Post edited 05/23/05 5:05 AM by Chombi

and how do i know that Scions last? because they have been out overseas for longer than they have over here, and the west coast got them approx. two years before we did (we being us on the east coast). and above all they are a toyota product. go find me someone that has a bad story about a toyota product, that is hard to come by. toyota is probably the best Japanese car manufacture out there, hell the Camry is the best selling mid sized sedan (the one the jetta is trying to constantly be like, or measure up to) year after year. so um yeah i would say that they are reliable, and they have the track record to prove it.

and go off on every little detail? go look around, everyone on here has similar complaints…..and running issues aren’t “”little details”" to me and a bunch on this site, maybe to you cause you are a VW enthusist, but for the rest of the world that just wants a reliable car and bought these things based on what they were before, are greatly disappointed. VW is letting the American market down in many ways. snazzy commercials will only bail water on the titanic for so long, but eventually it is going to sink.

and you said that i have worked on “”ten cars a day”" damn that’s quick, but 5 at most…….and you just proved my point, if i work at a dealer i DO see more than you….so a couple of your friends got lucky, i am sure it is bound to happen….hell i bet you can find an old timer than had an old Jag and said it was freaking reliable for him the entire time he owned it…..so he is among that lucky 10% while the other 90% had nothing but issue after issue with their ride. look around, the majority of the vw owners are complaining, the rest are enthusists trying their best to defend the POS VW/Audi has become. you are among the minority, get use to it.

Post edited 05/20/05 6:34 AM by you_moron

and yes any car will last if you maintain it or throw enough money at it……but my point with the brakes was that they do not last due to inferior quality. heck my 97 GTI was on it’s second set at 30k, went to brembo (i think that was the brand, don’t quote me) instead of stock and i got easily twice the life out of them vs. stock. and i was purposely hard on the brembo’s to see if they would give me more life than stock, as i am a fan of rocking all things OEM on a car…….and the exhaust has a very short life span, especially here on the east coast where climate conditions are similar to that of Germany…….heck i saw a brand spanking new 20th (when they came out) come off the showroom floor go right into the service department for a high performance cat back system….and all the studs for the exhaust manifold broke, we couldn’t believe it, it was a new car…….look be a fan of the cars, it’s your choice, i am not saying don’t be…..but except the fact that these cars aren’t as reliable as many other cars out there in the price range, or the fact that the service departments don’t back them up as they should.

VW isn’t what it was, that’s why i jumped ship. i wanted nothing more to do with them.

please tell me how a technician that is a jack ace can warp a rotor on installation? their rear brake design is abismal at best and rear rotors are prone to cracking and warping as a result. not to mention the lovely frozen ebrake that pops up from time to time.

also please tell me how a Scion is a POS? their reliability is leaps and bounds above VW in all aspects of their cars. Toyota is doing what VW should be doing in the US, minus the hybrid because that is a horrible idea that will die off in a few years.

and yes so the mechanic that worked on the door may have screwed something up…..but perhaps not, we do not know what is rattling in his car for certain. i am just saying that i have seen that more often than not…..because VW is having a nasty habit of employing techs that are barely one step above a walmart oil changer. the students coming out of their schools can’t even mount front license plate brackets straight, i mean come on. and they want to compete with Benz and BMW….i am sorry but the service department drives people’s opinion about a product line as well, if not more so…if you read other posts (and it looks like you have) you will see time and again people’s problems with VW’s service departments across the country.

you aren’t going to win anyone over here, or change anyone’s opinion. fact is VW/Audi is failing as a car company and it’s really quite sad, and this sight is living proof of that. heck my friend is putting on his aircooled beetle a sticker that says “”vwsucks.com what it is, isn’t what it was”" because the fact of the matter is it’s true.

i see you have an 03….come back in a few after your instrument cluster gives you fits, your lock tabs on your cable shifter take a crap (if you have a manual), you need to replace the side air bags in the seat(s), the door lock control module starts acting up, the sunroof potentimeter(sp) aka sunroof control switch goes bad, your fuel pump goes out, your FPR craps out, lovely poorly made vacuum lines break and turn on your check engine light, your coil packs start crapping out, the plastic impeller on your water pump finally breaks, immoblizer goes out, keys go bad, and the list goes on and on……if you have a 1.8t, wow, please believe i can make you a very very long list of common items that go out on that motor……the only other car line or car model that i could even come close to making a shopping list on, that would be “”sort of close”" in length to anything MK4 VW or Audi, is the 98-00 Benz ML’s….but they have fixed all their issues with the new models as they are a pro-active car company.

look seriously, go back to your little VW forum board, you are wasting your time here. every “”great”" vw thing you can think of i can think of at least 10 negitives because i have lived it and i have worked with it on two coasts at more than 4 dealers. not to mention my buddies that were working at VW dealers when i was with Benz and BMW. fact is they are lousy, snazzy commercials lousy products, and the truth is starting to come out……

Just cause were new to the site means we know nothing about VWs? Damn, guess the next “”new”" president won’t know a damn thing about his job either. Or the next new football player drafted to the NFL. Nice work Sherlock.

