How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My VW

Bigshankhank · Post by **Bigshankhank** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:12 am

I have had no end of problems with my daughter's 97 VW Cabrio Highline. Or to put it more optimistically I am nearing the end of problems with my daughter's 97 VW Cabrio Highline. First off the A/C stopped working less than a year after we got it (it was a one owner car, 107k on the clock). Its a convertible so that's $1200 we do not have to spend. In the last year it developed a faulty ignition switch (which we bypassed with a truly ghetto stripped wire, touch it to a hot lead from the battery and it would start right up), snapped its timing belt, and subsequently bent all four exhaust valves. We did eventually replace the iggy switch, but with the death of the engine I was stumped, and being out of work did not relish the idea of putting $1k or more into fixing it, so I pulled the top end off and had the head rebuilt for under $300. Put it all back together with a new timing belt kit (another $175) and the engine purrs like a kitten. For less than half a day, in fact, as I drove it up to my daughter's work to return it to her only to have the transmissin give me fits on the way home. I later learned that it had a broken axle (due to her driving on failed CV joints for over a year, she had complained of a bad shaking a while ago so I replaced the struts up front and she stopped complaining. Come to find out the problem didn't go away, and that it had been shaking for over a year. This is what I found when I dove underneath the past two days

That inner cv joint literally fell apart as I removed it. New axles are $800, but I've contacted a couple of salvage yards that have them for less than $70.
What a piece of shit. Sorry to any VW fanatics, I realize the belt/head fiasco could have been avoided but the number of specialty tools and grotesque squeezed-into-too-tight-places injuries I have endured to get this thing back together is unreal. German engineering my ass, gimme a bicycle anyday.

Post by **DerGolgo** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:35 am

Oh, but you are experiencing German engineering at it's finest.
Do you know how difficult it is to make a car that will work brilliantly for four years or so for the first owner, work alright for the second, and after eight or ten years or so, when it has passed to the third owner (statistically), will disintegrate entirely?

Rabbit_Fighter · Post by **Rabbit_Fighter** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 11:22 am

DerGolgo wrote:Oh, but you are experiencing German engineering at it's finest.
Do you know how difficult it is to make a car that will work brilliantly for four years or so for the first owner, work alright for the second, and after eight or ten years or so, when it has passed to the third owner (statistically), will disintegrate entirely?

I've kinda had two mid 90s Golfs (1 was a cousin's that he let me drive for a year, the other was my wife's). Those cars were absolutely awesome, until they got to just shy of 100K. It wasn't just a matter of things going out, as much as this weird feeling you got. Rattles, engine vibrations, rough shifts, etc.

If I ever own a water-cooled VW again, I will buy it new and sell it with 75K on the clock.

GOSTAZ · Post by **GOSTAZ** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 11:48 am

Rabbit_Fighter wrote:
DerGolgo wrote:Oh, but you are experiencing German engineering at it's finest.
Do you know how difficult it is to make a car that will work brilliantly for four years or so for the first owner, work alright for the second, and after eight or ten years or so, when it has passed to the third owner (statistically), will disintegrate entirely?
I've kinda had two mid 90s Golfs (1 was a cousin's that he let me drive for a year, the other was my wife's). Those cars were absolutely awesome, until they got to just shy of 100K. It wasn't just a matter of things going out, as much as this weird feeling you got. Rattles, engine vibrations, rough shifts, etc.

If I ever own a water-cooled VW again, I will buy it new and sell it with 75K on the clock.

Don't own one, but babysat a 2000 cabrio for the last 4 years. Eats Tailight bulbs like they are wheaties, bearings, rotors, shifter, tires, rims, brakes, all are "never quite right" When I met the car? Had 77k on it. Was fun to drive, when it felt like running, but much happier with it's retiredghettofabulous replacement... an '02 Mercury Grand Marquis.... 135k on it, runs like a top. Cost? A cool grand. Much agreed with buy a Veedub new, and at 70 - 75k? See ya!

Pancake · Post by **Pancake** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 3:41 pm

$800 for axles?!?!?! Did you try NAPA? I'd try to get some rebuilt (read: warrantied) axles before I'd put junkyard axles in it.

