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Volkswagen Reliability?

I love the VW Passat's and Jetta's, but they are extremely unreliable cars. Couple of friends have had to get minor things repaired, and it was extremely expensive to fix. I have a Toyota Camry and it may not be that fun to drive, but damn the car has only needed oil changes and other regular maintence. I've had the car for a year and a half. My grandma had the car before, and she never had problems with it either. I'd say for the Camry. If you want some more excitement, go for the Honda Accord. I can't comment on the Nissan Altima, but from what I have seen most Nissan's are extremely unreliable as well.
 
You are getting all caught up in driving a car you think is cool. As a mature person, and I am not saying you are not, I can tell you, driving an unreliable car is a pain. I had a Jetta with problems, but I thought it was a really cool car. When the Ford Focus came out, I thought it was cool as hell. Got one, one of the worst cars I've owned.

After doing research, I decided to go with a Hyundai Elantra. I have driven that car for 50,000, across the U.S. without a single problem. I am no longer into getting cars that are perceived to be cool, or are a fashion statement. I will buy Hyundais from now on. Next up will be a Hyundai Veracruz or the Genesis when it finally comes out.
My 2 cents

Look at this Bad Mother F@cker
 
VWs are very unreliable compared to most other car companies; they grace Consumer Reports' 10 Least Reliable Car Brands list pretty much every year.
 
MacAficionado said:
You are getting all caught up in driving a car you think is cool. As a mature person, and I am not saying you are not, I can tell you, driving an unreliable car is a pain.
Look at this Bad Mother F@cker
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It's ok, Im a average teen wanting a first car. Even though I've always been pretty mature for my age, I'm still a teen. And well you old folk :p do got maturity.

Anyways after my VW dreams have been utterly and completely smashed and stomped on, The scion tC is a nice affordable car, its that or a rav4 now. My sisters have now really started to flex there muscles on the choice of the vehicle that I will be mostly driving because they get it when I'm finished with it... :mad:

in picky girl voices "No we don't want the gray one we want the light blue one." "We don't want a truck." "That one is ugly." (where's the smiley exploding with confusion and anger?)
 
Rokem said:
It's ok, Im a average teen wanting a first car. Even though I've always been pretty mature for my age, I'm still a teen. And well you old folk :p do got maturity.

Anyways after my VW dreams have been utterly and completely smashed and stomped on, The scion tC is a nice affordable car, its that or a rav4 now. My sisters have now really started to flex there muscles on the choice of the vehicle that I will be mostly driving because they get it when I'm finished with it... :mad:

in picky girl voices "No we don't want the gray one we want the light blue one." "We don't want a truck." "That one is ugly." (where's the smiley exploding with confusion and anger?)
Click to expand...

The tC is an extremely nice car. I believe in some ways it replaces the Celica and as of right now, is the only sports car that Toyota Motor Company has. The new RAV4 is also a nice vehicle. My friend down the street has one and it's extremely roomy, and very fun to drive. However, it also depends on what your budget is for a car. Her's is the 4 cylinder. I've heard the V6 is a beast, so I would to try to go for that.
 
ryannel2003 said:
The tC is an extremely nice car. I believe in some ways it replaces the Celica and as of right now, is the only sports car that Toyota Motor Company has. The new RAV4 is also a nice vehicle. My friend down the street has one and it's extremely roomy, and very fun to drive. However, it also depends on what your budget is for a car. Her's is the 4 cylinder. I've heard the V6 is a beast, so I would to try to go for that.
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I went to go see how I fit in the cars today... tC is out, the camry is good, rav4 is out, but the highlander is good.

I also went to go fit in a jetta, I fit fine, but if I have passengers not so much. But the passat is amazing, I can actually scoot up a bit and still be very comfortable.

I also fit well in the Porsche carrera...
 
pdpfilms said:
Not sure if I'm reading this correctly as your argument was confusing and his was even worse, but...

...are you really claiming that talking on the phone or eating while driving makes you more aware?
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Sorry, no, I meant that driving a standard keeps your mind on the road, because you usually have to shift gears often, and driving a standard also makes it harder to eat or talk on a cell phone.
 
