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articsteve
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« Reply #40 on: January 10, 2009, 10:05:19 pm » |
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But neither of you know how to use the quote function. 
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“Frankly, we are not going to ever defeat the insurgency,” Billions for jets and pennies for vets; Harponi is MAGNIFICENT.
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gta_driver
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« Reply #41 on: January 10, 2009, 10:08:17 pm » |
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My experience with the VW owners manual sucked too when I owned VW's.
There was a lot of "See VW service advisor" in there, instead of concrete information. |
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Current Drives-->MB B-Class * Saab 95 SportCombi*Infiniti J30t
"I don't apologize for being rich."
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dr_spock
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« Reply #42 on: January 10, 2009, 10:09:37 pm » |
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I wish I could do my own repairs but I am a girl!
I'm teaching myself to do basic auto repairs now. We didn't have a car when I was growing up. So it's learning by trial and fire. I read repair books and watch videos. The Bentley Service Repair Manual are excellent for VWs. Don't let being a girl stop you if that is something you're interested in. One is never too old to learn new things.  It might be time to think about replacing the VW. Ten years is about when the repairs and replacement parts may start adding up. I replaced my old Nissan at year 10 when it needed many new parts and repairs. What do you edit? |
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articsteve
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« Reply #43 on: January 10, 2009, 10:13:27 pm » |
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Well, I still have it although I have been considering trading it in for a Toyota Yaris. I don't know if I should spend another $650 + tax on the new tie rod, tires and alignment.
IMO, you should keep it because it's pretty well valueless to a Toyota dealer. Do the tie rod and a front wheel alignment only. Get the tires. Nexen at Walmart should be no more that $65. each. Then drive it till it stops or the AC goes which could be anytime. But next time .....  more VWs. It's either a Honda or Toyota. |
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“Frankly, we are not going to ever defeat the insurgency,” Billions for jets and pennies for vets; Harponi is MAGNIFICENT.
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jewels007
Learner's Permit
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Location: Toronto
Posts: 22
 
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« Reply #44 on: January 10, 2009, 10:26:50 pm » |
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:-) Agreed (on all of the above). I was editing a magazine until I got laid off last month. Not a good time to face expensive car repairs.  |
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barrie1
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« Reply #45 on: January 10, 2009, 10:47:44 pm » |
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There is alot more brands then what Steve says which are excellent vehicles. If he thinks when either of his products mentioned are 10 years old they won't have any problems he is badly mistaken as many owners won't have them that long due to some of the repair bills they will have already faced by then. Of course this true of many brands as well. |
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Honda Owner
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« Reply #46 on: January 10, 2009, 11:17:13 pm » |
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There was a lot of "See VW service advisor" He'll help you out, heh, heh, heh. |
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Turbo Bob
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« Reply #47 on: January 10, 2009, 11:46:59 pm » |
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I have never owned a VW, would like to at some point, they have a Germanic style and character all of their own. I'm not bothered if they are not as reliable as a Toymota, neither is an Alfa, but they have character. |
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Power is how fast you hit the wall... Torque is how far you take the wall with you!  |
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jewels007
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Location: Toronto
Posts: 22
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« Reply #48 on: January 11, 2009, 12:20:56 am » |
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So just out of curiousity then, what exactly are they referring to when they say some car brands are reliable and others aren't? If my VW's repair history is no indication that VW is unreliable, what exactly goes wrong with "unreliable" cars? |
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Squishy
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« Reply #49 on: January 11, 2009, 12:43:41 am » |
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Fuel pumps, head gaskets, wheel speed sensors, transmission failures, trim falling apart (not due to abuse)...those are a few things that should be good for the life of the car.
I would consider fuel pumps part of normal wear-and-tear if you live in a rural area or buy cheap gas, but for what I consider a normal "drive into the ground" 300-400,000 km, they should get by. |
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« Last Edit: January 11, 2009, 12:46:55 am by Squishy »
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  The Garage:1999 Ford Escort SE, 2001 Acura MDX, 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer ES, 2003 Ford Escape XLS |
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Honda Owner
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« Reply #50 on: January 11, 2009, 01:40:16 am » |
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Fuel pumps, head gaskets, wheel speed sensors, transmission failures, trim falling apart (not due to abuse)...those are a few things that should be good for the life of the car Well, I agree with you, but that would not fit with planned obsolescence. |
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vdk
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« Reply #51 on: January 11, 2009, 01:47:28 am » |
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There was a lot of "See VW service advisor" in there, instead of concrete information.
