Hi,
I have been looking at the current Golf and I see they have had some reliability problems in recent years but I can't find any statistics to show whether this has been solved in the current run. Does anybody have any idea how good reliability in new golfs? I see that they are having cam belt failures which seems like rather an expensive thing to risk.
Thanks.
I like the new golf style-wise, but really what you've got to do is look at the reliability-index. VW's in general aren't top, toyota's and honda's are there in abundance.
What do you want the car for? If it's family there's some at the top for you, if it's sales-rep starship mileage, there's choice for you, etc.
The reliability indexes have one flaw, people. People contribute their experiences, but at the end of the day if we assume each car company poison each other's cars equally (which I really doubt happens anyway to any great extent, JD Power and associates have a good reputation for generally accurate results from surveys) then they're not a bad guide at all.
I bought an accord based on trying many different models, and by seeing many from 1994 in immaculate condition in some streets near my work which aren't garaged. I spoke to the owners, so take some initiative if you get a chance, just ask what someone thinks of their car, ask about work done on it. Men tend to lie a lot, especially young folk, as they feel the car's a part of them!
From the list of problems I've read, I wouldn't personally part cash for a new golf, if a good second-hand deal came along, then it may be another story. There's better cars in that class, so maybe take a look at what-car, although this newsgroup is good for mechanical issues, again people tend to be biased. For example, one guy I know's dad always had Ford cars, so he always has Ford cars, and gets defensive about them, so when he states "great reliability", etc. Posts here infrequently but I've told him he should try get a balanced view.
Think of buying a car as doing a university dissertation or the like, complete unbisaed opinion is required, you're just comparing options. Don't get swayed by style, unless you feel yourself starting to want a Chevrolet Kalos, in which case, LSD is available from the local kerb corner :-)
IMO they've gone through a similar downward curve to Merc - MK2 Golf, like the Mercs of the time, was (and still is) a very reliable, well built car. More modern ones aren't as well built. The MK3 Golf seems to rust more than the MK2 does...
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