Jeep is no more

[padirtfan]

[BARC 1]

I have a VW and I bought my girls used VW Beetles and they have treated me very well. VW took a big hit over the Diesel fiasco, but that is more a political failure then a mechanical one. The Diesel is still a solid motor. The one VW beetle is still in the family being driven by a grand niece and the car is 18 years old.

I have a Touareg that is 5 years old and it has cost me nothing other then oil changes in all that time. Zero issues of any kind.

We had a Jetta before and it was a great car with the 2L turbo and 6 speed. The VW driving experience was solid and fun. I took a lot of cars out for test drives before I bought that Jetta, and what sold me on the car was the power and driving experience it gave me. That car was 7 years with no issues before we bought the Touareg.

So I am a big fan, but VW is not without their horror stories as well. Some cars of every make just seem jinxed and there are a lot of horror stories out there.

I hope you have as good experience with your VW as I have had with mine.

[padirtfan]

Thanks for the good wishes. We owned VW's a long time ago. My wife had a 69 fastback and we had a super beetle for a while I had a 69 beetle that I was building into a California Beetle in the late 70's. It had headers, a weber carb and a mechanical advance distributor and would haul pretty good.

[slowshoes]

We've had a Passat and a New Beetle ( still have the bug) and we've had no issues. Had a Jeep cj7 back in the 70's and, unfortunately, that was a whole different story. Best of luck with the VW!

[TsgtRet]

Looks like a good move on your part; VW AWD has always been a cut above.

I've been a VW service writer and service manager over the years. Biggest problems I ran into were with the initial New Beetle release;
The first was definitely VWs doing....they were running the Beetles off the line in Mexico so fast they weren't cleaning the overspray off the ground lugs and as a result we had a lot of bizarre "floating ground" problems (I remember one car that had the radio die when a taillight burned out!). The other problem was due to the high demand when they were new and shady dealers bringing cars from Canada and putting in any speedo head they could get their hands on to make them appear "US Spec". When problems cropped up we couldn't warranty the repairs and we had bunch of ticked off customers.

[Brumos RSR]

Love the VWs! We have owned a modified 89 16v GTI (kids favorite) 92GTI, 97GTI, Wolfsburg 09 Jetta, '13 Jetta 2.5(wife hated it) 2016 Jetta SE. Great choice

[ccobra]

I seen one of the VW Amarok in Suriname and those things were sharp looking for a mid size pickup. These are an all-wheel drive pickup. But not available in N.A.

[padirtfan]

Thanks for the nice replies! I loved the Jeep and it served me well for 13 years with no real issues. I did every bit of maintenance from installing the lift to all routine
maintenance in my own driveway and enjoyed every minute of it. It was in excellent shape and the dealer gave me the max KBB trade in value which was all I asked. So far the VW is a whole different driving experience, it's quick enough and handles well enough to be fun and has more comfort and space than I'm used to. My biggest question is, who is that old dude standing next to my car?

[BARC 1]

I can't figure out why VW would think that the Amarok would not sell in NA. It is what I would have bought if it was available.

[chappy]

Nice looking car Rick, congrats on your purchase.
And your right about the old bones. My truck was written off about 2 yrs ago , it was a 4x4 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. A great vehicle. Any way as a result , i ended up with a
BMWX3. NOT NEW , but it is so resposive and comfortable. I just love driving it.
If there is a downside , it needs high test which is about 50 cents a gallon more than regular. But AWD and Harmen Karden sound system , Puts Pink Floyd right in the passenger seat.
Great choice on the VW
Bob

[padirtfan]

Thanks Bob, I'll have a good time keeping it clean as detailing is leisure time to me. I've been cranking a lot of Floyd and Yes through this stereo so far.

[SpeedyNH]

welcome to owning a Bimmer, Bob. I've got an '02 325xi and an '87 327 with about 350,000 miles on it.

and Rick, I know what you mean about Jeeps riding a little on the hard side, and old guys by your car when somebody takes a picture. congrats on the nice new one.
speedy

[chappy]

Thats what i am aiming for Speedy 350, 000 and then some right now i just turned 100,000 miles of course im in Kms so it says 162,000. Lol

[padirtfan]

Since you guys are BMW guys, my son is looking at buying a used car to replace his ticking time bomb Subaru Impreza. He's toying with the idea of a used BMW or Audi thinking they would be pretty reliable. How are the operating costs for repairs and such? He doesn't have an unlimited budget so it would be a consideration.

[Brumos RSR]