VW brand experience - good or bad?

ramcode · August 2003

I have a 2001 VW Golf GLS, and a 2001 Passat GLS. Two lemmons. The Passat is somewhat less problematic. The Golf is a lemmonade.
For the Golf, at 36,000 miles, and two years old, I have already replaced: Battery - 20,000 mi;
rear brakes - 30,000 mi; two window mechanisms; A/C compressor - 12,000 mi; cooling fan - 34,000 mi; and lastly,
the AC evaporator at 36,000 mi, purchase price: $558.00 (Parts are priced like made out of gold, well, gold is not very strong, it happens). Warranty used to be 24,000 - 2 y, now it is 36, 3 y; but parts are very prone to failure.
Don't be lured by the powertrain warranty; it rarely fails in any car. it is the engoine accesories, the windows, the A/C, what fials pretty soon, and belive me, they will make money out of your missery.

fish8 · August 2003

Sorry to hear about your problems with your cars. Can I suggest using the spellcheck feature.

Lemon is with 1 m. Engine does not have an o....... and misery only has 1 s.

uga91 · August 2003

Seriously, though, the brakes are not worthy of mention on this list. It's not news to replace brakes at 30k mi, is it? Batteries are no big deal, either. I have had two cars have batteries die within 2 years of buying them--and I know others with the same issue. I hear it has to do with the cheap batteries some manufacturers use to save costs. Things like the window mechanism and A/C compressor should have been hadled under warranty, thus not costing you anything to fix. Lastly, just because you've had some bad experiences does not make the whole line a prime choice for lemons, now does it?

moparbad · August 2003

Warrranty is now 4 year and 50,000 miles bumper to bumper, not 3 yr 36.
Window regulators had a flaw, VW recognized this, VW fixes the windows under warranty even if the car is not under warranty.
Brakes at 30,000 miles are not a lemmon issue, they are a maintenance item.

steven39 · August 2003

i must admit that i have a golf gls that i purchased about 3 months agoand its been the worst car that i have ever owned. other people that i know who own vw cars like the new beatle and other jettas have had similar problems with thier vehiclesas well. regardless of how long the warranty is its simply not worth the pain and agravation as well as timeto keep going through these problems.i am in a pretty good financial situation to unload this car and get something more reliable. perhaps a honda civic, or the hyndai elantra, just a few examples that come to thought.anyway thank you.

zueslewis · August 2003

VW owners and no grammar and spelling?

lancerfixer · August 2003

I was wondering the same thing, zues...

fish8 · August 2003

I do realize VW has isues with reliability. But, I do hope that the new models coming out in 2004 as '05s get better. I am glad that I have had no problems with my 2002 Jetta GL. Other than an annoying dash rattle. Mechanically it has been VERY sound....BTW I have almost 19K miles.

bretfraz · August 2003

Sounds like a family members experience. Has owned 3 VW's since 1997, a Jetta, a GTI, and a Passat. The Jetta and Passat have been pretty good but the GTI was problematic. The window regulator failed several times and there were a few electronic gremlins and the various rattle.

Considering VW's poor showing in JD Powers recent survey I can understand the frustration.

Who was the #1 European brand in the latest CSI rankings? Yep, Saab. Finished 7th overall. BMW was 10th, MBz and Volvo tied for 11th, Audi was 20th. The 2003 J.D. Power CSI study focuses on experiences with the dealer service department during the first three years of vehicle ownership. The 2003 study includes 37 automotive brands, and is based upon the responses of nearly 106,000 new-vehicle owners and lessees. Saab's score of 892 exceeded both the industry average and the luxury average and jumped 17 points over last years score of 875.

KCRam · August 2003

No picking on spelling, typing, or grammar... they're not a requirement to post here, but civility and respect are.

kcram
Host
Smart Shopper and FWI Message Boards

tboner · August 2003

I hope someone passes along that I believe there is a level of bad spelling and writing that becomes disrespectful.

The occasional misspelled word because of a typo is one thing, but for anyone who currently owns a computer, to not use a spell checker or perhaps dictionary.com is, IMHO disrespectful.

I'm not saying I get everything write (oops right)

but bad spelling and grammar do make it difficult to understand a point.

And as the commercial says, "people judge you by the words you use..." and bad spelling and grammar will weaken your argument as others will consider the apparent level of intellect.

I hope this was respectful enough for others to understand.

TB

rroyce10 · August 2003

..... Thanks for the pointer - dictionary.com .. that's what I nead, nede, neud, need ..!

Terry

prodigalsun · August 2003

Ai thinc yu maide yor poynt. reespekful inuff phur Mi et ouas!

veeDubs Shtink!

betterbydesign · September 2003

You're right, VW aint no SAAB. Saabs are for freaks and they should stick to making airplane engines. To Steven39, sorry to hear you've had problems with VW. All cars have one or two lemons, good luck with you Hyundai? LOL LOL>..

prodigalsun · September 2003

Well, if you look at reliability, you can't go better than a Saab 9-5. 9-3's ain't so bad either.

VW's on the other hand, suck accross the board, except for the Passat, which has been marginal.

lancerfixer · September 2003

"Saabs are for freaks..."
LOL! Then I guess I'm a freak wannabe...I've pretty much decided on a CPO 9-5 for my next car. Fine by me if that makes me a freak. BTW, Saab Scania (which is no longer affiliated with Saab Automobiles; GM owns them now) builds entire airplanes, not engines. Aircraft engines are still handled pretty much by the Big Three (GE, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls Royce.)

audia8q · September 2003

I'm a freak too....I have always been a Saab fan and I am very much enjoying the 2002 9-5 I'm driving right now. Came in trade on a Lincoln LS.....so it's ok to be a freak.

fish8 · September 2003

Betterbydesign seems to like insulting people. I actually think Saab has some unique designs. I think either you love them or you don't. They are a safe car as well.

betterbydesign · September 2003

Apologies fish8 there is no intent to insult, just some dry humour to keep us all going. SAAB design/ergonomics is indeed very unique. SAAB drivers though seem an odd, affluent bunch. Yes, I should of meant airplanes rather than engines....Thank god planes dont need mudguards..(humor man, only dry humor;)

best regards

-betterbydesign

villalobos · October 2003

I have had and still have LOTS of trouble with my GTI. VW quality has been going down big time lately. The CR showed that too. It's a shame because these cars are really fun to drive.

villa

wetwillie · October 2003

Can you be more specific with the problems you've had with the GTI?

villalobos · October 2003

It's a 99.5 model, with a 2.0 liter. I had the starter changed at 10k, a reverse light switch, the catalytic converter at 50k, the infamous windows-in-the-door, a gas pump at 60k, and lately the car has been in the shop for 30 days....
Engine problems which appeared after a few sensor changes to take care of a CEL. VW techline is baffled. waiting for a 'Master tech' to come and look at the car.

Of course, I also have electrical issues (like the alarm going off here and there, the locking/taking down the windows with the key not working when the weather is hot).
For a 4 year old car, that's a lot of things if you ask me....

villa

firstbuyer1 · October 2003

I am have left a $500 deposit with a VW dealer for a 03' Jetta GLS. After coming home and reading the bad reviews about the Jetta GLS - I am worried that I have meade the wrong decesion.

Have tried the Mazda 5 and the Jetta. Please help there must be some VW owners there with good experiences with the Jetta.

I will need to call the VW dealer tommorrow to tell him that I am backing out and hold the cheque.

Am relying on opinions from here since I do not have any other source of reviews.

Must add that I am looking for a reliable car that gives me 5-6 years of trouble free operation, since I do not have the big $$$.

Thanks and please send me your responses soon.

corvette · October 2003

First, I wouldn't advise looking at only one source of information. That said, I have not gotten trouble free operation out of my 1999 Jetta. I'm sure the newer ones have improved, but it's still hard to say how much batter a 2003 model will fare than a 1999 model at their respective 5-6 year birthdays. For what it's worth, I'm looking to replace mine with a car with a better reputation. The new VW's have a 4 year, 50,000 mile comprehensive warranty, but a warranty doesn't mean you won't have trouble with the car. In years 5 and 6, you're on your own. By the way, I love my Jetta, but it's been a real moneypit.

anonymousposts · October 2003

Those Protege's are reliable if nothing else. It is a much safer bet reliability-wise than the Jetta. In the end, buy the one you want but the Protege will be the cheaper, more reliable alternative.

