Is VW/Audi over their quality issues?

[ryan2022]

Okay this might open up a big can of worms,

But down the road I'd definetely consider an Audi for my wife, because of the great AWD, and safety.

I want to ask anyone who owns a newer Audi how its track record has been. I'm thinking 2004+. It wont be for a while, but I thought I'd put the feelers out.

Theyve always been nice driving, solid cars that feel quite refined to me, but no one can argue theyve had their quality blips over the years.

Any thoughts?

 

[Popinski]

According to Consumer Reports, Audi/VW has full of black dots and not enough average to red dots.

 

[Nick R]

I was wondering the same thing. I looked at a couple, the Golf, Passat, CC, Tiguan. The interior was fantastic, and they felt very solid, and I'm a huge fan of the current styling. But I wouldn't want to get a new car I'd have to be fixing all the time (like my cavalier)

 

[beast3300]

According to my co-worker, a VW head, he says VW are back in the hands of the Ferdanaz (spelling?). I think that was the name he said....I don't remember exaclty. The jest being that quality should be coming back to VW.

The MK4 cars were not so good. Again this is just what he has told me.

 

[Vizzy]

The dark days at VW for quality are ...gone....
when it comes to overall durability and reliability the current VW products are about the same, if not a bit better (like the Golf) than the average Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, or such....

I wouldn't worry a bit.

I would choose the dealer you are going to deal with carefully....VWoA has some excellent stores and some really horrid ones....actually for years the worst aspect of owning a VW in the USA is not problems with the car itself but more so with horrible dealership service departments...

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
I would choose the dealer you are going to deal with carefully....VWoA has some excellent stores and some really horrid ones....actually for years the worst aspect of owning a VW in the USA is not problems with the car itself but more so with horrible dealership service departments...


Exactly. Don't worry about the quality issues as much as the dealer issues. Even if a vehicle has only one minor warranty issue over the entire warranty period, and the dealer goes out of his way to louse it up, then there's a problem.

With a VW or Audi, get a shop manual, get familiar with the vehicle, and get educated. It will go a long way to making the experience more pleasant.

 

[dparm]

04 and beyond is the sweet-spot for VAG. I'll agree that prior to this they had spotty quality and purchasing their cars was a gamble.

Many of their cars are now recommended buys from CR -- 10 years ago I don't think any of them were.

I think their cars are inherently more prone to problems compared to the Japanese stuff. My father worked for Bosch for 25+ years and he made frequent trips to Deustchland. He insists that sophistication and over-complication is some sort of national pasttime and it's just a part of their culture.

And I'm somewhat inclined to agree after doing a few things on my S4. It's been an extremely reliable car but it still amazes me how strangely certain things are done. This is coming from several Hondas and a Mazda.

 

[simple_gifts]

Quote:

The dark days at VW for quality are ...gone....


As is the desire of the 4 people I know who bought them, to ever own another. If quality has improved VW will need to depend on "die hards" or a new batch of untainted car purchasers.

 

[dparm]

I think VAG is luring in more buyers with their competitive pricing and above-average interiors. My brother just bought a 2010 Jetta for about $20k out the door. For the money, it is hard to find a car that can offer that level of refinement and equipment. With the 3 year no-cost maintenance, the deal is even sweeter to buyers.

My S4 and my brother's Jetta have been slowly changing my parents' minds about the VW group. My Mom still opted for an Infiniti as her new car earlier this summer but she was very close to a Passat wagon.

 

[silverrat]

The horrible resale value says a lot. The only way to enjoy one is to lease one for 3-4 years.

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
The days at VW for quality are ...gone....
I hope that they're doing better than before.

 

[dparm]

Many German cars have bad resale value. They tend to take large initial depreciation hits but do stabilize after that.

 

[Scdevon]

Originally Posted By: dparm
He insists that sophistication and over-complication is some sort of national pasttime and it's just a part of their culture.




Um, yeah. That pretty much sums up German "engineering".
They are the most stubborn people on earth and they NEVER admit engineering mistakes.

 

[Vizzy]

Originally Posted By: Scdevon
Originally Posted By: dparm
He insists that sophistication and over-complication is some sort of national pasttime and it's just a part of their culture.

Um, yeah. That pretty much sums up German "engineering".
They are the most stubborn people on earth and they NEVER admit engineering mistakes.