Post edited 05/20/05 5:25 PM by you_moron

Post edited 05/20/05 5:28 PM by you_moron

“”slamming the clutch”"that’s good. I am constantly hard on my BMW clutch doesn’t mean the car is suddenly going to fall apart. You can drive a car hard and maintain it and it will lastbut when VW clutches get you maybe 30k even if you are gentle and the pressure plate surface area cracks into multiple pieces I would say you have a problem. Especially if this is a common occurrence, and by the way it is.

And “”but 90% of the guy’s complaints are aesthetic and probably caused by maltreatment or previous car accidents”" ok lets to the math..so he has 8 complaints and to make them fall into your category 7.2 would have to fall into the list you have above.

First up urine smell thru the vents.here again didn’t you read what I posted? Please tell me how that’s aesthetic, or was caused by maltreatment or a previous car accidentit is a poor design. Of the three car lines (four if you count Audi and VW separately) that I have worked on thru the years, only one other line with one model had this problem. The Mercedes Benz ML 98-00 did the same thing, but they fixed the 01’s. This is a common problem with Audi and VW and has been going on for years, pretty much since they introduced the MK4’s and corresponding Audi’s. Hell my 97′ GTI smelled like piss too until I did the temporary fix for it. As well as ripped off the rubber flaps to help aid in the drainage from the condenser.

Right speaker doesn’t workagain how does this fall onto your list? And also please note that he stated “”started after I bought the car”".meaning it was working fine when it left the lot. This is a common problem with these cars. Hell the thing is a freaking 03′ with only 30k on it, the speakers shouldn’t be going out. What year is your Contour Moron? I am betting that it isn’t an 03, or doesn’t have that low of miles. This is a common occurrence with these cars. Hell some guy was back weekly with his S4 cause the speakers were playing musical chairs with which one was going out until I finally just convinced the shop foreman to let me replace all of them after his fourth trip back.

Treble knob comes off in your hand.again after he bought the car, how does that make your list? And again this is a common problem, the buttons on the stereo’s are junk. Someone I know bought a brand spanking new jetta and under normal use had two of the knobs come off before the first oil change was due.

Undercarriage creakingalright I will give you this one, because yes an accident could cause something to get misaligned and creak.BUT, seeing how he is at 30k that’s about right for when the noises start, and it only gets worse. I don’t know of any other car that has the suspension noises these things do after that low amount of miles. And this is common on BOTH Audi’s and VW’sand again he also said that this happened AFTER he bought the car.

Rotor warped again.nope, doesn’t make the list, but for arguments sake it could, and because I know you are going to need all the help you can get to hit that 90% I will give you this…I can see misuse breaking it, but warping it would take a lot of work, that I don’t think someone would waste the time.

Door is rattling.these things are so common for noises, but here again I can see this making your list. I will give you this. But my money is on the fact that someone did a window regulator kit and left the pieces in the door and he just happen to hit a bump just right that jarred the piece loose from wherever it was lodged and now it is moving around making noise. Either that or something came loose, which is also highly likelybut again he said this happened after he bought it.

And my fav.the transmission. Um NOPE doesn’t make the list. I have seen autos come in with owners that I know have abused them and little old ladies that just drove them on Sunday to church, they break. Any VW tech will tell you that their auto trans’s are horrible, it’s a known fact. And again this happened after he bought it.

So lets add it up..you needed 7.2 to make 90% and you only got 3..so that makes your percentage 37%……..and your friend owns a 94 jetta and only needed a CV joint after 11 years. So you are telling me he didn’t need brakes every 15k to 20k if he was lucky, new exhaust every four or five years, or had absolutely no problems with his ebrake system among other things? Highly doubtful. Look I personally like the MK3 gen. I think it is the last great line VW had. Hell I had one I loved itexcept for the constant freezing of the door lock assemblies, the ebrakes freezing up all the damn time no matter what I replaced or did, and replacing the front wheel bearings for premature wear a couple of times.aside from that it was a great car.heck I tell you what, go look at the vin, I bet it doesn’t start with 3VWfact is the old German made models are leaps and bounds above the Mexi builds.you can see it clearly when you compare older MK3s (one built in Germany and one build in mexico)..you can see the difference and the quality.