richards38 · October 2003

I had a '91 Mazda Protegé for 12.5 years and didn't drive much, but it was solid and trouble free. I'd buy another one if I wanted a compact car again. I know someone who has a '90 Protegé with 270,000 miles on it--no trouble until a head gasket blew at 240,000--car fixed and still in use. If you get a Protegé, make sure you get a LOW price deal because the Protegé is being discontinued (it'll be called the Mazda 3 for 2004) and will be an all-new car. It looks great--see pics on the web. BTW, I sold my Mazda and replaced it with an '04 Accord EX-L because I wanted something heavier and safer. For a mid-sized 4 cyl. sedan, I think the Honda Accord has everything else beat........Richard

landru2 · October 2003

I wouldn't get all excited by reviews you read at sites like this. People that love their car rarely take the time to say so on chat boards. Whereas everyone with any problem, real or imagined, uses boards like this to vent.

villalobos · October 2003

Judging with my experience, and experiences of friends, you will most probably not have a trouble free 4-5 years with your Jetta. Quality is an issue for VW right now. The cars are nice, fun to drive, but NOT reliable.
This will not be a problem if your dealership is good, but I would try to learn about them too. VW dealers have a bad reputation as well.....

Good luck with your car purchase.

villa

perna · October 2003

during the 4 years I owned my Jetta. Complete and total lemon. Everything electrical died in that car, at least once. Thankfully, I had manual roll-up windows. Before I start my list, make sure you either have keyless entry or live in a warm climate. VW locks are beyond horrible, and will freeze up so hard you need to carry around one of those "lock deicers" AT ALL TIMES. I forgot mine a couple times, and ended up kicking the side of my brand new car to "manually deice" the lock. One one of many adventures to the service bay, I ran into a woman who was getting her door handles replaced for the FIFTH TIME because the locks would just croak.

The grandest thing that happened to my car is when the battery disintegrated all over the engine compartment, destroying hoses and belts galore. That one was under warranty, and good thing, it was a multi-thousand-dollar repair.

Amount of times the car was towed from my house: 3. Starter, ignition, battery (this is when it "ate" itself all over, so no amount of jumping would have helped that bad boy).

Funniest thing that happened with that car is when the VW dealer was fixing the cruise control (died for the second time), somehow the radio just wouldn't "come back" to life. They had to replace it.

Once the car started, but the steering wheel wouldn't "unlock" no matter what I did. This was about 3 years into my ownership of the car and had had about enough, so I just went nuts on it. Fixed it somehow, maybe German cars only understand aggression.

Under warranty, they replaced 4 O2 sensors (which caused the "check engine" light to come on). I paid for one myself ($120) once the car was out of warranty, and 6 months later it died again. I drove around with that stupid light on for the last 6 months I had the car.

The A/C had to be fixed because for some reason the smell coming out of it smelled like rotten yogurt. I consider this a minor issue.

The alternator! Ha ha, that wacky thing. Died, when I had had the car nearly a full year.

I think I'm just going to stop right there, I'm sure some good person out there reading this is already calling "shenanigans" on my sad tale.

The car that preceded it, a 1989 Ford Escort Pony, got me through college like a champ. Never failed to get me to class. Unfortunately the WEEK before I was to begin my final semester, some dude in a K-car came out of nowhere and ran right into the side of me on campus. Poor Escort was totalled out by insurance, so being the naive 20-something I was, went to look at those cool Volkswagens. I leased a brand new Jetta for 4 years (something I don't recommend doing, BTW, but that's a whole other topic), and was in love with the car for about two weeks. It drove like a dream, and was FAST compared to my Escort. I ended up turning in my lease about 4 months early just because I was tired of my then-girlfriend giving me rides in her ratty Ford Tempo.

Oh, I ended up fighting with VW, on all things, the CD changer. I had it replaced by the dealer 3-4 times before I just demanded a refund on the thing. And they gave it to me, probably after looking at the car's service history.

I'm serious when I say that I wouldn't rely on a VW if I got one for free. I have friends and acquaintences who are in love with VWs and think they're cute, or flawless German machinery or whatever, and despite my pleadings they buy them anyway. One guy had to have his Jetta towed THREE DAYS after taking delivery, because the coil pack was defective. He bought from the same dealer I bought my Nissan from, and my salesdude was full-up with VW horror stories like that.

My Jetta Trek was a 1996 model, but I just bought my Maxima this past March and apparantly VW has learned NOTHING. It's insane. I would buy a Kia before a VW, and that is God's honest truth.

fish8 · October 2003

It sounds like you went through hell in that Jetta. But, I don't think it's fair to compare a '96 Jetta with a 2004 Jetta. They are different cars. As I have said before, VW's do not make the most reliable cars, but they have improved since 1996. You would buy a Kia instead of a new VW? You apparently have not done much research on Kia's. You would probably say the same thing about Daewoos huh?

perna · October 2003

when I talked to the salesguy who sold me my Nissan, he says that new VWs being towed back to the dealer are a common sight, as well as his customers coming back to him and telling him what a piece of junk he'd sold them. Therefore, I conclude that today's Jettas are no higher quality than my '96.

