[sek929]

Originally Posted by finboy 

If by "every car" you mean everyone except GM, Ford and Chrysler/Jeep, then yeah.

Jeeps outclass most Japanese sedans when it comes to longevity. I've known several people with Grand Cherokees well over 200K miles with little to no maintenance. The 4.0L I-6 used in many Jeeps is as tough as engines come.

Just yesterday I saw a Toyota Camry broken down on the highway so don't think that Japanese cars are infallible.

My VW was a POS, it could cut diamonds in the twistys, but every time I brought it in to the shop I was dropping over 700 bucks. Blech, good riddance. The vehicle I got after that was a Nissan Pickup with 120K that ran perfect no matter how much I beat the **** out of it. I NEVER replaced anything on that truck sans brakes.

My sister had an 01 Beetle. She replaced the entire gauge cluster, stereo, power mirror knobs and power window buttons were alway breaking/coming unstuck.

VWs make pretty solid engines and trannys, it's the details that end up failing on VWs, and as far as I'm concerned the details is what makes a car sale.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by Railroader 

I know a woman who works for the VW service parts distribution for this region.

She has told me that she will never own a VW.

There's far too much commonality on which parts fail on certain models and availability and pricing are horrendous. According to her.

Me, I like how a VW drives and feels, but... there are a lot of other good cars that are cheaper to own if you ask me.

Heh heh heh...yeah I know a guy who works at a Volkswagon dealership, and he says the same thing. Great cars, but too many problems and too expensive to fix.

greg

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

Through grey market, perhaps, but good luck finding a gas station that has refined diesel. It's only recently (as in about 3 months ago) that refined diesel is actually going on sale in the U.S.

I could be wrong, but I don't know of a single U.S diesel vehicle that gets 50 to 100 mpg.

1. You're right about the diesels.

2. Geo Metro.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by natural1 

We've got three new VW MkVs in our family (GTI, Rabbit, Rabbit) with 30,000 combined miles and NO problems.

Oh my god! Like, no way! Are you serious? 30,000 WHOLE miles? Combined? Holy **** dude. That has to be a record or something for having no problems!

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by finboy 

If by "every car" you mean everyone except GM, Ford and Chrysler/Jeep, then yeah.

Hi Finboy. I'm here to tell you you don't know what you're talking about. My neon had over 100k. It ran fine. My mercury had 140k. It ran fine. I know of a licoln with over 300k. I know of a mercury with over 200k. And as for jeep, you're seriously deficient in knowledge. The 4 liter straight six that jeep was using up until last year was a seriously reliable engine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Straight-6_engine

So was chrysler's slant six, for that matter. I saw a 1970 dodge dart with 230,000 miles on it's original slant six.

[centerchannel68]

Originally Posted by LeftWingLock 

I have a 2004 Passat and even though it only has about 18,000 miles on it I haven't had any problems with it at all. The only downside so far has been the $60+ synthetic oil changes

Why do you pay that much? I use synthetic everything in my SVX, and oil changes only cost me about... 20 bucks in oil, and 5 for a filter.

[kikkoman]

It's ashame that such nice cars are not reliable. I found this review of VW's new Eos convertible in USA today. Basically the reviewer had nice things to say about it except for the fact that it broke down at the gas station

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...1-18-eos_x.htm

[LeftWingLock]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

Why do you pay that much? I use synthetic everything in my SVX, and oil changes only cost me about... 20 bucks in oil, and 5 for a filter.

Because I don't have the time, tools, or desire to do it myself.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by LeftWingLock 

Because I don't have the time, tools, or desire to do it myself.

Sometimes it's cheaper to have someone else do it. Time is a very valuable commodity.

Pretty much the only reason I do work myself is if there's a new tool in it for me. Now home repairs are another story all together!

[quattrokid73]

VW's reliability is average, with Audi's being slightly better. The discontinuing of the 1.8T was a great choice as lots of people had problems with that motor. So far, the 2.0T FSI seems to be a much more fun engine with far less issues. With the new model line-ups for both manufacturers, they worked out a good amount of technical problems. They are of course not comparable reliability-wise to Toyota/Lexus or Honda/Acura, buut in the grand scheme of things, they aren' bad. The GTI and the A3 will offer a great driver experience though, as they have many accolades from top magazines and sites. The GTI was ranked car of the year by Automobile Magazine, which is one of the more reputable sources.

Id sell my soul for an A3 or a GTI. Also, those engines will reliably accept tuning software from GIAC or Revo, etc, boosting 50hp/50ftlbs, making them very quick.

[natnabour]

Originally Posted by quattrokid73 

VW's reliability is average, with Audi's being slightly better. The discontinuing of the 1.8T was a great choice as lots of people had problems with that motor. So far, the 2.0T FSI seems to be a much more fun engine with far less issues. With the new model line-ups for both manufacturers, they worked out a good amount of technical problems. They are of course not comparable reliability-wise to Toyota/Lexus or Honda/Acura, buut in the grand scheme of things, they aren' bad. The GTI and the A3 will offer a great driver experience though, as they have many accolades from top magazines and sites. The GTI was ranked car of the year by Automobile Magazine, which is one of the more reputable sources.

Id sell my soul for an A3 or a GTI. Also, those engines will reliably accept tuning software from GIAC or Revo, etc, boosting 50hp/50ftlbs, making them very quick.

Agreed. I've had a 2003 GTI 1.8T for 3 years now. The only major problem I experienced was the A/C, which was an electrical problem. I wouldn't give it up for anything other than the fact that the new GTI's have better engines.

I used to drive a Toyota Corolla for years, and they just don't compare. From the handling to the speed, I like knowing that there is a solid mass I'm sitting in.

I have heard some horror stories regarding parts breaking down, windows dropping, turbo never kicking in, etc etc. But even the people who got rid of their original cars, went back and bought another VW or Audi. *shrug*

You always take a risk when buying any new/used car, and if the car you first got didn't work for you, then go for another.

[quattrokid73]

I also forgot to mention that Audi service centers are generally very good. Audi Willow Grove and Holberts Audi near me are both very helpful and honest. I've heard the same about Audi dealerships up and down the East Coast. Of cours, labor is overpriced, but that's expected. For simple things, you may wish to get them done somewhere else, but for my Audi, it deserves the best for serious issues or ANYTHING that might do damage to the exterior or interior (since they are so nice).

[Doofy]

The actual answer: It depends where they're made.

Getting it out of the factory in Germany? Reliable.
Getting it out of Mexico or South Africa? Not reliable.