VW Frustration RANT!
Discussion
Basically a good old rant.
I've been a mechanic for 20+years and everyday I get totally frustrated by VW's and their delusional owners. Surely I cant be the only one who works on them and thinks, where has the "legendary" German engineering gone?
You do one standard job on them and you need a new special tool every time.
Everything seems to be designed so you can only just reach with your fingertips.
You get your head round doing a job for the first time, then once it's time to do that job again, VW have decided to throw in a different type of variant in. Once you've done the job, you look around and you realised that you've had to unknowingly empty your whole tool box and it's going to take you just as long to tidy up as to do the job.
All of the switches are s
t. I see cars that are less than 10 years old and all the black coating of the window and light switches have peeled off.
I don't know how many electronic handbrake callipers I've replaced, because they've seized up, and every time you price it up the customer whinges about the cost. And as for the GTI owners when you tell them, they can buy a non painted calliper or the more expensive painted ones.
The amount of people that say the MK5 Golfs were the best.....oh yeah those Golfs which came out of the factory with sponges in the wings so they went rusty in 3 years.
I know I'm opening myself up for the VDub people to lay in to me, but surely even the hadcorest VDub people must get frustrated with the way VW have gone. I'd agree that most VW's pre 2005 were ok to work on and own. But I just want to know if I'm the only one who thinks German engineering is a myth and they are no superior to a Ford,Kia or Honda?
I've been a mechanic for 20+years and everyday I get totally frustrated by VW's and their delusional owners. Surely I cant be the only one who works on them and thinks, where has the "legendary" German engineering gone?
You do one standard job on them and you need a new special tool every time.
Everything seems to be designed so you can only just reach with your fingertips.
You get your head round doing a job for the first time, then once it's time to do that job again, VW have decided to throw in a different type of variant in. Once you've done the job, you look around and you realised that you've had to unknowingly empty your whole tool box and it's going to take you just as long to tidy up as to do the job.
All of the switches are s
t. I see cars that are less than 10 years old and all the black coating of the window and light switches have peeled off. I don't know how many electronic handbrake callipers I've replaced, because they've seized up, and every time you price it up the customer whinges about the cost. And as for the GTI owners when you tell them, they can buy a non painted calliper or the more expensive painted ones.
The amount of people that say the MK5 Golfs were the best.....oh yeah those Golfs which came out of the factory with sponges in the wings so they went rusty in 3 years.
I know I'm opening myself up for the VDub people to lay in to me, but surely even the hadcorest VDub people must get frustrated with the way VW have gone. I'd agree that most VW's pre 2005 were ok to work on and own. But I just want to know if I'm the only one who thinks German engineering is a myth and they are no superior to a Ford,Kia or Honda?
It's the thin veneer of quality on the bits you touch that makes people thing they are a quality product. People who know nothing about cars still believe all the rubbish about Teutonic reliability and German build quality.
There are also a lot of people who would not be seen dead driving a car without a German badge on the front.
Never mind about the oil consumption and timing chain issues, they are still seen as a reliable product. The same people who instantly dismiss French cars as rubbish because a friend had a window regulator fail 20 years ago.
VW have done a brilliant job of marketing.
There are also a lot of people who would not be seen dead driving a car without a German badge on the front.
Never mind about the oil consumption and timing chain issues, they are still seen as a reliable product. The same people who instantly dismiss French cars as rubbish because a friend had a window regulator fail 20 years ago.
VW have done a brilliant job of marketing.
Flame Grilled said:
Basically a good old rant.
I've been a mechanic for 20+years and everyday I get totally frustrated by VW's and their delusional owners. Surely I cant be the only one who works on them and thinks, where has the "legendary" German engineering gone?
You do one standard job on them and you need a new special tool every time.
Everything seems to be designed so you can only just reach with your fingertips.
You get your head round doing a job for the first time, then once it's time to do that job again, VW have decided to throw in a different type of variant in. Once you've done the job, you look around and you realised that you've had to unknowingly empty your whole tool box and it's going to take you just as long to tidy up as to do the job.
All of the switches are st. I see cars that are less than 10 years old and all the black coating of the window and light switches have peeled off.
I don't know how many electronic handbrake callipers I've replaced, because they've seized up, and every time you price it up the customer whinges about the cost. And as for the GTI owners when you tell them, they can buy a non painted calliper or the more expensive painted ones.
The amount of people that say the MK5 Golfs were the best.....oh yeah those Golfs which came out of the factory with sponges in the wings so they went rusty in 3 years.