What's funny is that it is the EXACT same problems. All electrical; if you look back over my post, the only mechanical thing I complained about were the locks. The drivetrain in that Jetta was a work of art, the engine perfect. I'm sure my Jetta is still running somewhere, if the wiring harness didn't catch on fire by now.

One thing I did neglect to mention in my early post is that a friend of mine *just* bought an '03 Jetta, and in the two months he's had it he hasn't had any problems. Hopefully he proves me wrong. It's not a gamble I'd take again, though.

And I'm quite serious, I'd specifically buy a Kia Sorento over a VW Toureg. Or an Optima over a Jetta. This is all severely hypothetical, I wouldn't touch either brand. All quality rankings flush these two to the bottom of the latrine, and deservedly so.

corvette · October 2003

That's funny, the (many) woes with my 1999 model (new body style) have been split roughly equally between mechanical and electrical problems.

richards38 · October 2003

I'm always amused by a defense that, "well, the 1996 model was a problem, but the new one's great--blah, blah, blah...." because you'd think that "way back in 1996" was in the Dark Ages. Well, in 1966 I bought a new Ford Fairlane--fortunately a company car for my exclusive use that I didn't buy with my own dough. The car was horrible and was in for repairs 13 times during the first 2 or 3 months I had it--total junk! We young folks at that time thought we were pretty far advanced with respect to automobiles that had been around for about 70 years. The sins of that Ford were unforgivable and resulted from incompetent engineering, thoughtless parts procurement, and sloppy manufacturing. Yes, there will always be an occasional lemon, but widespread problems should have been preventable many decades ago. I think the 4 most dangerous words in the English laguage are: This Time It's Different.....Richard

fish8 · October 2003

You made my point.

It would be incorrect to state that since a 1966 Ford Fairlane was a total piece of junk that any Ford product would be the same in 2003. Technology advancements from 1966 until 2003 are much greater than the advancements from 1930 until 1966. I am not saying that newer cars are great and are as reliable as appliances, but I do believe that it is unfair to say that if someone had problems with a car manufacturer almost 10 years ago that most likely the newer models are as bad. A '96 Jetta is a totally different car than a 2003 and based on a new platform. Though the car may have reliability issues(which I agree it does), one shouldn't base a buying decision on old data. An informed shopper should ask those who currently own the model, read magazine and online reviews and look in Consumer Reports.

richards38 · October 2003

I suppose it's a virtue to forgive (even Ford) but auto manufacturers have been able to make trouble-free cars for decades. When a manufacturer fails to do that given today's advances in technology and too many customers endure the same kinds of problems, forgiving isn't easy. So, five years from now people will insist that, "Gee, that VW, Ford (or whatever) in 2003 was a mess, but this is 2008 and everything is different now.".....Richard

moparbad · October 2003

I've owned three late model VW's. Two Golf and one Jetta. Washer nozzle on rear window needed to be adjusted on one, window trim cracked and had to be replaced on one, and the last one had the infamous falling windows which was fixed under warranty.
Not only are they not lemons, they are a joy to drive.
Will the next VW I buy be different? I hope not. VW has great vehicles.
I never want one of the VW's that I here about on Edmunds that are constantly in the shop. Good thing I can not find one;)

fish8 · October 2003

Good points and I agree with you. Car manufacturers have no excuse not to produce cars that are reliable. Of course, all car makers will have their share of lemons. But, why are Honda's (for the most part) so reliable and others (VW) tend to be more prone to mechanical problems.......is it the engineering? I would love an answer.

corvette · October 2003

It seems as if many of VW's part designs are unnecessarily complicated.

cordialtea · October 2003

Hey All,
Well I'm still fuming and VW up here says they take my car in tomorrow (wednesday) and try and fix my door/ waterleak. It really sucks to be driving and little drips fall down into the door speakers, and on the hand rail inside when its suppose to water tight!

I can understand if the car was like 20 years old but my car is only 6 months old!

