In the early 2010s, my wife and I enjoyed an idyllic life by San Francisco Bay. We both lived and worked in a compact midcentury cottage in Corte Madera and could hit the road whenever we wanted. That usually meant getting in our 2006 Toyota Matrix, a car my wife couldn’t drive because of its manual transmission. In mid 2015, the news that a third person would join our pas de deux upended life on two fronts. First, we agreed to go back East to be closer to our families. Second, the enjoyment of shifting my own gears would come to an end. We would buy a new car with an automatic transmission before the baby arrived.
As rewarding as mastering the manual Matrix had been, cracks had formed in my façade of happy Toyota ownership. Foremost, when you overlooked the driver engagement afforded by the manual transmission, the Matrix really wasn’t that fun to drive. It was nimble and responsive, sure, but it wasn’t as entertaining to toss through corners as my Protegé had been. It lacked the on-the-road personality that endeared my Legacy and Impreza to me.
Toyota hatchbacks circa 2013, none of which fully met all of my requirements.
Furthermore, I couldn’t find a credible Matrix replacement under the Toyota umbrella. My core auto shopping list has always been roughly the same: fun-to-drive, fuel-efficient wagon with a sunroof. By the end of its run, Toyota saddled all but base Matrices with 2.4L engines returning surprisingly lousy EPA figures. You couldn’t get a Yaris with a sunroof—nor any Scion excepting the tC. Toyota did offer a sliding glass moonroof on the Prius C, but that would truly stretch the definition of “fun”.
In truth, my automotive fancy had already been thrown from Japan to Germany—Volkswagen, to be specific. And that throw was over two decades in the making. My earliest automotive memories (circa age two) are of my dad’s 1975 Super Beetle. Stories of Dad’s prehistoric automotive exploits frequently mentioned his ’56 Deluxe Sunroof Sedan, a mythic figure in my young mind. Around age three, I first saw The Love Bug, and Herbie captured my imagination. I filled reams of paper with my Beetle drawings. Without a doubt, I was a confirmed VW fanatic by the time I started school. Around age 20, I ran into my kindergarten teacher, and she immediately asked: “So, do you still like Volkswagens?”
Me with a friend circa age five (left); my father’s former 1975 Super Beetle (right). After selling the car to a local VW hobbyist, we would periodically “visit” it.
Driving an air-cooled Beetle would remain one of my unfulfilled fantasies (it still is, even to the present day) but in 2013, I got my first chance to drive a modern VW. I traveled back to Pennsylvania to visit my ailing grandmother for a few months and rented a Volkswagen CC. Though I didn’t particularly like its haunched appearance and “form over functionality” ethos, much about this VW appealed to me. Material quality, fit, and finish were exquisite. Every control operated with precision and tactile satisfaction. To borrow a line from Mazda’s early ’90s Kansei ad campaign, the car just felt right. Even the base 2.0 TSI engine overwhelmed me with its reserve power, smoothness, and efficiency. And most importantly, I found this German car exceptionally fun to drive.
Promotional image; the car I rented was virtually identical.
A month into my possession of the CC, its registration expired, so unfortunately, I had to return it. I jockeyed cars through various Hertz locations trying to get something approaching the VW I lost. Within weeks, I went through a string of 2012-2013 Volkswagens, including a stripped Jetta S with an anemic 8V engine, a midrange Jetta SE with a 2.5L I5, and a reasonably well-optioned Passat. Perhaps Volkswagen de-contented these “Great Value” cars to appeal to American sensibilities, but I still found a likeable feeling (dare I say…Fahvergnügen?) that united them all. After a fling with these VWs, I got a sinking feeling that they forever ruined my betrothal to Japanese makes.
My wife and I toured Europe in 2014, and during our trek across the continent, we visited Wolfsburg. I marveled at the enormity of the Volkswagen plant and the clean modernity of Autostadt. I coveted the array of VWs that were verboten in the U.S. And just as traveling to Germany meant returning to the homeland of my ancestors, being at the epicenter of the Volkswagenwelt felt like a homecoming to my automotive roots.
My wife with the one millionth Beetle at Autostadt.
Naturally, when I began more serious car shopping in late 2015, Volkswagen was at the forefront of my mind. Nevertheless, I weighed a few alternatives first. Perhaps it was an overcorrection from our previous freewheeling lifestyle, but I started to reconsider our vehicle choice in the context of accommodating visiting family members. Wouldn’t it be nice if our car could also carry a few visitors for a group outing?
A chance meeting between my Matrix and a potential replacement, the Mazda 5.
I knew I didn’t want a bloated American-sized minivan but gave a lot of consideration to the Mazda 5. This tidy people mover struck me as a spiritual successor to the Colt Vista my family had in my childhood. My appreciation for the 5’s anti-minivan positioning and “zoom zoom” zeal couldn’t overcome the car’s many negatives, though. Most viscerally, Mazda’s gaping, maniacal Nagare smile had been a major turnoff since I first saw it. As an outgoing model, Mazda allowed the 5’s interior and safety tech to slide into obsolescence. And when I saw the 5’s dismal small overlap crash results, I crossed it off my list for good.
2016 Ford Transit Connect, a passing consideration.
I also briefly considered Ford’s six-passenger Transit Connect Wagon. The Connect’s bread truck stature, rarity, European heritage, and erstwhile commercial vehicle status had a strange appeal to me. It seemed to occupy a niche not unlike the one VW’s Transporter did around, say, 1955, before the first hippie laid hands on one. But in general, modern Fords irritate me, and I always bristle when I’m assigned one as a rental. Everything from their clunky Sync interfaces to their warning chimes to their Freedent-blue gauge needles rubs me the wrong way.
Brochure image; my vehicle is identical.
Once I dumped the six-passenger fantasy and turned my attention back to Wolfsburg, we quickly decided on the ideal vehicle. In 2015, Volkswagen brought the new seventh generation Golf to the U.S., and the lineup now included a wagon. VW sold this modern-day Squareback in Europe as the Golf Variant and in North America as the Golf SportWagen. Fun-to-drive, fuel-efficient wagon with a sunroof—check, check, check, and check. The equipment we wanted dictated a very specific buying configuration: the top SEL trim with Driver Assistance and Lighting packages. This particular unicorn proved quite difficult to find. I searched dealerships up and down the eastern seaboard but unearthed very few matches. After pursuing a few dead ends and dealerships unwilling to deal, I found a suitable Golf near Washington, D.C. I negotiated the terms from home and bought a one-way ticket to DCA to pick up my new VW.
In the Volkswagen dealer’s delivery bay, ready for my first drive.
