Need to vent about newer volkswagon jetta - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

RG5384 · #1 03-18-2003, 08:13 PM

My mom has a 2001 VW jetta 5-spd. Fun little car really, gets up and goes decent for a little four banger, and really tossible. Those are the pluses of the car, that and a ten year 100000 mile powertrain, a/c warranty. The car's interior is a peice of crap. Almost all the storage bins and cup holders have broken, the last of which brough on this need to vent(and it's not even my car lol). On the last oil change, my mom brought it to the dealer's attention that the glove box latch was half broken, as were the rear cup holders(prior to this the front cup holders, front coin tray, a/c vents, a/c dials had all been replaced due to malfunction/breakage, and many of the trim peices had started to peel off rubber etc). The dealer informed her that the glove box latch would cost 200$ (WTF????!?) and the rear cupholder would cost 100 dollars. Now keep in mind that the dealer was the one who broke the glove box latch the last time the car was in for service. My mom just let that go, and figured the latch was still functional and she never used the rear cupholders. The dealer's reason for not covering it was the "car is more than two years old". Then she remembered that one of her tail lights was out. That was all fixed fine and dandy and the bill came, 86$ for an oil change. Turns out the dealer charges 36 dollars to replace a lightbulb. Apparently on this car only the dealer can change out the light bulb(this is horse ****, if a dealer personel can do something my dad or I can as well), and they had to remove the entire assembly to replace a light, to the tune of 36$. I dont think i'll ever buy a VW after all this, and i though mercedes were expensive to maintain, and this VW is still under warranty and only two years old!!!! Man i wish i was at the dealer with my mom, she's a much more passive person than I, and i have more of a bull in a china shop mentality with things like this. They certainly would have heard about all this in front of potential customers, so that if at the very least someone would re-think their decision to buy this Peice(POS) of german engineering. thanks for letting me vent,
Ryan

DieselHead · #2 03-18-2003, 08:26 PM

I have never liked VWs. Their reliability was bad a few years ago and has only gotten worse. The New York Times had a really good article in the business section a few days ago about VWs reliability and recall woes. VWs are a sharp car on the surface and on paper, but I think they have severe quality control problems and they use cheap materials. VW cut a lot of corners in the development of their newer cars to save money, time, and bring the prices down. The Jettas, New Beetles and Passats of late looked great inside and out, and were fresh and new, and this brought them a lot of new customers. I think a lot of people are starting to regret their purchases. Management has also proven to not be completely organized and consumer oriented, as shown by their handling of the ignition coil problem. I personally wouldn't buy a VW until they can prove that they have their act together. This usually requires several years of slow and consistent improvement. BMW and Mercedes took many years to build up their reputations. I don't know why VW thought they could take shortcuts.

73MB280SEL · #3 03-19-2003, 07:07 AM

UPSIDE: VW makes some of the best styled cars today (Audi twins). VW makes the only new Diesel car you can buy--and it's alot faster than the older MB's. VW makes a credible alternative to the Japanese cars if you want a small car. Really, why would anybody but a car rental agency by a Chevy Cavalier.

DOWNSIDE: VW has had major reliability probs with their Diesel models (check out the TDI forum). MAF sensors fail, engine computers fail, relays fail, timing belts have to be replaced every 60k miles. VW has had problems with manufacturing consistency. In one review the car shifts well, in the next it doesn't.

What's up with these German car manufacturers? They used to lead the World in quality of production.

Sholin

84300DT · #4 03-19-2003, 07:26 AM

we have a pure stock 96 jetta gl and can only say good things about it. it has 65k on it and sofar have replaced since bought new-

-one front wheel bearing (under warranty)
-exhaust cat-back (twice) northern salt...
-front brake pads and rotors
-emergency brake cables
-fuel filter
-timing belt (recommended at 60k)
-alternator and waterpump belts (while doing the timing belt)
-brake fluid (twice, once under warranty)
-spark plugs (twice)
-distributer cap and rotor (twice)
-02 sensor
-tires (twice) -jettas eat tires

-a few light bulbs -tail/licenseplate/headlight etc

that's it - apart from regular oil changes.

it even has the original a/c charge and original battery !

all things considered i think that is very little for 65k and coming close to 7yrs old.!!??

keep in mind though it is a '96 and newer models have been well known to have more problems.

jsmith · #5 03-19-2003, 08:23 AM

stay away from the mexican assembled models. if you don't have a choice, pick one that was assembled closer to wednesday than to monday or friday :p

84300DT · #6 03-19-2003, 08:33 AM

ours was a mexican model but i believe it was during the first few years of production they were doing there so maybe that was a factor. i cannot say that i can tell the difference in quality or workmanship between the 96 and other german assembled vw's i have owned in the past. i must say however i would not buy a vw built after 96.
make no mistake a vw is not a mercedes!!

