The truth about Volkswagen please!?

Question 1
The truth about Volkswagen please!?...  Ok I'm considering buying a car and while I know that Japanese cars are supposed to be the most reliable and cheap to maintain their are none that I like! For my first car I'd like a compact sedan and would like to purchase a VW Jetta! I have a HUGE appreciation for German engineering! With that said how expensive is it to maintain a VW Jetta in comparison to say a Honda Civic? I've heard outlandish statements about VW being extremely expensive to maintain so once and for all I'd like to know from someone who has owned one! By the way I don't live in Europe as I hear that VW have a much better reputation over there. Thank you for your help!

Answers
1)   The truth, I have never heard a '90, 2000s VW owner say, "I will buy another Volkwagon" I have heard many of the other. - Kenny

2)   my friends has a vw jetta and has sunk more money into that thing that just buying a new car. He now has to keep it just to keep with the bills but id go for Honda. - REINO

3)   VWs are just as reliable as other cars, you just have to know which ones to avoid.

Stay away from the 1.8t motor found in many Mk4s.
Stay away from automatic transmissions built before 2005.

With that said. VWs do need a bit more love than that Japanese junk. Keep up with ALL the maintenance, don't stretch out the time between oil changes. Turn the music down every once in a while and just listen to the car. Get to know the sounds it normally makes that way you can catch small problems before they become huge.

Yes, VWs are more expensive to repair than cars of similar cost. Cars with are probably the most expensive to fix, and cars with the 2.0l are definitely the cheapest to buy, cheapest to fix, easiest to fix, and by far the MOST reliable. - Nick

4)   I've been around VW's in one form or another for a long time; I worked on air cooled type II's, worked in VW dealership service departments on and off since 1980, owned several VW's including air cooled, various water cooled models (including one 1979 VW Rabbit Diesel C, bought brand new), and even a couple of Audi's.

The Asian makes are probably better (Toyota as late being an exception) about flaws found in the product line and making corrections right away; Ford was better than the other US makes, I'd even get a call from some engineering guy about what I found in some vehicle I worked on.

The 1998 NEW Beetle and 1999.5 Golf and Jetta were good cars at first, but as time wore on the flaws began to show. Automatic transmissions had various problems, from delayed engagement to rough shifts to being completely toast; other electrical problems such as window regulator problems, a/c heater controls, vacuum leaks, check engine lights, engine building sluge deposits inside the motor etc. all helped to make this generation of VW's the legend of junk.

The Passat and Touareg were also problem prone in this period and the Touareg wasn't any good until 2007, the Passat has improved, but still isn't my idea of a reliable vehicle.

The Golf and Jetta had improved a lot starting with the 2005 generation and can be considered to be good reliable vehicles in general. But, owning a VW means having a specialist or dealership service/repair it to keep it on the road and as trouble free as possible. Labour charges are higher in owning a VW, due to lack of people who are really skilled at the make (at least here in California), and parts seem to be somewhat more expensive and european makes in general, require the usage of special fluids for the transmission, power steering, engine coolant and even in some cases, the engine oil that is used in them. Some of the problems I've seen with the vehicle have been the result of people adding the wrong fluids to the various systems, thus, causing failures in them.
Power steering system failure is fairly common if the wrong fluid is added to the system and engine failures can result from the wrong type and kind of engine oil being used. Even the engine coolant needs to be the correct type to avoid problems....

Also, the vehicles are unforgiving in missing services or doing services late; i.e., timing belts or timing chains, flushing brake fluid, etc. Failure to change the timing belt/chain when it should be done will result in very expensive repairs, often requiring the replacement of the entire motor. Over my long tenure with VW, I seen numerous cars towed in with broken timing belts/chains that ended up needing complete motor replacements, once they were partially opened for inspection. ( I remember the service advisor telling one customer several times over a two year period that the timing belt was overdue for replacement, but they said they couldn't afford it; he even gave them the name of an independent who would replace it for less, but, still they didn't do it and sure enough, one it came in on the hook with a broken belt... the head was pulled off and at least one piston was toast (cracked by the valve) and two others had impact marks....)

VW has a much better reputation in Europe because people there tend to follow the owner's manual recommendations much more closely than Americans do. Most european makes would not do well in the US because people don't follow the manufacturer's recommendation for service.

IF you're the kind of person who can follow the manufacturer's requirements for service to the letter, then a new VW might be a good choice for you. People who followed the recommendations of VW and/or the service advisors tended to have a far more reliable vehicle than those who took it to quick lube places or garages that didn't specialize in VW-Audi's.

The Asian and US makes in general tend to be far more forgiving about somewhat lax or irregular service that many people seem to do these days. I've been around cars forever and have seen the maintanance intervals length increase over time, sadly, a lot people don't follow what the manufacturer suggests for service.

