Opinions on Volkswagen Car Company.?

Question 1
Opinions on Volkswagen Car Company.?...  How is Volkswagen? The Tiguan? How good of a car is it? Any problems with the company and customer service? And servicing the vehicle? Any other info in Volkswagen?
Thanks:)

Answers
1)   Check Consumer Reports... VW's are notoriously unreliable and expensive to repair. But very plush and beautiful. Depends on what is more important to you... vanity or cost/reliability. I tend to stick with a car with good reliability per Consumer Reports. - Jim B

2)   Neat designs (though most people either love or hate the vehicles), overpriced, over-engineered (not in a good way, everything ten-times as complicated as it has to be), patchy reliability. They do seem to have decent resale though.

I owned a VW, which was one too many. - calnickel

3)   They are the Chevy or Dodge of Germany.

When I see people buy a VW or Audi I want to cry for them.

Talked to a guy that had an Audi and the transmission went, said it was costing $12,000 dollars to replace it, holy @#$T. - Two Smoking Guns

4)   I have had 3 Volkswagens over the past 10 years. 2 Jetta's and a Passat. They are expensive to repair especially if you take them to a certified dealership. I recently replaced the whole exhaust, catalytic converter and it cost me 700.00 in parts to do it my self. Volkswagen wanted close to 2,000.00 for the repairs. Common issues I have had through both issues is normal wear such as brakes, Rotter's, wheel bearings which can range you anywhere from 200-400 to replace one or the other. The worst issue I have with Volkswagen is the amount of sensors within the car. Certain sensors will trigger the check engine light; where these sensors do not exist on an american brand such as Chevy. This can prevent you from passing inspection and cause you to replace a useless sensor that usually ranges from 100-300 dollars. With all that said I must say I still love my Volkswagen and plan on buying another one. I feel more of a connection with the car than any other brand. Hope that helps - IanSD81

5)   It takes forever for me to get parts for my 01 golf TDI. The local VW parts depot is only a 5hr drive in Chicago, and it still takes three days to get parts in my hands. - Eric

6)   VW cars are junk pure and simple. They even have to use Chrysler to make their Routan minivans, which also are junk like Chrysler...talk about laziness and unreliability! VW cars are over priced, costly to fix, and break down a lot. Do yourself a real favor, buy a Quality Ford Focus or Fusion. You will never look back at that German junk mobile again. - Alan

7)   I have a 1997 VW jetta that i have had for years, its got 250,000 miles on it and still runs perfectly, as long as the car is taken car of it can last for a looong time, especially VW. - john greenland

8)   My wife has a 2010 Tiguan and I have a 2006 GTI. Both are great vehicles. I work in the parts department at a VW dealership, and have gained a love for VW over the last few years. When compared to many other brands I just can't see owning another. (only my opinion). VW's are not throw away cars and cannot be treated as such. Following the proper maintenance schedules is very important. And now VW's come with 3 year 36000 mile scheduled free maintenance. For 2010, VW ended up with a 20% sales increase over 2009. (Sold a total of 256,000 new vehicles in the US).
So I would say get out and test drive one and see what you think. - VWpartsman


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Question 2
are buses manual or automatic?...  

Answers
1)   automatic - Peach Stuttle

2)   Most commercial buses are automatic. Most semi trucks are manual. - Jim B

3)   Most buses are semi automatic - keith p

4)   Most buses now a days are automatic. However, manual buses can be ordered from limited number of manufactures, like freightliner, a daimler company - Complover

5)   The majority of buses have automatic transmissions. Shifting in current equipment is typically electronically actuated hydraulics. - j c

6)   automatic - Roman

7)   Yes. - DER ALTE FIRZ

8)   Both, depending on where it is sold. Most older VW Buses were equipped with manual transmissions. - Chris


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Question 3
why my 1967 VW beetle loses power going up hill?...  When I start up my bug she takes awhile to warm up and going up hill she shakes and loses power dropping in miles but will pick up speed down hill and on a Straight away she will maintain only 50 to 55 sometime 60 but any incline will cause her to slow down.

Answers
1)   the engine may be a little tired,but face it you dont have a hp monster in that thing.very common for an old beetle.you should have tried one of the older ones.you carried passengers to help push up the hill. - idontgivafork

2)   I drove a 1968 VW Bug for 20 years, from the time she was new until she was continually breaking down on me. She NEVER had any horse power to speak of even when new but I lived in an area with no hills so it didn't matter much. You possibly could have a leak in the engine (do you find oil spots on the ground below the car?) or the air intake could be plugged up. Something is compromising your engine combustion, so take the car to get it looked at by a mechanic that is familiar with old cars. I was so tired of this car by the time I got a new one I wasn't terribly sad to see her go. Have you thought of a more current model of car, say a mid 1990s up to the present, as a replacement? I have a 2006 Honda that is a dream. I would never go back to Volkswagen. - .::rainbow armadillo::.