I agree.. there's too much 'go to the dealer' stuff.. .. character all of their own. I'm not bothered if they are not as reliable as a Toymota, neither is an Alfa, but they have character. I do not know why, but car that doesn't need any care at all would be the most boring thing ever.. like a really dull gf.. |
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Squishy
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« Reply #52 on: January 11, 2009, 07:58:07 am » |
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That's one of the reasons why I don't think I could live with an electric car. No drain plug on an electric motor WTF!
I loathe our electric lawn mower. Instant on, instant off...BAH! |
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The Garage:
1999 Ford Escort SE, 2001 Acura MDX, 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer ES, 2003 Ford Escape XLS
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jewels007
Learner's Permit
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Location: Toronto
Posts: 22
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« Reply #53 on: January 11, 2009, 10:35:03 am » |
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.. character all of their own. I'm not bothered if they are not as reliable as a Toymota, neither is an Alfa, but they have character. I do not know why, but car that doesn't need any care at all would be the most boring thing ever.. like a really dull gf.. [/quote] I'll take a boring car any day over one that leaves you stranded on the road three times in 10 years. Then for fun, I'd take the money that I would have used to have the car towed and put it toward an all-inclusive trip to Cuba. |
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« Last Edit: January 11, 2009, 02:01:14 pm by jewels007 »
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vdk
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« Reply #54 on: January 11, 2009, 02:07:30 pm » |
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i'm telling you jewels your veedub wasn't so bad... my cousin had one of those a 97 I think.. and it left him stranded 3 times while vacationing on the east coast.. and as back then there were almost no dealers on the east coast (at least that he knew of).. he had to drive it back to quebec at 80 cause it wouldn't go any faster.. |
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jewels007
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Location: Toronto
Posts: 22
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« Reply #55 on: January 11, 2009, 04:45:34 pm » |
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Wow, that's rough.
So you drive a Rabbit? Just out of curiousity, what do you think of VW's ever-increasing dashboard size? Not sure if you remember the dashboards on the late-90s VWs, but they were a lot slimmer and made of a shiney embossed material that looked like leather. The new models all have these matte, rubbery oversized dashboards (like most new cars). Do consumers like them? Just wondering. |
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vdk
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« Reply #56 on: January 11, 2009, 05:34:22 pm » |
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yeah.. I know what you mean, back in the day I remember MKIIs had one little LED light up when using the high beams.. now if I turn on my high-beams the whole dash lights up and there's all these warnings and crap..  Things is dashboard have grown to accommodate all kind of things .. 1000 vents.. climate controls.. 19 disc CD changer... information displays.. yada yada.. I personally liked the old dash material better but yeah.. probably too expensive for them these days.. the rubbery one still feels good at touch so I'm good with it.. |
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barrie1
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« Reply #57 on: January 11, 2009, 07:01:27 pm » |
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I have several friends who drive the VW brand vehicles and they are more then pleased with them. The Diesel engined ones have been great to a friend of mine who lives about 50 miles outside of London and drives in everyday as its given him extremely good fuel milage and relaibility. They actually have 2 fairly new ones for him and his wife. The few others all have the gas engines ones and other then some niggly little trim things and a few outer marker lights they also have been relatively cheap to own and maintain as well. We also have other members on this board who own and drive this brand and I know they really enjoy the driving experience of them as well. |
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dr_spock
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« Reply #58 on: January 11, 2009, 07:12:12 pm » |
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I have the super-sized VW dash. It is big enough to hold a large pizza. |
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jewels007
Learner's Permit
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Location: Toronto
Posts: 22
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« Reply #59 on: January 11, 2009, 09:25:27 pm » |
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Hmm... I don't know that I agree with you regarding the reason for the increasing dashboard sizes. Upon first glance your explanation makes sense - the more gadgets, the bigger the size of the dashboard. But my cousin just bought an Audi and it has all kinds of buttons and controls on the dashboard and it isn't "supersized" (lol) at all. I'd say it's big enough to hold an apple pie, but definetely not a large pizza. Perhaps Audi has figured out how to pack in all the controls without sacrificing design better than other car brands?
My preference is the slimmer dashboards, for sure. Just an aesthetic pet peeve I wanted to bring up.
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« Last Edit: January 11, 2009, 09:27:43 pm by jewels007 »
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