Diesel-Lover · #7 03-19-2003, 12:13 PM

I must say the turbo bug and the diesel one seemed to be well engineered and good quality when I test drove them and looked at various combinations available in the dealer inventory.They drove nicely as well.

I used to have the freezer box style rear engined Vans circa 70s they proved to be very reliable. The main problem was brrr no heat but other than that they drove and ran well.

Sorry to hear about the troubles on the newer model, hope things settle out and the car proves to be reliable once the latest glitch is resolved. Cup holder design is an issue in many cars, four cup holders on our Pontiac Transport broke within 4 weeks. The replacements also broke within 6 months, after that we gave up!

We have 3 VWs in our extended family and they have been doing well except for the cup holders in one of them. The same one had chronic issues with fuel fumes leaking in the garage but the cause was chronic overfilling of the tank!

Hang tough, the basic platform should live up to the classic german engineering reputation.

73MB280SEL · #8 03-19-2003, 12:31 PM

Alot of the TDI folks are having problems. The MAF sensors fail stranding you, the relay 109 (ECU) fails, they have had water injestion problems which hydrolocks the engine, the EGR system cokes up the intake that requires a time consuming cleaning, the timing belts on the Diesel must be replaced more often, ect....

They may have fixed some of these problems and granted, there is alot of them on the road. Any vehicle with the numbers that VW has on the road is going to have some problems. I'd expect more from VW, though, because quality cars is their bread and butter.

Still, I really like VW's and if they made a CDI passat wagon, I'd be there. Of course if MB sold their 220 CDI C class wagon here, I'd really be there.

Off the topic, but what's the deal with modern Diesel's. Check out the ford/GM/dodge diesel pickup BBS's sometime. All of them seem to have problems running properly.

Sholin

placo1 · #9 03-19-2003, 04:58 PM

1. Work well FOR THE FIRST 6 MONTHS!!!

2. Worst Customer Service

3. They are getting what they deserve

4. Burned once shame on you, burned twice shame on me, VW NEVER AGAIN!

These comments are based on my experience with a 97 Golf which I finally dumped after the whole wiring harness in the engine burned up ($2800 To Replace)

BTW many of my friends had just as many problems. JUNK

84300DT · #10 03-19-2003, 05:17 PM

sorry to hear about the problems with your golf - but as i said i would not get any vw built after 96. we have had good luck sofar with ours (knock on wood 3 times....

)
the customer service at the dealer where i got the car sort of stunk but luckily i did not have to encounter them too often in the 2 years it was under bumper to bumper warranty.
mostly it was in only for oil changes that they managed somehow not to screw up , heheh.
i have had 3 prior vw's
73 super bug - loved it but the pan cracked and car imploded
(drove it 90k.. not bad for a $1300 car)
79 rabbit diesel 5spd - great car - died cracked block at 120k
89 jetta gl -auto - great car - totalled may 2002 - 120k

RG5384 · #11 03-20-2003, 02:26 AM

on the plus side the car is a blast to drive(although if you shift quickly into second it grinds-no it's not my driving it does it to everyone). Another plus is the car has only been into the dealer for interior trim peices(which are terribly crappy), and oil changes, and now has 25k on the clock. A/c is ice cold as soon as it starts, and it has a decent factory radio. I still think it is INCREDIBLY rediculous that only the dealer can change the light bulbs in the damn car. I mean come on, almost 40 dollars for a LIGHTBULB???? something is very very wrong there.
Ryan

#12 03-20-2003, 10:53 AM

Newer VW's do have problems and are expensive to fix. But the older diesels are GREAT! Easy to work on and parts are cheap. I am talking the A2 models 1985-92. Some examples: front rotor $17 CDN, rear brake cylinder $13 CDN, Front coil spring $40 CDN, rear brakes $7 per side, half-shaft with inner and outer CV joints $79 CDN with core, muffler $50 CDN. All these prices are for new parts. When you go to the the A3 1993 up models prices start to soar. Example muffler $210 for a 1993, 1997 $379 for a muffler. If you do your own repairs on the older models they are very reliable and have great mileage (diesel) and once you get the hang of working on them, they are very easy. I just bought another '86 Jetta diesel for $600 for my youngest daughter - nice shape - needs a clutch. Dealer quoted $1200 to change and supply new clutch - owner decided to get rid of car. I bought the complete clutch assy and new clutch cable for under $300 CDN. After working on these older models for 10 years - I swear by them.

blackmercedes · #13 03-20-2003, 04:55 PM

The problem I see with VW is a complete lack of understanding of their market. They have in the last few years taken VW upmarket by huge strides. They've increased their pricing dramatically, and expanded their entire line "up."

