VW's...
 

My wife mentioned that she wouldn't mind a new car and I was thinking a new GTI would be a nice option. She has always like the tartan cloth and if she wanted a slushy the DSG is not the worst option.

The only big issue that i see is she commutes a lot and probably puts close to 15k a year. VW reliability scares me. I know they are still German so not expecting japanese reliability but not a electrical lemon. Also these new GTIs are made in mexico but I hopfully ze germans have a good process in place.

So should I be scared about VW reliability?

TIA
Jeff

All I can say is I just broke 35K miles on my 2013 Golf R and I have had zero issues. Not even trivial things. Nothing. Car feels brand new. Will that continue? Who knows. But it sure seems to be holding up better than my last new BMW was at this point. Granted mine is a German-built VW.

How do pubs like CR rate recent VWs? I haven't looked and don't have access.

looks like CR rates VW pretty much in the middle of the pack in various ratings. Not good for reliability though.

thanks

No


not if you are looking at something new. We put about 40K on our 2008 rabbit, never a single problem with it. Our 2012 Tiguan never had an issue either, but I only put about 14K miles on it.


VW reliability is an issue in their past, IMHO, not with current models

Seems like this must be the car the family uses the most with that kind of mileage in only 2y.

I am very curious about the new GTI after all of the good reviews I have seen. I still need to go test one out.

I've only got half the mileage on mine that TD has on his, but my experience is similar. I had it in at some point for some sort of service campaign (can't remember what), but other than that it's been trouble free.

Knock wood.

Jeff, I've asked about particular reliability on this board in the past and while I appreciate the input from everyone I've noticed most people on this board don't seem to put significant miles on their cars, or at least don't hang on to their car past a significant number of miles.

Not sure about you but when I'm seeking input on reliability I'm looking at how reliable they are (or cost of repairs) out to 100 - 150k milage on a car. And part of that reasoning is that over the last decade my family has gotten in the routine of buying cars used at about the 50k mark.

So yeah, check CR. They aren't the holy bible for everything car related but they should be a good metric on long term trends and reliability.

thanks but hate to say but I am more like the other board members, usually keep our cars to 80-120 k.

Also I guess I still have a VW stigma so wouldn't buy a VW for long term. That is another reason I am considering new, 50k of a VW is a lot of its usable reliable mileage IMHO.:dunno:

OK, now I need to dig up pictures of the off-road trail I drove the rabbit down at Moab :D:D

Would I have bought a new VW in the 80's or the 90's?? Hell no!!

But reliability is no longer an issue with VW IMHO

80k miles over 90 months of ownership and only just recently encountered a pricey unscheduled maintenance bill due to a wiring harness issue connected to the mass airflow sensor.

Plus 3 recalls early on in it's career, and a HID bulb that had to be replaced (naturally just after the warranty expired) and that's the extent of the tale of woe to date.

I plan on keeping this car until it starts exhibiting signs of its eventual demise. It still looks pretty good, both inside and out. The DSG tranny is holding up well, but I pretty much keep it in auto mode unless I'm really bored. The exhaust really has a lovely note when the VR6 is at full flush, but it can be borderline obnoxious to anyone but a cheese eating high school kids ears probably.

I just shod it with its second set of Conti DSW's, so I'd be jazzed to get another 30 - 40k miles out of both the car and tires............but if the end of the former comes sooner than later the GTI would be at the top of my list.

I went to the auto show here over the Christmas Holiday's and it was about the only vehicle that really impressed me. I like the upcoming R, but at close to $40k that's more than I intend to spend for a daily beater these days. I'd rather put the dough towards adding an M2, and selling or trading the VW in two to three years (but that's slightly off topic).

We got our '13 TDI with 24k miles on it. Per records, it had no warranty issues under its first owner, just two oil changes (every 10k for the diesel).

We are now at about 37k. We have had one issue, a hard/no start after a particular cold/freeze/thaw cycle. 2 seconds of googling shows that the 2.0TDI engine requires a cold weather fix kit, as the intercooler condensation can freeze then melt and drip into the intake or some such thing. The real annoyance was VW dealers, the first dealer couldn't "reproduce" the problem, checked our battery and sent us back. The second time it happened, we called a tow truck and now apparently the fix is in.