3)   sounds like your engine needs to be rebuilt. - KAM

4)   becuz if orig eng itz @ best 1.6 L

w/ no more than 35 hp , dont rebuild

it, but get a dual port & build it up tu 1.8 L

w/ dual carbs,yule blast up any inkline, hill or

mountain...btw 60's ramblers had same prob - v

5)   Hi:
Low power output going up hills is normal for a VW Beetle . However, it should go more than 60 mph on the level
Your problem seems to go outside the normal and could be due to one of the following or a combination of the following problems. There are basically three areas tko check. a) electrical as it relates to the ignition system. b) Mechanical adjustments which can cause low compression c) fuel; system problems. It Is best to test the compression before spending money on other parts.

1. Engine tune-up or lack of tuneup is often the cause of low performance. The breaker points may need resetting or replacing if the contacts are worn of burnt. I have found that the breaker point point gap closes over time and should be checked every 5000 miles. In addition spark plugs may require servicing or be replaced.

2. Secondly, the Beetle engine is very sensitive to valve adjustment and if ignored the valves can lose the necessary clearance at the valve and rocker arm. This problem causes the engine to lose compression which causes power loss.

3. Fuel system. Check your fuel filter and your fuel pump pressure and flow.

It is my advice that you get a qualified mechanic who works on VW beetles to adjust the valves. Incorrect adjustment can cause damage to the valves. I hope this helps. - perrin556

6)   Timing that is retarded too far can cause slowdowns on uphill sections. Check the ignition timing, as well as the condition of the points and condenser (maybe switch to electronic ignition while you're at it). - Chris


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Question 4
2000 VW Beetle Coolant Issue?...  Hello I have a 2000 Volkswagen Beetle GL 2.0L. Recently the car has been loosing coolant. By that I mean the reservoir has to be refilled right around every 300 miles. The weird thing is there are no signs of a leak underneath the car wherever it is parked. There is no sign of a leak on the engine block or anywhere around it and their is no odor within the drivers compartment. Now from the lack of sign of a leak on the ground and engine compartment I thought it was possibly a blown head gasket but once again there is no odor in the car. Has anyone ever had an issue like this in a Volkswagen and could help me diagnose the issue.

Answers
1)   That is serious problem.
The only way to find leaks is to do a cooling system pressure test.
First you do the leak down part.
You borrow the tester from a place like Autozone.
You replace the reservoir cap with the combination pump and gauge.
You pump it slightly above cap rated pressure, and wait a few minutes to see if it holds, or where is leaks.
If that holds, then you start the engine to rev it up.
If it fluctuates, then it is the head gasket.
You don't smell a head gasket leak in the passenger compartment, but with excess white smoke out the tailpipe. - Motorhead

2)   You might find an answer here for your coolant issue: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Volkswagen-Repair-833/2000-New-Beetle-Cooling-1.htm

From: http://www.carparts.com/ - Chris Hillesland

3)   Well, a blown head gasket would not always make a smell. Check the oil. If it looks like a vanilla mocha shake, you have a blown head gasket for sure. If not, replace the radiator cap. The cap has a blow-off valve that opens with about 15 lbs of pressure. If that valve is bad, then it will open while you are driving and some coolant will escape. When enough coolant escapes to relieve the pressure, the valve closes again, and shows no signs of leaking. That is the most likely problem. - Matt the MoparMan

4)   When you check the oil is there any foam or bubbles on the dipstick or any signs of coolant/water in the oil that is visible on the dipstick? It sounds like the coolant may be leaking into the cylinders slowly. If the head gasket is blown or if the head is cracked the coolant may be leaking slowly enough that it is burned up without an odor. - BigDaddy

5)   I had an issue simialar to yours, about two months ago. My 01 Golf TDI, would go through like a 1/2 a gallon of coolant a week. I had no obvious signs leaks, but it still was losing coolant. It would never leak while on level ground, but mine did leaked coolant on the ground after a day at work, if I pointed the car fwd down hill. After a pressure test at a vw service center, the simple fix was a bad o-ring on the engine thermostat. - Eric


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Question 5
My mom want's a remote starter for her Jetta?...  My mom has a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta. Her 50th birthday is coming up next month and I wanted to get her something she really wanted aside from what my sister and brothers are contributing to buy her. I hear her say it often that she wants one..how do I go about buying one and getting it installed?

Answers
1)   Cant say I have ever heard of a "Remote" starter. All cars are made with a starter motor, so why a Remote one.???? - nosdda

2)   take moms car to a shop that installs them. it will cost about $200 and under and hour - whata waste

3)   Look in the yellow pages, & get some kind of a switch to unhook it, so the car will start if the remote screws-up. - rick29148

4)   go to the dealer. - Roman

5)   Volkswagen does not make a remote start system for any of their models, nor do they endorse aftermarket ones. The anti-theft system is tied into many other systems of the car and remote start systems can cause problems with that. There are several car stereo place in my town that install them, but I have not heard of a successful VW yet. (I'm sure there is, but I've only seen two VW's that were towed to the dealership to be fixed) I'd suggest checking with some of the local stereo shops or repair shops to see what they have done in the past. - VWpartsman


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