VW to pay each U.S. customer $5,000

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: horse123
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
I would rather have a Camry SE than any VW in their entire lineup.
I agree.

People always talk about how wonderful it is to drive a German car because they "handle nice" and "are quiet" and other ridiculous things.

I personally think life is to short to be driving a piece of junk that's in the shop all the time.

I'd rather have a nice, basic, point A to B car and have a wallet with money inside!


I hate toyota for the smug jerkoffs that drive them, much rather have a VW myself. They actually have something to be proud about.
Lol proud of their empty wallets

 

[horse123]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: horse123
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
I would rather have a Camry SE than any VW in their entire lineup.
I agree.

People always talk about how wonderful it is to drive a German car because they "handle nice" and "are quiet" and other ridiculous things.

I personally think life is to short to be driving a piece of junk that's in the shop all the time.

I'd rather have a nice, basic, point A to B car and have a wallet with money inside!


I hate toyota for the smug jerkoffs that drive them, much rather have a VW myself. They actually have something to be proud about.
Lol proud of their empty wallets


What exactly do you think toyota owners have to be proud of? Extremely bland interior and mediocre-at-best handling? Or were you just swayed by the big cute salesman calling it "sporty"?

 

[Nick1994]

Why do I need to be proud of owning my car? What do I care about my image? As long as I look cool to other people?

I'm proud to have money in my wallet. Who cares that it can't take a corner at 150 mph?

If I still owned my VW, I'd be really sad, because when I log into my bank account it would be a really sad number.

I bought my car from the newspaper for $2100. There was no salesman involved.

I also don't think anyone would call a 2000 Camry sporty?

Longevity and lowest cost per mile is what appeals to me.

 

[rshaw125]

Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Only the government could come up with such an expensive and convoluted 'solution'.
They should have granted VW a one time wavier and moved on. With a 100% assurance that with the 2017 model all would comply.



Please tell us why VW should get by with a little hand slap for INTENTIONALLY cheating the system? Why would they deserve this?

This was INTENTIONAL!



To put an end to it. As for breaking the law the US government does much worse every day.

 

[Mr Nice]

Take the $5000 and drive your VW till it blows up.

 

[Tim]

Originally Posted By: VeeDubb
Aside from fanboyism, it really depends on priorities. I've owned both Toyotas and VWs continuously over the last 10 years. I'll tell what the differences are based on my experience:

1. VWs are not robust to sloppy maintenance. Use the wrong oil and wrong intervals and it will likely cause premature problems (e.g. sludging in early 1.8T's, cam follower wear, etc). With a Toyota, a quicklube place will keep it running fine.

2. Given that you maintain a VW properly, it rarely has issues. I've had more unanticipated visits to the shop for my Toyotas than VWs. But the key here is proper maintenance of the VW. You have to do more research on how to properly keep it going strong.

3. The VWs just feel more premium. Close the doors and they feel like vaults. Close the Toyota doors, they feel like tin cans. The interiors are probably a generation ahead in the VWs.

4. When I take long road trips, I get excited when I drive the VW. Not so much with the Toyota. It's more like "what time are we going to get there?".

5. Which I would prefer to own depends also on where I live. Right now, I live in an area with very few twisty roads and my commute isn't very long. I also don't have a good VW dealer or indy shop nearby. So give me the Toyota. But if I lived in an area with good driving roads, it would change the equation.

So it just boils down to priorities.


I have about 800,000 miles on a half-dozen Toyotas, and a half-million on 5 VWs (all but one are/were diesels).

Your comments are spot-on.

I have had very good service from both brands. Only thing that might keep me from getting VW number 6 is I am pretty agitated with VW for their malfeasance.

Road trip? VW all the way.

Rock crawling or heading to Idaho elk hunting...gimmee the Land Cruiser!


Tim

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Why do I need to be proud of owning my car? What do I care about my image? As long as I look cool to other people?

I'm proud to have money in my wallet. Who cares that it can't take a corner at 150 mph?

If I still owned my VW, I'd be really sad, because when I log into my bank account it would be a really sad number.

I bought my car from the newspaper for $2100. There was no salesman involved.

I also don't think anyone would call a 2000 Camry sporty?

Longevity and lowest cost per mile is what appeals to me.


It's still funny to me that you blame VW for buying a beat-down lemon Beetle. Your problems were an awesome mixture of neglected German car and bone headed purchasing practices.

I've never driven a Toyota that I want to own, save for the Land Cruiser I drive for work.

There are some of us that prioritize things other than the lowest possible running costs and reliability. For us, Toyota is almost never the answer. The two exceptions are the Land Cruiser and the GT86 - the only two Toyotas capable of being anything but boring.

 

[VeeDubb]

Exactly. When you are buying old beat up cars with more than 100K miles, you are rolling the dice regardless of brand. My in-laws bought a seven year old Toyota Camry. Biggest piece of [censored] they've ever owned. Constantly in the shop, started showing signs of rust. Finally just stopped running one day and their mechanic said junk it and get a new car.

My 9 year old Sienna, which I bought new and was meticulously maintained blew a head gasket at 140K. Totally unanticipated and the repair would cost more than the value of the car.

Based on his posts, it appears Nick has owned Toyotas for a total of 14 months across 1.5 decades. Give it time Nick. Give it time.

 

[horse123]

My grandparents had an older camry that threw a rod through the side of the engine on our way to the airport once.

They are not bulletproof, and I'm guessing things like consumer reports are affected by people who buy the car thinking it's bulletproof, and absentmindedly lie that they've never had a problem when surveyed. While in reality it had an oil consumption issue that was fixed, and wiring needed replacing, or whatever, but they wrote it off because it was fixed for free and they have this mindset that their car is going to run perfectly forever.

