06 GTI No problems, 07 Rabbit no problems & 08 EOS only 5000mi. but no problems.
We also had several other VW's with no major problems.I quess we have been fortunate with our reliability of VW products but we do old school oil changes at approx. 3000 miles. We also service them at factory recommended service intervals. I think the VW rabbit is a good value for the dollar.

My friend has an 07 GTI, which I have driven extensively. The engine definitely feels more powerful than it is, however I hate the DSG. In normal mode the throttle time response is pretty horrible. In sport, the engine is insane - it remains in low gears at high rpm even with very minor throttle applications, and performs jerky downshifts when slowing to a stop. Throttle response feels very on/off. I find that there is no happy medium.

I also don't like the driving position with the flat seat and distant steering wheel. Doesn't have those great BMW ergos.

Regardless, the car has been reliable and has 30k on it already. The only issue he's had yet was some creek behind the dash.

I also think the VW's have improved in recent years... that being said, I've had many of them and had no real problems.

Currently:

2005.5 Passat TDI wagon, 78K miles, NO problems....literally none. Still drives like a new car. 40MPG on the highway.

2001 Golf TDI, 54K miles, mass flow issue but resolved on warranty, no issues otherwise. 45MPG on the highway.

1990 Jetta GLI 16V, 108K miles, one vacuum issue, solved w/ a $45 part. Have done usual wear items. My son will be getting this car, he's stoked!

1956 VW beetle, Dad bought new, over 300k miles. I did break the original 36hp when I went skiing with it when I was in high school, now has a screaming 40hp in it.

Family has owned 20+ other VW's over the years.

I think the pricing of the new Rabbit is great, I drove one and it's a lot of fun. Waiting (not holding my breath) for a Tiguan Diesel, or the Touareg TDI 6 cyl.

E

1989 Jetta. a few minor issues, typical of a car with high mileage.

1999 Passat wagon. no problems.

20003 Golf TDI. no problems

2004 New Beetle. no problems, but interior quality is inferior to my golf.

with vw selling 100k's of cars, some are going to have problems. and some people are not going to be happy. as is with most car mfg's.

bought a rabbit tonight. amazing how well it drives compared to my 2000 golf. cant speak to long term quality but first impression was very very strong...its quite fast too.

thanks for the input

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to "Christine".

"Christine" is a 1997 VW Jetta GLX. I bought this car in November of '06 when I changed jobs, and realized I needed a car for airport duty far away from home. My dad had a '95 Jetta that he put about 200,000 miles on, and I think the only things he changed were bulbs and one water pump. That car was a ROCK. Well, I went looking for a car when I found out about the job, and I decided that since this was an old car, I would spend the extra coin for the GLX version, which is powered by the VR6 engine. This motor is probably one of the top 5 engines in the world in my estimation; I owned a '92 Corrado SLC with this motor for 5 years, and It never failed to enthuse me. Smooth, powerful, economical, incredible sound! I wanted this for my beater car. I entertained thoughts of turning my airport car into an autocross racer, with nasty suspension and a roll bar. Nobody else but me would ride in it anyway right?

Yeah-

Well, I bought Christine and drove it around Fort Lauderdale for a month. Not a single pop or bang from anything. I drove it to Ashville, North Carolina, and then to Memphis. I parked it overnight; it got down to 17 degrees.

I started it the next day [my first day at my new job] and got about 1/2 mile from the house when the oil pressure warning light and siren came on! I pulled over, and sure enough there was a huge PUDDLE of oil in front of the engine! The seal on the oil cooler had blown in the low temperature. I had a roomate back at the place I was staying; I chanced it and drove it back without oil pressure the half mile to the house. It survived; I got to work on time.

Shew! You would say, and wipe your head. It ain't over-

$300 later, after a tow to the VW dealer and a repair, I was back in business. Until the following week.

Tuesday morning: I'm stuck in traffic on I-40 in Memphis, and it is 45 degrees F/ 8C outside. I'm idling along at 20 mph...talking on my cellphone, when suddenly "pssshhhhWWWHEEEEEaaaaahhhhhh" and steam starts pouring out of the vents! The heater core disintegrated completely, and I lost all the coolant. Into the dashboard, in particular around the fuse box...

Well, I pulled off the highway, and called a tow truck. And the company. And the VW dealer in Memphis. OUCH! They wanted $1100 to replace that heater core! The whole dash has to come off. I couldn't do it myself, since I didn't have tools or more especially TIME since I was in training with a NEW company...so I told the dealer to bypass the core. I spent the rest of the winter driving with thick gloves! Deep south? hell! It gets DAMN cold in Memphis!

Well, two weeks later it overheated on the highway. I had to pull over; I was stuck in traffic and the fan wasn't running. It had finally failed, apparently! I was towed to the dealer for the third time in one month, and they had to replace both fans. Guess what? This was another $1100 repair! It seems like everything is $1100 on Volkswagens. I got irritated at this point and did a web search, since it occured to me that this latest repair probably had something to do with the heater core explosion, which filled the dash and fuse box with coolant/water mixture...and guess what I found? VW recalled ALL '94 through '96 Jetta's, Golfs, and Cabrio's for a weak heater core. And through my research, I was able to prove that the '97 cars, which mine was one of...had the exact same part.

But VW refused to replace my heater core under recall notice due to year!

I finally paid a local shop $600 to fix the problem. My heat works now...weakly, and I have no stereo. I can't figure out why the radio won't work.

Then...last January, I drove the car around Memphis one night and I found it occasionally cutting out on cylinders. I went online and asked, and the diagnosis was a failed coil pack. I replaced this in the employee parking lot, my fingers numb from the 40 F temperatures and the allen wrenches I was using. Prior to this, I had to drive the car with two cylinders not fireing for about 25 miles; I was concerned about a catalytic converter fire. The CAT was glowing when I got the employee lot, but once again, the car survived a bout of abuse.

You'll never break a Volkswagen; they're bullet-proof. But don't worry- in a few miles it will quit on it's own!

Then there was the sudden alarm problem. In May, I went to the car after not starting it for about 30 days and when I openned the door, immediately the alarm went off. I was able to shut it off with the passenger door, but for about a month I went through this wild gyration where I opened the pax door, walked around and openned the driver door, climbed in, closed the door, unlocked the car by inserting my key through the openned window and unlocking the alarm system while I sat in the car. THEN I could actually drive down the road~!

Just-out-of-the-blue.....ANYWAY.

Well, online I found a website and a thread where they talk about disabling the alarm. I followed the procedure and now I have a car that doesn't f+++ with me anymore.

-Two weeks ago the intermittent wiper stopped working, and now the cruise control won't work, and the ABS light came on the other day.


You know- I've written a slogan about Christine: "It's not just a car...it's an ADVENTURE!"

My advice: Avoid Volkswagen ownership. If you want one....lease it and take a new one 3 years later. These cars are ENORMOUS fun! But you don't want to live with one long term...

N!

'77 VW Rabbit, '85 Scirocco turbo, '92 Corrado, '80 Jetta 2 door automatic, '97 Jetta GLX VR6 automatic.
'

The first two paragraphs are at complete odds with the 3rd paragraph....

just my .02

e

You know, Normy, that sounds more like how not to buy a used car. Just how thoroughly did you check out this little gem before forking over the cash?

I don't think all bad used cars are VWs. According to Tim H. some of them are Audis.

Signing off,
JR