Sound off on VW!?

[mjbsb69]

My wife is needing another car........not sure a Vibe is her wish sniff Would a VW New Beetle, Rabbit or Jetta be a blessing or a curse?Mike06 abyss fwd base Vibe two-tone

[Kamikaze]

If you ask my friend or my cousin they would love that she's going for a VW over anything. Personally I'm not so sure, I've heard some bad things when it comes to fixing anything, sometimes it gets expensive quick. I don't know cause I've never owned one, and those words are just coming from word of mouth, nothing that I have seen myself. Good luck with whatever the decision is!

[NibCrom]

Well, I have a friend that works for VW and he was thinking about getting a VeeDub until he starting repairing them. My other friend who is a mechanic for Porsche has a VW GTI and he has had some problems with it also. Nothing major that he couldn't handle, but if you're not a mechanic the repairs can get pricey. Even a simple brake job is expensive. If you can get a good deal on a used one, then I can recommend the GTI, it's really fun to drive. But check the vehicle's service history. Lots of repairs would send up a red flag for me.Just get a Vibe! Me and my wife love ours!

[Whelan]

My experiences:1) 2000 Jetta 1.8T-New Jetta came out in 1999 I think, my brother purchased this one on a lease. No issues, ran well.2) 2003 Jetta GLS 1.8T-With only 30,000 miles on the car, he had to have the front wheel bearings replaced, under warranty, but still not something I would expect to have happen so early. Also had issues with the MP3 keg he had put in with the Monsoon stereo system from the factory. Had to replace a MAF sensor which from VW costs over $400.3) 2000 Cabrio GLX-My fience wanted one so she purchased it pre-owned from VW (CPO). First day she had it, she tried to play and turned the wipers on...nothing, turned the A/C on, nothing, radio...nothing. It seemed the car was dead. When she tried the headlights, all at once the wipers, A/C, and radio all came on. After discussing with VW time and time again, they kept refusing to fix it (even though it was warranteed) and finally after witnessing the event one time, replaced the entire computer brain on her car with ony 20,000 miles. Next incident occurred with the Throttle body assembly causing the car to die. Had to have it replaced under warranty while out of state for a cost of $2,000 and a week without a car. Spark plugs were replaced by me with great difficulty on the 2.0 engine because the intake manifold runs over the top of the engine, therefore needs to be removed to reach the items. They are very hard cars to work on. Continuing on, the car did not have 50,000 miles on it when her power convertible top would randomly stop working. No leaks found, but VW's solution was to buy a bottle of $50 fluid and keep it topped off. This is not a solution. 50,000 miles, muffler was rusting out. Cabrio uses a two muffler system so replacing it would cost $800.4) 2007 New Beetle Convertible-My grandmother just bought this after her 1998 Cabrio convertible gave her too much grief. With only approximately 60,000 miles on the car, her transmission was slipping and needed replacement. She is and old lady who drives 20mph, why would this happen. The New Beetle is ok for now, but it is brand new so we have yet to see.Now for the personal, I have not owned a VW, me and my fience will never own another VW. They are extremely tempermental, expensive to fix, parts are pricey as well by themselves. I am not too fond of the new designs either as the new Jetta really took away from the image of the last styles, no longer a small fun to drive car, turned into a mini Passat bland box. Not a fan of VW, no thank you.

[ToolGuy]

Funny, I am calling on VW right now. Just got the account after a lay off. Going to VW and I still will be after thye move out of Mich. Some people are staying here and service is one group. For now... VW is getting a Chrysler mini-van next year badged as a VW.I cannot speak from immediate experience but when my wife worked for Audi / VW Roadside Assistance the Beetles used to get stuck in park and VW in general had a lot of electrical issues. A lady here in my office had here Jetta towed out of the parking lot for electrical issues. Not sure what year but a 2000 something. However, my wife only heard about people needing help and issues the cars had. This was three years ago so maybe things have changed.

[VivaVibe]

No personal experience, but as mentioned here by others I've heard a lot about issues and high cost of parts and maintenance. To me it seems they don't get good MPG for their relative size and class, excepting for the diesels.

[northvibe]

From what ive heard, the only good VW is the one made in germany and shipped here, these are only a select few models. the others are from mexico and another south america country i think and those are the ones that just have horrible reliability. CR even says they have horrid reliability lately...id never get a vw personally...oh yeah not to mention repair costs :s Every bug owner ive talked to has had to have theirs repaired a TON and then got sick of it and sold it or traded it.

