What do you think of Volkswagens? Ever own one?

[Aimeedyan]

Years ago, my family owned several (all 1980s models or older) but I don't know much about them now. My dad said they had a known engine issue a few years back and they refused to repair or do a recall on it - he feels like VW doesn't stand behind their vehicles after that. I do not know what situation he's referring to or how much truth there is to it.

I've been looking at the Touareg... but they actually have a couple vehicles in their line that look appealing.

What do you think of Volkswagens as a whole? Any thoughts on specific models? We drive until the wheels fall off so it needs to be dependable long term.

Thanks!

 

[Briarmom]

I've had my Beetle for 5 years and I love it. It's been a great little car.

While we lived in Europe, we had my Beetle and DH bought a Golf. It also was a great car. We sold it before moving here because it had European specs.

 

[Mommy2cody]

Both my DH and I work for Volkswagen...PM me if you have any questions that I/we can help you with!!!!! LOL NO we are not in sales!! LOL!!

 

[manning]

My aunt had a 1967 beetle. She was driving down the road one day when it suddenly quit on her. Luckily she was able to get it to the shoulder of the road. Another lady in an exact beetle noticed her looking into the front with the hood open, pulled over and asked what was wrong. My aunt explained what happened and when she popped the hood found the engine was missing. The lady said "no problem I have a spare in the trunk I can lend you."

 

[MomofKatie]

I have never purchased my own VW (my first car was a VW Dasher my dad bought for me in the early 80's), but my dad has had them for most of the last 45 years- Beetle, Squareback, Rabbit, Dasher, pickup, Golf, Passat, and assorted other models. Every single VW he has owned has had electrical problems, either minor (mostly the lower end models- Beetle or Rabbit) or major. Things as small as lights burning out too fast to big things like the whole electrical system having to be replaced. Many of his cars saw the inside of the dealership's service bays almost as often as our garage, it seems. For some inexplicable reason, he keeps going back to VW and buying their cars. IMO, I would have stopped after the second or third time I had to spend big $$$ on repairs.

 

[stitch and co]

Every single VW he has owned has had electrical problems, either minor (mostly the lower end models- Beetle or Rabbit) or major. Things as small as lights burning out too fast to big things like the whole electrical system having to be replaced. Many of his cars saw the inside of the dealership's service bays almost as often as our garage, it seems. . . . . . spend big $$$ on repairs.

I totally agree. We bought a used 2002 Passat from a friend of DH, so we knew the history and background of this car. Well, 6 months later the electrical system went crazy. Besides the big $$$ to fix and the three (3) days to diagnose the problem, the VW dealership service manager had the nerve to tell me said he had never seen such an electrical problem before - this was after I showed him articles I found on the syptoms and what caused the problem from a VW site on the internet.

We can't get rid of this money pit fast enough.

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

Interesting. I've had my 2001 Beetle since... well, when it was brand spankin' new, and I've never had any manufacturer's problems with it. The only problems I've had have been self induced (such as minor chipping on the interior door paint due to the seatbelt hitting it, a scratch on the hood from a minor accident, etc.).

 

[luvflorida]

I bought one of the New Beetles (a red one) when they came out about ten years ago. Two of my three kids were in their teens at the time, so I no longer needed a mini-van. I wanted something just for myself. I loved that car! However, my husband put the wrong kind of antifreeze in the car one day and it destroyed the engine. We had no idea that the car needed a special kind of antifreeze (I think that was the substance) until we got out the owner's manual and read the fine print. We traded it in (at a major loss) for a newer silver Beetle. I only kept it a few years because I decided I wanted something a little larger.

My husband and I are Jeep converts now. He has driven a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the past ten years, and I've driven a Jeep Liberty. I just traded the Liberty for a Patriot this past weekend. We both really, really like our Jeeps!

We bought a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta for our younger daughter a few years ago. She loves it and hasn't had any problems with it.

 

[java]

Years ago I had VW cabriolet and it got stolen. I loved that car.
I just got a VW beetle last year and I LOVE it. I can't speak to the "sustainability" of the car as I have never had one for longer than a year. But so far so good.

 

[HeatherFeather]

I bought a 1998 Jetta new...just sold it in April of this year when we bought a Honda Pilot. That car had about 110,000 miles on it. I replaced the clutch, brakes, tires, and just other wear and tear items. It was a great car. I'm sort of regretting getting rid of it.... I would definitely consider buying another Jetta.

 

[720L]

I've had my VW for a year now, absolutely no problems with it and I drive all the time. I LOVE this car!

 

[clarabelle]

Have you looked at Consumer Reports? or Edmunds?

My sister has a passat and has had many problems -including electrical -but maybe she just has a lemon.

