Hey guys and gals
I can understand your frustrations with the product you have purchased. However, from my experience VW's and Audi's are not bad automobiles by any stretch of the imagination. I have had everything from a 96' Golf, 01' GTI, 03' GTI VR6 (my favorite) & now a 04' A4 1.8T. YES, these cars have all had their problems but none to warrant me to hate the VW brand. Everytime I have had an issue both in warranty & out I was treated fairly and the car was fixed the first time w/o a problem. Take a look around the web and see all the other "car hate" sites for Honda, Toyota, Dodge, just about any manufacturer there is. The VW brand has been in my family for years and all of our cars except for an issue ridden Jetta have been fantastic. There is no better engineered car in the grasp of the masses for the money. Sure they break but to complain about a car that has over 100k on the odometer can't you expect issues to start to arise? My GTI had over 130k on it when it got totalled (hit a palm tree at over 70mph, lets see a japanese or korean car keep you safe with that!!!) it was still going strong cause i kept up on maintenance. I still miss that car today. Sure the Audi had the dreaded sludge issue... they didn't even ask for oil receipts, fixed it first, still wasn't good, so they replaced the whole engine no questions asked! I think you guys need to find a new dealer / service person... don't hate on the VEEDUBS!
-Peace!
VW's do NOT suck!
Well, that was fun.
I'm thinking of porting this site over to using WordPress as this code is looking pretty old and the spammers are getting annoying.
I won't do anything until I can safely port over all valid users (those who have actual posts that weren't spam) and the posts over.
I won't do anything until I can safely port over all valid users (those who have actual posts that weren't spam) and the posts over.
2008 Jetta S, So Far So Good
I write when things are bad so I decided to write when things are good.
Traded in my 2002 Jetta 1.8 because CPO warranty was up and no way could I afford to pay for repairs every few months. I was shopping lease rates, what I was offered on trade, and the cars in similar price range.
Financially VW won hands down. Perhaps VW is in need of sales. I walked out of dealer with a check for my trade equal to thousands more than offers at other manufacturers. (There was a VW loyalty program for previous owners too) The lease itself was literally sign and drive. VW makes the first payment, plus the lease payments came out about $40 month less per month than comparable cars. (Yeah, I chose lease in case things went bad.)
Product wise, I know car comparisons come down to personal taste and not much out there will start a faster Internet debate. Let's just say I looked at typical class comparables: Civic, Mazda 3, Sentra, and even the Elantra. I stuck with VW for safety*, fit and finish and frankly - to me - it feels more substantial than some on the list. Others were ruled out because the finances were too off base. FYI Honda dealer was most aggressive and it was real close. Mazda was so off base that I felt like calling the dealer after to tell them how bad their sale rep was. Nissan was fine – but I have had many Nissan. (*Call me a hypocrite for previous post whereby I condemn VW for advertising safety without mentioning safety consideration of being left on the side of the road out of State.)
I went pretty basic 2008 Jetta S, manual trans. After my 1.8 GLS I guess I like the "zen-nes" of basic. Or perhaps coupled with fear that too many extras can truly mean too many things could go wrong. (In this modern era that outdated statement can only be resurrected in thanks to VW gen IV. I mean no Honda owner claps their hands when they push the window button and the glass opens. Only a VW owner smiles a sigh of relief when their input is answered with a sunroof actually sliding back, seats actually heating, or idiot lights going off after ignition).
The 2008 VW is solid, gone are the flexing and creaks of the previous generation. It has something like 8 airbags, a huge trunk, and a back seat for real adults. In retrospect with gas prices on their way to $5, I would have gone with the Civic. Had anyone been able to give me an answer on when the TDI's will actually be here I may have waited for that too. It's only been about 1,500 miles on my 2008 Jetta S but so far, so good. Again only a VW owner would bother posting praise for something that in 2008 should be a non-issue. (My car works past 1000 miles – yay!)
About my 2002: It was a CPO car and I had ownership from 40,000 to 70,000 miles. Built in Mexico the original sticker for the 1.8T GLS was over $24K - that's a ton of money for a car that could not make it past 40,000 miles without stopping at VW or anywhere else on the side of the road. Cosmetically I can be a bit obsessive about a car's appearance. At 70K my '02 VW looked great I could have sold it privately and made more money but no way was I going to dump it on some young person.
About my 2000 Jetta TDI, I was told it was one of the last from VW Germany. I commuted about 80 miles a day with it and never had a single problem. For life changing reasons I sold it with about 45,000 miles.
Traded in my 2002 Jetta 1.8 because CPO warranty was up and no way could I afford to pay for repairs every few months. I was shopping lease rates, what I was offered on trade, and the cars in similar price range.
Financially VW won hands down. Perhaps VW is in need of sales. I walked out of dealer with a check for my trade equal to thousands more than offers at other manufacturers. (There was a VW loyalty program for previous owners too) The lease itself was literally sign and drive. VW makes the first payment, plus the lease payments came out about $40 month less per month than comparable cars. (Yeah, I chose lease in case things went bad.)
Product wise, I know car comparisons come down to personal taste and not much out there will start a faster Internet debate. Let's just say I looked at typical class comparables: Civic, Mazda 3, Sentra, and even the Elantra. I stuck with VW for safety*, fit and finish and frankly - to me - it feels more substantial than some on the list. Others were ruled out because the finances were too off base. FYI Honda dealer was most aggressive and it was real close. Mazda was so off base that I felt like calling the dealer after to tell them how bad their sale rep was. Nissan was fine – but I have had many Nissan. (*Call me a hypocrite for previous post whereby I condemn VW for advertising safety without mentioning safety consideration of being left on the side of the road out of State.)