But, many people feel the VW's are relatively inexpensive cars. The Golf used to compete with the Civic and Corolla. Not anymore.

So, we've got a different buyer in the showroom. Heck, a Passat is priced so far above a Camry or Accord, it just is not competing for the same buyer. A base Passat is more than an Accord EX-L. (In Canada, anyway). This buyer is unloading $40-$50K for a Passat. He/she expects everything a Mercedes buyer wants. They want top notch sales service. They want free loaner cars. They want no-hassles warranty service. They want their cars washed when they come back. They want everything that goes along with buying a $50K car. (A Passat W8 hits $60K)

Well, been to a VW dealer? Those folks may want, but they ain't getting. Service wait times are huge thanks to poor quality and overwhelmed service depts dealing with warranty work. VW fights tooth and nail over warranty fixes. The dealer's showrooms and facilities are to sell $20K cars, not $60K or $100K or $125K cars.

Do you think Golf buyers get treated like Phaeton buyers? NO. Phaeton buyers will be treated like Golf buyers. Wonder why Mazda couldn't sell the Millennia? Because luxury car buyers don't want "323" service. Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and Infiniti get it. Come with me to the dealer. I roll up in my five year old C230. I get treated like bloody royalty by the service dept. (Sales is another story) I have a free loaner car. My car comes back sparkling clean, inside and out. Free coffee. Yadda yadda. Okay, the labour rate is $83 per hour. Go to the VW dealer. $80 per hour. The $3 is more than worth the extras.

A collegue of mine has a Passat wagon. She spent WAY more on her car than I did on my Mercedes, and you wouldn't believe the poor service she gets. And her Passat is junk. It's been back almost weekly. She paid cash for the car, and is seriously considering taking a serious hit to be rid of it.

placo1 · #14 03-20-2003, 05:15 PM

I agree and disagree with John on this one. When I bought my Golf it was still a competitor with the Civic, and my issues weren't with the dealers.

The dealer I had (Also a Toyota Dealer) was excellent with regards to customer service. They always cleaned my car and would also brief me in detail before any work was done. They usually didn't have problems locating faults. Except in the instance when the wire burned up and another dealer (I was stranded) misdiagnosed it as a faulty sensor.

The problems I had were with VW of N. America, the car fell apart (brake line, interior, trim etc.) after 26K miles and finally at 52K miles was not driveable. They didn't care and said "I'm sorry it's out of warranty".

Since then we've had two Honda's, first a V6 Accord and now a CRV. Honda goes out of their way to insure your happy and they go the extra mile to wash your car with every $20.00 oil/filter change. They even replaced a leather cover on the Accord when it was 8K miles our of warranty! That's why we bought another one.

VW will fall flat on their face when they introduce the Tuareg and Phaeton, CAN'T WAIT!

By the way RG5384, I had the same problem shifting from 1st to second!

Lance Allison · #15 03-25-2003, 09:08 AM

I have a 98 Jetta TDI (A3 body) bought new in Nov 97. Now with 225k miles, I only have praises for the car. It's been a joy to own with no problems at all. Most of my miles have been driven with the car heavily modded performancewise. My HP and torque numbers have been greatly increased with no adverse affects (yet) on longevity or reliability.

Granted, I do most work myself, I've found it to be MUCH cheaper to drive and keep well maintained than most anything else I've owned, GM vehicles included.

Going through all my receipts, I'm certain the entire 225k miles have cost significantly less than the single cost of repair to have the top end redone on my 87 300SDL. Oh yeah, no $2000 sunroof repair on the VW either.

I hear of various problems with TDI's...MAFs, windows, Relay 109, etc. Mine was built in Mexico and maybe I just got a good one. The power window regulators have been dealt with a couple times, mostly at VWs expense. The relay 109 is a $16 part that has never went out on my car...I do have a spare in the glovebox. No trim has ever broken off, nor do I have squeaks or rattles. Heck, I've only needed to replace the front brakes twice, the rears are still original, albeit needing replacement soon.