I'm not saying they're not reliable. I'm saying for 4/5 manufacturers, you can find friends who had terrible experiences and great experiences in equal amounts.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
There are some of us that prioritize things other than the lowest possible running costs and reliability.


Fair enough. For those of us who do prioritize running costs and reliability--can we own Toyota's if we want to?

*For the record, I don't like Toyota's current styling, and right now they have nothing I want to buy.

*For a second record, I used to own a VW which I ran to 300k. It did about what I expect: I had planned for it to get expensive after 250k--and it did. But I got my 10yr/300k out of it so I've been content with that purchase. Still, it was an aggravation which I hadn't anticipated, having to hunt around for proper VW diesel mechanics that ultimately made me toss in the towel. Without a low running cost diesel I can't justify the fun to cost&aggravation ratio.

I'm still waiting to see if Toyota is what it's cracked up to be. Time will tell. At the moment, my two seem to be about the same as prior vehicles (no repairs out of pocket before 100k) so it's completely unknown.

 

[VeeDubb]

According to most surveys, Toyotas are still near the top in reliability. So if your priority is reliability and low hassle, it's still the smart choice. That's why I bought another one despite my own personal bad experiences. My luck has to turn

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Take the $5000 and drive your VW till it blows up.



Exactly!

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Only the government could come up with such an expensive and convoluted 'solution'.
They should have granted VW a one time wavier and moved on. With a 100% assurance that with the 2017 model all would comply.



Please tell us why VW should get by with a little hand slap for INTENTIONALLY cheating the system? Why would they deserve this?

This was INTENTIONAL!



To put an end to it. As for breaking the law the US government does much worse every day.


This comment is so ridiculous it doesn't deserve any reply.......

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: horse123
My grandparents had an older camry that threw a rod through the side of the engine on our way to the airport once.

They are not bulletproof, and I'm guessing things like consumer reports are affected by people who buy the car thinking it's bulletproof, and absentmindedly lie that they've never had a problem when surveyed. While in reality it had an oil consumption issue that was fixed, and wiring needed replacing, or whatever, but they wrote it off because it was fixed for free and they have this mindset that their car is going to run perfectly forever.

I'm not saying they're not reliable. I'm saying for 4/5 manufacturers, you can find friends who had terrible experiences and great experiences in equal amounts.
Of course, there's bad products in any brand or genre of product, be it TVs, cars, lawn mowers, etc. The thing is, it's the LIKELIHOOD of it happening that matters.

Is it much more of a likelihood for a 1998 Plymouth Breeze to die before 150k miles than a 1998 Honda Accord? I say absolutely.

Is it much more of a likelihood for an Audi or VW to cost an arm and a leg to keep it going, and spend much much more time in a shop over a Toyota? I say absolutely.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
There are some of us that prioritize things other than the lowest possible running costs and reliability.


Fair enough. For those of us who do prioritize running costs and reliability--can we own Toyota's if we want to?


No worries! My Mom had every generation of Camry from the first to her last, a 2010 I believe. She replaced that with a C350 Sport, and that with a Mazda. They were all super solid cars and she'd still have the Mercedes if it wasn't for my dad's post-warranty fear mongering.

My issue is some people come around bashing German cars based on one bad experience or other people's greatly exaggerated anecdotes.

Others assume that everyone must value reliability and cost of maintenance above all other factors and ridicule others for "wasting money."

 

[VeeDubb]

We get it. If you want to buy a vintage late 90s used car with tons of miles, buy a Toyota.

 

[VeeDubb]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
There are some of us that prioritize things other than the lowest possible running costs and reliability.


Fair enough. For those of us who do prioritize running costs and reliability--can we own Toyota's if we want to?


No worries! My Mom had every generation of Camry from the first to her last, a 2010 I believe. She replaced that with a C350 Sport, and that with a Mazda. They were all super solid cars and she'd still have the Mercedes if it wasn't for my dad's post-warranty fear mongering.


My mom's had her C class since 2010 and it's been bulletproof so far.

Speaking of German cars, just took my Passat on a road trip yesterday and the 2.0T FSI paired with the manual tranny continues to amaze even after 9 years. The passing power on those two lane roads is remarkable for such a small displacement engine. I don't think there's ever been a camry built, including the V6, that can go from 60-90mph so instaneously.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: VeeDubb
We get it. If you want to buy a vintage late 90s used car with tons of miles, buy a Toyota.


I'm also talking about newer VWs too. I'm taking in the 2013 VW Beetle TDI to the dealer next week with a list of 6 things for them to fix. It's sucked too.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: VeeDubb
We get it. If you want to buy a vintage late 90s used car with tons of miles, buy a Toyota.


I'm also talking about newer VWs too. I'm taking in the 2013 VW Beetle TDI to the dealer next week with a list of 6 things for them to fix. It's sucked too.


What issues? If you don't kind me asking.

I'm assuming the Beetle qualifies for the $5k/buyback. What are your hopes/plans?

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
It's still funny to me that you blame VW for buying a beat-down lemon Beetle. Your problems were an awesome mixture of neglected German car and bone headed purchasing practices.

I've never driven a Toyota that I want to own, save for the Land Cruiser I drive for work.

There are some of us that prioritize things other than the lowest possible running costs and reliability. For us, Toyota is almost never the answer. The two exceptions are the Land Cruiser and the GT86 - the only two Toyotas capable of being anything but boring.

You didn't drive the 1982 Supra, picture below. It was the best sport coupe of the early '80, there wasn't any car with sticker below $20k came close.