Volkswagon

[bokelley]

So DH and I are getting ready to trade in a car. WE have looked at so many!! I really like this VW, but we have never owned one and don't know anything about it. Anyone own one and have praises or disasters with one?

[JC76]

The only true "lemon" we've ever owned was a VW Jetta purchased new in 2000. It was a disaster. Transmission blew at about 10,000 miles. The windows in the doors REPEATED dropped down into the door frame and shattered when we closed the doors due to defective clips or something. Pieces of plastic that covered the bottom of the car used to just break and fall off while driving on the highway. We used to joke that the car had leprosy. Some sort of gooey, oil-based thing leaked from the bottom of the doors onto the outside of the car.

Worst.Car.Ever. We loved the way it looked, loved the way it handled, but it was a maintenance nightmare. That being said, I have no idea if VW's have a bad reputation or if we simply ended up with a lemon.

We've had our 2000 Passat since 2002 and love it. It did have some electrical problems, which were covered under the awesome extended warranty we got from Enterprise when we bought it. My uncle is actually the Engineering Editor for Road & Track magazine, and he likes VW's but says that "they've been working on their electrical since 1964." So, if you like everything else, you need to make sure the electrical stuff is covered under your warranty. But I wouldn't hesitate to buy another VW.

[Pollyanna]

My uncle is actually the Engineering Editor for Road & Track magazine, and he likes VW's but says that "they've been working on their electrical since 1964." So, if you like everything else, you need to make sure the electrical stuff is covered under your warranty. But I wouldn't hesitate to buy another VW.

So what does your Uncle consider the best and most reliable cars/trucks? He must be a great resource for your family!

I LOVE Volkswagen!! I currently have a 2007 VW Jetta Wolfsburg Edition, I have owned it for 2 years now. Prior to that I had a 2003 VW Jetta that I owned for 3 years. I haven't had any problems from either of them so far, hopefully I am not cursing myself by saying this. My sister also has a VW Jetta TDI and loves that as well.

The interior is of solid, good quality. It drives great, with wonderful handling. They also drive great in winter weather. I recommend the Volkswagen 100%.

[scarlett09]

I had a good experience with my first car, a 2004 VW Jetta. It handled well, regardless of the weather, and I did not have any major issues with it during the 3.5 years I owned it. I had a window issue similar to that of JC76 - it was all covered under warranty. Oh, and something about the possibility of the heated seats catching fire - but once again, all covered under warranty. The biggest outlay I had was when my tire picked up a nail.

I was sad to see it go, as it was a good little car and I had only put 30K miles on it during those 3.5 years. But I wanted a new car. Sigh. I miss my pretty little green car with the heated cloth seats.

I would definitely consider getting another VW once we are on the other side of training.

[MarissaNicole]

Nothing to contribute - just wondering if its your or DH's car that you are trading it in for?

[Cumberland]

The only true "lemon" we've ever owned was a VW Jetta purchased new in 2000. It was a disaster. Transmission blew at about 10,000 miles. The windows in the doors REPEATED dropped down into the door frame and shattered when we closed the doors due to defective clips or something. Pieces of plastic that covered the bottom of the car used to just break and fall off while driving on the highway. We used to joke that the car had leprosy. Some sort of gooey, oil-based thing leaked from the bottom of the doors onto the outside of the car.

Worst.Car.Ever. We loved the way it looked, loved the way it handled, but it was a maintenance nightmare. That being said, I have no idea if VW's have a bad reputation or if we simply ended up with a lemon.

Ditto to the Worst.Car.Ever. Our Passat Wagon needed a new ENGINE at 48,000 miles.

[Bittersweet]

We love our Passat wagon. We've had zero problems (knock on wood) and would purchase a VW again.

[GrayMatterWife]

Ditto to the Worst.Car.Ever.

Really wish I had a different opinion, because I think Passats and Jettas are so cute! But, my folks bought a Jetta and it was AWFUL. Fell apart at about 60K. How is that possible?! It's GERMAN, for crying out loud.

So what does your Uncle consider the best and most reliable cars/trucks? He must be a great resource for your family!

Toyota -- anything Toyota -- hands down. If you ask him about any other car, the first thing he says is "Well, it's not a Toyota ..."

He knows the fancy schmancy sports cars in the greatest detail -- R&T doesn't do a lot of big minivan issues or anything. But he says he measures brand by the number of "you idiot" letters he gets (as in: YOU IDIOT! How could you say THAT car was good?) and he never gets them about Toyotas. He says Honda has the mechanics of Toyota, but the cosmetics don't hold up as well.

[bokelley]

Well it is the car that I got when I was in high school. DH drives it, so he is going to take the Santa Fe and I would drive the new car. The reasons we are going to trade in are basically it is out of warranty and starting to have some issues. It has over 100K on it, and when Ryan starts his away interviews he doesn't want to drive it very far and doesn't want me to have to deal with it breaking down somewhere, having to get it fixed, and all that non fun stuff while he is gone. So we are trying to find something that we like and gets good gas mileage and cheap!!

[DCJenn]

Room-mate from college has had nothing but Volkswagons (after the Chevette died a slow and painful death. We did a lot of hoping for downhills because that was the only way it ever got to the speed limit)

She had one REALLY bad Jetta experience but Volkswagon actually replaced the entire car. Yep, just said, 'you're right, this one is a lemon, bring it back and pick out a new one.'

Nothing but praise before and after that one incident though.

Jenn

[JaneDoe]

Toyota -- anything Toyota -- hands down. If you ask him about any other car, the first thing he says is "Well, it's not a Toyota ..."

He knows the fancy schmancy sports cars in the greatest detail -- R&T doesn't do a lot of big minivan issues or anything. But he says he measures brand by the number of "you idiot" letters he gets (as in: YOU IDIOT! How could you say THAT car was good?) and he never gets them about Toyotas. He says Honda has the mechanics of Toyota, but the cosmetics don't hold up as well.

I have to say that I agree with your Uncle, even though I don't have the expertise he does. Dh and I are all about Toyotas and Hondas. In my opinion, they are the best cars out there for reliability, resale and maintenance.

I used to drive a 2000 Jetta and DH still talks about how great a car it was for the price. It did have a couple minor, but annoying electrical issues which were covered under warranty. Other than that, it ran great and it didn't have any other problems until it had passed 100k miles...and that was without having done a single tune-up on it. It did keep its value, too.

Good luck with the car search!