To be sure, taking delivery of my Golf in January 2016 was a momentous occasion replete with firsts. I was buying my first new car—my first Volkswagen—mere days before the birth of my first child. Sitting behind the wheel for the first time and cautiously launching the Golf for the long drive home—at night, appropriately enough—I absorbed every feeling and every sound. The car was quiet and controlled yet energetic and agile. It exuded the unostentatious refinement of the CC yet boasted a cargo area that put my old Matrix to shame. The open panoramic sunroof teased my hair with the invigorating January wind. Without really trying, I surpassed 40 MPG in that first trip. If only my SportWagen had a manual transmission, it might be the perfect car.
Wagons: eminently useful for diaper changes.
Over the course of seven years, the Golf has served our family admirably. Both it and my daughter entered the picture at virtually the same time. While my daughter is growing like a weed and looks older every day, the Golf is perpetually young. The car now has over 100,000 miles on the odometer but still looks and feels much like it did new.
Future Volkswagen driver.
Admittedly, those haven’t been trouble-free Toyota miles. The car developed a serious oil leak by 5,000 miles, and Volkswagen opted to replace the entire engine under warranty. (The new engine has been flawless.) That was the first of many in-warranty replacements: the headlamps, secondary air injection pump, and seatbelt pretensioners. I visited the Volkswagen dealer several times to address sunroof leaks, and they ultimately replaced all of the drain hoses with a revised design and installed new carpeting as well.
A clean and efficient cockpit.
To Volkswagen’s credit, most of the costly work—easily five figures’ worth at retail prices—was covered under warranty. I have gotten stuck with costly repairs only a few times. Most recently, a faulty vehicle level sensor was causing the adaptive headlights to point very sharply to the ground. Replacing that sensor and the control module cost about a thousand bucks. More problematic have been the 18-inch alloy wheels with their low profile 225/40 tires. They might be fine for smooth sunbelt roads but are ill-suited to the mean, potholed streets of the Northeast. Each year—despite my best efforts to dodge every road imperfection—I spend a few hundred dollars on wheel straightening.
A coincidental encounter with a near-twin at my regular Volkswagen dealer.
If I could go back to 2016, would I buy the Golf SportWagen over again? Would I purchase yet another Volkswagen? Absolutely. What I’ve spent on repairs has been minimal weighed against the tens of thousands of miles I’ve driven and the enjoyment the car has provided. Very often when I’m out on the open road, I’m taken by the symphony of sensations that surround me. This is a terrific car, I say to myself.
Cribmates—100,000 miles later.
You must REALY love VWs. Your experience mirrors my prior VW ownership. One and done for me. A shame because I do like them. We named our Golf “Damien” because that car just had to be demonically possessed. The day it was replaced with new Scion was a happy day indeed. Nothing I’ve read or seem co workers go through with theirs (including a bricked ID4) has indicated to me they’ve improved at all since our 2000 Golf was created from sulfer and evil incantations. I’m not overly thrilled with automotive appliances but at the end of the day, I just need to get where I’m going.
I guess I do too, though since VW stopped offering the Golf in the US I’m wondering what I’ll replace my current (2000 Golf bought new) one with. I’ve owned nothing but VWs since 1981….my Dad had a ’59 Beetle for a couple years and drove early Beetles while stationed in Germany for the US Army, but otherwise no one else in my family drives them. My next car will also probably need to be an automatic, since no one else in my family can drive my car and that’s a consideration as I get older.
I’ll be the first to admit that they’re not trouble free, they seem to be durable but not quite reliable, I have been stranded with my current car (when the ignition lock cylinder went and I didn’t have the tools to break into the steering column to bypass it) and almost stranded (shift cable fitting broke such that I couldn’t change gears; fortunately figured out which was 2nd gear after opening the hood and put selector shaft to that gear and drove it home). And annoying things do happen..interestingly the stock radio is stuck on high bass, I can change all the other settings but that one, guess I could replace it but it isn’t a priority. Plus the power locks are failing one by one due to bad solder joints on the control board, I could replace them but would involve removing delicate power window regulators which are also known weak point. Before that, I had an ’86 GTi, which had its peculiarities, though it never did suffer from the self-machining close ratio syndrome known to afflict that model, it ate voltage regulators, had to replace the long (from A pillar to hatch) rubber roof strip that attached to deteriorating weatherstripping). Plus, wore out the seat fabric due to combination of aggressive bolster plus underlying foam that turned to powder which I regularly vacuumed up. My first one was a ’78 Scirocco, it had issues with brakes and 5th injector and probably some other things I’m forgetting. Plus VW parts and fluids are hardly inexpensive and can be hard to find sometimes. Maybe sounds like I’m nuts, but , this is over the course of almost 43 years and 3 different VWs.
I don’t usually recommend VWs to people in general…they respond well to pretty frequent attention, and they aren’t trouble free, which doesn’t coincide with what most people are looking for. My VWs have served as my only car at a given time (brief overlaps between buying one and selling its predecessor nonwithstanding). They seem to have been a good fit for me, but I’ll admit I’m different from a lot of people.
I’d be interested in a wagon rather than a hatch if that’s what it takes. My other deal is that I greatly prefer cloth upholstery to vinyl or leather (my Scirocco had vinyl which looked great but I live in the sunbelt now) and only base models offer cloth, which would be OK by me. I’d go for a used one if I can get my preferred configuration which might not be too easy to find though.
It is a bit disheartning to read how much work has been required on what is, by modern standards, a low mileage car. Great you have enjoyed it, I would have been finished long ago.
Brian, this continues to be a very enjoyable COAL series.
Like you, a VW entered my life and ever since the grass has been greener and the sky bluer. They are indeed fun to drive and the 1.8T (which I’m guessing yours has) is a phenomenal engine. Our 2014 Passat is lower mileage (just under 82k) and, like yours, still can still look new (when properly washed) and drives just as beautifully as it ever did. We have been looking at new VWs but the general dearth of color variety has caused us to pause; that, and we simply cannot get excited over S/CUVs.
Your experience falls in line with what a VW service advisor once told me…the higher trim levels, particularly with moonroofs, tend to be a bit more problematic due to water infiltration whereas the baser models avoid that. However, you obviously like the car and it sounds like VW has stood behind their product.
That said, all brands have their intrinsic problems as they all have a staffed service department at the dealership.
Thanks for the kind words. Yes, my Golf has the 1.8L engine; I think the 1.4 didn’t make its way into the Golf until 2019. As fun as writing this COAL series has been, this installment will mark the end of the road—at least for now. I’ll comment a little more on that below.
