VW....are they reliable ?

[RobinCoppell]

I drove a few Passats today, both the 2.0T and the 3.6 (280 hp yikes !!) and the cars seem really well made and they're a lot of fun. Has anyone owned one long term ? Any problems to report ?

[jloutlaw]

My daughter has a 2002 Jetta 1.5T. Great car with no major problems. She loves it. A guy in Tuscaloosa rear ended her and his Camry had to be towed. It only scratched her bumper.

[ResIpsa]

not personally, but a friend has a 2005 Passat that the engine just blew on. According to him, VW is disclaiming coverage under the warranty because he was 500 miles over on an oil change. Not saying that's fair or unfair, just saying it seems a little harsh to me and should give you an idea of what VW thinks of it's customers.

[earnold25]

i've heard of a few horror stories with friends / family about weird electrical issues with VW's. This was 2 different Jetta's (different model years) and a Bug.

Don't know specifics, but they were under warranty, and I know all 3 got the run around.

[Puffin Fresh]

VWs are historically known for electrical problems. No FHE though

[Puffin Fresh]

Originally Posted by RobinCoppell

I drove a few Passats today, both the 2.0T and the 3.6 (280 hp yikes !!) and the cars seem really well made and they're a lot of fun. Has anyone owned one long term ? Any problems to report ?

I don't know if you like the way they look, but the new V6 altima has 270 HP and it's available in a coupe now as well. The altima if really improved from the old models.

[kvaughan]

I have a 2000 Jetta GLS. Owned it for a year so far and only 1 major problem. I'm not sure what the piece is called but it was a plastic piece connected to the engine that the coolant ran through cracked and caused the engine to over heat.

[SDmate]

required reading for anyone thinking of buying a VW

[Bythehour]

They are great cars for ergonomics, but they tend to score very low on reliability. I wouldn't buy pre-owned, but a lease would be fine.

[Ski1215]

I probably wouldn't buy a turbo model. Turbo and supercharged motors cost more to maintain and generally start to slip quickly after the 100k mile mark.

[RPB67]

Over the past ten years my family (sister and mother) have both had VWs.

My mother has had a few VW Beetles and she still has one. She gets a new one every three years. My sister has had a Jetta in the past.

All these cars have never had a problem. But they do get rid of them once they are three years old.

[iceman95]

Don't know if it's a fair comparison to what you're looking at, but I have an '05 Passat GLS TDI(diesel) wagon with 50,000+ miles. No major problems to speak of. I had to have two glow plugs replaced. This didn't cause any problems in the way the car drove, just caused a dummy light to come on.

[motownflip]

some as other have said with electrical problems. The problem with electrical problems is that sometimes diagnosing them can be a nightmare. I tend to stay away from any VW.

[WyoBob]

You might check repair history in Consumer Reports. I know a lot of people dump on C.R. but I do think this is one thing they do right. As I remember, VW doesn't do well.

WyoBob

[Corona Gigante]

I own a 2001 bug (turbo), coming up to 100,000 miles, 40,000 of which are mine. I had a couple of fairly major problems the first year I owned it, but luckily the repairs were covered by the extended warranty I purchased. No problems since then, touch wood.