Volkswagen's excellent 6-year/72,000-mile warranty is ending

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I'm long in the tooth, and have never really understood people's fascination with VW's. Back in the day, maybe when a new bug was about half the cost of the cars most folks drove. But since then I am at a loss. For the most part they have very elegant German engineering that was designed strictly for its elegance without regard for long lasting reliability.

But to each their own. I have suffered thru quite a few American built cars with their problems. Now I my DD is built in the USA by a Japanese owned outfit. No one's idea of excitement, but I have been enjoying its reliability with a smile on my face when behind the wheel.
 
Originally Posted by SeaJay
I'm long in the tooth, and have never really understood people's fascination with VW's. Back in the day, maybe when a new bug was about half the cost of the cars most folks drove. But since then I am at a loss. For the most part they have very elegant German engineering that was designed strictly for its elegance without regard for long lasting reliability.

But to each their own. I have suffered thru quite a few American built cars with their problems. Now I my DD is built in the USA by a Japanese owned outfit. No one's idea of excitement, but I have been enjoying its reliability with a smile on my face when behind the wheel.


My sister and several of my friends own Jettas ranging from 2012-2016. IMO they are one of the best cars for the money. They have much better corrosion protection than anything American or Japanese which is a major plus in the salt belt. They have a solid, connected driving feel, nice interior, and get 36-38 mpg on the highway while having decent enough power. There are 5 total in my circle, and all of them have around 100k miles or more with very little problems. So far one has needed a fan control module, another one a battery and an O2 sensor, and that's it. I think this era of VW is much better than the MK4 era Jettas which were huge piles of garbage.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by Cujet
With VW's stunning failure rate, educated customers now go elsewhere.

The warranty was a big reason the risk was worth it.

What is failure rate?

I am still waiting this answer here.
 
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Originally Posted by jeepman3071


My sister and several of my friends own Jettas ranging from 2012-2016. IMO they are one of the best cars for the money. They have much better corrosion protection than anything American or Japanese which is a major plus in the salt belt. They have a solid, connected driving feel, nice interior, and get 36-38 mpg on the highway while having decent enough power. There are 5 total in my circle, and all of them have around 100k miles or more with very little problems. So far one has needed a fan control module, another one a battery and an O2 sensor, and that's it. I think this era of VW is much better than the MK4 era Jettas which were huge piles of garbage.



This is very true, current Jetta, Passat, Tiguan, Golf, Atlas are way more reliable than VW of just 15 years ago, in fact they are on par with Hyundai, Kia, Honda, and
Toyota most of the time, the differences are very small today in reliability.
 
Originally Posted by jeepman3071
Originally Posted by SeaJay
I'm long in the tooth, and have never really understood people's fascination with VW's. Back in the day, maybe when a new bug was about half the cost of the cars most folks drove. But since then I am at a loss. For the most part they have very elegant German engineering that was designed strictly for its elegance without regard for long lasting reliability.

But to each their own. I have suffered thru quite a few American built cars with their problems. Now I my DD is built in the USA by a Japanese owned outfit. No one's idea of excitement, but I have been enjoying its reliability with a smile on my face when behind the wheel.


My sister and several of my friends own Jettas ranging from 2012-2016. IMO they are one of the best cars for the money. They have much better corrosion protection than anything American or Japanese which is a major plus in the salt belt. They have a solid, connected driving feel, nice interior, and get 36-38 mpg on the highway while having decent enough power. There are 5 total in my circle, and all of them have around 100k miles or more with very little problems. So far one has needed a fan control module, another one a battery and an O2 sensor, and that's it. I think this era of VW is much better than the MK4 era Jettas which were huge piles of garbage.

Ouch. Sometimes I think I slid through on pure luck as I had a MkIV. PD TDi no less, although I only drove manuals back then so no automatic. I still miss that car, loved it, but after 300k it was time to move on for a number of reasons. Biggest issue was getting quality work done, that seemed worse on a VW, but TBH good mechanics are not easy to find for any brand.
 
Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by jeepman3071
Originally Posted by SeaJay
I'm long in the tooth, and have never really understood people's fascination with VW's. Back in the day, maybe when a new bug was about half the cost of the cars most folks drove. But since then I am at a loss. For the most part they have very elegant German engineering that was designed strictly for its elegance without regard for long lasting reliability.

But to each their own. I have suffered thru quite a few American built cars with their problems. Now I my DD is built in the USA by a Japanese owned outfit. No one's idea of excitement, but I have been enjoying its reliability with a smile on my face when behind the wheel.


My sister and several of my friends own Jettas ranging from 2012-2016. IMO they are one of the best cars for the money. They have much better corrosion protection than anything American or Japanese which is a major plus in the salt belt. They have a solid, connected driving feel, nice interior, and get 36-38 mpg on the highway while having decent enough power. There are 5 total in my circle, and all of them have around 100k miles or more with very little problems. So far one has needed a fan control module, another one a battery and an O2 sensor, and that's it. I think this era of VW is much better than the MK4 era Jettas which were huge piles of garbage.

Ouch. Sometimes I think I slid through on pure luck as I had a MkIV. PD TDi no less, although I only drove manuals back then so no automatic. I still miss that car, loved it, but after 300k it was time to move on for a number of reasons. Biggest issue was getting quality work done, that seemed worse on a VW, but TBH good mechanics are not easy to find for any brand.


Yeah I can imagine finding a good VW mechanic nevermind one that works on TDi's can be a bit tough. My sister had a 2001 Jetta 2.0L and it was a nightmare. By 100k miles the transmission (auto) was done. It drank oil like it was free, CELs nearly every other week, and just generally fell apart. I'm amazed she even considered buying the one she has now, which has close to 100k miles and drives like new. It's amazing what a few generations of a model will do for reliability. She had a 2005 Civic in between, and initially set out to find another Civic, but all the Japanese cars in a similar price range were beat to death and still had high "it will sell because it is X brand" prices.
 
Yeah it was rough. I'd drive a couple hours away initially, then I got lucky and a good mechanic lived about 40-45 minutes away. When he closed shop it was basically the final straw for me. These days I'm a bit more capable of working on it myself, but still, I don't want to get back into that situation of having to drive an hour plus to get decent work done.
 
I'm still in the mindset of supporting American brands just to help keep labor unions alive, but it seems that the American brands aren't very loyal to us as the domestic parts content goes down every year. My neighbor has a Tiguan and it's a good car.
 
Originally Posted by Silverado12
I'm still in the mindset of supporting American brands just to help keep labor unions alive, but it seems that the American brands aren't very loyal to us as the domestic parts content goes down every year. My neighbor has a Tiguan and it's a good car.

It's a great car, and domestic "brands" are trash unless you want a truck.

At least my VW was made by American labor.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by Silverado12
I'm still in the mindset of supporting American brands just to help keep labor unions alive, but it seems that the American brands aren't very loyal to us as the domestic parts content goes down every year. My neighbor has a Tiguan and it's a good car.

It's a great car, and domestic "brands" are trash unless you want a truck.

At least my VW was made by American labor.


VW makes cars with American labor? All of mine have been made in Mexico. I see little difference in quality between VW and the non-luxury American brands.
 
Originally Posted by dishdude
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by Silverado12
I'm still in the mindset of supporting American brands just to help keep labor unions alive, but it seems that the American brands aren't very loyal to us as the domestic parts content goes down every year. My neighbor has a Tiguan and it's a good car.

It's a great car, and domestic "brands" are trash unless you want a truck.

At least my VW was made by American labor.


VW makes cars with American labor? All of mine have been made in Mexico. I see little difference in quality between VW and the non-luxury American brands.

Chattanooga Tennessee. They make the Atlas and Passat there.
[Linked Image]
 
That was sarcasm, since as we know every American branded car is built in Mexico and every foreign nameplate is built in the US.
crazy.gif
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
VW is going to 4yr/50k bumper-to-bumper for 2020 models, which is still better than the industry average 3yr/36k miles - and they're adding two years of free maintenance.

I suspect they've found a sweet spot. Splitting it this way still allows for customer assurance and should increase dealership customer retention.