If what you want is a vehicle that is cheap to maintain and reliable, but has no character, buy an Asian make (though those new Hyundai's look pretty good) as the Honda and Toyota's are about as good as it gets. Some of the new Fords and GM cars from what I've heard from others at local dealership personnel seem to also be very reliable and cheap to maintain too. The Ford Fusion seems to be an excellent car in its own right.

Hope this helps, a car nut. - a car nut

5)   I have a 2006 VW GTI, if you plan on getting any VW car with a DSG Transmission, expect to pay up to $400 for a transmission fluid change. When I damaged my spoiler brake light a couple years ago, the stealership said I had to replace the whole spoiler just to get a new spoiler brake light and it costed about $340 without it being painted. - Richard Hong

6)   Volkswagen makes good cars, what i have experienced with them its they are really good when they are new, even if you keep up with the maintenance (which is expensive), with age all plastic parts get brittle and they have way to much plastic, newer vws are replacing a lot of plastic parts in the engine with aluminum parts, also the interior of the car has brittle pieces and the paint on the buttons of the radio started to peel off with only 5000 miles on the car.

I personally like like the suspension, how the car rides (cannot compare to any japanese) and the power & efficiency(specially TDIs) - Bernie_Ros


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Question 2
I have a volkswagen jetta 2.0L and I wonder what can I do to increase My power?...  It is a 99.5 Mk4 with a 2.0L That makes 115hp. I think is to low for me lol, so I want more power,
Before buying this car I was looking for a 18.T but I found this for 1800 bucks. There is nothing wrong with it but I wonder If I can make it fast as the 1.8T?

Answers
1)   you would have tyo do a good amount to the 2.slow might as well save up and sell your car and buy a 1.8T or suck it up

but you good be a little bit faster with intake and exhaust - ....

2)   K and N Recleanable/Rechargable Air Filter Kit. - Fresh Prince of India

3)   Yeah the K&N air filter is a good start and also put in NGK iridium spark plugs. - Matt D

4)   Cheapest to expensive. K and N filter, Headers, Hi flow cat, Exhaust then a powerchip which requires the use of premium grade fuel to get the benefits. If you really want to spend money engine work flow it/balance it. Really the best bang for your buck if you want more than 50% power buy a turbo kit for around 4.5k. Since its own 99 wouldn't turbo it anyway. - DrkLce

5)   2 ways to get as much power as the 1.8t

1 turbo the 2.0 with an aftermarket kit
or
2 do the swap to 1.8t

cold air intakes, exhausts, and all the ricer stickers and wings are not going to give you more power!! - Bernie_Ros

6)   VR6 all the way homie ! - mr VR6


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Question 3
Why is my Jetta revving and I barely accelerate?...  I have a 2001 Jetta 1.8T wolfsburg edition with 200k

Lately when I step on my gas to accelerate my RPM rises but Im barely getting any power. I checked my tires and they're fine so its not a traction issue.

Its almost as if I have my clutch half pressed down when im stepping on the gas but I'm not. I recently changed my spark plugs and coils as well.

Answers
1)   I think it is called the ERG valve that controls it
in a firebird it is easy to replace - Robert C

2)   Those are the classic symptoms of a slipping clutch.

Start saving. - Nick

3)   It is probably related to the clutch!
Hopefully the hydraulic part. (Master cylinder or slave cylinder)
but it could also be the pressure plate or the clutch disc, which means having to remove the transmission ($$) - Bernie_Ros

4)   you may have an air intake vacuum leak either a hose pipe or a gasket.spray W40 liquid around the inlet manifold and vacuum pipes to deturmine the air leaks , if you have a leak whilst spraying the liquid the engine should rev higher - scooterboy


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Question 4
what would you need to put in a 1.8t passat to make it run really fast and get the whistle supra sound?...  

Answers
1)   intake(and manifold) exhaust(everything form the headers back) chip

should sound pretty badass
ooohh and one more things for the whistle your gonna need some nice blowoff valves - ....

2)   If you only want the sound, just put a blow off valve and a cold Intake for better resutls
It will be faster, not like a supra but yeah lol.... - Miguel Jauregui

3)   Well the whistle noise is the result of the Supra's turbo. The blow-off valves only make a hiss noise. So you'd need to get a turbo if you really want it. - Matt D


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Question 5
this is like punch bug no punch back?...  i now there is another one= p.t cruiser no bruiser ...punch bug no punch back what r more?

Answers
1)   pick up your teeth truck - idontgivafork

2)   Woody. When you see a car with wood paneling you shout "woody" and punch someone. They can yell "termite" to protect themselves.

"Banana" is another one. When you see a yellow car you shout "banana" and you can punch someone. What's nice about this trick is you can wait to punch them as long as you like and there's no defense.

Those are all I know, hope they help! - Perry

3)   vr sexxxx
2.slow
gt ohhh shit
mustang shitstang(for those v6 autos) - ....


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