The One guy here treated me like an idiot because I'm female and I had to go get my husband to go with me. One more Screw up and oh head office in Montreal is going to get an earful and a half then I'll go to court if it comes to it, I'm not messing around anymore.

Cordial

Well my car went into the shop recently for a water condisation in the trunk and its a brand new 2003 VW golf. It was letting moisture in around the rear windsheild wiper that is the last thing that has happened.

My Rear Emblem the rubber was cracking around it it had to be replaced and I just bought this car in April this year. They scratched the paint taking the emblem off.

Paint chip on the right side trim took it in to be repaired and the paint guy left little bubbles in the paint.

The foam rubber above the door catches all the rain when you open it and it lets drops come in on the inside I was told by the dealership that its a design flaw nothing they can do.

Can you tell I'm Not Happy!

Cordial

boaz47 · November 2003

VWs and I have heard the old saying, this time they are better. Truth is they are better but not as good as some other cars. We have been trained to believe the service periods are purely a suggestion but with VW that simply isn't the case. If you keep them serviced as you should more than likely your problems will be closer to what other car owners have.

I do have a big disclaimer however. My problems were almost always with parts and service. I don't believe people buying VWs are thinking they will get total dependability. They do believe they will get better styling and better handling. What they don't expect is that all the escaped [non-permissible content removed] leaders from World war Two are hiding in VW parts departments and warehouses. I hope they do improve someday. JD Powers studies haven't indicated that yet but one of the things that drove me away from the new Passat was the very thought I might someday have to visit a dealer for service or parts. When I had my old VWs I found the only satisfying solution was a good qualified independent VW service mechanic. I don't know of one close to where I live so I had to pass on a car I thought looked pretty good. I got my wife a Focus ZTS. Do I believe it will be a lot more dependable that a Passat? No but the Ford parts and service people aren't always on the bottom of every survey. That is just my take on VW.

andys120 · November 2003

That most of the really bad problems seem to come from VW that are not built in Germany. It's a mystery to me why the German makers canno0t translate the quality of their German-built cars into those made in Mexico, Brazil, or even the USA.

For the record my Fatherland-built '98 A4 continues to run well and reliably at 106k miles and counting.

Personally I would avoid any VW, BMW or Mercedes product made this side of the pond (there are many) but I wouldn't think twice about a unit with a VIN starting with a "W" (indicating Made in Germany).

eneth · November 2003

It takes a lot of effort to produce a vehicle outside the home country of the manufacturer - it's a daunting challenge that so far, only the Japanese-based companies have managed to succeed at. At that, they all started small, learned quickly, and adapted to local production slowly.

VW failed with US manufacturing, and seems not to have much of a handle on Latin American manufacture, either. BMW and Mercedes have both taken black eyes in quality with US produced models. Hyundai failed once in Canada (it produced the first-generation Sonata in Quebec) - it'll be interesting to see if Hyundai can succeed on its second try in the US South.

It is interesting to note that a signficant proportion of the VWs produced in Mexico and Brazil, use locally-sourced parts - it may be that VW hasn't chosen its suppliers very well. Remember that the Japanese brought a lot of their domestic suppliers with them to North America, something VW has not done much of.

andys120 · November 2003

Had a similar topic going in which he impugned the quality of German-made autos.
This individual later stated a topic about how
useless the 100k warranty on his Kia Sorento was because it couldn't make up for the aggravation of constantly returning to the dealer to have his
lemon repaired. Well duh!

Reddogs if you're still out there d'ya think there are worse things than overly complex, expensive to repair German brands?

-satisfied owner of two VW and two Audi automobiles.

eneth · November 2003

Quality and reliability need not go hand in hand. There's no doubt that even the VWs produced in Mexico and Brazil are well-assembled - appealing in design.

They're just not very reliable -- and VW made a very major mistake with the engine ignition coil pack failure issues on most of its cars. It should have owned up to the problem long before it was forced to - and it created a lot of customer ill-will by not doing so.

VW has forecast a large drop in sales for 2004 in North America - and has said it won't increase incentives to boost sales. Some of that sales drop is no doubt due to the aging of its best-selling Jetta -- but not raising incentives is important from a perception standpoint, if it hopes to move itself upmarket. So is improving reliability - which so far VW has shown it hasn't been able to do.