I went pretty basic 2008 Jetta S, manual trans. After my 1.8 GLS I guess I like the "zen-nes" of basic. Or perhaps coupled with fear that too many extras can truly mean too many things could go wrong. (In this modern era that outdated statement can only be resurrected in thanks to VW gen IV. I mean no Honda owner claps their hands when they push the window button and the glass opens. Only a VW owner smiles a sigh of relief when their input is answered with a sunroof actually sliding back, seats actually heating, or idiot lights going off after ignition).
The 2008 VW is solid, gone are the flexing and creaks of the previous generation. It has something like 8 airbags, a huge trunk, and a back seat for real adults. In retrospect with gas prices on their way to $5, I would have gone with the Civic. Had anyone been able to give me an answer on when the TDI's will actually be here I may have waited for that too. It's only been about 1,500 miles on my 2008 Jetta S but so far, so good. Again only a VW owner would bother posting praise for something that in 2008 should be a non-issue. (My car works past 1000 miles – yay!)
About my 2002: It was a CPO car and I had ownership from 40,000 to 70,000 miles. Built in Mexico the original sticker for the 1.8T GLS was over $24K - that's a ton of money for a car that could not make it past 40,000 miles without stopping at VW or anywhere else on the side of the road. Cosmetically I can be a bit obsessive about a car's appearance. At 70K my '02 VW looked great I could have sold it privately and made more money but no way was I going to dump it on some young person.
About my 2000 Jetta TDI, I was told it was one of the last from VW Germany. I commuted about 80 miles a day with it and never had a single problem. For life changing reasons I sold it with about 45,000 miles.
2007 Sales
VWoA reports their sales.
http://www.media.vw.com/
VWoA reported their January Sales up 2.3%.
VWoA reported their February sales up 0.2% ( two tenths of one percent).
VWoA reported their sales for the year up 1.3%.
These are very disapointing figures for VWoA. They have been advertising very heavily ( "unpimp your ride" "Three dubs for under 17 thousand"). They have "decontented" their cars to make them cheaper. They are selling their cars at a substantial loss. Yet sales only climb a tiny increment.
VWoA has stated that they want to increase their sales from 235,000 to 500,000. The asteroid will hit the planet before this happens.
http://www.media.vw.com/
VWoA reported their January Sales up 2.3%.
VWoA reported their February sales up 0.2% ( two tenths of one percent).
VWoA reported their sales for the year up 1.3%.
These are very disapointing figures for VWoA. They have been advertising very heavily ( "unpimp your ride" "Three dubs for under 17 thousand"). They have "decontented" their cars to make them cheaper. They are selling their cars at a substantial loss. Yet sales only climb a tiny increment.
VWoA has stated that they want to increase their sales from 235,000 to 500,000. The asteroid will hit the planet before this happens.
BOOYAH!
Sales were down 1.9% for 2007! VW introduced new models, advertised like crazy, and made every effort to sell their crap cars. AND SALES WERE DOWN 1.9%!
Our message is getting out to America! VW cars are junk.
This has got to be another financial disaster for VW group of America. I mean, how many years is VAG going to continue subsidizing sales in America?
VAG is going to have to crack down further on the unions in Germany. They will have to get the work force to actually work 40 hours a week.
Our message is getting out to America! VW cars are junk.
This has got to be another financial disaster for VW group of America. I mean, how many years is VAG going to continue subsidizing sales in America?
VAG is going to have to crack down further on the unions in Germany. They will have to get the work force to actually work 40 hours a week.
Interesting
I think that perhaps someone is trying to bury this site. When you try and send an e-mail to paultekeda it comes back as "Not Found". This at the same time that someone is posting pornography on the site. Interesting.
Buy American
The fact of the matter is; No American should be buying a non American car. Times are tough. Americans should be rallying behind American car makers. No American should be buying a car from a manufacturer that basically say's; "Fuck American car buyers. they are stupid enough to buy Volkswagen. Fuck them"
2008 Sales
VWoA reported January sales. http://www.media.vw.com/
Sales for January of 2008 were down 13.2% from January of 2007 figures.
Dismal figures for a company that last year was talking about turning a profit in North America by 2009!
Sales for January of 2008 were down 13.2% from January of 2007 figures.
Dismal figures for a company that last year was talking about turning a profit in North America by 2009!
MAF 2001 Jetta TDI
Hi All, I have been trying to find a site that would give me a walkthrought o replacing my MAF, and cannot seem to find anything anywhere.... not bad with cars, but not a mechanic either... My car keeps bogging out on me, so I read somewhere to unplug the MAF to see if that was it... low and behold, it turns out that the MAF is bad/dead/needs cleaning.... anyone that could help out?
Thanks
Mark
Thanks
Mark
What
I own a 2002 cabrio which i am still making payments on. I have spent nearly $2000 on various mechanical failures in the last year alone, that should not be occuring with only 85,000 miles. I am contemplating getting soemthing different, but am only 10 months from paying the thing off. Any suggestions?
Edited by piculell on 06/26/08 at 9:16 AM
Edited by piculell on 06/26/08 at 9:16 AM