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Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:36 pm

Personally, I really love the Jetta and my girlfriend has a new beetle. But I feel like VW has lost a vision that they used to have. I don't really see them going for new ideas, or even really fuel efficient cars. I know their working on one right now, but it seems kind of late in the game. Also I know that the diesal tdi's are good too, but you get what Im saying. Also I used to think VW promoted environmental change; however their large tourag SUV was rated as bad as a hummer.

My question to you is...How do you think Volkswagen compares to other cars today? What do they need to change? How has their vision for their company changed from the past?

Fri Oct 03, 2008 2:35 pm

Can't beat a Toyota.

Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:05 pm

New VWs aspire to be luxury cars, but Volkswagen is too dumb to realize that they will never be associated with the likes of Mercedes Benz or other luxury high end European brands.

I have zero interest in new Volkswagens.

I second Beatleeater's comments.

Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:06 pm

my wifes 2006 jetta tdi is great 45 mpg and has never given any trouble.

Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:09 pm

I still think the build quality is way up on most other modern rubbish- All of our company cars are VW and they just feel good- However, I am comparing to my daily which is a 10 yr old piece of french shit!! :lol:

Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:44 pm

the wife and i would LOVE to buy a new vw,but we have looked up everything they make and its mostly unhappy faces.
http://www.carsurvey.org/
i myself have a toyota as a daily,so plus 2.

Fri Oct 03, 2008 3:57 pm

I've had 4 different new VW's in my driveway since 1999: a Golf, the wife's NB, a Eurovan, and my current Jetta wagon...

couple of issues throughout, but I have a more negative view of dealers/service departments...

for the money, comparing a Golf or a Jetta to a Civic or a Corolla shows the level of equipment packed into VW's for a comparable price; I prefer German-built VW's, but the wife's NB gave us very little trouble over the 6 years she owned it...

Fri Oct 03, 2008 5:07 pm

Three words: Honda, Toyota, Subaru.

We finally got rid of my wife's 2000 "New" Beetle. It was a piece of crap. Cheap plastic everywhere, lousy fit & finish and I had that thing towed more in 5 yrs than I've towed ALL my other cars combined in like 30+ years. Mostly electrical problems that were "repaired" over and over again. We replaced the brake switch at least three times and the local dealer tried to charge us each and every time. :evil: Luckily, we kept our receipts and I'm very "convincing" when I'm pissed. I finally located a service rep that wasn't a thief and dealt with him, but that didn't change the quality, or lack thereof, of the car. It's gone now, thank god. Never again. We're considering a Honda Civic 4 dr or a Subaru Impreza 4 dr.

Fri Oct 03, 2008 5:19 pm

My wife bought a 2003 Beetle vert new.
I'll never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, buy a "new" VW again
The frustration I experienced with that car took years off of my life.
Finally sold it after owning it for 30 months and 4,000 miles.

Fri Oct 03, 2008 5:32 pm

VWoA screwed me over with warranty work on my 91 Passat. So when i needed a new car I bought a Honda.

I now own 3 Hondas and never had a problem with any of them.

Fri Oct 03, 2008 5:45 pm

Hi,

You know, it all depends upon your expectations from a car.
I drive a Pontiac Vibe (a Toyota Matrix with different sheet metal but all Toyota running gear) as a daily driver and have nothing but praise for it.

My boss runs a VW Toureq and I wouldn't give you a wooden nickel for it! Sure its got lots of toys and electrical stuff in it. Rides smooth and comfy but what a pretentious hard to service over priced piece of crap it is! I've spent enough time in it and under it to make this statement. VW wants to be luxury but can't run with the big boys.
Now the "average" VW's are another story.
My brother and his wife have among many other cars (2 income, no kids) an older Cabrio and a newer Golf and he loves them both.
VW has an aura of luxury in a cheap package but the price isn't cheap. They are no longer the peoples anti establishment car as the bug was in the 60's. That role has been taken over by the Toyota Prius.

To say I'll never own a newer VW would be a short sighted statement to make for some of the information I read in trade magazines about the new VW diesel really intrigues me.

Are they more or less trouble than any other car out there? Maybe, or is the mentality of the buyer such that he complains more when something doesn't work just right?
Different brands attract different types of buyers. I think VW attracts those who want a Mercedes or an Audi but don't have the coin and they settle for a VW but deep down are a little pissed off about it so they have an overly high level of expectation and a much higher than average tendency to bitch about problems.

I think that virtually any new car made today is head and shoulders above the best mass produced car of 20 years ago bar none. Car manufacturing has improved immensely in recent years. The initial quality of a Hyundai is right up there with the quality of a BMW.