I know I'm opening myself up for the VDub people to lay in to me, but surely even the hadcorest VDub people must get frustrated with the way VW have gone. I'd agree that most VW's pre 2005 were ok to work on and own. But I just want to know if I'm the only one who thinks German engineering is a myth and they are no superior to a Ford,Kia or Honda?
You will have no complaints from me, i thought sticking rear calipers on the mk5's was a thing of the past but it seems the newer electric calipers and proving to be just as reliable. Lets not start on (majority of) Transporter owners.I've been a mechanic for 20+years and everyday I get totally frustrated by VW's and their delusional owners. Surely I cant be the only one who works on them and thinks, where has the "legendary" German engineering gone?
You do one standard job on them and you need a new special tool every time.
Everything seems to be designed so you can only just reach with your fingertips.
You get your head round doing a job for the first time, then once it's time to do that job again, VW have decided to throw in a different type of variant in. Once you've done the job, you look around and you realised that you've had to unknowingly empty your whole tool box and it's going to take you just as long to tidy up as to do the job.
All of the switches are s
t. I see cars that are less than 10 years old and all the black coating of the window and light switches have peeled off. I don't know how many electronic handbrake callipers I've replaced, because they've seized up, and every time you price it up the customer whinges about the cost. And as for the GTI owners when you tell them, they can buy a non painted calliper or the more expensive painted ones.
The amount of people that say the MK5 Golfs were the best.....oh yeah those Golfs which came out of the factory with sponges in the wings so they went rusty in 3 years.
I know I'm opening myself up for the VDub people to lay in to me, but surely even the hadcorest VDub people must get frustrated with the way VW have gone. I'd agree that most VW's pre 2005 were ok to work on and own. But I just want to know if I'm the only one who thinks German engineering is a myth and they are no superior to a Ford,Kia or Honda?
What is well built still?
I've got a Merc Vito and in comparison to my old 2005 VW, it's a bit st. Plastic everywhere, creaking, vibrating. It's had issues with the Ad Blue, it's super sensitive on oil levels, it eats brake discs, gone through 2 sets of springs in 40k (it's only ever had dogs and bikes in the back!) and the paint is really soft. I know Vito's have historically been rust buckets and this one at least isn't rusting but Mercedes make out as of this is a premium product in the commercial line. It most certainly isn't.
I've got a Merc Vito and in comparison to my old 2005 VW, it's a bit s
t. Plastic everywhere, creaking, vibrating. It's had issues with the Ad Blue, it's super sensitive on oil levels, it eats brake discs, gone through 2 sets of springs in 40k (it's only ever had dogs and bikes in the back!) and the paint is really soft. I know Vito's have historically been rust buckets and this one at least isn't rusting but Mercedes make out as of this is a premium product in the commercial line. It most certainly isn't. Tbh it was always like this, when i had a garage oh 20 odd years ago, we saw more vw than anyother make, often for stupid, often hard to find faults, or expensive cambelt jobs at stupidly low milage limits,
So i dont think the quality has gone down, i just dont think it was there to begin with, its all marketing, and the german badge.
I would never own one, but then ive never really cared about the badge, And if someone wants to judge me on that, then not a person im interested in knowing.
Bwm are the same, although they were once good, but in the last decade not so much. And lets not even mention Merc.
So i dont think the quality has gone down, i just dont think it was there to begin with, its all marketing, and the german badge.
I would never own one, but then ive never really cared about the badge, And if someone wants to judge me on that, then not a person im interested in knowing.
Bwm are the same, although they were once good, but in the last decade not so much. And lets not even mention Merc.
Otispunkmeyer said:
IMO you want quality, buy a Toyota. You want quality and something without hard scratchy plastics on the dash, buy a Lexus.
This is so true. Toyotas may not be flash, but they work, and continue to do so with minimal fuss - but the fools on 'treasure island' continue being taken in by the myth of 'German engineering'.Last VW i owned was a mk 1.5 Golf 1600 Diesel, that wasn't a bad car by any means, simple tough reliable noisy and frugal, nor was the mk 2 Golf Diesel the Outlaw bought a bad car except having no power steering i had to up the front tyres to nearly 40psi so she could park the thing.
Most recent VW group car i've driven was a Q5 in which it took me 5 minutes trying to work out how to turn the engine off.
Few months ago one of my relatives visited, their engine undertray scraping the ground so muggins here jacked the thing up to try and fix it...firstly who the hell designs a full sized undertray without a small easily removed cut out for section oil and filter changing (both my Japanese cars have that facility), secondly the undertray is bolted in place with steel screws straight into the chassis rails which obviously all rust away hence the number of the things you see dragging along trhe motorway under Golfs.