And I am not going to disagree with you about american cars, personally I don’t like them and think they have a lot of catching up to do..i drive German, but REAL German cars. Either the older VW’s or BMW’s and Benz’s. I just don’t feel safe in a new American car, hell they are almost always fairing the worst in accident safety..heck that’s the reasoning behind why bill clinton bought chelsa (however you spell her name) a new beetle over a neon, the neon just didn’t rate as high in accident crash tests.

And last but not least, my fav..”"Moral of the story, the audi tech guy is obviously not an audi tech because he would probably realize the origins of these problems..”"

I do realize the origins of these problems, I have seen them time and again. Poor product design, poor product suppliers, and poor auto manufacture not wanting to do a damn thing about it. VW/Audi is the most anti-proactive car company I have worked for..and you are right, I am not NOW an Audi tech, that’s why my sig says “”formerauditech”" not “”auditech”". And just to prove I am not talking out of my ass…I was with Mercedes Benz 7+ years (still have my plaque that would hang on the wall when you walk into the service department), BMW for not quite 4 years, and with Audi for 3+.all the while driving VW’s and working on them. So I am not some little newbie that got lost from his VW forum board and decided to come in here and spread the word that VW/Audi are freaking fantastic and the best thing since sliced bread..

Oh and Moron, yes this is a VW site I know this.but please here again go do your homeworkAudi and VW are blood brothers. The real only differences are interiors and like two motor choices (maybe a couple more if you include the Tbag motor choices). But quite a bit of the parts work for either. Remember all the window regulator problems vw was having? Wonder how they fixed the problem? They started using the window regulator clips that were metal, that were on the Audi’s already. They use the same diag. equipment as wellso yes this is a VW site, you are correct, I was personally a bit in the dark on that one, thanks for clearing that up.

Funny how the posts that “”defend”" vw are all from newbs to this sightgo look at my post count, better yet go look at another thread I have posted in. It’s obvious that I must not know what I am talking about and have no background in anything VW. You kiddies are talking to a former enthusist that has seen the light and is spreading the word, goodluck with that.

slam the clutch? umm it’s an automatic, how about reading for comprehension next time. and accidents? um i am sure if it’s had accidents that will cause all those problems, yeah right…..all his problems are common problems that happened AFTER he bought the car…….why? cause it’s a VW and they break. new VW’s make old Jag’s look reliable. they are junk thru and thru.

-tranny issues, common, either it needs a new control module or a new tranny
-speaker blown, super common, be it the top of the line Audi or the base line VW that is a very very common problem, and i don’t care who owns it, be it an old man that listens to the news or a younger owner that blasts rap…the speakers blow all the freaking time
-smell in the air vents, common, the drainage tubes for the a/c system are poorly designed and allow water to pool up creating mildew and hense the smell. all makes (be it vw or audi) all models, they didn’t get a single one designed right
-stereo problems……we use to stock stereos because they were falling apart constantly, the only car line i worked on where they did that, pretty sad if you ask me. they are total junk, the head units and the cd changers, not a one of them are worth a crap
-undercarriage noises, common very common….get use to it. we would love it when Audi’s would come in with this under warrenty, you replace pretty much everything up front……and the noises would be back in a few months. don’t bother dealing with it, just turn up the volume on that crappy stereo if it is working, or after you remove it, unhook the fuse, code it, hope it takes the code, and turn it on and hope it works
-rotor? a bit in the dark on what exactly you are talking about…….but if it is interior trim, that is junk and will break, discolor, peal, or just plain fall off no matter what piece it is. i love to replace interior trim almost as much as i love to replace instrument clusters…that is if the parts department could get the right color ordered because the ETKA parts ordering system makes about as much sense as door locks on a waffle house
-ahh door rattles, that could be any number of things, and believe me, i have seen a great deal of many things cause door rattles in these heaps

welcome to the sight, the cars are junk, the people are pissed, and VW doesn’t want to do a damn thing about it…….come back anytime……….oh and Moron, come on back when your sunroof drain tubes get clogged and you have lovely water damage in your interior (passenger floor looks like a kiddy wading pool) and your transmission control module takes a crap as a result…….