My 2x
Dave

Fri Oct 03, 2008 6:15 pm

Quote: [quote="djkeev"]
I drive a Pontiac Vibe (a Toyota Matrix with different sheet metal but all Toyota running gear) as a daily driver and have nothing but praise for it.
So it's a Toyota disguised as a Pontiac. :wink:

Quote: Are they more or less trouble than any other car out there? Maybe, or is the mentality of the buyer such that he complains more when something doesn't work just right?
Nope. I've owned two Honda Accords. One I drove until well over 150K miles and no major or minor issues outside a clutch, brakes & tires. I sold it to me ex-brother-in-law and his daughter drove another 100K miles in it. Second one I had I loved...the ex-wife got it in the divorce.

Quote: I think VW attracts those who want a Mercedes or an Audi but don't have the coin...
I consider Audis to be nothing more than dressed up VW's. My sister-in-law has an A4 she bought brand new. Guess what? Mucho problems, always in the dealer...blah, blah, blah. She's pissed about it for what that car cost. I told her she could/should've gotten a nice used, low miles Benz for that $$$$.

Fri Oct 03, 2008 6:24 pm

My 91 Passat has numerous leaks (oil, tranny steering), rusted exhaust, blown head gasket, burst heater core, burntout 2 fan switches, torque converter needed to be replaced, front rotors needed to be replaced, both front struts needed to be replaced... all before reaching 75,000 miles.

99 Accord has 190,000 miles. Other than regular maint.. no problems. Still has original struts, exhaust, radiator and AC never needed service.

01 Civic has 115,000 miles. Other than regular maint.. no problems. Same as above.

03 Accord has 50,000 miles Only problem was the AC compressor failed when 4 years old and 12 months past warranty expired. The dealer fixed it for free since they said they seen one fail that was only 4 years old. VWoA never would of done that.

Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:29 pm

These are all great replies. I think its sad what has happened to this company since they introduced the type 1, and the way you guys are talking, it seems like its lost its engineering quality as well.

My girlfriend's new beetle runs hard and it doesnt even have a 100,000 miles on it yet. I have to say that I own a Chevy S10 as a car that I drive back and forth to school 200 miles one way, but its basically my daily driver (I do drive my 69 bug a lot too). But ive never had any trouble with that truck, and it has about 200,000 miles on it.

So it seems like people are saying that volkswagen is now trying to disguise itself as a luxury car company. I wish they would go back to unique designs and simple concepts.

Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:20 pm

Water cooled VW's are a completely different product made by a radically changed company. Comparing the two are like comparing apples to hot dogs. There is nothing about VW today that would even make me look at their new vehicles.

Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:41 am

Whatever you do, don't ask the air-cooled VW community what they think about VWoA. Not the cars, the corporation.

Sat Oct 04, 2008 5:30 am

I have a driving commute to NY City and it's a 150 mile daily round trip.

August of 07 bought a new 07 Beetle for the commute..kept it for exactly 1 year and put about 40K miles on it. Other than normal maintenance such as oil changes and tire rotation, no problems at all. The interior is spacious due to the high roof and it cruises just fine on the highway.

August 08 traded it in for a new commuter car..a new 08 Beetle. Only changes in the model I purchased is that it has a sunroof and the winter driving package (heated seats and mirrors and window wash), and Alloy wheels instead of hubcaps which I had on the 07. So far I have almost 5K miles on it..no problems encountered so far.

All this bad talk about the new Beetle...I just wanted a plain car under 20K to commute to work and so far have no regrets selecting the VW.

Sat Oct 04, 2008 5:33 am

I'd rather have a Honda.

Sat Oct 04, 2008 5:36 am

MrBreeze wrote: I'd rather have a Ford.
Fixed for you.

Sat Oct 04, 2008 5:39 am

Asunder wrote: I have a driving commute to NY City and it's a 150 mile daily round trip.

August of 07 bought a new 07 Beetle for the commute..kept it for exactly 1 year and put about 40K miles on it. Other than normal maintenance such as oil changes and tire rotation, no problems at all. The interior is spacious due to the high roof and it cruises just fine on the highway.

August 08 traded it in for a new commuter car..a new 08 Beetle. Only changes in the model I purchased is that it has a sunroof and the winter driving package (heated seats and mirrors and window wash), and Alloy wheels instead of hubcaps which I had on the 07. So far I have almost 5K miles on it..no problems encountered so far.

All this bad talk about the new Beetle...I just wanted a plain car under 20K to commute to work and so far have no regrets selecting the VW.
Why did you get rid of it after one year?

I have a 120 mile commute from Long Island to New Jersey across the Cross Bronx and the GW Bridge. I bought a 5 year old Honda with 60k and in 3.5 years it now has 190,000. Other than oil, tires and brakes, it's needed nothing. Tell me when your VW has 190k and no problems. The first 40k are the easiest.

BTW... I paid $7000 for the car. How much of a loss did that 40k cost you between what you sold it for and what you paid?