[WaveAction]

if i had my choice out of the rabbit, golf and jetta..i'd pick the jetta...although the golf gti is a very sweet car...but to small of a car for me now adays..jetta's are super nice aswell

[Whelan]

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »From what ive heard, the only good VW is the one made in germany and shipped here, these are only a select few models. the others are from mexico and another south america country i think and those are the ones that just have horrible reliability. CR even says they have horrid reliability lately...id never get a vw personally...oh yeah not to mention repair costs :s Every bug owner ive talked to has had to have theirs repaired a TON and then got sick of it and sold it or traded it.Not sure if the GTI's are made in Germany but I've heard those are fairly good on reliability. Jetta and Beetles are made in Mexico FYI. The Passat comes from Germany cause it is almost identical to the new A6.If you want some good input. Go to http://www.vwvortex.com and look around

[GMJAP]

Curse.

[Petrucci914]

The Diesel engines are nice, can't say that for everything else. They are horrendously notable for electrical problems. I've been convinced that Germans don't know what the hell they're doing when it comes to wiring. If I was to get one it'd be brand new with an extended warranty.

[WaveAction]

hey whelan, reason the A6 and passat look the same..is cause they ARE the same..Audi's the "acura" of volkswagen..so of course they're gonna look the same

[Whelan]

Quote, originally posted by WaveAction »hey whelan, reason the A6 and passat look the same..is cause they ARE the same..Audi's the "acura" of volkswagen..so of course they're gonna look the sameOh I know they are the same frame-wise and such. But typically a car will have some different features. Like the Acura TL is based off the US Accord, but they do not look as alike as the new A6 and Passat, get what I mean? The reason Germans have such horrible electrical problems is because they build their cars for driving, not for features. So all the manufacturers like BMW, M/B, VW, etc. get their base components from the same suppliers (or at least they did) and they don't take the time to tune them and refine them so they just slap them in their cars and next thing you know, your stuck with an i-drive or heated seats that don't work, etc. The Japanese brands along with US brands who use Jap components, have stellar systems with loads of extra tech in them. Think of Acura and Lexus who were the first to introduce the brake mitigation system. First in the RL, now in the LS460. Essentially a radar can map the distance of an object you coming at you or heading towards, and sound an audible warning, then it applies the brakes lightly to jar you awake or alert, and if that does not work and no response is made by the driver either through pedals, wheels, etc. The car goes into lockdown where the seatbelts are tightened up, the brakes are pressed firmly to the ground and the car prepares for a collission. Volvo just introduced somehing similar in their S80.I'm still waiting for Caddy to come back out with the FLIR vision they had on the last gen cars where you could see a small black and white screen of infrared that showed the road way way ahead. That is going to be a huge benefit in cars real soon!

[WaveAction]

ya..the cadi devilles had those..we get some in for them and ive never been able to actually see it in action..surprised the nightvision hasnt been used at all in any of the new car models

[shane_c]

I had a 2000 Jetta. When it worked I really liked it. It felt like I was driving something more expensive than it actually was. I had a lot of problems with it in the 2 years I had it. And anytime the CE light would come on I'd have to take it to the dealer to check the codes because it seemed like nobody else could. And the dealer charged a fortune for labour.

[Whelan]

Quote, originally posted by shane_c »I had a 2000 Jetta. When it worked I really liked it. It felt like I was driving something more expensive than it actually was. I had a lot of problems with it in the 2 years I had it. And anytime the CE light would come on I'd have to take it to the dealer to check the codes because it seemed like nobody else could. And the dealer charged a fortune for labour. VW charges $80 to shut off and reset your light. You will have multiple issues with electronics and the MAF sensor, they are extremely sensitive.

[shane_c]

The dealer in Calgary was charging about $92/hr for labour.

[MRCN RCE]

i'm not too sure about VW, my friend had an 05 jetta with a lot of tranny problems that spent almost as much time in the mechanic's garage as her own. she got it replaced under the lemon law, but i was on the phone with her 3 weeks to the day after she got the new one, and the check engine light came on, and they couldn't ever get it to stay off for good. needless to say, she got rid of that one too. i'd say if you're gonna get a vw product, get a veyron. that way you can have some fun with it before it breaks

[Atomb]

i had a 98 Golf K2 and traded it in for my Vibe. It had 231,000 kms on it and the only problem i ever had was a short...after i hit a deer and the battery sprayed all over the engine bay.they fixed everything, but some of the wire bundles got corroded nicely.i miss that car...sniff.