It wasnt't that long ago that VW was almost forced out of the US market - it did clean up its act for a while, but seems to have backpedaled. I will guess one of the most avid watches of what VW does next will be another automaker which is currently enjoying a second honeymoon with US buyers -- Hyundai, which like VW almost expired in North America because of the shoddy quality of its cars.

wonderwall · November 2003

I just traded a 1997 Jetta for a 2003 Mazda Protégé 5. My experiences with the Jetta were not terribly bad from 34,000- 65,000 miles, but as i approached and crossed 70,000 miles things began to go haywire, despite having followed the maintenance schedule religiously. The only problems I had had up to that point were the moulding falling off the doors, a rattle from the heat shield, a vacuum hose leak that triggered the check engine light, had leaking coolant flanges,cruise control worked intermittently, and, last but certainly not least- partiularly here in Alabama- my AC failed to the tune of $1300 at 35,000 miles(I never fixed). As I went past 65,000 miles though it became apparent that my transmission was on the verge of dying an early death (to the tune of $3000), my rotors were warped, my suspension was in dire need of an overhaul,the paint was fading and the valves were beginning to rattle incessantly. I was also getting gas and oil fumes through the vents to the point I never drove the without having at least two windows down. I had an excellent independent VW mechanic who told me to dump it unless I wanted to put thousands of bucks into it.

In the end, I traded for a nice reliable Japanese car that has-I feel- as much personality, if not more, than my Jetta or the current Golf or Jetta (both of which I looked at). It's more fun to drive (better handling) and everything works and there are no rattles, etc. The performance is better and the gas mileage is SIGNIFICANTLY better.

As for those who harp on the problematic VWs being Brazilian or Mexican in origin, note that all part failures I had were German made parts. I think a lot of the "German VWs are superior to Mexican VWs" is rooted in racist attitudes towards Latin Americans. It's merely anecdotal, but I know someone who has two VWs, a German made Jetta wagon and a Mexican built Jetta sedan. Guess which one rattles more, has had more hardware and integrity issues and mechanical & electrical failures? The German wagon, which is newer and has lower miles. The Mexican Jetta has almost been flawless... Just my 2 cents on that issue...

eneth · November 2003

It is interesting to note that all of the European manufacturers who have tried their hand at making cars in North America have had major problems with quality - starting with Renault and VW in the 1970s and 1980s, and extending through BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the 1990s.

The devil is in the details, or so they say - and the Europeans have had a tough time of mastering the details with overseas production.

andys120 · November 2003

I certainly meant to cast no racial aspersions on Latin Americans in my criticism of Mexican and Brazilian-built VW as compared to German-built ones. In fact I stated that VW like other German
makers have been enable to match their German-made counterparts with cars produced here in the US.

Facts are facts. I've alreadyu stated that I have no idea why there's such a marked quality difference. Perhaps Eneth is correct that the European makers, despite years of experience producing cars obverseas haven't been able to systematize their production methods for export production as well as the Japanese makers.

I've traveled in Latin America including Brazil, Argentina and Chile as well as Bolivia and bear no sterereotype notions of what people there are like.

eneth · November 2003

It should be noted that some of the worst quality ever seen from VW came not from Puebla Mexico, but from Westmoreland, Pennsylvania - that plant, originally built for Chrysler to produce the Omni and Horizon, produced the Rabbit for a while - at a time when VW became synonymous with junk.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2003

Our family experience with recent VWs (5 of various products) is:

Passats (2)---excellent service from a '98 and 2003

Jettas (2)-- one buy back, second one just okay

A "new" Bug Turbo (1) --very good now but a shakey start for the first 2,000 miles or so.

eneth · November 2003

The issue with the windows falling into the doors and the failed coil packs both made quite a bit of negative publicity for VW - largely because they either immobilize the car or present an enormous inconvenience to owners (a friend of mine had the window regulator in his Jetta fail on a rainy day).

VW must improve its customer service - if it is to have any hope of succeeding at the Audi-BMW-Mercedes level to which it aspires with the Phaeton and Touareg.

corvette · November 2003

1999 New Jetta GLS VR6 - here are the problems I had in 88,000 miles and 4 years of ownership:
Dash rattle
Sunroof molding
Intake manifold changeover valve (twice)
Trunk light switch
Window regulator
Rear center seatbelt
Coolant reservoir
Automatic transmission (replaced due to noise)
Right outer CV boot (twice)
Broken glovebox
Dead battery
Right rear wheel bearing
V-belt tensioner
Broken sunvisor
Broken dome light

Others have had a worse experience, but mine was plenty painful. I now have a 2002 Altima 2.5S.

VW brand experience - good or bad?

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