Regarding your rental VW CC in 2013: ” much about this VW appealed to me. Material quality, fit, and finish were exquisite. Every control operated with precision and tactile satisfaction… ” .
This is what I call VW’s (probably intentional but perhaps not) high quality materials used to build low quality results .
The 2001 Passat 5 speed V6 GLX we bought new was gorgeous… inside and out, even the trunk hinges were a work of art. Every surface felt fine, every switch had just the right feeling and tension, and the car’s power was more than enough. Even the right side mirror did a dip down when in reverse so we could clearly see and avoid getting curb rash when parallel parking.
But… what an awful car that Passat was in almost every respect but one (*).
Here’s the rub. Our also bad experience with the 1995 Eagle Vision TSI was less deceptive because the car oozed poor quality from the start, so we kind of expected poor quality through out our ownership. You know… Chrysler quality in the 1990s. And 2000s. And …
The Eagle experience was as expected; the VW’s deceptive high quality appearance resulted in a sad reality.
VWs still make beautiful vehicles. Sadly I will never buy one again. Once bitten, twice shy (apologies to the band Great White).
(*) The Passat did one thing well. When my ex-wife flew off interstate 287S at 70 mph spinning into the woods during a heavy snow storm, the car sacrificed every surface and panel and air bag to keep its driver totally unhurt. It was like an unpleasant and untrustworthy person saving one’s life.
So … … thank you?
I have a theory about VW reliability. Martin Winterkorn became chief honcho of VAG in 2007. He had an ambition to make VAG the largest automaker in the world.
We have all heard the VW horror stories, about the fragile cars, and terrible dealer experience. But the models built, or designed, when Winterkorn was at the helm generally seem to have been pretty decent. My VW dealer experience, since buying my car in 2014, has generally been excellent. A friend has a 2016 Golf, now with over 160K on it. Total out of warranty repairs on his Golf amount to a new fuel pump around 60k:, and a new water pump and thermostat housing (known issue with the EA888 engine) at around 150k. His dealer experience has also been excellent.
My theory is that Winterkorn understood that part of realizing his ambition for VAG to be the largest car maker, was having satisfied, long term, customers.
Unfortunately, Welchism seems to have infected the top levels in Wolfsburg now. As with some other automakers, VAG management now only cares about escalating ATP and GP. Everything VW offers in the US now is troublesome. Their latest art, the Taos, according to both CR and Edmund’s owner reviews, looks appalling.
Former two-time Matrix owner here (one base with manual, one XRS with automatic) and while those are spacious and useful cars, I can confirm that they are not well planted to the road and can feel a little tippy if you don’t slow down enough in a curve.
I currently own a 2013 VW Passat with the 2.5 I5. This has been a fantastic sedan for my family, and it’s been a pleasure to drive it.
It’s at 115k now, and little things are starting to go wrong. The mechanic can’t figure out, after three tries, why the AC won’t hold a charge. The front under-car shield fell off. Even though no light bulbs appear to be burned out, a couple times a week that dashboard warning light is on.
I’m at a point in my life where I don’t have to drive my cars until they are well into beaterdom. So I’m not going to this time.
I want a manual transmission this time, if I can. I’ve looked at used Golf Sportwagens as my God but do I love wagons. They all have at least 50k on the clock. If I could find a late one with 10k, maybe 20k, I’d be more interested.
I’m also looking at the 2024 Jetta Sport and the 2024 Civic Sport. As much as I’d like to stay in the VW family, the Civic is a hatchback (wagon adjacent) and has that Honda reliability.
I’ve looked at used Golf Sportwagens as my God but do I love wagons. They all have at least 50k on the clock. If I could find a late one with 10k, maybe 20k, I’d be more interested.
Beware the 2019s. The front drive version switched to the 1.4 in 19. The 1.4 has earned a reputation for drinking oil. I don’t know if they have resolved that issue yet. All of the 4Motion equipped examples have the 1.8, but also the somewhat troublesome Haldex AWD system.
I like a car seat with an adjustable lumbar support. That feature seams to have gone away in lower trim VW seats. Only way to get an adjustable lumbar support in a Jetta today appears to be on the power seat in the SEL and GLI. I looked at a few road tests of the current Jetta Sport, which has very attractive looking, fabric upholstered, seats. None of the tests complimented the seats, but two brutally criticized them.
The A4 Allroad is still available for 24, has a premium gas demanding 2.0, but does not use the Haldex system. It’s also twice the money of a Golf wagon, which would pay for a lot of Haldex rebuilds on a Golf.
I consider my 2014, with 77K on the clock, too new to really consider replacing, but I was tempted a few weeks back. The VW store in Lansing had a CPO 2020 Arteon, with only 7,700 on the clock, virtually a new car, for $30K. There were a rash of cars with stupid low miles at that time. The BMW store in Grand Blanc has a 2019 A4 Alllroad with 2500 miles, and the Chevy dealer in Jackson had a 2020 Buick Regal hatchback with 5500.
I’ve had no mechanical issues with the 1.4T in my ’19 Golf, but boy is it rough-sounding, as if there was a hole in the exhaust system somewhere (maybe there is – I’m going to have it checked out soon). We’re talking Iron Duke levels of noise and harshness here, though little vibration so I won’t call it NVH. It does have adequate power and is spectacularly efficient with gasoline, rarely dipping below 40mpg even in city driving and getting over 50mpg on the highway. VW finally added a 6th gear to the manual transmission that the earlier 1.8T or 2.5 FWD VWs never had (automatics went from 6 to 8 speeds with the 1.4T). The 2.5L five in my old Rabbit by contrast was a sweetie, much smoother than it was reputed to be. It got a tad rough at high RPMs, a complete non-issue since gobs of low-RPM torque ment there was rarely a need to rev it up high. The 5 speed manual and clutch were also smoother than in my ’19, though I did wish for the 6th gear the automatic had. The 2.5 wasn’t very fuel-efficient, but it has proven very reliable and durable.
The 2.5L five in my old Rabbit by contrast was a sweetie, much smoother than it was reputed to be. It got a tad rough at high RPMs…The 2.5 wasn’t very fuel-efficient, but it has proven very reliable and durable.
I also have the 2.5 in my wagon. The car was hard to find as most dealers had about 10 TDIs, for every 2.5 in stock. The 2.5 came out in 2005, and, initially, ate timing chains. Reportedly, VW modified the chain system in 07, then completely redesigned the system in 08, which seems to have solved the chain issues.
