VW's suck...

[Hatterasguy]

I yanked the misserable excuse for a car known as a VW Jetta out of the back yard today. Changed the cam seal, distributer seal, and timing belt.

What a POS I don't get what people see in these cars. Its like a cheap, horrible done MB or BMW. None of the German attention to detail or quality, just slapped together in an overally complicated way. The doors weigh like 1oz, the seats are designed for torture, the plastic is everywhere, the interior is a sea of plastic! A Civic or a Corolla would be a lot better. They drive the freaken distributer off the T belt, insted of off the cam like Toyota. Oh and timing marks on the crank? Could they make them any harder to see, they almost don't exist. Its the same T belt set up as on the old Volvo 2.4L, but just not done as well. Not to mention it freaken leaks oil everywhere. The serp belt is a PITA to change, I'm doing it now and never again. The oil filter and drain plug are in a PITA location.

Want to change the spark plugs? 3 are under the freaken intake. The air filter box doesn't even seal right because its half under the fender and has some BS plastic clips under their. WTF


If it was a diesel, it would be OK, but just OK. I can't beleive people actualy buy these things, and pay good money for them. It's got all the downsides of MB's and BMW's, pricey parts, oil leaks, ect. Just none of the positives.

So far I have $70 worth of parts into this thing, and it needs some tires. IMHO it wasn't worth more than that new.

[rickg]

C'mon, don't hold back. How do you REALLY feel about the car?

[PaulC]

Hattie, it's 12 years old and was built to a price. You want Japanese reliability? Lease a Civic.

[Larry Delor]

I dunno about the older gassers, but my friend's Jetta TDI is a very nice, solid feeling car. As a matter of fact, I am so impressed by it, that my next car, might not be an MB. Accelleration is quite adequate, handling is very competent, fit and finish is very good, amenities are handy, and the stereo is quite good as well.
You can fold down the rear seats, and the passenger seat, and transport 8' widgets with ease. And one of the best parts: It gets 38mpg in the city.

[Hatterasguy]

Originally Posted by PaulC

Hattie, it's 12 years old and was built to a price. You want Japanese reliability? Lease a Civic.

Preaching to the choir here. As soon as I get out of school and some decent cash flow coming in I'm getting a damn near new C or E class.

[sfloriII]

Originally Posted by Larry Delor

I dunno about the older gassers, but my friend's Jetta TDI is a very nice, solid feeling car. As a matter of fact, I am so impressed by it, that my next car, might not be an MB. Accelleration is quite adequate, handling is very competent, fit and finish is very good, amenities are handy, and the stereo is quite good as well.
You can fold down the rear seats, and the passenger seat, and transport 8' widgets with ease. And one of the best parts: It gets 38mpg in the city.

I'll second that!! I love my VW, but I do know what Hattie's saying about some of the VW quality. Problem is, we're used to Mercedes quality, that's all.

We'll see how long my diesel VW lasts. So far I've cranked nearly 34,000 miles on the odometer in a little over a year without any serious issues. But it's still a young car. But I'm taking good care of it!!

What else can I say, it's assembled in mexico. I would never consider getting a VW, except a Passat, for that reason alone.

[Matt L]

Our Mexican-assembled Jetta has had zero issues so far. Somebody did something right.

[MBlovr]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Preaching to the choir here. As soon as I get out of school and some decent cash flow coming in I'm getting a damn near new C or E class.

Now that will be an adventure in reliability

[catmandoo62]

what do they suck???other then air.when M-B comes out with a car that will get me over 50 mpg's like my tdi jetta then maybe i'll say vw's suck you know what!!but until that day in time i can't complain .

[Wodnek]

Originally Posted by catmandoo62

what do they suck???other then air.when M-B comes out with a car that will get me over 50 mpg's like my tdi jetta then maybe i'll say vw's suck you know what!!but until that day in time i can't complain .

Smart car?

Originally Posted by Wodnek

Smart car?

Nice try. They are only rated for 30-45mpg. You might be able to squeeze a few mpg more out of it but I doubt the 1L Mitsubishi engine has what it takes to do it.

[Matt L]

I don't know what we could get for fuel mileage if we tried. We get about 42 overall, and most of the highway mileage is at 75mph. Going slower would probably result in noticeably better mileage.

My only complaint is the stiff suspension. It's not objectionable when driving the car, but as a passenger, I really prefer the Benz.

[cmac2012]

I'd like to check out a Golf diesel. I wish BMW or Mercedes had a small diesel one could actually purchase in the US or Cal anyway. The E320 CDI gets 35 mpg at a curb weight of around 3800 lbs. Soon as I get a spare $50K, I'm buying one. The Golf gets 45 supposedly at a weight of 2900 with a 1.9 diesel. My E-30 BMW weighs 2600. I'd love to be able to drop in a 2.2 to 2.5 turbo diesel with intercooler into that frame and see what I had.

[lietuviai]

Originally Posted by Matt L

Our Mexican-assembled Jetta has had zero issues so far. Somebody did something right.

It was probably built later in the week after the tequila hangover wore off.