VW's not all bad just abused...

[Olas]

I agree that there is beauty in simplicity.

but

most would prefer a lamborghini to a lada
a ferrari to a fiat
etc etc

is it 'caveman' of me to think that people should not own equipment thay can't understand/operate/repair of their own free will?

maybe a Model T would be less troublesome and have less to go wrong than a new computer controlled CANBUS PC on wheels..

 

[DuckRyder]

Oh wow, another VW hate thread... what a huge surprise

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Thermo1223
Doing some side work for a coworker. Mostly because I just don't like seeing VW's mistreated.

2000 Golf 2.0 AEG 166k miles

I know it applies to all cars really but VW's are more finnicky to begin with and then add some abuse.

Misfires galore, poor idle, bogging. The fact that it has a deafening exhaust is the first clue some kid just beat it to death.

The good part it is a manual, that is one failure out of the equation.

I just redid the whole ignition minus the coil since it was still good. Oil change soon now that it is running right. Cleaned the MAF but still not 100% sure it is ok. Replaced the SAI pump as well. Still need to order a new PCV hose, thermostat, & some gaskets.

Also need a new upstream 02 Sensor.

I see now why people love to hate on VW because not maintained and when using improper parts you get the POS it was.

I didn't take pics of the old plugs but they weren't even the right kind.

These are new correct plugs

This is what I pulled...they were Autolite brand platinums.

I used plugs look the same, being a waste spark system it just couldn't handle the abuse. I honestly don't even know how long there were in either but it sure looked like a long time.

I still need to adapt the throttle body back to normal since it idles a little high.


I am going through the same thing with a 2002 Beetle i picked up for scrap price ($300).
79K manual trans, non turbo. Good straight body, no rust or damage just stone chips, black leather int with sunroof, all the toys.
The woman spent a small fortune on this car, new Michelin tires, brakes, battery, tune up, timing belt, OEM muffler, alternator within the last year but it runs terrible, in fact it stopped running.

The mechanic butcher who worked on this poor thing should be tarred and feathered then run out of town on a rail.
He broke..
Every connector he touched, the MAF, alternator, TB. He broke the mountings off the air pump,
the dipstick tube, the lower air cleaner box.
He stripped 2 bolts in the intake and just left the bolts out. 2 vacuum lines were broken and the fitting glued together which broke.
He used the wrong plugs, single electrode and the wrong heat range.

The engine had been misfiring so badly it cooked the cat. Moving on to the brake job, he buggered that up. The e brake cables were no good causing the rear brakes to drag and ruin the rotors and pads.
The sunroof interior slide jammed so he tore that out, a fuse was blown for the power mirrors so he removed the switch and broke that connector.
The headlights are hazy so he took them out and tried to clean them inside but broke the mounting levers off.

I removed the cat and got everything connected to test the engine, its good. oil is dirty but full.
No smoke or noise, i did a compression test and thats good, no weak cylinders, no oil leaks except a drop from the broken tube.
Clutch and tranny are fine and no torn axle boots, so at least i am starting off with a decent and tight drive train.

The air pump turned out to be bad so i got that along with a used MAF on ebay $60 for both. For the cat i bought an Eastern California cat $260, the O2 sensors on close out from Rock for $26 each.
New e brake cables, Bendix rotors and pads on closeout $40. Plugs, Denso wires and intake gasket $35.
A quick trip to the yard go me all the connectors, headlights and buckets for $30, Mobil 1 0w40 and a Motorcraft FL401 from AA $29, 3 cans R134 $20.

All in i have about $800 including the car. It runs and drives well, no CEL, all monitors set. Now the question is what to do with it.
The big issue with this car is the color, its yellow. Fine for a girl but most girls don't like manual transmissions (i was going to use the word sticks

) .
Painting it is a problem, the top of the inside panels are painted body color so it would be a total disassembly.
I cant drive a yellow Beetle so thats out.

For now its goes in the garage with the other orphans until i decide what to do with it.

Bottom line i is this was and is not a bad car, they clown who worked on it was clueless and damaged it to the point it was scrap.
This a well known garage with a lot of customers. He always told her how bad VW are and they are junk.
Truth is he is a lousy mechanic who has no business trying (unsuccessfully) to work on them.

 

[demarpaint]

^^Trav- Isn't it a shame that some people put their faith in a mechanic, pay good money only to end up getting screwed and tired of tossing good money after bad? Especially when it was a poor choice of mechanics. There are lots of good deals out there for people who know how to repair cars. I scored a few good deals over the years. One such deal was a 67 Ford Fairlane that needed valve stem seals. This guy's mechanic told him the engine was tired and needed a rebuild, I think it cost me less than $20 to fix. I had that car for 5 years and made a profit selling it.

