Volkwagens. How Bad, or Good are they?

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My indi mechanic will not work on VWs so there is that going against me choosing one.

My local VW dealer is suspect.

While my '81 Rabbit diesel did get a solid 50MPG (so it would seem) the odometer in the car didn't work, so it had 131k miles forever.

It had other issues that are not relevant to modern day VWs.

But I agree with the comment above that I've not driven a VW that I didn't love. Just not sure I'd want to own one again. More about the support network around me than anything else.

Now is the time to try. If you buy it and don't love it, you can probably sell/trade without taking too much of a bath as people want cars.
 
We were looking at getting a new Jetta TDI. Then "Dieselgate" happened, and VW took all of their Diesel models off the market. So we passed. I always liked VW Diesels. Now I'm leery of any of them, since they hooked them up to run on cow urine to be, "cleaner".
 
CharBaby said:
Visit VW forums as well to see what other owners are saying. Personally I've never owned a VW however, I've never driven one that I didn't love driving. Very nice indeed and same with AUDI. There is always that "BUT"! It is sometimes the little things on VWs that need repairs and quite often at very high costs. I've heard it said that if a similar part on a domestic car cost $**.**, it cost $***.** on an Asian car and $****.** on a German(EURO) car.
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This^^^.

Go to the forums, don’t waste your time reading reviews or ratings from Consumer Reports or Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds. Read owners that go to the forums and discuss what actually goes wrong with their vehicles..how much they spend on repairs, and how often. It’s a REAL EYE OPENER when you see.

My personal experience with VW (from close friends), are hit or miss. Had a friend who was an enthusiast...he beat on his and it always needed something...turbos, coils, transmission, suspension. But he beat on it. Meanwhile I have another friend who bought a 2014 Passat for his wife, used, former rental car...and he’s now had it for five years. Zero issues as of yet. Then again it only has 80,000 miles on it now.

Do your research. Believe me the forums will let you know if things that no one else will.
 
billt460 said:
We were looking at getting a new Jetta TDI. Then "Dieselgate" happened, and VW took all of their Diesel models off the market. So we passed. I always liked VW Diesels. Now I'm leery of any of them, since they hooked them up to run on cow urine to be, "cleaner".
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The Touareg had DEF in '11, the Passat in '12. They all got it for the '15 model year, before the scandal broke.

None of them had DEF retrofitted as a part of the "fix."
 
I liked mine, quite a bit, but it was pre dieselgate. I was not in a position to work on it, and gave up when my indie quit. Got tired of driving out of state for reputable service, and the web indicated that only gurus should work on them. Wife has given me permission to get another one again, a 2.5 I5 wagon sounds about right, but the mpg would bug me.
 
I like ours. Going on three years old and no real problems. It’s built well. The fit and finish are good. The interior materials are good. The dash layout is perfect. The main problem for us is the closest dealers are both 90 miles away.
 
RooflessVW said:
The Touareg had DEF in '11, the Passat in '12. They all got it for the '15 model year, before the scandal broke.

None of them had DEF retrofitted as a part of the "fix."
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I'm sure the DEF equipped VW Diesels are as good as any. I'm just not a big fan of DEF in general. At least not yet. Many of them, (including the Fiat 3.0 "Eco Diesel"), have had massive issues with intake manifolds clogging up in as little as 50,000 miles.

https://www.google.com/search?q=clo...g&ei=vCQaYuP_IsHW0PEPkMqpkAs&bih=482&biw=1365
 
Kjmack said:
As a owner of many VWs over the years the current Volkswagens are pretty good if preventative maintenance is done . I can say with 1000% confidence that they are better than Ford or Gm period . I can't believe the quality that Ford puts out . I have a 2021 F250 by the way .
The GM vehicles are from 2014-2020 all new from dealer . I've had 12 new Fords from 1991-2021 so it's not just a single car issue . Ford and GM people are just conditioned to live with their issues and accept it . Lucky my Ford truck isn't used much it should last a couple of years .
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Nice screed about Ford and GM poorly camouflaged in a VW post; ;)
 
Since you are buying new, you can expect lots of trouble free miles/years for quite a while. The cars are very well built even my VW (cheapest car they make, a Jetta) smokes the Fusions in our family for build quality, design and driving feel. It's critical you stay on the maintenance and cost of ownership will be higher than some others. The "German engineering" thing is real and you'll find some clever touches as well as a few things that are needlessly complicated but still work. Later years of ownership you'll pay more to keep it on the road but you'll likely love the car so much you won't care.

Start VW watching and you'll see quite a few older VW's on the road and they almost always still look to be in good shape. Then do that with any domestic make, Subaru etc. and you'll see a difference.
 
What can the owner do to reduce these "new fangled" intake deposits caused by the direct injection ?

They sell cans of "Intake Valve Cleaner" which, I assume, is snake oil. Is using the correct oil the only thing which owners can do?....also I assume the proper octane fuel.
 
RooflessVW said:
I'm closing in on 15 years with my Touareg with only a few hiccups and there are plenty of 20 year old Jettas still out there being abused by teenagers.

IMO the new VWs are as mechanically sound as they've ever been - maybe there's a bit of dice rolling involved but the good ones are good.
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This.

My sister owned a MK4 2001 Jetta that was a pile. Barely 100k on it and it basically fell apart in every way imaginable. She now owns a 2013 Jetta 2.5L with about 180k on it and it drives/feels great. It's held up quite well to the abuse and lack of maintenance from a 20 something year old girl who usually just keeps driving when she hears a funny noise. For an "economy minded" sedan it's also quite fun to drive.
 
RooflessVW said:
The Eco Diesel is certified garbage.
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Look at that link I posted. There are plenty of VW TDI's, Ford Power Strokes, Mitsubishi's, and Mercedes. All with clogged intakes. This has all gotten much worse with the advent of "clean diesels", and DEF.

This is an ongoing problem with most all of them. Some are much worse than others. But you couldn't give me any of them.
 
billt460 said:
Look at that link I posted. There are plenty of VW TDI's, Ford Power Strokes, Mitsubishi's, and Mercedes. All with clogged intakes. This has all gotten much worse with the advent of "clean diesels", and DEF.

This is an ongoing problem with most all of them. Some are much worse than others. But you couldn't give me any of them.
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"Look at the link" Some of us have real world experience, you know.

It has nothing to do with DEF - nothing.

It has everything to do with oil in the intake and overactive EGR, and has been a common "issue" for decades. It's ugly to look at but has to go very far to affect performance, just like DI IVD.

On the older diesels with metal intakes you can light the carbon on fire and use compressed air to burn it all out.
 
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IMO the diesel engine's days are numbered in everything but industrial, construction, agricultural, marine, and military applications.
 
They can be pretty solid IF PROPERLY MAINTAINED. I would expect to replace the water pump during your ownership. The EA888's are known for that. I would do OCI's at 5K and coolant changes more often than scheduled as well. VW's seem to like to clog heater cores, and that is the easiest way to avoid that.

I'd go for it, you will likely fall in love with VW.

I was always a VW hater until I drove one.
 
RooflessVW said:
"Look at the link" Some of us have real world experience, you know.
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Yeah, I know. I drove one for over 10 years, and never had a single issue. Have know many others who drove the older Cummins, Duramax, and Power Strokes, for hundreds of thousands of miles, and never had anything like that happen to their engines.

I'm not saying DEF causes this. But before the "clean diesels" came into vogue, it was nowhere near as prevalent.
 
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