The 4yr/50k brings it in line with Audi as well. Never thought about how odd it would be for VW's luxury brand Audi to have a worse warranty than their economy brand VW.


The 4 year/50k warranty is pretty standard with BMW and Mercedes as well. Many other luxury brands also do 4/50k.
 
Originally Posted by Silverado12
I'm still in the mindset of supporting American brands just to help keep labor unions alive, but it seems that the American brands aren't very loyal to us as the domestic parts content goes down every year. My neighbor has a Tiguan and it's a good car.

Quote: 'but it seems that the American brands aren't very loyal to us as the domestic parts content goes down every year.' Gold nugget of truth right there.

That's been the attitude for 30 years from the top of the corporation to the shop floor. And even though I have never purchased a foreign branded car I won't rule that out.

I saw through that BS when the Big Three were on their patriotic kick in the early 80s while they pumped out more junk to unsuspecting buyers.

That loyalty only works one way so all bets are off next car purchase will be a domestic nameplate
 
Originally Posted by DweezilAZ
Originally Posted by Silverado12
I'm still in the mindset of supporting American brands just to help keep labor unions alive, but it seems that the American brands aren't very loyal to us as the domestic parts content goes down every year. My neighbor has a Tiguan and it's a good car.

Quote: 'but it seems that the American brands aren't very loyal to us as the domestic parts content goes down every year.' Gold nugget of truth right there.

That's been the attitude for 30 years from the top of the corporation to the shop floor. And even though I have never purchased a foreign branded car I won't rule that out.

I saw through that BS when the Big Three were on their patriotic kick in the early 80s while they pumped out more junk to unsuspecting buyers.

That loyalty only works one way so all bets are off next car purchase will be a domestic nameplate

It is interesting how in public discourse it is always pushed: help American business. However, we never hear: American business, help American worker.
I always take example of car seats I have. One i German, Recaro, Made in USA, another Graco, American, Made in China. $20 difference, but ten light years better quality of Recaro seat. So, how Recaro can make seat in the US and make money, but Graco cannot?
I recently bought two booster seats, Chicco, Italian company, Made in USA.
 
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Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
The 6-year warranty was introduced to entice people to buy VWs in the aftermath of dieselgate. I figured it'd be temporary, but I honestly didn't expect it would end so soon.

Toyota is still offering ToyotaCare maintenance on all new purchases almost 10 years after the unintended acceleration debacle. You'd think they would kill it once the news for that settled down.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw


It is interesting how in public discourse it is always pushed: help American business. However, we never hear: American business, help American worker.
I always take example of car seats I have. One i German, Recaro, Made in USA, another Graco, American, Made in China. $20 difference, but ten light years better quality of Recaro seat. So, how Recaro can make seat in the US and make money, but Graco cannot?
I recently bought two booster seats, Chicco, Italian company, Made in USA.

Recaro's OEM seating as well their air-ride bus driver's seats are part of the former automotive interiors business of Johnson Controls. Still made in the US at former JCI plants. While the car seat and racing divisions are considered "true" Recaro. People are willing to pay for the Recaro premium, also true for Britax car seats.

Graco is part of the Dorel Industries conglomerate who makes baby stuff and bikes.
 
Originally Posted by nthach
Originally Posted by edyvw


It is interesting how in public discourse it is always pushed: help American business. However, we never hear: American business, help American worker.
I always take example of car seats I have. One i German, Recaro, Made in USA, another Graco, American, Made in China. $20 difference, but ten light years better quality of Recaro seat. So, how Recaro can make seat in the US and make money, but Graco cannot?
I recently bought two booster seats, Chicco, Italian company, Made in USA.

Recaro's OEM seating as well their air-ride bus driver's seats are part of the former automotive interiors business of Johnson Controls. Still made in the US at former JCI plants. While the car seat and racing divisions are considered "true" Recaro. People are willing to pay for the Recaro premium, also true for Britax car seats.

Graco is part of the Dorel Industries conglomerate who makes baby stuff and bikes.

OK, your point? By the way, Recaro pulled out of an American market two years ago.
 
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