My 10 year old, 100k+ mile, Japanese car continues running, but it lacks side airbags and other safety equipment of modern cars. I'm very interested in a VW, but have heard many bad things about their reliability. I'd be acquiring a new one: I like the 2010 VW Golf GTI.
Any ownership experiences from all LR'ers with VW's particularly late model ones? Like I said, I'm very interested in a VW, but these reports of poor reliability and high repair costs have me apprehensive.
I have a seven year old Chrysler with 165,000 miles and
it runs like a top. I'm sick of this falacy that foreign cars are better than US made ones.
on my st here i go for a walk to the super 2 or 3 times a wk. it's eoy sales time for cars now. just on mt st of 40 houses on each side, i seen 7 new toys, 2 hons, 1 mits today. no u.s., ger, korean crap.
My american Olds Intrigue has 212k and runs great.
I would advise a c30 if you don't need 4 doors. Mine arrives tuesday at my dealer, amazing car. Much more refined than the GTI, comfier and no boy racer view.
Oh, and Volvo safety, need I sat more?
Say more, need I say more, not sat.
my camry has 400k. no probs. it's an old story. many people have 4runners, tercels, corollas with 400k..800k. no big deal for toyota.
I have a Golf, not a GTI though. I've had it since fall of 2002. Never had a problem, just routine maintenance and change of tires. Even though it's not a GTI, it has great acceleration and more than enough power. I've cruised down interstate 5 in California at 85 mph for hours, no problem (85 is the de facto speed limit on 5, at 75 you will be passed by RVs). I love this car and I'm guessing that I'll be driving it for another 10 years.
The reliability of an individual person’s car is irrelevant.
The Consumer’s Association long-term reliability survey in my country for 2009, reveals that the top six manufacturers are Honda, Daihatsu, Toyota, Lexus, Mazda, Suzuki - all Very Good.
Good - Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Subaru Porsche.
In the Average section comes the Nissan, Mercedes and BMW’s of this world.
But a bit of a surprise to me - Volkswagen and Audi were - Poor!
Very Poor were most of the French and Italian manufacturers.
I own a 2008 VW GTI MKV and I could not be happier with my choice. It gets good milage, very safe and have had to do only routine maintenance. But what is the greatest thing about this car is the fun factor. It is a great drive! The engine can certainly pick up quickly, and is great to just cruise around in. the DSG transmission is a definite plus, auto or sport for when I'm lazy, manual for when I am feeling it. I highly recommend the car.
Thanks for all the reply postings so far. Very helpful. The GTI and the Golf upon which it is based sound like good performance cars. Anyone have any experience with maintenance: How much has it costed for, say, routine oil changes, brake pads, coolant recharges, etc.? Especially, of course, after your covered maintenance program by VW is over.
If you’re determined to go for a Volkswagen Gti - have you test driven the Scirocco?
You won’t buy the Gti.
If you're looking at performance cars like that, consider a Honda Civic SI, Subaru Impreza WRX, or Mitsubishi Lancer Evo instead.
Also, "costed" is not a word.
Awesome car to drive. I have a 2003 with 113k miles. It is difficult to stay under 90 on the expressway. Excels very quickly as well. Handles better than any other car I've driven. I've had several minor replacements since 100k, but nothing more than $200 here and there. Well worth it.
Seriously, how're those reading comprehension lessons going? We can get into where certain cars are actually being manufactured, but you do know that the car he's speculating as unreliable is not a US car, right?
Welllll.... wrote:
I have a seven year old Chrysler with 165,000 miles and
it runs like a top. I'm sick of this falacy that foreign cars are better than US made ones.
2009 MkV, 10K miles. Makes commuting fun again. Just got it out of the shop for a DSG Mechatronics replacement under warranty. Parts and shop rates are no more or less expensive than any other car. The difference in the GTI vs other similar cars is the maximum engine torque is available just off idle at 1800 RPM but still pulls decently at the 2500-3000 it's turning at highway speeds.
My girlfriend has a 2006 GTI that I absolutely hate. Now, of course this is anecdotal, and it may just be problems with hers, but she's had weird leaks which VW said weren't there (that resulted in mold and subsequent carpet replacement), problems with the turbo, and various other small problems. Personally, I don't like it and wouldn't buy one, but that's just me.
just my own experience from my father's business (a foreign auto repair shop that he's operated since the early 70's, prior to that working his way up the ranks through VW) - VW's aren't very reliable, compared to other makes. Poor design, difficult to repair. An easy way to get my brother angry (who's taking over the shop, has worked there several years), is to bring up VW reliability - he can't stand them.
My wife owned a brand new VW Golf GTI two door hatchback for about two years. The Engine and drive train are fantastic. I once was passing a car on a two lane highway and had to givie it a little extra to complete the pass as a car came around the corner up ahead. I was suprised to be comming up on 100mph before I pulled back into my lane. Very little strain or extra noise.
However the rest of the car was junk. Had to have the entier ceiling of the car replaced as the hose that supplied the rear window wiper with fluid sprang a leak.
Had to have all of the rear tail lights replaced six different times in two years by the dealer and other garages because they were regularly buring out. Gets the cops attention at night a lot.
The rear view mirror mounter on the windshield just fell off one day while driving to work.
The catalytic converted had to be replaced.
Had to have the electronic window motors replaced three times. Twice on the driver's door and once on the passenger's door. Would have been $600 to repair each time.
All these problems were encountered during the first 30,000 miles. Fortunatly the car was under warrenty for all these repairs. The drivers side window was behaving as if it was going to fail again and we traded the car in the very next day. We had had enough.
Check
to get independent review of the GTI.
We had a VW Golf for 11 years. The only reason we didn't get another is that my brother in-law began working for Honda and got us the "inside deal". I would go back to VW in a snap (although they are expensive). No complaints about the Honda either.
Don't guy that Nazi sled.