Reliability of New Volkswagens?

[wooohooo]

My family owned a VW Passat (04) model which eventually became my car. It was a great car to drive, I still miss driving it but goodness... was it ever unreliable. I broke down 3 times over a year and had to get it towed. Thank goodness I had an AMA card. If you have a VW get an AMA card!

After that experience I'm indifferent on whether I'll own another one again, actually probably not. I drive Corolla (06) that was given to me from my parents when my car died and the only thing that it needed was new rims when I smacked into a curb one winter. It's not the greatest winter vehicle but neither was the Passat. We also own a Lexus Rx330 and that's also been good. Acura TSX which has been very low maintenance.

I should say that maintenance on my VW seemed higher than any of my other cars. The gadgets and stuff are nice, but ultimately I want to know that I can get around town not breaking down.

[FLAMESRULE]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Pylon,

Can the same things be said in terms of reliability for Audi's, since many of them share the same platform and engine with VW's?

Was going to ask the same thing. Looking to trade in a 2010 Forester XT for an Audi Avant Wagon or similar (BMW 335xi etc.). Every Subaru I've ever driven (4 of them) has been bullet proof as well. They just dont have what I'm looking for as I get older.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Pylon,

Can the same things be said in terms of reliability for Audi's, since many of them share the same platform and engine with VW's?

One thing I never ever do, is sell our car as the most reliable money can buy. I would always pitch it like this, "Mr. Smith, I am not going to lie to you and try and claim we have the most reliable vehicle on the road. I can however claim to have a car in the upper echelon of safety. I am sure you and your family can appreciate that fact. At the end of the day, I would prefer to make on extra trip to the shop for a repair (which is likely covered by warranty anyway) and keep the lower halves of my legs in a front end collision. Have you had a chance to visit IIHTS site? Why don't we do that right now and compare our German engineered car, designed to survive a crash at Autobahn speeds, to that Honda Civic designed for the slowest highway system in the world."

Some people value more than reliabilty. That is why not everyone has a Maytag. I have Bosch stuff, because is is more stylish, and way cooler looking.

To answer the question you actually asked. Audi will be similar, but the more equipment it has, the more it is likely to break. If you compared an A3 to a GTI, they would fare almost identically.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by FLAMESRULE

Was going to ask the same thing. Looking to trade in a 2010 Forester XT for an Audi Avant Wagon or similar (BMW 335xi etc.). Every Subaru I've ever driven (4 of them) has been bullet proof as well. They just dont have what I'm looking for as I get older.

If I left VW tomorrow, my first resume would go to Subaru. Industrial strength cars... not so refined, but that is part of their charm.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I know Pylon has chipped his GTI and it sounds awesome. I think less than 300HP out of the factory in those things in 2011 is a joke.

You're expecting 300hp out of the factory from a GTI? I think you're going to be pretty disappointed most of the the time if that's what you're expecting out of a sporty hatchback that's not even the top of the line of the model. You don't even get 300 with a base Cayman or Boxster (yet they are still amazingly fun to drive).

It might not be the fastest thing on the market, but I've always found them more than adequate in the fun dept. I'd rather a car be able to handle well then just be able to beat someone off the line (you know as soon as that Explorer hit a gentle-curve, it rolled a few times and exploded into a fireball).

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by pylon

If I left VW tomorrow, my first resume would go to Subaru. Industrial strength cars... not so refined, but that is part of their charm.

Plus the only AWD wagon you can still get in a manual transmission in North America. That's gotta count for something! So unfortunate that combo isn't available with any of the German's anymore.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Table 5

You're expecting 300hp out of the factory from a GTI? I think you're going to be pretty disappointed most of the the time if that's what you're expecting out of a sporty hatchback that's not even the top of the line of the model. You don't even get 300 with a base Cayman or Boxster (yet they are still amazingly fun to drive).

It might not be the fastest thing on the market, but I've always found them more than adequate in the fun dept. I'd rather a car be able to handle well then just be able to beat someone off the line (you know as soon as that Explorer hit a gentle-curve, it rolled a few times and exploded into a fireball).

It is the torque that makes the biggest difference. I believe my top program on 94 octane runs at 310 ft/lbs, up from the stock 207. The midrange is awfully impressive. Feels a lot like a BMW 135/335i.

[FLAMESRULE]

Originally Posted by pylon

If I left VW tomorrow, my first resume would go to Subaru. Industrial strength cars... not so refined, but that is part of their charm.

Bingo. Thats a major reason why I'm looking at swapping to something different (lack of "sportiness" is the other. Not to mention that I think they are starting to price themselves up too much.

But I keep hearing (part urban myth) about the poor reliability of German autos and it makes me nervous.

[Table 5]

Torquey cars are definitely great fun. I never found the stock GTI's lagging, but that 50% boost must be awesome.

[bigtmac19]

I just had my 2006 Jetta TDI in at the dealer to get a passenger seat airbag replaced. They gave me a CC as a loaner because I couldn't wait for them to do the repair. That CC was a beautiful car to drive, it looks really good. I LOVED it. I was cursing the dealership the whole time I had it, because they made me want that car. I didn't even ask the price, certainly more than I want to pay I'm sure.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by bigtmac19

I just had my 2006 Jetta TDI in at the dealer to get a passenger seat airbag replaced. They gave me a CC as a loaner because I couldn't wait for them to do the repair. That CC was a beautiful car to drive, it looks really good. I LOVED it. I was cursing the dealership the whole time I had it, because they made me want that car. I didn't even ask the price, certainly more than I want to pay I'm sure.