The other issue with the 2.5 is an oil leak from the vacuum pump. Replacing the vac pump is expen$ive, because the gear change shaft from the automatic trans obstructs removal of the vac pump. They have to back the trans off a couple inches to get the pump out. Before I bought my 2014, I looked under a couple 2010 Golfs that had about 100K on them. No sign of a leak on either, and no indication on the Carfax that the pump had been replaced. Almost every 07-08 Rabbit/Golf I looked at, that had about 80K on it, had an oil leak on the driver’s side. Charles, the Humble Mechanic guy, did a piece on that vac pump. He had both an old one and a new one. Color differences indicate that VW may have changed the materials of the “O” ring and cover plate, so maybe they solved the problem.
Mine gives me about 32mpg, in warm weather, in mixed freeway/suburban driving. The mpg readout on the instrument cluster is delusional. I have seen a trip average as high as 42 on that thing, but when I top up the tank and do the math, it’s more like 32.
This sort of thing (the car “eats timing chains” and it took three years and more than one redesign to solve a problem that others just don’t have) is what turns people off of VWs that might consider them to start with or maybe only had their fingers and wallet singed a little the last time they had one.
Add that to wildly varying dealer service experiences from one owner to the next, a company that decides to increase their warranty to 100k miles for everything around 2018 or so but then two short years later backs off of that pledge (the perception becomes that it was too expensive, i.e. the cars had too many claims to make it sustainable), perhaps the greatest environmental crime and cover-up in the history of the automobile, and it’s no wonder that VW, a company that had a gigantic pile of goodwill at one time, keeps tripping over itself in the US and can never seem to actually get ahead in the market beyond a number of diehards and some that actually did have a good experience and are willing to roll the dice again. The problem is though that for every winner who bet on red at the VW roulette table there is another one that bet on black instead, and Mr. Average Buyer would just as soon not risk their “investment”.
They generally look, feel, and perform very nicely, and I’ve had several myself (two new, three or four used) with somewhat mixed results overall, leaving me somewhat ambivalent about the brand although I want to like them…
Jim Klein
Posted October 9, 2023 at 7:30 PM
This sort of thing (the car “eats timing chains” and it took three years and more than one redesign to solve a problem that others just don’t have) is what turns people off of VWs
VW isn’t the only one to have a problem like that. I remember when Subes were notorious for blown head gaskets, happened to my aunt’s 87, and the problem went on for years. Or the Ford cruise control module that would short out and set the car on fire. Every few years, a few million more cars from additional model years would be added to that recall. Currently, it’s Hyundai/Kia oiling issues. The problem spans both the Theta II and Nu engine series. The excuses vary from “machining debris left in the crank” to “defective rings from a vendor”, but the result is always the same: bearing knock, piston slap, seized engine. You would think that, when they announced the first “machining debris” recall on the Theta II, they would have cleaned up the machining process. Apparently they didn’t, or that isn’t the real problem, because additional models of engines and additional production years are repeatedly added to the recall. In the case of the Nu, first they recalled the 1.8MPI. A couple years later, they recalled the 2.0MPI that followed the 1.8. A friend of mine works in a Kia store and said “don’t ever buy a Soul”, because he has seen several come into the shop with a seized 2.0MPI. These recalls were already known, when I cast a lustful eye at an Elantra GT in 2020. Figured the issues, being known, should have been addressed by then, so a 20 would be a safe buy. I ultimately passed on the Elantra, but, a couple years later, 2020 Elantra GTs with the Nu 2.0GDI were recalled for the same issue. I noticed a 2019 or 2020 GT on Autotrader a while back. The Carfax reported a new short block at 35,000 miles.
Has Honda cured the oil dilution issue with the turbo 1.5 yet? That has been going on for some years.
I don’t think VW is any worse than most when it comes to resolving problems, and maybe better than some. A few years ago, I received a letter from VoA announcing that the warranty on the clock spring on mine had been extended to 10 years. This year, I received a letter announcing the clock spring warranty has now been extended to 15 years.
The 2.5 was a criminally underrated engine and may be VW’s most reliable. As usual, most of the auto press latched onto an exaggerated and irrelevant narrative about the 2.5 being rough and loud. They failied to note its responsiveness, linearity, and low-end torque.
The 1.8T that replaced it is indeed punchy and strong, but I wouldn’t trust it long term and the 1.4T that soon slotted under it has miserable off-idle turbo lag and no top end whatsoever.
the 1.4T that soon slotted under it has miserable off-idle turbo lag and no top end whatsoever.
The Jetta Sport, how with the 1.5 version of the EA211 has been getting a lot of attention lately, for a reasonable price and availability of a manual trans.
A pair of guys who do road tests for youtube tested a Jetta Sport, with a stick, recently. As they pulled out onto the street, the driver said “I have it literally floored”, but the car crawled, until the turbo finally spun up.
That 1.4 was originally offered in the hybrid version of the Jetta. In that application, if the electric motor was also pushing, the response may have been OK.
My VW is a 2014 Jetta wagon. S trim, because I prefer fabric upholstery. Replaced the original steelies with VW OEM alloy wheels when it was time to replace the tires. A few things needed attention under warranty, the largest being the Aisin sourced automatic transmission. Other items including a missing clip in the rear brake that allowed a rattle, and a bit of waste plastic stuck between the top of the instrument panel and the bottom of the A pillar trim.
Out of warranty, two items of unscheduled repair: replaced the e-brake cables that had corroded (Michigan’s salt covered roads) and, just a couple weeks ago, the pressure sensor for the secondary air injection pump (ouch, but at least it wasn’t the pump itself)
Also contrary to the VW horror stories I heard before buying the car, dealer service has been excellent. The greatest reason I would consider buying another VW would be to continue using the same dealer. Unfortunately, VW has both stopped building the sort of car I like, and owner surveys in CR and Edmund’s indicate that current VWs are a major step down in reliability, compared to the one I have now.
Still cleans up pretty well too.
More problematic have been the 18-inch alloy wheels with their low profile 225/40 tires. …despite my best efforts to dodge every road imperfection—I spend a few hundred dollars on wheel straightening.
My S trim wagon came with steelies originally. When I put alloy wheels on it a few years ago, I considered putting snows on the steelies, and using them as sacrificial wheels in the winter on metro Detroit’s equally shattered roads. Started sniffing around eBay for some suitable snows. Found a set of four used snows, already mounted on VW steelies, only about 10 miles away, for $175. So, now I had a total of 8 VW steelies. A couple years later, one of the steelies got itself bent. No worries. Moved the tire to one of the other OEM steelies, and carried on.
