recently, so that didn't solve the issue. So it must be in the fuel system. A friend of mine's Bug was best described as a collection of parts flying in formation. She did have it awhile though. Couldn't lock the doors with the fob or else the alarm would go off. Plus a whole host of other issues.

VW does provide more powerful engines in their car than say Honda does. Though I'd take a Civic any day over a Jetta. For the price of a decently equipped Golf, you might as well buy the Fiesta ST.

One thing VW does do right though is diesel.

 

[KDKPSJ]

I have a friend who is in Germany (an automotive engineer working at BMW HQ), and he strongly argues that that VW has been as good and reliable as BMW, which is considered the most reliable European cars in US. And my German friends in the US tend to agree as well.

But we all know that claim has been proved invalid in the US historically. So, I'd guess VW in Europe is indeed very different from VW in US, probably because of our Mexican buddies.

 

[jlee]

I'm not sure I know anybody who owns a VW Beetle and has not had catastrophic cooling system problems/failure (the new ones, not the old aircooled bugs).

 

[skyking]

you know two of us.

 

[skyking]

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.

It is not a VW problem, it is what they market here in the US. There are plenty of AWD TDI VW's sold in Europe. I too would be all over an AWD TDI that was not a 60K monster SUV.

 

[thedarkwolf]

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.

How many of those VWs are diesels over in Europe? It is a pretty low number over here in the states. If you notice pretty much all the people bitching about VWs they owned on here are talking about gas cars.

 

[Sheep221]

How many of those VWs are diesels over in Europe? It is a pretty low number over here in the states. If you notice pretty much all the people bitching about VWs they owned on here are talking about gas cars.

plenty,

the question is why they dont sell them in US and why Europe has reliable gasoline cars and US doesn't

 

[Jimzz]

plenty,

the question is why they dont sell them in US and why Europe has reliable gasoline cars and US doesn't

We drive a lot more in the US so weak spots in a car will show up faster. In Great Britain average miles driven per year is around 8000. I can't find exact numbers for Germany but most of what I have found says less than 10,000miles a year.
In the US its closer to 14,000miles a year, and that is down in the last several years due to gas price. So we, Americans, use to drive a lot more before.

So unreliable cars will show their problems much faster here and we expect 100k with little work needed as well. That is not something European cars excel at. Yea they can go long miles as well but will require more maintaince, work, and cost more when needed.

 

[Leymenaide]

Just got a great deal on the Tiguan - Made in Germany of 30% Hungarian parts.

85 Jetta
87 JettaWolfsburg
90 Passat SW
96 Passat SW TDI
89 Passat Berliner
05 Golf Plus TDI
05 Passat SW TDI
10 Passat Berliner
10 Passat SW
14 Tiquan

Yes I am not happy about the dearth of of TDI"s
Most of My VW's have gone 200k on breaks and a half and a water pump.

 

[TheAdvocate]

Manual trans TDI only.

I have to echo this. My wife has driven one for 11 years. We had a carbon issue with the engine which cost us about $600. And the (pop out) cupholders in that older one were a joke and break constantly (we have found a way to replace them for very cheap - every 2 years or so - they dont use these anymore). Last year, we had an electric motor for one of the windows finally die. Glow plugs have been a little more frequent replacement than I would have liked. I won't lie about problems, but I still consider the car to be a very solid financial investment, and my wife loves it. She still regularly gets 42-45 mpg. My two young kids beat the hell out of it and it gets run in tons of stop and go traffic daily. It's been solid.

 

[SithSolo1]

Both my parents are rocking TDIs. Dad has an '09 with 200K+ on it and my mom has a '14 with a little over 12K. Nothing super expensive has popped up but based on customer service from the dealership I'd never own one.

 

[jlee]

you know two of us.

Aren't yours diesel, though? But yeah, point.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I have owned a few VW's in my short life so far...

1999.5 2.0L Jetta
2000 2.0T Jetta
2001 2.0T wolfsburg Jetta
2003 TDI Jetta
2002 2.0 Golf
2010 TDI Golf

some other german cars i've had:

2009 135i
2009 335xi
2006 2.0T A4

all cars have been manual...the biggest issue i've ever had was a clutch replacement on one of the Jetta's, but my assumption was previous owner used it to learn, and teach his kids before selling it...bastard. Otherwise nothing outside of maintenance and warables.

I've had two 2005 nissan xterra's though...i've had to replace both timing chains, and both rear ends on those. I was REALLY glad I got the after market warranty on them too. I really love those trucks, last of a dieing breed imo, and they came in manual.

so I still have these 3:

2009 335xi
2005 xterra off road
2010 vw golf tdi

all 3 manual, never will I buy an auto again! Wife drives the xterra as her daily.

 

[Alienwho]

I just bought a 2015 golf recently and it's awesome. Don't let the naysayers completely turn you away. The new golfs even in base trim are miles ahead of the competition in quality of interior and features for the price. It's built on the new MQB platform that a lot of new Audi's and VW's will be built on. It's one of the best selling cars in the world and hopefully americans will continue to see that a hatchback like the golf is more useful/fun/practical than a more expensive crossover.