 

[71Chevyguy]

I have had a good experience with Vw's and I am a Chevy guy or at least used to be (no thanks GM). I bought a 99 Passat brand new with the 1.8t and it was pretty much trouble free (100k). My brother and mother had Passats as well, both 2002 and one was good the other was a total lemon from day 1. But that happens in any brand, I have had other cars that were lemons as well from other brands.
I currently have two VW Beetles, both TDI and 5 speed. Bought one for $600 not running, needed a turbo. It got a Turbo, timing belt and all the goodies that went with it. Put over 50k on that car last year without a single hiccup, still going at 217k on the original clutch getting almost 50 MPG. The other Beetle TDI is a baby at only 105k and runs like new getting almost 50 MPG cruising on the interstate at 75 MPH.
Are some of the fluids expensive? Yes they are, but that comes with the ownership of the car. Every car needs to be maintained and other cars may not care what oil they get. But to me 5 bucks more or less isn't going to phase me for an oil change or other fluid change. Cars come with an owner's manual. In that manual it tells you what needs to be done, when and with what fluids and specs. If you follow that recommendation the car will treat you right. Can these or any other vehicles be problematic? Of course they can. If you car sounds like a 747 you may want to pop the hood and figure out what is wrong instead of saying to yourself "It's still running so it must be ok" I don't understand people like that. I don't even treat my beaters that way.
I also know someone who bought herself a Jetta with the 5 cylinder so I am guessing it is an 05 or 06 with a 5 speed. She had to go back to the dealer once because of an airbag light and it did cost her a few hundred bucks to fix it. Never had any other issues with the car aside from routine maintenance by the book using only recommended fluids and filters and a battery replacement at some point. Last I heard it had 240k on it and still on original everything including the clutch. I would say that has been a good car to her. I don't doubt she will go back to VW for another car when she has had enough of that one or passes it on to her child as a beater. Oh and by the way, VW ended up reimbursing her money for the airbag fix because they ended up recalling the cars for whatever problem it had. So she never had to put anything more than oil, filters, brakes and tires on that car in 240k. I like my Vw's and wouldn't hesitate to go buy a new one either.

 

[Trav]

Thats right. He had her convinced this VW is a bad car and always break down. She believed him, this thing was always in the shop.
Fact is the car had a minor problem that he couldn't find and he damaged the whole friggin car fixing breaking everything under the sun trying to get it running properly.
A decent mechanic would never have had these problems and would have had it fixed the first time for about $150.

She spent a couple of grand with this idiot and had a car that was worse off.
An example of the workmanship. This is just a small sample, there are literally dozens of such examples all over the car.

Dipstick tube.

Air pump bracket both bolts stripped, one left out. Helicoil and SS bolts fixed that.

MAF connector. And he wondered why it had MAF codes.

 

[Vikas]

Take the roof off that Beetle and you will sell that yellow convertible in a second

 

[silverrat]

When looking for a car last summer I was looking for a Yellow manual Beetle before I found my Civic, so there are people who like the color

 

[Thermo1223]

^^^

Perfect examples,

The amount of butchery is astounding at times.

 

[nthach]

I will say - I have a soft spot for a VR6 Jetta/Golf, I absolutely love the sound of one, a friend had a A3 VR6 and it was sweet sounding with an HKS muffler on it. He didn't take care of it - proper VW-rated oils, coolant, fluids. It thrived for a bit under my watch when it got M1 0W-40 European formula to keep the oil temps down and the proper G12 coolant(but I hed fleeting suspicion that G12 was simply pink Dex-Cool).

But I'm also well aware of oil pans, water pumps and other things going out on VWs. However, not all automakers are angelic - older Mercedes V8s chew through chain guides, Toyotas sludge oil, etc...

 

[jon81SC]

Just bought an '09 MK V Jetta (5I engine MT) with 62K miles from VW dealer. A local car, the previous 2 owners did all required maintenance (spoke with the service mgrs at both dealerships). Body & interior like new, and at a fair price. Car rides nicely, IMO handles decently (I've had a couple of 911's which I used to track), very nicely appointed. I'm holding my breath - especially since seeing

Volkswagen - turning owners into mechanics since 1959!

Ironically, never had any problems with my '60 Bug, '69 Bus, & our families '63 & '68 Bugs. Of course, that was "back in the day" and the machines were primitive, to say the least. *S*

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Just like BMW's electric pumps.

You do realize that Toyota uses an electric water pump on the 3rd gen Prius, and Prii tend to go through rough treatment as cabs or Ubers.

Also, GM also used a jumper belt arrangement for the Northstar V8s which was their answer to the Lexus 1UZ-FE V8 but it looked grossly undersized.