Curious, was your alloy purchase done for better aesthetics or because the wheels are actually lighter? Less unsprung weight makes for a smoother ride, faster acceleration, and better fuel economy and range (something that’s finally getting noticed by EV shoppers who see the substantial range reduction if you order the monster-size wheels). VW’s OEM alloys though seem to be on the heavy side, and I’m not even sure they weigh much less than their steelies and plastic hubcaps. It’s hard finding weight figures for any of these online.
I had an ’07 Rabbit with the standard 15″ steelies; 16″ alloys were optional. I like the smooth ride all that sidewall gave me and was fine with the looks, but there’s an increasing paucity of good tires available in the 195/65R15 size (snows excepted); the Pirelli P7 A/S Plus 2’s I wanted (revered for their smoothness and quietness, with decent traction at least in the dry) started at 16″. Some tires start at 17″ or even 18″ now. Anyway that set me looking for a set of used 16″ OEM wheels and I found a $100 set of four VW “Sedona” wheels from a 2012 Jetta that for some reason I didn’t buy, then someone else had a set of four 16″ steelies for an Audi for all of $20 (he didn’t seem to know his wheels were also fit many VWs and were the stock Jetta wheel); a set of new OEM wheel covers I bought from an eBay grey-market seller cost about $75. I like the peace of mind of not worrying about bending or scratching expensive alloys rather than a hubcap I can easily replace if I scratch it against a curb. My 15″ wheel set would be used for winter tires, used Continental VikingContact 7’s that the seller said were only used for one winter (DOT date code on tires confirms this) and cost about 1/3 of what a new set would have been.
The 2019 Golf that replaced the ’07 used the same wheel and tire sizes on the S (15″) and SE (16″) models that my older car used, but if the SE had the optional driver assistance (aka safety nanny) package that mine had, it included 17″ wheels which I found rode too harshly (though I did appreciate their surefooted roadholding on curvy roads and off-ramps). I decided to pull off the 17″ alloys and replace them with the 16″ steelies and Pirellis that i pulled off the old car and it helps considerably. I didn’t get around to using the Continental snow tires last winter due to health issues (both mine and the car’s) and milder than usual weather; this upcoming winter will be my first with real winter tires on my car which I’m looking forward to.
Curious, was your alloy purchase done for better aesthetics or because the wheels are actually lighter?
Purely for looks. The alloys, OEM “Bioline” are the same 16″ size as the steelies, shod with the same, iirc, 205/55-16 rubber.
This is my car, when new, with the plastic wheel covers.
My car with the alloys, iirc, made by Ronal. For laffs, I put it in the show field at the Gilmore’s German show a couple years.
I have no idea what they weigh, vs the steelies. Given the state of Michigan roads over the years (in 2017 Michigan’s per capita funding for road maintenance ranked 48th in the country) I gladly trade a bit extra weight for extra durability.
A friend has a 2016 Golf SE, which originally came with 15″ alloys. He scored a second set of 15″ alloys with snows. But a couple years later, he picked up a set of 18″ GTI wheels. He suffers the ride degradation for the looks. I don’t know if he has any wheel casualties from the bad roads.
Your original wheel covers were the design I preferred but they were more expensive than the Beetle ones I got that more closely resembled the 15″ original Rabbit wheel covers. There are also cheap generic knock-offs of the Jetta-style wheel covers without the VW logo in the middle.
Car and Driver did a long-term test of a Golf SEL hatchback in 2015 or 16 and had several bent 18″ wheels. The SEL model was dropped by the time I got my ’19 (SEL trim lasted a year longer in the wagon than sedan, and was in its last year on the Alltrack wagon). The Golf SE itself was last offered in ’19, with a single model remaining for the non-GTI or R Golfs in the US.
la673
Posted October 9, 2023 at 3:28 PM
Car and Driver did a long-term test of a Golf SEL hatchback in 2015 or 16 and had several bent 18″ wheels.
I didn’t see that test, so don’t know for sure where they were driving. C&D’s headquarters are in Ann Arbor, about ten miles from my home. Much of their driving is on the same dilapidated roads I drive.
Every time I read a COAL of a modern(ish) Volkswagen, I’m fascinated by what failures that the owners are willing/able to justify and still give accolades to the car and the experience.
I think it’s the difference between one who buys a car merely for transportation, in which the least amount of trouble and most ease of operation is the paramount concern and one who enjoys driving and/or the experience (of a particular car, brand, or model), and is thus willing (and hopefully able) to put up with the occasional issue. Sometimes more occasional with certain brands than with others.
A simile might be the game of Golf. I have nothing against a long walk, yet the game of Golf can be highly frustrating, takes an inordinate amount of time, really doesn’t do much as far as “exercise” is concerned, is generally expensive, I have grass, trees, and even a sandbox in my backyard, and is more or less impossible to become highly skilled at, at which point it may actually be even more boring if any potential challenges are skillfully averted. However, that’s my own personal opinion, and others obviously feel different about it. Yes, I have played and gotten instruction, however the long-term payoff (?) wasn’t worthwhile enough for me to continue. I’d rather replace a waterpump in a Jaguar…
Jim, I would have agreed with you… twenty years ago. To wake up early on a Sunday morning and take a pleasurable drive to someplace interesting, or to no particular place at all was a delight.
But nowadays, at least for me, there’s too much traffic and too many poor and/or inattentive drivers for me to derive much joy from a pleasure drive.
When it was time to buy a new car for Stephanie in 2014, the closest runner up was a Jetta Sportwagen. We had already test driven a TSX sportwagon by then, and in comparison, the Jetta felt a bit less substantial and cheaper. But it drove nicely, and I liked its tidier size.
But in an interesting comparison to your 2015 VW, our TSX has never had one single solitary issue (except for a very trivial recall). Nothing has gone wrong! It drives like new. Never been back to the dealer or any garage. Oil changes, one transmission fluid change, I’ve replaced the brake pads and front rotors, and some new tires. Even the sunroof hasn’t leaked.
So I’m happy with the choice we made.
But VW’s are compelling and I can see the appeal. Especially a ’56 Beetle. 🙂
the closest runner up was a Jetta Sportwagen. We had already test driven a TSX sportwagon
I test drove a TSX wagon, before driving the Jetta wagon. I was put off by the TSX’s stiff suspension, on Michigan’s third world roads. I was not crazy about the TSX not having a spare tire. I found everything I would need to put a spare in it on Acura Parts, for several hundred dollars. On the other hand, my 98 Civic had been excellent. Only non-warranty failure on the Civic, in what ended up being a 15 year ownership, was the wiper switch broke. According to Carfax, that Civic is still running in Ohio somewhere. Only non-warranty failure on my Aunt’s 98 Civic, in 10 years of ownership had been a failed O2 sensor.
