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Comments
It reminded me some British saying about Lucas electrical components. "Lucas invented darkness".
And another one from U.K. whereas owning a Jaguar means you have to live in a house with live-in mechanic. Those mechanics claim that if the car is not dripping a bit of oil here and there, there is something wrong with that car.
In my opinion, if you take care of your car from the start, you may eliminate many of these problems down the line.
It is also true that most Japanese cars are totally reliable but on the other hand many of them are "boring", both the styling and no "fun" to drive.
I'll buy what I like first and if it has great reliability...even better. But I spent several days in an '09 Corolla rental awhile back and honestly I don't know how they sell ANY of those things let along upwards of best selling car. It has to be sold on reputation alone because that's a horrible little car (and FYI Mr. Hertz...it's not a midsize).
But what is still scary about VW is that people have problems right out of the box. This is not good, and this is what IMO, really hurts the reputation of any automaker.
If the "initial quality" rating is low in JD, or the problems per 100 is high under 30K in CR, that's not a good sign.
I do believe VW is getting better with initial quality---but really, they have had long enough to square this away.
This is why I want a new VW TDI and why I don't want a VW TDI. Very appealing to what I need in a car (looks, driving experience, interior feel, mpg) but not having a VW dealer in my town AND hearing they have issues right out of the box makes me nervous as a floozy in church. What's worse than buying a brand new car and it breaking early? Not having a dealer to fix it in town. More inconvenience. Someone help put my fears to rest and tell me about your trouble free tdi over the last year or so - especially you Europeans that have had this car for a few years now.
That is the purpose of these pages where you can get first hand experience from owners and problem solving suggestions.
The decision which car to buy is your own and it is a very personal matter. There is no such thing as the "best"car.
Unfortunately, buying a new car is an emotional matter for most people. Some, like myslef, spend a lot of time on research and only then decide on a new car purchase. Edmunds, among others, is a great resource in this matter.
Why do you say unfortunately? I like to look at, read about and drive cars that is why I am a member of the these forums. I'm sure you mean buying only with emotions and not considering all the research and I would agree. But even if someone does purchase only with emotion that's fine if they have the money and that is what is important to them.
I agree with Mr. Shiftright, having to take(or God forbid have to have towed) a new car back to the dealer several times to repair something bad/not did right at the factory or for a recall puts a bad taste in my mouth. Kind of like waiting for the other shoe to drop. I know that many new cars have adjustments and repairs but it does matter how many. If VW has a lot more than others on a statistical basis that means something to me. Even if under warranty, time is money!
On another note, does anyone know why Edmunds would put the "2011" Jetta out to the right on this page? Didn't the 2010s just start arriving at the dealerships???
Well, hold out for the 4 cylinder diesels BMW is bringing over and putting in the 1-series. Although I guess that eliminates the cost like an American car thing, that is.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/05/bmw-20l-diesel.html
I take that a bit further.... I know my offer long before I enter the dealership with my folder of research. I make it clear that there are many other dealerships that I can call. (Yes, I have purchased a car over the phone... I gave them my desired vehicle specs and they said they could have it on the lot by Wednsday.)
I dont cut them any slack... When the salesman tells me he will have to take my "offer" to his manager... I tell him to bring his manager out here because obviously I am talking to the wrong person.
If all else fails.... WALK OUT!... I guarantee they will be calling you within 3 days. At that point, you can often have them DELIVER the car to your driveway for your initial offer. (do the paperwork on YOUR kitchen table.)
Your methods generally work but not when buying a car that is in high demand where there might be a waiting list with customers who have paid deposits. Case and point VW Jetta Tdi SportWagen. I've been there - I've done that!
30K miles later and the car has been running just fine, no further issues. I would imagine just about any new vehicle could have problems, just glad mine was rather minor and fixed quickly.
To more specifically answer your question... most of the bells-n-whistles can be programmaticly changed using VagCom.
I think I prefer my Subaru in the regard.... most of the 'programming' can be done with the available buttons within the car. For example, I did not like the seatbelt chime constantly going off when not buckled. This chime can be turned off by buckle-unbuckle 10 times..... Subaru has all kinds of "tricks" like this if you 'know the code'.
Not sure if you can have it disabled by the dealer because it's a safety warning. There is a detailed description in your manual (rather confusing) but I could not find a clear instructions if it can be disabled or not.
There are several ways how the display is controlled/programmed, depending on your model and option. Some you can program with buttons on your steering wheel some you can control by the wiper column buttons.
What you will always see in the "Learn More" box on the right of our discussion pages is the latest model for which we have information available. If you click on it, you'll find information for previous years linked towards the bottom of the page.
In other words, the Learn More box is your link to not just the MY that is displayed, but also to previous years.
Hope this helps.
Very, very few car dealerships will let a deal get done without a manager signing off on it. There is no need to be rude that is just the way things are done so of course the salesperson is going to have confer with a manager.
Also I would be careful taking you folder full of research with you. The first thing a salesperson thinks when he sees a customer with a folder full of research is that they will be a painful painful sale. I am not saying it is right but it is just the first reaction. In my experience the people with that folder are usually looking at too many cars and have gotten themselves confused on all of them. They have done so much research that they have overwhelmed themselves.
Have I had easy sales with people when they had a folder in their hands? Sure a few times but most of the time we spend a tone of time with the customer and nothing happens. They have four other cars to look at first before they make a decision or they need to get prices from other dealerships or whatever.
I am not saying you do any of that but that is what happens a lot of times. I remember one woman in particular years ago looking at a used RX300 we had. She had a folder with KBB, Edmunds, NADA print outs for 10 different RX300s. She had the details for those 10 different cars and carfaxes for those 10 different cars.
