Originally Posted By: dparm
That myth of German cars being unreliable will probably never die in either of our lifetimes. I've stopped arguing with people about it because they just prefer to dig their heels in...fine with me if they want to miss out on that ownership experience.
I've had the ownership experience. It's always exciting to guess what my pinball machine, err...dashboard is going to light up next! I'm cool without it...
I normally stay out of VW threads, because I know I'm biased. That said, it's like any brand, they have some good models and not-so-good models. JZHR's comments about the car "falling apart around the drivetrain" was my experience, 3 different times. Engines and transmissions were great. This was on older cars (a Eurovan and 2 GTI's), but you're right, it takes a while to get past bad experiences, especially when it happens to you. It doesn't help when the 2 VW owners I know well have had tons of problems with newer models. I also respect the difference between anecdote and data, so I realize this doesn't mean much, but that's my experience.
For the more modern diesels though (such as the GTD), I personally wouldn't buy one until I'm convinced that the HPFP issue is resolved, or they have a less-expensive fix available. I realize that statistically it's not a a huge chance of happening, but I'm not really down with repairs that exceed the cost of the vehicle. If your fuel pump blows up 5-7 years after you buy it, that's your situation. As someone who keeps cars for a long time, that's a deal-breaker for me--which is a shame, because the Sportwagen is otherwise the ideal car for me.