The Jetta rode a bit smoother, and came with a spare tire. I had heard all the VW horror stories about fragile cars and surly dealers, but every time I made the rounds at the Detroit auto show, I kept coming back to the VW stand, because I liked the way the cars were designed.. The S trim Jetta was about $10,000 less than the TSX. That ten grand would cover a lot of repairs, but, if the car gave signs of being a hangar queen, it’s time in my garage would have been short.
So that was my analysis, demonstrated brand reliability, but half a step down on driving comfort, vs potential hangar queen that was slightly more comfortable, and quite a bit cheaper.
YMMV
No doubt VW Golf Sportwagon is one of sensible and yet practical and fun choices for car enthusiasts . Too bad we are not getting it anymore. And VW gave it up to promote its SUV lineups.
You mentioned that you were looking for Mazda 5 but gave upfor its dismal crash rating. Wonder if you looked at Ford CMac hybrid, it is fuel efficient and relatively fun to drive too. And recent Consumer Report says it is quite reliable. It was based Ford Europe CMPV platform
Another vehicle is Kia Rondo (2007-2010). . It can fit the same category.
If you don’t mind to own a SUV. Mazda CX5 is your choice.
Now that you mention the C-Max, it occurs to me that I was aware of the model’s existence but never really considered it. Actually, in looking back at some 2009-2012 articles about the C-Max, I’m just now finding some suggestions that (maybe?) the three-row “Grand” C-Max was sold in the U.S. (Is that correct—the Grand C-Max was sold here?). I’ve only ever seen the two-row version with its swing-out rear doors. In any event, it’s mildly interesting that all three of those vehicles (Mazda 5, Transit Connect, and C-Max) were essentially Focus-derived.
I became aware of the Rondo through Kia’s sort of Scientology-parody ad campaign for the new model, and I remember thinking that the Rondo seemed like a modern-day successor to the Colt Vista—even more so than the Mazda 5 with its sliding doors. But from what I’ve read, the model was withdrawn from the U.S. market in 2010 (although it continued in Canada until 2017).
I’ll put in a good word for the C-Max. Ours has been utterly reliable, and that’s been two of them, driven 110,000 miles over a six year span. The Hybrid (now sold) gave us an indicated 38 mpg, and the PHEV Energi has recorded about 65 mpg lifetime. The C-Max was tested at an 8-second 0-60 time, which is all the power I need. The steering is delightful, true to the Focus line- it’s very accurate and it loads up nicely in turns. I appreciate the huge glass area, front and sides. My only dislike is an oddly large turning radius, and the fact that it can’t do SUV duties. And the undeniable fact that it’s ugly, inside and out. And the name sounds like a medical procedure. Overall, it’s a sadly overlooked car that was marketed terribly but engineered very well.
I actually traded a GTI for this, after owning about eight VWs, and I’ve never looked back. Nothing in the current VW lineup appeals to me now. PS- The Grand C-Max was never sold here, unfortunately.
I’ve written about our late-model VW’s (ie 21st century) a few times and while the 2001 New Beetle certainly had more than a few niggles it’s never had a serious issue and is still in the family after almost 23 years. So far, our 2015 Golf (1st year of the 7th gen, 1.8T and 5 speed manual with 15” alloys) has been 100% troublefree, except for an alignment issue that ate a front tire before I noticed it. The driving experience and overall feel is so much better than any Japanese or Korean small car that I’ve owned or just driven. Both of ours were Mexican built. By contrast, my ‘77 Scirocco and our ‘85 Vanagon were among the least reliable cars I’ve owned, right up there with a BMW 528i and probably even worse than my Vega. The Golf is seeing less than 5K miles per year, so until/unless we get an EV it could easily be the last passenger car we’ll own.
I eagerly lap up every data point available on modern VW ownership, as I still find some of their modern products quite appealing. And, sadly, most of them seem to mimic the experience I had on my Golf GTI experience of nearly 40 years ago. Fabulously rewarding to drive, great feel to the materials, but a stronger bond to the VW service department than is optimal.
But then as a veteran of pre-Iacocca Mopars, I completely understand the willingness to put up with some hassle and expense to drive a car you love.
Piston Rings design flaw, clearly. A few engines 2.0 for sure (and 1.8T?) and built-years and it’s owners suffered badly from this.
In the Netherlands even consumer-help TV made items about this huge problem. Made even worse because the Dutch importer refused to solve this after the 2 yr. garantue expired … There goes your carefully crafted image of well built cars.
The sales stats (in Europe) show it nowadays, with Kia, Toyota, Hyundai, etc. taking the lead. It’s sad, because VW’s have gotten better (some) since, and still look great and drive very pleasantly.
Piston Rings design flaw, clearly. A few engines 2.0 for sure (and 1.8T?) and built-years and it’s owners suffered badly from this.
The EA888 is in it’s third generation now. One earlier generation ate timing chains. Another drank oil. Gen three seems to have those issues sorted out. The water pump and thermostat have been issues across the generations, but my friend’s 2016 Golf did not need the pump and thermostat attended to until about 150,000 miles.
I almost forgot about the earlier timing chain disaster …
150K is extraordinary for any car-make.
Drive what you love, and love what you drive. I admire your putting up with what many would consider inexcusable problems to be able to stick with a car that you clearly like. Sometimes, that’s just how it is.
I looked a bit longingly at these Golf wagons when they were introduced. The fact that they could be had with manual transmissions was particularly attractive to me as well. But being committed to holding on to my own German car that doesn’t quite meet Toyota standards of reliability, I did nothing but look. And I think I made the correct decision too.
You don’t mention it unless I missed it, but is there another car in your garage that may be your wife’s daily driver? Sometimes having a fall back vehicle makes it easier to love the problem child.
And speaking of children, your daughter has known one car her whole life thus far. I think that’s very cool. Assuming they’re still making them, I predict she’ll have a VW in her future garage.
Love this series!
Thanks for nice remarks. And it’s a bit of a bittersweet moment that I’m now at the present day, so my COAL series has reached its end.
Collectively, the Golf is our only car, although the impact of any out-of-service time is blunted by the fact that we really don’t need a car in the first place. I’ll explain more in a follow-up comment at the bottom.
I think the Golf Wagon, your version and the following one, are some of the best designed cars to ever leave Wolfsburg. I’ve seriously considered one several times. But just when I think it’s time to buy, the little guy on my shoulder says “do you really want to be stranded on the side if the road?”
So I’ve always deferred. I know I must be missing the driving enjoyment you are. If I was younger it would likely be different, but as an older guy, I just don’t have the patience to suffer though numerous trips to the dealer.