Been drinking too much kool aide lately.....stereotype much?

At least the Germans have been making DESIRABLE vehicles for decades, the same cannot be said for other countries....not to mention that if it wasn't for the Germans you probably would still be riding a bike to work.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Originally Posted By: silverrat
The horrible resale value says a lot. The only way to enjoy one is to lease one for 3-4 years.


Oh really? Got any references on that? For a while VW was the best resale value vehicle, so...somebody is wrong there.

 

[StevieC]

I service and repair a lot of VW's and Audi's for friends and the neighbours kid that lives next to my parents is a VW/Audi nut and between the both of us we have seen a good share of problematic vehicles and some outright nightmares that IMO could be fixed if VW would just spend some more time testing and refining their stuff before "rushing" it to market.

German engineering is fantastic and they are very good at trying new things but I just think they lack the proper testing to develop proven hard to destroy technologies.

Give me an old VW or Audi any-day over the new stuff!

 

[Vizzy]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Originally Posted By: silverrat
The horrible resale value says a lot. The only way to enjoy one is to lease one for 3-4 years.


Oh really? Got any references on that? For a while VW was the best resale value vehicle, so...somebody is wrong there.


VW is in the number two position as of now I think, Mazda is in first now.

I think many OLD models (regardless of maker) are more desirable simply because of the more connectedness to the driver vs most current cars....

I agree that an older MKI or MKII VW Golf GTI is preferrable to the latest because they are more fun to drive and easier to repair since they are less complex and lighter....but this goes for many brands...

There is no question...cars today are too complex for their own good.

 

[CBR.worm]

We just sold an '04 A4 1.8t with 65K miles on it because we could not afford the repairs. Loved the car, drove wonderfully. When it was under warranty it required major repairs (replaced tranny, AC work, driveshafts, all interior surfaces, radio, front power windows, etc). I figured that since all the big stuff was replaced under warranty we should be good to go, but the little stuff added up quickly to an average of about $800 a month over the last year.

We typically keep cars much longer than this and have never had repair bills like we did with that particular audi. It had a very easy life, 20 mile daily roundtrip on the highway and 3 days a week off.

So I would look to after 2004 for the improvements. Personally I could not buy another VAG product.

 

[robertcope]

I always find it interesting to hear people's VW stories. I have had nothing but success with them. I currently have two daily drivers (for me and my wife), a 2003 Jetta VR6 and a 2008 Rabbit.

The Jetta has 108K miles on it and is at the track at least once a month. The only real issue that I've had with it is a dying power steering pump and a blown power steering line. I suspect the time the car spends in the 5500-7000 RPM range is to blame for that, not to mention the fact that I'm on the track in the heat of Texas.

The Rabbit only has about 37K miles on it. It has not had any issues so far, and to be honest, I just don't expect any.

Previous VWs include a 1984 Scirocco, a 1988 Jetta GLI, and a 1998 Jetta. The Scirocco had some electrical issues, but the other cars were quite reliable. I'm only talking about my water-cooled cars, too!

I worked for a VW shop for a number of years as a mechanic. I cannot recall too many cars that were "lemons". There are obviously some recurring issues on some models (hello, plastic window clips!), but that is typical of any car from any manufacturer.

To be honest, I have seen how many people treat their cars, and thus do not put much stock in how their cars treat them. Not sure if that makes much sense, really. A lot of people are very cheap with maintenance and upkeep. You even see it here and in other forums, where you would think most people would treat their cars well, but in fact they can't even put the right oil in it.

robert

 

[Audi Junkie]

Top 10 Cars With the Best Residual Value for 2008
By Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/126161/article.html

As a potential new-car buyer, you probably know that your biggest enemy is depreciation. This dark villain starts attacking your car the minute you drive it off the lot, siphoning away your hard-earned dollars by reducing the value of your vehicle. To help you outsmart this insidious nemesis, we've put together this list of the 10 cars likely to depreciate the least during ownership. Our list includes the percentage of its original value that each vehicle is likely to retain after five years with an annual mileage of 15,000. Our residual value percentages are based on each car's national True Market Value® (TMV) price, plus typical options and destination charge.


#6 2008 Volkswagen R32 — 49.0%

#9 2008 Volkswagen Eos — 47.0%


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