She had to look at all 10 before she could make a purchase. A week after she drove my RX300 she called back saying that after careful consideration our price really was the best price and our car was the nicest so she would like to buy our car for 1,000 dollars less then the price I had worked out for her a week earlier. I had to tell her that the RX300 she had looked at was sold two days previously and reminded her that I did call her twice in the past week but hadn't heard back from her.
On a car like the TDI where demand is high and supply is low you could come in with your offer and maybe it is a bit lean but potentially doable. The dealership will try and bump you because hey that is what we do. If you walk and they don't stop you and let you go then guess what the car might be gone when you call back a day later.
It happens all the time.
The last time I purchased a new car I walked in the dealership, handed the salesman I had conducted a test drive with a couple of days before a note with the amount I would pay. I told him to take it to his boss and see if he will sell me the car for that amount. He came back in about two minutes and said we have a deal. Did I pay too much you ask? Well, I got over $5000 off on $22.5k Mazda6 which is way, way below invoice. The whole thing took about 5 minutes.
Why in the world would the manufacturer offer all those colors and options in the broschure if they did not expect buyers to come in with THEIR SPECIFIC VEHICLE SPECS. and an offer?
I would not say I am a "painful" buyer (to the salesman)... quite the contrary - the last vehicle I bought, after the 'dealing', the salesman commented that he wished he had more like me.
I presented my 'case' reguarding what I was willing to spend and had printouts 'proving' that my offer was reasonable. (I was essentually offering him 4% over his cost)
Like I said before... I dont play the game, instead I tell them that up front so we can get down to talking dollars. (And I have a check in-hand backing up my offer in full)
Basicly, I am not trying to take food off the salesmans kitchen table... I just want to talk a reasonable deal and be done with it.
Instead, with VW, your dealer can get on his computer and do one of the following
1) Locate the vehicle you desire at another dealership.
2) Locate the vehicle you desire on a ship destined to USA and 'earmark' it for you.
3) Notify the factory that if they build a vehicle that meets your requirements, to ship it to your dealership. (may be 3-6 month wait)
Like I said, I have done my research and KNOW what my options are when I decide to make an offer. In my case, all I had to do was telephone the dealership and using option#1 above, they located the vehicle I wanted at another dealership and had it on his lot 3 days later.
BTW: It was a TDI with every option and color EXACTLY as I created it from the broschure.... at the price I offered - all done over the phone.
Incase you are wondering... I get EXACTLY what I want because I will be living with it for over 10 years.... heck the VW warantee is 12years/unlimited milage.
Besides... ORDERING a car is often cheaper than buying off the lot because the dealership has a GUARANTEED buyer when the vehicle arrives at their lot. (It costs a delaership to 'store' their stock on the lot and that cost is reflected in what you pay.)
Tull
During the service the tech. called me in to show me a small problem that I reported regarding the window molding. In the trash can by my TDI I noticed several empty bottles of Castrol Syntec (black bottles). The tech. said those bottles are what was used on my car. I informed him this oil is not for the 09 TDI's. After conferring with the service manager the oil was changed to the 507 spec (gold bottle).
When the job was finished I noticed that the invoice showed that 6 bottles of oil was used. I checked the dip stick, and realized that my TDI was grossly overfilled. I had the service manager check my car again. He had it brought back into the shop and the excess oil was removed.
I would expect most aspects of handling to become significantly worse after a "hack" suspension modification such as adding spacers.
Even so, it seems to be worth it for some drivers.
I have a list what is to be done and when so there is no conflict with the warranty.
I use a local quick lube/oil place for one of my vehicles. I try to go when it is slow and I end getting two or three guys working on my car while I stand outside the bay and talk with them. Most of them are laid off mechanics of some sort and really know what they are doing. They always check their computer for the proper oil and amount per the vehicle. Actually, I'm quite impressed with the job they do. However, when(or if) employment gets a lot better and they start hiring the 18 yr old druggies again I will be a lot more leary.
For me, manual work on my car is a sort of stress relief. Not to mention a personal satisfaction when I can do some more complicated tasks, like replacing a dash board and instrument panel on my wife's 09 Honda Civic, installing trailer hitch elec. module and installing front under-the-seat drawers and 2 extra storage bins on my 09 VW Jetta Tdi - those came without installation instructions.
Tools needed: T-25 and T-30 torx (to remove 9 x T-25 and 3 x T-30 screws that hold the plastic undercoat). 32 mm or 1-1/4 box wrench to remove top oil filter housing (you will need an universal 1/2" joint, 5" extension 1/2" drive because it's a tight spot to get that pesky oil filter housing off). 19 mm box wrench to remove oil plug.
Parts needed: Mann oil filter HU719/7X and 4 quarts of Castol Gold 507 00 synthetic oil.
To reset the oil change interval display in your info.display (without going to the Dealer or without the need of the VAG COM re-setting instrument): Keys out of the ignition press and hold in trip odometer button 0.0 on your right. While still holding this button, insert key into ignition and put to the "on" position (without starting the car). Display will read "service now". Let go off "0.0" button and depress "m" or "min" button on the left side of the display. This will re-set the service reminder.
Those handy enough can tackle this in less than 1/2 hour!
Don't forget to recycle the used oil!
Happy motoring!
Thanks for your help!
I have to say the seats are just "right" for my likings - not too soft and not too firm. Some people complain (shown in various Edmunds reviews) that "heavy" people do not feel comfortable because the seat back is "too narrow". Since I am not one of them, I cannot judge that.