Otherwise, car feels great, gets nearly 50mpg, almost always over 42, with good pep and tight as a drum. My lower mileage e46M is a rattle bucket in comparison.

55k on my 2012 Golf TDI. I had the intercooler ice-up issue, which resulted in a hard start twice. After some arm twisting, the dealer installed the "fix" under warranty.

Other than that, it has been a great car, still drives like new. VW dealers are still their biggest problem.

Good to hear, OP, our TDI is also basically perfect in every other way. We had to "arm twist" as well, why should such a common issue require two visits to two different dealers before they take us seriously? Their dealers are worse than bmw & audi, that's for sure.

this would be sweet

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/03/04/v...-2015/#image-1

My wife likes the wagon but was bummed you couldn't get the tartan seats in them

I think that's the first gen golf wagon I have seen that does not look ungainly from some angles. Seriously every angle looks good. The R like front end helps a lot to.

other wagons were jettas ;) but yeah I agree. Last one looked like a jellybean

VW talk for my wife basically died down after dieselgate :eeps:

1. This weekend we went and checked out the Macan. Wife test drove a loaded S, very nice car from the passenger seat. I spec out a Macan base with the options I would get and it is around ~54k.

2. She is also(more) interested in the new Mazda CX-9, plan to go test drive in the near future. I think the one she would get would be $35-40k.

3. as also thinking the Jaguar F-Pace looks pretty nice for the money, start at $40k. You can get it in a diesel too which might be nice since my wife drives a decent amount of miles a year, ~15k. Reliability scare me with this option though.


Anything else to consider? She likes wagons but with limited choices she is doesnt mind SUV too. 7 seats are nice but she can probably get by with 5.
To me the mileage , ~15k, scares me a bit with the non-japanese luxury choices. Also it would seat outside during the day with work in a so so area.

The Macan looks really great. I'd totally get one if it had more room.

I'm definitely interested in this car search. I'd add the Volvo XC90, and the new Audi Q7, but they are pretty large.

edit:
Oh, and the LR Discovery Sport.

She always likes volvos but I have a hard time with Volvo since you have euro reliability but without german driving dynamics.

Pretty sure I read reviews that put it above the x5 in driving dynamics - for whatever that's worth.

And now it's Chinese reliability. :speechle:

Macan build

http://www.porsche-code.com/PH4PFM11

I actually just watched a 'Head to Head' episode and he liked the GLA AMG better than the Macan.

She likes Mercedes too:) but figure the AMG might be too much sport for her. Also my buddy is leasing the CLA AMG and does not like it. GLC would be more her style, maybe another options for her.

edit: added the video to my watch later queue
edit2: GLC with rwd and AMG sport package is $43.5

Can't believe I forgot about the new GLC. Those look really nice.

Just built my Macan base - $72k :lol:

I like my strippers:)

Haven't seen one live yet, but by the specs the Jag F-pace is large too

Neighbor friends bought a new XC90 recently. They love it. I can't get past "Volvo."

Wild tangent: The mother of the bride driving the XC90 in that commercial is beautiful.

There's something that I find interesting about the Volvo in a contrarian way.

I really like the way the Volvo looks. I'm not a fan of a car that big motivated by a 2 liter engine, no matter how many blowers it has.

Also I don't want to buy a Chinese car.

These are my issues as well.

I have a greater chance of getting over the Chinese part than I do the tiny engine part, and for that, there's a hybrid version.

Same.

I started thinking hey maybe I should consider the Macan!

The first paragraph of the review I googled contained "its numb steering and soft brake pedal are un-Porsche-like."

That's not a good start.

I was intrigued by the hybrid version, but the reviews I've read have been pretty middling.

That's a shame. The price is certainly staggering.

oh, maybe I should of test drove it :eeps: Porsche cannot shake the audi roots. Brake pedal should be easy to solve, I assumed it had the standard porsche brembos on them.

Now I'm interested, but where's the commercial?

interesting, I would say she is attractive for her age(thus in the commercial) Husband is a hip bearded dude too