I owned VW's since 1989. For a long time I drove A1's built in Germany. My friends drives VW, A2, A3, A4. Now I have a Golf A4 (built in Germany) with 100 000km on it.
I, like a lot of other people, have replaced a lot of parts that Japanese car owners don`t have to care about.
VW cars are fun to drive, they have a lot of character. The shape never go out of style, everybody tells you that your car look great. Everything is well designed inside, for the same price, no japanese car can compare. But there is always something that need to be fixed.
VW's are not what they used to be.
Japenese cars can often be driven 200 000km without fixing it much, then you scrap it because it is worn out.
When I sold my 1982 Rabbit, it had 650 000km on it. But I won't try that stunt with an Golf A4.
I think that it all comes down to cost cutting decisions. Remember, ALL VW's were muli-port fuel injected in 1978. It took 10 years for the japanese to catch up... but with a single injector... Japanese never bring any innovation. They always copy something else.
Mazda RX series rotary engine? German stuff.. The list could go forever.
Today, the technology is there, but the quality isn't.
Would I buy a japanese car? N E V E R
Martin Québec, Canada
AdamN wrote: