Opinions and Facts Needed: Volkswagen Quality
 

What is everyones' opinions on the quality of specific NEW Volkswagens?

I'm talking the Rabbit, GTI, or Jetta.

I'm talking the 2.5 liter 5 cyclinder versus the 2.0T (2 Liter turbocharged 4 cylinder).

Has VW improved their quality, including electrical gremlins?

Well I hear their quality is not that great. I even saw pictures of a brand new VW R32 that just burt into flames alone in a parking lot. At least down here in Puerto Rico they say their service sucks also but then again that depends on the dealer. I think that their quality is not the best but its not a horribly bad car. Or at least I dont think so.

Why are you looking at those cars? Because if you are you could always look into the mazda3 line.

I've just been curious about the new Bluetech diesel that is supposed to be going into the Jetta TDI.

It's supposed to easily obtain 47 mpg highway, and 34 mpg city.

It it bizarre that they have a 8 gallon urea (piss) tank that straps underneath the car, near the cat, but I guess that's the way they obtain the emissions compliance.

I am also curious about the overall reliability of Volkswagens now, because if the mpg figures are real, I may pick one up.

I actually think oil prices and gas prices are going to fall significantly, though.

I think you'd be better off getting a used Mark IV if you can find one (they don't stay for sale very long). Of course most people with those drive the hell out of em. I did when I had mine, and if I could drop a TDI in my Mazda 6, I'd be in heaven.

Since this new TDI is brand new tech over here, I'd be cautious about buying first-year. Let someone else be the guinea pig and see how the initial buyers fare over the first year.

http://www.tdiclub.com is a great site and I learned a LOT when I had my Golf. Not quite as fanatical as RX8Club, but close... :D

Hey, thanks for that link. Seriously. I had no ideal that forum existed. I knew about a dozen other VW sites, but never came across that one.

I know you emphasized NEW VW's. However, based on my experience with a Mk. 4 GTI (2001 VR6, VW doesn't have a good track record on reliability. I took a chance when I bought my VW thinking that VW, which had a poor reliability record, had turned the corner. I was wrong.

My recommendation is that you don't just assume that VW has good reliability. In fact, based on my experience, I would assume that VW's are unreliable unless proven otherwise.

Keep asking around. There are some unfounded myths out there. For instance, people assume that all of the trouble-prone VW's were made in Mexico, but mine was a total POS and was built in Germany.

Finally, it might help to limit your search down to a specific model (trim, drivetrain, etc...) since some people claim to have wonderful experiences with some of the more basic, low-content models or with specific powertrains.

Cheers

Mine was a Golf GL (GL was bottom of the line trim), hardly any options (2004, made in Mexico, bought new). I sold it to an ex-girlfriend last year. It's been almost trouble-free for nearly 4.5 years and between 50k and 60k miles. It had an annoying squeak when I first got it (which is why I named her Squeaky) but that went away on its own an never came back. No other problems that I have known about (at least she hasn't ever mentioned any).

So maybe fewer bells an whistles is for the better.

My bro's gf's cabrio shit the bed with 120k miles. Bad air pump. The pump alone cost $987, that's without the labor, repair shop cost (mechanic in the family).

The only company that sucks more than VW is Bosch. And most of the VW parts are bosch, so that's even worse.

My opinion: Do not buy a VW. They are bad.

I've had 2 GTI's. A Mark IV and now a Mark V. I have had no problems with the 06 GTI in 40,000 modded miles. I use this car usually as my daily driver. The 02 GTI that I had went in for a few warrany items; window regulators, coil packs, an issue with exhaust rattling. The Mark V GTI's are made again in Germany, the Mark IV's were made in Mexico which some of the problems may come from. Check out vwvortex.com and golfmkv.com.

I know a guy who is a diehard Veeduber. Had a GTi. Crap car. Then upgraded to a Passat. Even bigger crap. But seems like he is into masochistic lifestyle, now he is looking for another VW. See www.myvwlemon.com should give you an idea....

Build-quality is usually very good.

Engineering quality, not so much.

I had a '99 Passat 1.8T for a little over two years. I loved how it felt and drove but hated that it was in the shop all of the friggin' time (both right wheel bearings, swaybar links, inner left TRE, outer right TRE, cam seals, valve-cover gasket, PCV system, radio head-unit, front-end clunk that was never solved). If I hadn't had a 2yr/24k B2B warranty from the factory (certified pre-owned), I'd have been in some serious trouble.

I haven't heard much about the newer products from VAG but I told my wife to shoot me if I ever bought another VW/Audi product.

lmao!

www.myvwlemon.com just scared the shit out of me!

I realize people with the biggest problems are most likely to post, and that this is a normal expectation, but I HAVE NEVER SEEN A BIGGER BITCHFEST THAN THAT! :Eyecrazy: