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Old 06-02-2014, 01:49 PM
 
Location: Whittier
3,004 posts, read 6,246,721 times
Reputation: 3081

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Yeah I think on average the VW is just going to have more problems, more often.

That said, I bought a 2013 VW GTI because I did my research and decided to take a gamble.

So far I'd rank the car 2nd out of all of the cars I've ever owned in terms of enjoyment and fit and finish. It is very well equipped, but it will no doubt have some issues that I will need to address later on in it's life.

The water pump might go out, I'll need to clean the carbon off the valves eventually, it might develop some interior leaks. It's still under warranty, however I don't expect anything major $1000-1500+ (knock on wood) to go wrong with this car at any point in it's life.

----

I think all the rules still apply here: Don't buy first year cars; be proactive and timely with your maintenance. Don't have unrealistic expectations.

I plan on keeping the car for a while, and although I don't want to be my own test experiment, I'm interested to see how it turns out.
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Old 06-02-2014, 06:54 PM
 
Location: Philaburbia
41,750 posts, read 74,749,634 times
Reputation: 66685
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdand3boys View Post
Plus, their resale value is terrible - most likely as a result of the poor reliability.
Not an issue if you're keeping the car for 10 or 12 years.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
I have a 1973 VW Thing and no issues.
I'm so envious! I always wanted one of those ... things.

Quote:
Originally Posted by harhar View Post
Yeah I think on average the VW is just going to have more problems, more often.
My experience was that my Golfs (87 and 98) had fewer problems than other cars I'd owned, but those problems were more expensive to repair.
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Old 06-02-2014, 07:35 PM
 
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
11,936 posts, read 13,016,998 times
Reputation: 27076
I've never been so excited in my life as when I bought my 1999 Passat! OMG top of the line, heated seats V8, sunroof, leather seats etc.

My first grown up luxury car.

I treated it with kid gloves. Oil change on time to the mile, tire rotation, 60,000 tune up etc.

First engine blew at 67,000 miles.

Second engine blew right after I paid it off at 105,000.

Not to mention the small things that kept going wrong.

I've never been so betrayed in my life.

I'll never buy another VW as long as I live.
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Old 06-02-2014, 07:38 PM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX USA
5,251 posts, read 14,147,124 times
Reputation: 8227
Quote:
Originally Posted by blueherons View Post
I've never been so excited in my life as when I bought my 1999 Passat! OMG top of the line, heated seats V8, sunroof, leather seats etc.
The 1999 Passat never came with a V8
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Old 06-02-2014, 07:59 PM
 
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
11,936 posts, read 13,016,998 times
Reputation: 27076
Quote:
Originally Posted by Me007gold View Post
The 1999 Passat never came with a V8
My husband just told me it was the W8 and it was a 2001 or 2002.

Either way, it had two engines blow.
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Old 06-02-2014, 10:57 PM
 
Location: H-town, TX.
3,503 posts, read 7,459,196 times
Reputation: 2232
Quote:
Originally Posted by ukrkoz View Post
.
You know why she liked it? Quote: "has pretty lights inside at night".
I rest it here.
Sounds about right. When I used to hang out on Yahoo! forums, that's pretty much the only reason a chick wanted something like a Mini or a new Beetle. "They're cute!"

"Cute" = automaker method of shoving crap onto the general public.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
I don't know how to respond except annecdotally...

My Godfather was stationed in Germany in 1961 and bought a new Bug... he drove the car over 50 years and never pulled the engine and it's been 100% reliable... he was an engineer in Mountain View California.

I have a 1973 VW Thing and no issues.

Mom drove a 1976 Rabbit for 30 years... she bought it for $800 and sold it for $600... never did anything, not even a clutch, except for normal maintenance, tires, battery, pads/shoes...

All of the above were very simple cars... all sticks, no A/C, no radio, no power windows etc...

We had friends visit from Germany and they were amazed to see Mom's rabbit... not that it was running... they were amazed it had not rusted away... she lives in California and zero rust!
OTOH, odds are that a 40+ year old car has had a pretty significant going at some point over to be functional. I had a '69 Beetle as a first car. Floorboards still rot. Engine gaskets still get crispy. Electrical fuse panels rot. Wiring gets crispy. Brake hoses bubble and break. Transmission will start jumping out of first gear. Oh, there was that clutch cable that snapped as well as that starter cable that snapped off one night, too.
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Old 06-02-2014, 11:13 PM
 
2,755 posts, read 5,111,732 times
Reputation: 3628
Love them with the TDI, everybody close that I know have been very happy with both VW and Audi.
I do believe they are one of the best value per dollar car you can find in today's market.
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Old 06-03-2014, 12:30 AM
 
2,087 posts, read 4,265,319 times
Reputation: 2131
I bought a new VW Scirrocco 1982?/1983? Clutch went out 6 months later. (No, it wasn't my driving) $600 to replace it and the new clutch vibrated so badly the whole car shook. (So the authorized VW repair shop in Beverly Hill$, was as crappy as the car)
Of course the repair shop said there wasn't a problem with the new clutch.

Turns out the clutch was "off balance", (that's how I remember it) My brother, a car mechanic savant, living in Colorado, discovered this when I gave him the car 8 years later. I had just startedj a new job as a flight attendant with a major carrier, and was only going to make $15,000 a year for the first year or two, and I simply could not afford that car anymore. It was in the shop more than it was on the road. It wasn't dependable. There was Always something wrong the car.

A drunk driver hit it when it was parked, and TOTALED it, 3 days after I gave it to my brother.

A friend bought a new 2001? VW Passat (I think) boxy, ugly. The first year she owned it, she spent more on (non warranty) repairs, than she spent to buy the car! So, the repairs cost more than the car was worth, over $25,000.

From a mechanic's perspective, my brother would never buy a VW or an Audi.
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Old 06-03-2014, 06:42 AM
 
Location: Huntsville
6,009 posts, read 6,606,108 times
Reputation: 7036
Quote:
Originally Posted by 28173 View Post
Love them with the TDI, everybody close that I know have been very happy with both VW and Audi.
I do believe they are one of the best value per dollar car you can find in today's market.

Remind me to avoid whatever market you speak of. If there are more unreliable cars than VW/Audi I don't see how one could afford to keep them running. I was really happy that my Audi was nice to look at because it spent a lot of time in my driveway as a yard ornament while waiting on repairs.
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Old 06-03-2014, 07:03 AM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 102,794,286 times
Reputation: 29967
Quote:
Originally Posted by leanansidhex View Post
A friend bought a new 2001? VW Passat (I think) boxy, ugly. The first year she owned it, she spent more on (non warranty) repairs, than she spent to buy the car! So, the repairs cost more than the car was worth, over $25,000.
How is this even possible unless the need for repairs was attributable to causes other than manufacturer defect such as an accident or neglect?
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