I bodged it with multiple heavy duty cable ties, leaving it to the next victim who gets the job of servicing it to rip the thing off and chuck it in the skip.
Don't get me started on EPB's, they've even got Toyota and Subaru fitting the tat, an answer to a question no one asked but seemingly millions now can't manage to control their vehicles on inclines without such things.
Most recent VW group car i've driven was a Q5 in which it took me 5 minutes trying to work out how to turn the engine off.
Few months ago one of my relatives visited, their engine undertray scraping the ground so muggins here jacked the thing up to try and fix it...firstly who the hell designs a full sized undertray without a small easily removed cut out for section oil and filter changing (both my Japanese cars have that facility), secondly the undertray is bolted in place with steel screws straight into the chassis rails which obviously all rust away hence the number of the things you see dragging along trhe motorway under Golfs.
I bodged it with multiple heavy duty cable ties, leaving it to the next victim who gets the job of servicing it to rip the thing off and chuck it in the skip.
Don't get me started on EPB's, they've even got Toyota and Subaru fitting the tat, an answer to a question no one asked but seemingly millions now can't manage to control their vehicles on inclines without such things.
running 2015 1.6 tdi golf at the moment. It's running like a Swiss watch. Only issues from new have been a rear abs sensor, heater plug, and both rear speakers replacing due to a known issue with leaking. Not bad nearly in 8 years, Its still looking like new inside and out but it is a low miler. It used to get washed once every 3 months when my Dad had it, it was autoglymed and it still comes up by new. I really cant fault it tbh, free road tax too.
I think they're still a decent motor a step up from most run of the mill, perhaps not like they were 25 years ago as Audi wanted to create a quality gap to differentiate between the brands, back then my gti turbo had head gasket issue so not too many rose tints here.
A guy at a car injector specialist firm once said to me, see how many old high miles vw's there are on auto trader and then see how many high miler insignias there are and that tell you all you need to know.
I think they're still a decent motor a step up from most run of the mill, perhaps not like they were 25 years ago as Audi wanted to create a quality gap to differentiate between the brands, back then my gti turbo had head gasket issue so not too many rose tints here.
A guy at a car injector specialist firm once said to me, see how many old high miles vw's there are on auto trader and then see how many high miler insignias there are and that tell you all you need to know.
SiRich said:
running 2015 1.6 tdi golf at the moment. It's running like a Swiss watch. Only issues from new have been a rear abs sensor, heater plug, and both rear speakers replacing due to a known issue with leaking. Not bad nearly in 8 years, Its still looking like new inside and out but it is a low miler. It used to get washed once every 3 months when my Dad had it, it was autoglymed and it still comes up by new. I really cant fault it tbh, free road tax too.
I think they're still a decent motor a step up from most run of the mill, perhaps not like they were 25 years ago as Audi wanted to create a quality gap to differentiate between the brands, back then my gti turbo had head gasket issue so not too many rose tints here.
A guy at a car injector specialist firm once said to me, see how many old high miles vw's there are on auto trader and then see how many high miler insignias there are and that tell you all you need to know.
I've got a 2014 Evoque, and it also runs like a Swiss watch. The difference is that it's had ZERO issues.I think they're still a decent motor a step up from most run of the mill, perhaps not like they were 25 years ago as Audi wanted to create a quality gap to differentiate between the brands, back then my gti turbo had head gasket issue so not too many rose tints here.
A guy at a car injector specialist firm once said to me, see how many old high miles vw's there are on auto trader and then see how many high miler insignias there are and that tell you all you need to know.
Watcher of the skies said:
I've got a 2014 Evoque, and it also runs like a Swiss watch. The difference is that it's had ZERO issues.
but, but ... but .... land rover ... friend of a friend who's neighbour once knew someone down his street said they were unreliable ....Yours is the 2.2 isn't it !
You know VW are on the ropes when you have a Land Rover owner taking the piss!!
My repairs are pretty insignificant all things considered, maybe if i'd ragged your round it would have fallen to bits, ditto you mine. Im not trying to say it's better than an evoke so I don't really get your point? The was a VW rant
My repairs are pretty insignificant all things considered, maybe if i'd ragged your round it would have fallen to bits, ditto you mine. Im not trying to say it's better than an evoke so I don't really get your point? The was a VW rant
stevemcs said:
but, but ... but .... land rover ... friend of a friend who's neighbour once knew someone down his street said they were unreliable ....
Yours is the 2.2 isn't it !
It is, I would be wary of a diesel ingenium - but not a petrol.Yours is the 2.2 isn't it !
But then again I wouldn't buy a diesel car, or indeed any car, from a manufacturer that had resorted to criminality to sell its products.
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