Pancake · Post by **Pancake** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 3:45 pm

Shit, BSH - NAPA sells reman axles for about $50 a piece... just need to give 'em your cores.

http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/N ... SubCatId=8

Bigshankhank · Post by **Bigshankhank** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:44 am

Pancake wrote:Shit, BSH - NAPA sells reman axles for about $50 a piece... just need to give 'em your cores.

http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/N ... SubCatId=8

Fuck yeah baby, thanks 'cake, I'm heading out to NAPA this AM to get me one.

Bigshankhank · Post by **Bigshankhank** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:03 am

FAHCK!!!! Well I did replace the axle, thanks again Pancake, and although that made a huge difference in terms of smoothness there remains a big problem, namely the engine will get to about 35mph (approx 2800 rpm) and then just spin up without accelerating. Now a week ago I had it at a dealership and they diagnosed the throttle body is near death. Alas throttle bodies from NAPA run at least $900, so back to the salvage yard I go. Fuckfuckfuck this fucking car!!!

TallGuy · Post by **TallGuy** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 12:33 pm

Have had several newer VWs, New Beetle, Jetta, Passat, They can be trying at times, but I'm still sold on them for cage transportation.
Try partsplaceinc.com for parts, they are VW parts specialists. Most of the time they are less than NAPA, but not always.
You might be causing me to have second thoughts on the purchase of a Cabrio.........darn you

Pancake · Post by **Pancake** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 12:45 pm

Bigshankhank wrote:
Pancake wrote:Shit, BSH - NAPA sells reman axles for about $50 a piece... just need to give 'em your cores.

http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/N ... SubCatId=8
Fuck yeah baby, thanks 'cake, I'm heading out to NAPA this AM to get me one.

No problem! Glad I could help.. And i'm pretty sure that you'll be the happiest when you see that damn car rolling road and you've got a wad of cash in your hand.

stiles · Post by **stiles** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:33 pm

Don't get me started on late model VWs.

They are junk. Great for me as a shop owner, great for the dealership - lots of money in parts, lots of recalls, lots of fires, lots of repeat failures - sad,expensive and frustrating for owners.

After my clients' 99 Jetta, '96 GTI,'01 and '02 new beetles, '03 Golf, several passats, my parents' 96 GTI and '00 GTI, I never want to see another one of those again.

SSCAM · Post by **SSCAM** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 4:07 am

It seems that I have much to look forward to. 1500 miles or so and I still love it.

stiles · Post by **stiles** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:42 am

supersweetcoolawesomeMatt wrote:It seems that I have much to look forward to. 1500 miles or so and I still love it.

FWIW, I've been told the new ones (2006-up) hold up somewhat better. They don't burst into flames nearly as often, for example, and VW finally decided to make some other part of the car the lowest point, rather than the brittle cast aluminum engine oil pan.

Anyway, VW has plenty of company in the cellar:

Worst of the worst

These have multiple years of much-worse-than-average reliability among 1999 to 2008 models. Listed alphabetically.
Audi A6 Allroad
Audi A8
BMW X5 (V8 )
Buick Rendezvous (AWD)
Cadillac SRX
Chevrolet Blazer
Chevrolet Colorado (4WD)
Chevrolet S-10 (4WD)
Chevrolet Uplander
Chevrolet Venture
Chrysler Pacifica
Chrysler Sebring convertible
Chrysler Town & Country (AWD)
Dodge Grand Caravan (AWD)
GMC Canyon (4WD)
GMC Jimmy
GMC S-15 Sonoma (4WD) Jeep Grand Cherokee
Kia Sedona
Land Rover Discovery, LR3
Mazda RX-8
Oldsmobile Bravada
Oldsmobile Silhouette
Pontiac Aztek
Pontiac G6 (V6)
Pontiac Montana, Montana SV6
Porsche Cayenne
Saturn Relay
Volkswagen Cabrio
Volkswagen Jetta (V6)
Volkswagen New Beetle (turbo)
Volkswagen Passat (V6, FWD)
Volkswagen Touareg
Volvo XC90 (6-cyl.)

sun rat · Post by **sun rat** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:40 am

do i not see a ford on that list?

12ci · Post by **12ci** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 12:57 pm

sun rat wrote:do i not see a ford on that list?

closest are the landie & wolwo (both ford "premier" brands for the survey period)

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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My VW

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My VW