Thats the funny thing about the CC, it can be had low mid 30's. My analogy of the CC when it came out was "It doesn't matter what trim level you buy, it always looks like you spent $30k more than you did."

When I outgrow GTI I will consider one. But at 37, I still love my 2 door hot hatches, so it may be a long time.

[WCan_Kid]

I've got over 50k kms on a 2009 Jetta highline with the 2.0t that's been chipped since about the 8000 km point. Not a single problem to date and VW had me come in and have the DSG component recall taken care of to get me the 10 year warranty even though I hadn't experienced a problem.

I've had my share of old 1960's Beetles and vans as toys/projects, but have been a pretty die hard Toyota and Honda guy for daily drivers up until I got the Jetta. No way I'm going back to Japanese now.

Pylon, do you know if they flash the ECU when the DSG recall work is done? Wondering if I should schedule a visit to TuneDub and get it reflashed with the Uni chip afterwords.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by WCan_Kid

I've got over 50k kms on a 2009 Jetta highline with the 2.0t that's been chipped since about the 8000 km point. Not a single problem to date and VW had me come in and have the DSG component recall taken care of to get me the 10 year warranty even though I hadn't experienced a problem.

I've had my share of old 1960's Beetles and vans as toys/projects, but have been a pretty die hard Toyota and Honda guy for daily drivers up until I got the Jetta. No way I'm going back to Japanese now.

Pylon, do you know if they flash the ECU when the DSG recall work is done? Wondering if I should schedule a visit to TuneDub and get it reflashed with the Uni chip afterwords.

I don't know. I run an APR chip and a manual transmission, so I just put it in stock mode for servicing. I could ask a tech for you Monday, as I am outta here, got a draft to go win.

[WCan_Kid]

Originally Posted by pylon

I don't know. I run an APR chip and a manual transmission, so I just put it in stock mode for servicing. I could ask a tech for you Monday, as I am outta here, got a draft to go win.

Thanks for the reply. No worries about following up, just wondered if you knew off the top of head.

[FLAME ENVY]

Originally Posted by FLAMESRULE

Bingo. Thats a major reason why I'm looking at swapping to something different (lack of "sportiness" is the other. Not to mention that I think they are starting to price themselves up too much.

But I keep hearing (part urban myth) about the poor reliability of German autos and it makes me nervous.

Get an STi or even a WRX. They are great cars and will appease the "sporting" side. I love Subaru's.

I have owned the following Volkswagens in this order - 1987 Scirroco 16V, 1986 Cabriolet, 1980 Vanagon (Westfalia), 1991 Passat, 1986 Jetta, 1990 Corrado, 1991 Jetta GTX, a highly modified 1990 G60 powered Golf built by RPI and lastly a 2002 Golf GL. I also owned a 1985 Audi Coupe GT and a 1995 90 Quattro. All were very reliable except the Westfalia and Scirroco which I had numerous problems with. I have also owned a 1973 914 2.0L, 1990 911 C4 Targa, 1995 C2 Cabriolet and just sold my 1989 944 Turbo (all the Porsche's were very reliable). I have not had a VW since 2003 simply because I realized there were better cars out there made by Japanese manufacturers that I previously ignored. VW/Audi have very poor overall reliability ratings (compared to the Japanese and Koreans) as the new cars are far more sophisticated than the old ones I used to drive. German cars in general are still plagued with electrical problems where their Japanese counterparts have long got this right. While my VW's and Audi(s) were very reliable I would not buy any current offering from the VAG group.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by FLAME ENVY

German cars in general are still plagued with electrical problems where their Japanese counterparts have long got this right. While my VW's and Audi(s) were very reliable I would not buy any current offering from the VAG group.

I'd exclude Porsche from this list, I don't really hear of them having electrical issues very much (m96 engines on the other hand...). It's also always near the top of the JD Powers surveys as well, although admittedly those survey's don't mean much.

Great set of P-cars btw....especially that 993. I once had the chance to test drive a 96' 993 Cab, and it was one of the best driving experiences of my life.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by pylon

When you buy a previous gen Passat (not so much the new one) or Touareg, even our regular cars, you are getting technology so far beyond what you get in a Japanese vehicle it is not even funny. Plus you get ALOT more of it.

Sorry bud, but you just lost all credibility right there. Your posts are nothing more than extreme VW fanboyism, not actual knowledge.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by zamler

Sorry bud, but you just lost all credibility right there. Your posts are nothing more than extreme VW fanboyism, not actual knowledge.

Sure shot him down with your post filled with great points and solid evidence.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Sure shot him down with your post filled with great points and solid evidence.

I don't have anything to prove, plus I would never make such a ridiculous statement. I'm sure Pylon is narrowly defining what "technology" is as well, it's not only about gadgets.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Table 5

You're expecting 300hp out of the factory from a GTI? I think you're going to be pretty disappointed most of the the time if that's what you're expecting out of a sporty hatchback that's not even the top of the line of the model. You don't even get 300 with a base Cayman or Boxster (yet they are still amazingly fun to drive).

It might not be the fastest thing on the market, but I've always found them more than adequate in the fun dept. I'd rather a car be able to handle well then just be able to beat someone off the line (you know as soon as that Explorer hit a gentle-curve, it rolled a few times and exploded into a fireball).

Yeah, I am expecting that. It's not unreasonable at all. Look at the MazdaSpeed 3, a 135i, STI, a base model V6 Mustang ffs. The list goes on. Yes they handle well, but they're underpowered. Why wouldn't you want more power? They can handle it for sure (see Pylon's car).