Rokem said:
My sisters have now really started to flex there muscles on the choice of the vehicle that I will be mostly driving because they get it when I'm finished with it... :mad:

in picky girl voices "No we don't want the gray one we want the light blue one." "We don't want a truck." "That one is ugly." (where's the smiley exploding with confusion and anger?)
Click to expand...

Being a 14 year old teen myself, I say "screw them." :D

On topic, mid 90's Ford taureses (sp) are pretty dang cheap. :)
 
One problem I've experienced with both my A3 Jettas with the 5-spd is gear synchronization with 2nd gear. Often it would crunch, especially on cold mornings. My brother had the same problem with his Golf. Search any of the VW tech forums for "2nd gear crunch" and there are plenty of stories to be told. AFAIK, this problem affected the A3 and A4 models. How widespread the problem is, I don't know. So if anybody is thinking of purchasing an A3 or A4 VW (Jetta, Golf) with the 4-cyl 5-spd combo, I say think again. The autos are much more reliable, in my experience and from what I've heard from others.
 
If you get the GLI, it'll come with (automatic) DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox), which is absolutely amazing..
 
I drive a 1994 VW Passat wagon, and it's pretty much bulletproof. My brother drove a 1997 VW Golf and it too was bulletproof. In 1998 - 2003 or so VW's had some quality-issues, but before and after that they are very very good. The latest VW Golf went through a 60.000 kilometer test-drive without a single incident, and that's something even Toyota or Nissan (both known for their reliability) hasn't done. The magazine doing the test called it their most boring test-run ever, since they had no problems with the car at all. After the test, they took the car apart, and were amazed at how much time and care went to making the car, since everything in it was hi-quality.

The new Passat hasn't gone through similar test yet, but talking with owners they seem to be very happy with the quality.

The repair-costs are very low on VW's, due to the fact that you can go long time between repairs (whereas other cars needs to to maintenance every 20.000 30.000 kilometers, VAG's can go on for 60.000km, and the spare-parts are cheap).

Of course, this is with European VW's, don't know about the models they sell in USA.
 
Fearless Leader said:
It's ok, Im a average teen wanting a first car. Even though I've always been pretty mature for my age, I'm still a teen. And well you old folk :p do got maturity.

Anyways after my VW dreams have been utterly and completely smashed and stomped on, The scion tC is a nice affordable car, its that or a rav4 now. My sisters have now really started to flex there muscles on the choice of the vehicle that I will be mostly driving because they get it when I'm finished with it... :mad:

in picky girl voices "No we don't want the gray one we want the light blue one." "We don't want a truck." "That one is ugly." (where's the smiley exploding with confusion and anger?)
Click to expand...

Ummm... I don't know why everyone smashed the VW dreams, but the VAG has improved QC immensely recently. The days of bad electricity and dead headlights, ect. are almost gone. I think being in America, VW gets a bad rep for some reason, but remember that Audi and VW share parts. My mechanic friends tell me about the amount of late 90 early 2000 VW and Audis that come in which is true and also why people who haven't owned the cars themselves like to point out. I find that most of the problems I hear about are due to the original owner cutting corners in not getting the car properly serviced at a certified store aka going to a chain or using a wrong grade of oil b/c its cheaper, ect. Stupid things like that.

The GLI you're looking at is a great car, the engine is bulletproof, shared with the GTI and the A4 2.0, both of which have incredible quality, and the engine won "engine of the year" from european magazines, and the GTI MKV (not the problem prone MKIV) and A4 have won a long list of awards in the USA and internationally that would make Scion, Subaru, Honda, ect. jealous.

What I'm trying to say is to keep your options open, VW today resembles more the VW of old rather than the problem prone VW of the 90s because VAG realized the trend of people moving from USA to Asian cars, they want a piece of the pie and to do it they had to increase QC and reliability. Their QC has improved so much, even to the point that their margins on cars like the GTI are too low b/c they are manufactured in Germany rather than South Africa or Mexico. GLI is manufactured in Mexico though, but I'd suggest trying both the GTI and GLI out, the GTI is a lot roomier than many expect, but then if you're not a euro hatch person it may not be an option.

Anyways, hope you find the car you're looking for and have a great time with it.
 
I will never again buy a Volkswagen, and that goes for Audi and Porsche, as well.

I owned a 2000 New Beetle that caused more frustration than any car I've owned, particularly when problems with the dealer surfaced and VW refused to get involved. I took the car in for all of its scheduled and recommended maintenance, only to have a brake problem emerge. The dealer could get the parts in a day or two but wouldn't schedule the repair for two weeks, never mind the fact that the safe operation of the vehicle was involved and that continuing to drive the vehicle resulted in further damage to the brake system. VW refused to even request that the dealer to expedite the repair. Nice.

So I did what any self-respecting car owner would do. I traded said Beetle in on a new 2003 Honda Accord EX and never looked back.

Friends don't let friends buy VW.

SMM said:
I thought VW was a customer oriented company. I assure you, they are not.
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Couldn't agree more. Don't let the advertising fool you.
 
Ford is the one making massive reliability improvements recently, resulting a hundreds of millions in warranty work savings for the company.

With Ford it likely isn't across the board, but in key cars sold with high volume improving drastically.
 
Wow...this thread is depressing.

Well, I've got a 2006 Jetta 2.5, with almost 20k miles on it. It's been an awesome car so far, I can't really complain. It drives well, and for the price, you really can't beat the features or the interior. The only thing that's really gone wrong is the little light-fixture under the sun visor -- it's fallen out (twice) due to the plastic shell cracking, and I'm pretty sure the Florida heat is to blame. VW has replaced them for me (once for each visor), free of charge, no questions asked. Annoying, but I don't blame them for it. I had a Toyota Corolla before this, and the little storage area above where the center console is (by the stereo) had a similar problem; the hinges melted and it wouldn't stay shut. Same thing happened to my mom's Camry and my sister's Corolla.

My girlfriend has a 2000 (or 2001...can't remember) Jetta. She broke 100k miles just the other day and it's still going strong. It burns a little oil, but it's due to poor maintenance upkeep by the previous owner. No major electrical or other issues (knock on wood). She's looking to buy an EOS in the next couple of years!
 
I don't know the first thing about cars, but my Mom owns a BMW Bug (2001 I think?) and it's in the shop probably once a month. It's been a horrible car, however cute it may be.

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I leased a 2000 Golf and loved it. Turned it in and got a 2002 Jetta Wagon. Loved it. Leased it for four years. Turned it back in after the lease because my wife had wrecked it in year 2. We turned around and PURCHASED a 2007 Rabbit. LOVE IT!!!

There was a recall on an ignition part for the Golf, no cost to fix. You guys paying $80 for an oil change are getting screwed. The most I've paid at the dealership is $35 and there are many other things they are checking/topping up.

Maybe its my excellent Karma. I doubt it. I'm 3 for 3 with VWs. In fact I'm in the market for a mid 1970's Bug. With A/C of course.

cheers!
 
Put me in the "Lucky VW Owners" category.
I love my 2003 Jetta 1.8T
I take pretty good care of my stuff, though I do drive aggressively. The car has been mechanically flawless, and continues to run strong at 55k miles and counting.
To be fair, I did have to replace the battery. I assume full responsibility, however, since I'm sure it was a side-effect of some impromptu welding I did while installing the amp for my subwoofer. (aka: I didn't disconnect the battery and a couple leads bumped while I was moving some cables. Kids, don't try this at home.) :eek:
All in all, I've had a great experience with my V-dub, and plan to buy a GTI in a couple years as my Jetta gets up in the 100k mileage range. (which is when I trade in most of my cars)
 
The only foreign car anyone in my family has ever owned was one of the original Beetle's. I don't believe my dad kept it very long either. I find cars to be very hit and miss. Two people may both buy a Jetta, one have it for years with no troubles and the other spend half their weight in gold getting it repaired. I bought a new Cobalt coupe in February and love it. With all the problems I've had with Japanese electronics, I don't care to own a Japanese car.
 
MattG said:
Wow...this thread is depressing.
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I know but I just love the way the passat fits me and its roominess.

I took a second look at the camry today and its not bad but its just almost too small. Though My sisters don't like it as much as the highlander because they know they will be in the back seats often, well because thankfully they can't drive yet. The only problem is its a bit harder to drive than vehicles, and they think all vehicles drive the same and are as easy to see behind you.

My mom's SUV is nice to drive in all along with my step-dad's company van (sienna) its just real hard to see behind me. Theres a lot more vehicle and peoples' heads and it doesn't turn as well.
 
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