For what it’s worth, the Golf has never failed to start, left me stranded, or given me any worry that I wouldn’t reach my destination. Since so many of the follow-up comments have revolved around the topic of VW reliability, I’ll go into a little more detail below.
I read this COAL with great understanding and empathy. I too understand the allure of Volkswagens compared to their more reliable competitors. Seven times I made the same choice as you, succumbing to the pleasures of superior road feel through the steering wheel, the ideal ride and handling compromise, and the tactile qualities of soft-touch surfaces, precise feeling switchgear, and ergonomically correct and supportive seats. Seven times did I experience nothing but pleasure driving my VW for its first four years and/or 50,000 miles, visiting the dealer only for regular maintenance or recalls. And then, the drama began, with multiple major repairs costing well into four figures leaving me feeling cheated, frustrated, and heart-broken. We sought counseling, with my dealer also agreeing to major cost concessions on labor and VW of America on occasion stepping in to ease the pain in my wallet. Four of these cars were traded in fits of anger and disgust at their individual frailties, but I would come crawling back, seduced yet again by the promise of fine German engineering. Three of those times, our relationship was cut short by an accident, the VW totaled and ignominiously towed away from our lives before it could cause more pain. It’s taken over 25 years of therapy, but I have emerged a better man and now appreciate the solid, capable and reliable embrace of Honda.
My 2015 Sportwagen has the same configuration as dman’s 2015 Golf (“not wagen”): base trim, 15″ wheels, 5 speed manual. First year seventh generation Golf built in Mexico, with 1.8T engine. As previously reported, it has been almost faultless. A single warranty issue: early on, the dome lights would go off only when locking the car. Dealer dropped headliner, replaced light fixture. Now with 150,000 kms, engine is as smooth and silent on the highway as you could wish, consuming between 5.2 and 6 L/100 km. Oil on the dipstick drops just a few mm between 10,000 km oil changes. A pleasure to drive, so I plan on keeping it indefinitely.
👍
Sigh.
The great lure of the European siren, for which I too have fallen in times past, only to be dashed upon the rocks of the Bank.
VW. We Build Really Nice Cars – Really Badly.
I’ll join in on the chorus of former modern VW owners….had a ’98 Passat GLS V6 and the wife had an ’01 New Beetle. Never again…everything except their reliability was good. We got rid of both of them before they hit 50K miles.
Still, there’s something about VWs that appeals to me. I picked up an air-cooled VW (’68 Beetle) 5 years ago and love it to pieces. So well made and easy to work on…what went wrong VW?
I forgot one vehicle, Toyota Venza, my current vehicle, mine is 2011 V6 front wheel drive. Very powerful but not very efficient, and only two-row. It is definitely very spacious. Not very exciting to drive in compared with Honda Cross Tours ( that is another vehicle you might hunt for). Sadly my Venza is not that reliable. I got it from sister with 72k miles in 2019. It has few problems, heat control board was bad, two front bearings broken ( very difficult to replace) and one of valve gasket (the bank close to firewall) leaks. Mechanic doesn’t want to do that job for reasonable cost. Nevertheless it is not that bad. It is my first Toyota, I know Toyota was good and reliable car since I was in China in 1970s.
Ford C Max in US is only two-row configuration.
You mentioned Colt Vista, my past uncle favorite and beloved vehicle. His 1984 model rans for 15 years with close to 200k miles without major repairs. Colt Vista was also the vehicle of one of hosts on Car Talk in NPR 20 years ago. I still miss those informative talks with good laughs. BTW, my uncle lived in Erdenhiem, PA, outside of Philly, your childhood home.
I’m getting conflicting information about the C-Max. In 2012, Car and Driver reported that the three-row C-Max Grand would be coming to the U.S., but I’ve never seen one on the road.
Yes, listening to Car Talk became a Saturday morning ritual for me around the time I started driving. Even though the program is out of production, NPR still makes the show available as a podcast, with a “new” old episode featured each week.
C-Max only ever came in one length in the U.S (the shorter one). We did get two versions of it though, a normal hybrid as well as a plug-in hybrid. The different battery sizes greatly affected trunk space, that is the main physical (noticable) difference between them. Seating capacity was 5 in both cases.
My sister in California has a 1999 Passat wagon, that’s the second year of the longitudinal engine B5. Base trim, 5 speed manual, 1.8T, no sunroof. They did replace the ABS module years ago, but I don’t recall any other trouble. Now with close to 200k miles, engine runs smooth and quiet. Original turbo. They finally replaced timing belt and water pump at 150k miles. YMMV. And yes we grew up with a 1966 1300cc beetle, which each sibling took to university after the other. I adjusted the valves and set the points regularly. Maybe that’s why VWs work for us.
Even though they’re thrown around freely in the automotive world, terms like “quality”, “durability”, and “reliability” mean different things to different people. Speaking very broadly, I take “quality” to refer to the standards of appearance and performance a car achieves when new, and “durability” is the extent to which the car continues to achieve those standards as it racks up years and miles. (Of course, whether extraordinary expense is needed to maintain that level of performance is a consideration, too.) For me, the “reliability” mostly means that the engine starts when I press the starter button and that I can drive to my destination without drama or anxiety over possibly being stranded.
By those definitions, my Golf SportWagen has performed exceptionally well. Other than one occasion when I ran down the battery while sitting in the car listening to the radio, the car hasn’t once failed to start. Nor has it ever given me any worry that I might not get to where I was going. And while I cannot speak for the level of performance my Mazda, Subarus, and Toyotas achieved when they were new (since I was introduced to them as used cars), my Volkswagen certainly looks newer, runs more smoothly, and feels tighter than any of them did at 100K.
I’m also cutting Volkswagen a great deal of slack because they have been so accommodating in terms of warranty coverage. The people at my local dealership are pleasant to deal with and always provide a decently equipped VW as a loaner. And as I mentioned, the vast majority of the work has been covered under warranty. Actually, as I think of it, the above mentioned headlamp sensor and control unit may be my only out-of-pocket expense for failure of a non-wear item. In 100,000 miles, that’s not bad.
My impressions and motivations may be somewhat different than other people because, honestly, I don’t need a car. My wife and I live in Center City Philadelphia and both work from home. We can walk or take transit for our daily needs, so the Golf is strictly a vehicle to get away from the city and enjoy the open road on weekends. The rest of the time, it sits in a public garage (at considerable expense). As a result, the Golf may be our last—either last car ever, last non-EV…or at least, our last car for a long while.