I used to have a 2002 Jetta turbo and I neglected the hell out of that car and it still got me to 100k miles before expensive repairs were needed (which I blame on my absolute neglect of the car). After some time with Ford and Chrysler I'm happy to be driving German again. I have no doubt I'll get 10 years of service out of the golf with minimal issues.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

I liked my German cars while they were under warranty. Great driving and handling cars. Both the Audi and BMW I've owned were shop queens. The loaners are nice and the repairs were free. As soon as the warranty expired those cars were GONE from my driveway. I saw what the service and repair bills cost.

 

[MiataNC]

It is nearly universally accepted that you do NOT want to own a German made car past the warranty coverage if you live in the US.

Obviously some VWs will run forever with few problems (major or minor), but that is not the norm. If it was, then this thread (and many more like it all over the net) would not exist.

 

[Sheep221]

We drive a lot more in the US so weak spots in a car will show up faster. In Great Britain average miles driven per year is around 8000. I can't find exact numbers for Germany but most of what I have found says less than 10,000miles a year.
In the US its closer to 14,000miles a year, and that is down in the last several years due to gas price. So we, Americans, use to drive a lot more before.

So unreliable cars will show their problems much faster here and we expect 100k with little work needed as well. That is not something European cars excel at. Yea they can go long miles as well but will require more maintaince, work, and cost more when needed.

Than there should be even more reason to sell more Ds in US because they are better suited for long range and frequent travel and endure more.
Then again I think it's marketing, US region has been known for long time to rip off money from people from everything. Europe has higher gas prices, but cars(same ones) sold here are reliable compared to US. Even US designed/made cars exported to Europe are better than those driving in the US.

I liked my German cars while they were under warranty. Great driving and handling cars. Both the Audi and BMW I've owned were shop queens. The loaners are nice and the repairs were free. As soon as the warranty expired those cars were GONE from my driveway. I saw what the service and repair bills cost.

It seems that repair bills are also much much higher in the US.

 

[ZipSpeed]

My 2011 X3 had early teething issues but it was frustrating enough that I probably won't consider any German brands for my next vehicle. It will be out of my garage next summer before the warranty expires.

 

[desy]

Guy at Work had a Passat - outraged at expensive repairs
Guy at work had a BMW outraged at expensive repairs
Both cars less than 7 yrs old

I'd consider a lease but I'd not buy German.
Great driving great interiors, parts and repair $$$, and in VW case consistently ranked at the bottom of dealership experience or used to be, seems they have cleaned that part up
http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2014-us-customer-service-index-csi

 

[CPA]

I'm not sure I know anybody who owns a VW Beetle and has not had catastrophic cooling system problems/failure (the new ones, not the old aircooled bugs).

No issues with ours yet, but has less than 15000 miles on it.

 

[cbrsurfr]

I seem to know more people with problematic BMW's.

Today the BMW guy at work was grumbling about his car. Has ~120K on it. Over the summer he tore the head down to have it rebuilt because it overheated. Bolt broke in the block trying to put it back together. Also found out the cam is scored when he did all this.

Previously he had to replace the cooling system and fiddle with the vanos (I think that's what he called it) system.

Now it's misfiring again and he has no idea why. He was going to replace this 330 with a 335 but he couldn't get anything for the 330 so I think he gave up for now. Seems like every time he tried to sell it the dash would light up like a christmas tree.

I remember the first time he gave me a ride in it. My Evo was getting it's windows tinted and I had him drive me to go pick it up. We pulled out of the parking deck and went about 100 feet and he had to pull over, shut it down and restart it due to some issue. I didn't think we'd make it the 5 miles to the shop. lol

Ran in to an old co-worker this summer who was the BMW guy at my previous employer. After 30 years of BMW's he says he's done with them. The straw that broke the camels back was having to put a trans in his 5 series. His wife got rid of her 3 series for a Forester last year.

Another guy at work got rid of his 3 series this year. I don't recall what problems he had but he considered it too unreliable for someone with a family.

 

[Colt45]

I don't think I'd ever own a not-german car ever again.


I can fix anything, though.

I've got a 72 beetle. 2002 gti. 88 audi 5000 quattro.

My only complaint is they don't sell awd golfs ('cept R32, which doesn't count because an audi is cheaper). You can get AWD on normal trim cars in europe

 

[TheAdvocate]

I thought they were doing AWD (4motion) on the new Golf?

Was that just a tease?

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Than there should be even more reason to sell more Ds in US because they are better suited for long range and frequent travel and endure more.

Two problems with that argument IMHO: 1) We cheapo americans don't want to pay a premium for a diesel motor. 2) We don't want to pay more for the fuel either.

Even with our low math scores we seem to be able to figure out that a gas car costs less unless you are driving ALOT of miles.

And what's up with the urea that has to be added (cost)? No thanks.

 

[Scarpozzi]

VW gas engines are hit or miss based on reviews. The TDIs are solid, but cost more for service...if they need it.

I've got 2 coworkers that own VW TDIs (small group).... Both are happy....one has a Golf TDI, one has a 2014 Passat TDI. The Passat has excellent back seat space and lots of bells and whistles. I like the car, but don't know if I can justify the bump in price of a gas to diesel sticker/resale value. I'm looking at other gas models of cars and am keeping the Passat in my sights as a possible vehicle if I can't find something with reasonable backseat space. Gas mileage for both are in the mid-upper 40s.