Had 40 years experience of air cooled VW,s , thinking of a getting a Golf/Jetta. Have had very negative comments though oddly enough about reliability and in particular about even simple repairs being a major issue because of densely packed under bonnet mechanicals. Any comments at all?. Many thanks John
Compared to an Air Cooled VW the modern VW's are very densely packed, but then so are most cars today. My 2002 Beetle is far different than my 1970 Beetle. Things change in 30 years.
I have not found any problems with reliability. I would say the modern VW's are more reliable than the old ones. However They are less reliable than some other modern cars.
That said, let's look at the real situation. A current VW might be 30% more likely than a certain other make car to have problems. However that might mean the VW has a 3% chance of having a problem vs the other car's 1%
In my experience proper driving and maintenance with a VW will result in a car with less problems than the average car. Drivers differ more than cars do.
My comment applies to Euro-Cars in general, not just VWs, so keep that in mind as I rant away, and also know that we drive three (3) such cars, Volvo, Saab & VW.
a) Euro cars are emphatically *not* user-friendly inasmuch as they suffer badly if not scrupulously maintained. Most American cars and most Japanese cars are rather forgiving if service intervals for things like hoses, plugs, air-filters, even fuel-filters are stretched, even neglected seriously in some cases. Absolutely not so of VW.
b) Euro-Cars in general have something of a Germanic tradition - never use one part when three-or-more will do the job. That those several parts may do the job better is the excuse, but I have to think that the reason is a bet amongst the engineers to see how many parts they can cram into any given space.
c) Leading to clearances: A mm is as good as a mile, so why waste space? That is only an opportunity to add more parts.
d) VW invented the phrase: Service Position - meaning "remove front end of vehicle" - leading to the potential of neglecting those things that require the 'Service Position'. Imagine you being asked to get into the 'service position' - would you not perhaps balk?
The point being that a VW, as with about any reasonably well made vehicle will last indefinitely if it receives scrupulous care. One assumes that with high-cost vehicles such as Mercedes, but a VW is just as merciless if neglected as a Mercedes, perhaps more so. A VW mechanic gets paid just as much as a Mercedes mechanic and the parts cost just as much. So, VWs get a reputation of being unreliable, of which perhaps only 25% is true, the other 75% is due to that lack of scrupulous maintenance.
Our Eurovan Camper gets that maintenance - it ain't nohow cheap, but it is much cheaper than the alternative. We expect it to last easily another 10 years as it will turn 10 in August. And typically we get
200,000+ miles out of our cars - passing them on to the kids at that point for an additional few years.
It somewhat depends on the years you are looking at. Are you buying new or used? I personally know nothing about that 2.5 liter engine in the newer VWs but they have chains that can go bad like the VR6 engines if not properly cared for. The 1.8t engine needs special oil and oil filters. Most of the engines require the timing belts to be changed around 100K miles. Some of the automatic transmissions have problems too.
If you are looking for something cheap I would recommend a 1996-1998 Jetta with manual windows, 5 speed manual transmission and the 2.0 liter engine. Those are pretty much bullet-proof IMHO if the wiring to the doors are in good shape. ;-)
My Jetta III (A3) had a slew of recurring electrical problems. So far, the MK V Jetta has been essentially flawless for the last year. I just didn't like where the windshield washers were hitting, so I moved 'em instead of taking it to the dealer for them to do.
Basically done oil and filter changes. There's more plastic to pull off to access stuff, but it's not like it's HARD work. Probably most cars have this problem now. More ducts and body work to control the air flow and optimize cooling, prevent splashing problems, reduce noise, make it 'look pretty', etc...
Mark '95 Jetta GLS (sold and missed) '08 Jetta SEL
Thanks one and all. You are right about "you dont work on cars anymore? I still havnt found the distributor on the Mrs,s 2002 Sonata!!!!. Speaking of which I,d rather have a VW but the Hyundai has been darn near bullet proof. You,d think if Koreans can do it why not Euro,s. Ta again John
Yeah but is that engine a Mitsubishi or does Hyundai make their own engines now?
But I guess that 2.5 liter engine in the VW Rabbits are Lamborghini engines now.
I think that the Asian vehicles usually don't have the problems that the VWs have but maybe they wait until the cutting-edge technology gets ironed out on the VWs before otheres control the manufacturing of the components and then install them on their vehicles.
Were the VWs the first vehicles equipped with Head Rests and Shoulder Seat Belts on the '68 Beetles? I just can't remember now. ;-)
Yeah. Ain't it great! No distributor?! Just a coil pack. One less thing to have to R&R.
With as much $$ as some folks have in 'tools', a little more for an engine scanner can tell you SO much more - if you know what to look at - or know someone that does ;)
I don't recall the last time I looked in the engine compartment of an Asian car. I like the fact that most VWs aren't really broken in well until they achieve 100,000 miles and other vehicles are rare if the make it to 200,000 miles.
Kia is a "offshoot" of Hyundai so engines are probably the same and usually are ex Mitsubishi. Actually I think the 4 banger Chrysler in Australia uses the same engine as well. Badge engineering!.
If they park at the same spot then you need to remove the nut & linkage on the wiper motor and reposition it at the correct parking spot and reinstall nut. Simple huh! ;-)
Applies to all cars I think and not necessarily for the better. The latest Golf with 1.4 litres and supercharger plus turbo charger is awesome technology but think of the repair bills when the turbo/supercharger is shagged, the engines stuffed when it comes out of warranty. Just give the Service Manager your first born and a blank cheque. Me?, I,ll stick with my
1970 Type 3!. Original engine, original automatic. John
I,ll give you that, some things definitely for the better. I remember my Dad decoking the family car every 20,000 miles. Most cars these days dont have the engine opened till 200000 km barring timing belts. Wonder if these new Golfs will get that far?. John
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