Even if I was in the market for another car, I wonder what I might possibly get. In the U.S. VW has discontinued not only the SportWagen but also the Golf itself. As someone who gets his economical driving thrills from the curves rather than stomping on the accelerator, I think the GTI would be overkill (and a little short on cargo room). For a number of reasons, I’m inclined to get an EV, but the ID.4 is larger and heaver (and more suburban) than I’d want. It doesn’t look like VW has any plans to bring the smaller ID.3 to America.
Well…we’re in the process of relocating to Australia. Looks like VW offers a much broader range of vehicles down under.
Unlike you, we have two larger (much larger) vehicles than our 2 door Golf VII. But one only has two seats, and both are fairly good at guzzling fuel vs the 1.8T VW. And even though it has the same interior room as a four door Golf, the two door is less usable with passengers or even cargo. But the ID4 seems too much car. So I think VW has lost us as customers should we need to replace the Golf. Thanks for you sharing your COAL’s and good luck down under!!
‘Straya? Mate, you’ll need a double-cab ute down ‘ere, it’s compulsory. Or so it seems.
With a taste for VW, you can buy one, too – the Amarok, which is actually a re-skinned latest-version Ford Ranger (designed by Ford Oz, with a German team here too designing the VW version), all made in a Ford plant in….South Africa!
VW has the same spotty reputation here as the comments reflect, nice cars, and you might get a good one, but you well might not. In fact, the previous Argentine-built Amarok had a universally poor name for very expensive failures amongst tradesman users, and I’m surprised they’ve bothered with the new one.
Best wishes to you with the move. Very different world to Philly!
I like your definitions and agree that problems which prevent the vehicle from transporting you to your destination are quite different from those that affect non-essential systems.
Good luck in Australia! And consider writing up your car shopping experiences over there. I’d be interested to see what’s available in that market.
Good read, thanks for sharing. I’m still waiting for someone to marry VW interior refinement and driving character with Honda/Toyota reliability. Mazda might be the closest now.
I get the appeal of VW, I had a 2010 Sportwagen for about 7 years and was very fond of it for the same reasons you describe. Mine, however, did not need a new engine at 5,000 miles, was able to keep water outside the car where it belongs, did not have failing sensors, did not require headlamp replacement, and the seatbelts still worked. The iron block 5-cylinder was a different animal, I suppose. Simple, low compression, port-injected natural aspiration. VW doesn’t seem to handle complexity well–even with things as ordinary as a sunroof.
This wagon is every reliability stereotype VW has supposedly been trying to run away from and probably explains why VW’s extended 6yr warranty experiment was so short-lived. No vehicle should have these kinds of problems and it points to poor fundamental engineering. I’m interested by the unequivocal “yes” on whether you’d buy the car again, because my personal calculus would conclude I was exceptionally lucky to have five-figures of problems covered and that the car is now a time bomb that should be offloaded before it explodes.
VW currently offers nothing that seems worth the risk to me. They’ve savagely decontented their interior material quality since 2010, their wagons are gone, the Jetta’s a boat with an ugly interior, the GTI is compromised, and the crossovers that have taken over are bland enough to not be worth risking over a brand with better reliability histories.
Agreed on Mazda likely being the closest thing to a bridge between Honda/Toyota and Volkswagen. I have some fond memories of driving my old Protegé (which is the subject of its own COAL entry, if you haven’t read it). In addition to the Mazda 5 mentioned in the essay above, I also considered a 3 hatchback when car shopping in 2015/2016, but ultimately went with the Golf for a number of reasons. One—which may seem minor to many people—was Mazda’s complete lack of support for Apple CarPlay at the time.
Another nagging concern was (is?) the seeming propensity for Mazdas to rust. Admittedly, I have only anecdotal evidence, but it seems like I see more Mazdas rusting— with more rust, with worse rust, or with earlier rust—relative to other makes. It’s not an absolute dealbreaker, but I would be especially vigilant about inspecting and washing the bodywork if I owned another Mazda.
As to the unequivocal “yes” about buying another VW, I’ll go into a little more detail below, as Staxman brought up basically the same issue.
I was quite fond of my 2010 Sportwagen over the 7 years I owned it. I sold it before it could bite me.
This one is a nightmare. There’s no excuse for the failures on this car after 20+ years of the brand promising to stop doing this.
Fortunately for me, VW’s present lineup is so bland that it is not tempting to risk it anymore.
As I said in a response to SajivW’s most recent COAL, in 52 years of car ownership I’ve progressed from buying cars on Road & Track criteria to buying them on Consumer Reports criteria. I’m like you—I enjoy cornering more than I do acceleration. Given my current lifestyle, I use my ’05 Honda Civic for running errands on surface streets in a major city and for commuting to work over an interstate highway. If I had your car, its abilities would be pretty much wasted on me.
If your experience with your VW has been good for you, great! If I were having all that stuff fixed under warranty, I’d be thinking, “What happens when it’s out of warranty?” I’m thinking of retiring in the next couple years—another reason to play it safe with my choice of car.
I’m thinking my next car (which could be my last car) will be the next-generation (2006-2011) Civic. For ~18 years I’ve been getting my cars serviced at a garage called Golf Jetta Service—in spite of the name, they work on just about anything. They have VW, Audi, Mercedes, and BMW logos on the front of the building. I recently had a discussion with the owner about what my next car should be. I asked if there was any VW he’d recommend, and he said no. He once said he sees coil pack issues on German cars ~3x/week. He never sees them on Japanese cars.
Yes, if I had to give a binary good/bad vote to my Volkswagen experience, I would rate it as “good”. I suppose the corollary to that is that I would buy another VW—if I felt reasonably confident that my experience would at least be as good as it was with this Golf.
As far as the warranty work and the “what happens when it’s out of warranty” question, I tend to rationalize it thusly:
I basically disregard the engine replacement altogether as an out-of-the-box defect—and that one item accounts for roughly half of the warranty work in terms of dollars. Apparently some seal wasn’t seated properly and the defect somehow slipped through QC. The replacement engine has been fine for 95,000+ miles.
The original sunroof drainage system seemed to have been under-engineered, and Volkswagen’s interim response for a couple of years was to blow out the drain lines. Then they finally designed a more suitable replacement drain system. That now having been corrected, I haven’t had the slightest hint of a leak.
Setting aside the above two defects (which jointly account for about 70-80% of the warranty repair cost), what’s left? Basically, every two years or so, a non-wear component will need replacement at a cost of about $500-$1,000. Assuming the pace of repairs doesn’t accelerate wildly, I can live with that.
Rust does not appear to be a problem for Mazdas in Australia. My 18 year old Mazda lives outside (admittedly in an inland location) and has no rust. The condition of the paintwork is a different story….