 

[LindaR]

I have owned several VW's and currently drive an Audi (same company). If you want longevity.......buy Japanese. If you want "fun-to-drive" then buy a VW.

The company has a rep as being very inconsistent with the quality. And quite frankly, depending on what model you are considering and what country THAT is built in, also has some bearing on issues.

I am done! I am about to sell my 2006 Audi because it is starting to have random issues (computer related) that have left me stranded twice. Here in the southwest, you can drive 100 miles without hitting another town.

 

[cappygirl]

I just traded my 2001 Beetle for a 2009 Tiguan.
I never had any major issues with the Beetle but it was time to get rid of because we're expecting our first and we needed a bigger car.
The Tiguan is a joy to ride and I absolutely love it - however, we've only had it since July and it's already been in and out of the shop a few times for issues with the gas tank (it spits gas back up after you fill it - really weird and stinky!) so they're replacing the tank for us next week and we're keeping our fingers crossed that the problem will be fixed for good. Other than that though - love the car!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

My DH and I own a 99 VW Jetta. A couple years ago we dropped about $1300 in to it! It's go soooooooooooo many things wrong with it right now. 3 windows don't roll down, the driver's side door doesn't lock so we can't arm the car, fuel gauge doesn't measure correctly, and the driver's side window not only doesn't roll down, it won't go up all the way either, so when it rains we have to put a trash bag over it. All in all, the car is still drivable and it's got well over 200,000 miles on it. When DH bought me a new car in 2006 I told him unless it's a Toyota I didn't want foreign again, so we now own a Chevy Cobalt. VWs in my opinion are good cars, but once that warranty ends, you'll drop A LOT of money in to repairs. I will say this as a big plus for them. When DH and I had that car accident in 2001 our air bags deployed....we still own the car. What's the point? When the air bags deployed in our first Cobalt in my accident March of this year, they totaled the car. American...Foreign...get my drift?

 

[720L]

You guys are worrying me! How many miles were on your VW's before you started having problems?

 

[MUFFYCAT]

We had a 86 Jetta. It was a fun car to drive but once it hit about 70,000 miles it starting having trouble which cost alot to keep running.
Even maintence work cost more then the American or Japenese cars.

 

[CTMomof2]

I had a 2006 Touareg. It is the first car that I have ever owned that I didn't get sick of after driving for a year or two. I loved everything about it. Never gave me a day's trouble. Only downside.. maintenance is expensive as are replacement wipers and tires. I traded it in in February for a 2009 VW CC. I got the luxury edition and I am even more in love with this than I was with the Touareg. They have a base model that starts around $27k but I wouldn't go there.. The top of the line is the VR6 that hits at about $42,000. All scheduled maintenance is included for 3 years now. I'm due for my first 10k service next month. I was going to get an Audi this time until I saw the CC. Guess I'm a full blown VW girl now..

 

[Tiggerlover91]

We had a 86 Jetta. It was a fun car to drive but once it hit about 70,000 miles it starting having trouble which cost alot to keep running.
Even maintence work cost more then the American or Japenese cars.

I'd say that's about where it was for us. Remember, I'm over 200,000 now and we haven't put anything in to it at all this year except gas money. Actually I think we did have a repair that cost a little over $100, but I'll take that over $1300 anyday.

 

[MommyMcQueen]

I've had 3 Jettas in the past 15 years and loved all of them!

My first was an '87 Diesel, I purchased it with over 100k on it and it was a great car - no major problems. Unfortunately I got hit and the car was totalled, so I only had it about a year. Second one was a 2000, bought in 2002 and only had regular manitenance issues with it - new battery, brakes, tires. Sold it after a few years to get some bigger after we had kids.

I now have a 2002 Jetta Wagon and I LOVE it. We got it almost 2 years ago and it is a great kid hauler and does not feel like a giant wagon - and it is fun to drive. We've had a few issues with it - warning signs of what's to come maybe? The digital parts of the dash (mainly the clock) sometimes act funny - display gibberish - but then will correct itself - so obviously electronical problem. And recently the door adjar sensor on the drivers door will go off when we go over a bump or after we shut the door - have to open and shut the door again to turn the beeping off - could be bad sensor or electrical issue. Both of these happen very sporadically (maybe once a month) so we have not had them looked at yet.

Repairs and parts can be expensive - we have an estimate for a broken door handle that we have not had repaired yet - my kids were pulling on the handle and somehow broke it and we had the child safety locks on as well, so we can't open the door from the inside either. Estimate was $1600 to pull off the inside door panel to get the door open, replace the whole inside door panel (assuming it gets damaged when removed) and fix the outside door handle. We've been living with it broken a while - kids just have to climb through the other side!

All in all, I love VWs and would defenitely conside buying another.