VW, Never Again !!! - Why I Bought Another One

[gatvol]

I am a VW lifer. My father and grandfather both had Beetles which I remember from the 70s.

i have had Mk1 Golf x2, Audi 80 x2, Mk2 Jetta, Mk3 Golf VR6, Audi S5, California.

Plus a 2004 Nissan 350z, 2002 Range Rover p38, 94 Merc Sl500, 99 Volvo V70.

in terms of build integrity, my 94 Merc Sl500 (designed in the 1980s) is from another planet compared to every 90s onwards car I have owned.

During this time I have seen relative build VW quality basically decline model on model. This is clearly a deliberate VW strategy. VW/ Merc/ Porsche/ BMW generally finish in the 20s in reliability surveys of the top 35 or so manufacturers nowadays.

After all the warranty period problems with my 2007 Audi S5 and 2011 California - I vowed never to buy a VW product again.

But I did, a brand new VW Up! Gti in 2023. Like the California it is a superbly designed thing that packs a huge amount into a tiny package. Unlike the California, my Up! is approaching its second birthday and has had zero warranty fixes.

The Up! is a very reliable platform made from 2011 to 2023. The Gtis were made 2018 to 2023. Internet research revealed that there were very few issues with them.

What I now appreciate is that buying ANY recently issued vehicle/ engine represents a huge risk. Whether its the Ford Ecoboost engines, Land Rover 2.0 Ingenium engines, VW 2.0 Biturbos, any wet cam shaft engine.....

Anyone buying a California more than a year or so after model launch could read about the massive list of issues these vehicles face.

It saddens me when I read on here (again and again over 13 years !!!!!) the generic tale of "spent a fortune, went wrong in days, had trouble with dealership".

My life lessons are:

1. German car reliability is now a myth. The 60s, 70s and 80s are over.
2. Don't be an innovator - never buy a fresh platform or engine - wait until they have been around a few years for the problems to reveal themselves
3. Petrol gives a lot less aggro than diesel
4. The warning flags are all over the Internet and can be found in minutes

 

[Kev56]

My VW caddy life 2018 faultless in 7years apart from a side light bulb.
My VW Cali Ocean 2023 so far faultless. Must be lucky. I

 

[TripleBee]

1. German car reliability is now a myth. The 60s, 70s and 80s are over.
2. Don't be an innovator - never buy a fresh platform or engine - wait until they have been around a few years for the problems to reveal themselves
3. Petrol gives a lot less aggro than diesel
4. The warning flags are all over the Internet and can be found in minutes

1. 4 VW's, and I think the reliability isn't a myth.
2. I bought one of the first common rail T5.1's. Engine has been faultless (EGR, temp sensor in DPF is exhaust).
3. My dad has a petrol Multivan: also hasn't got any engine problems.
4. You will only read the bad stuff on the internet. The millions of good ones, will not be posted on the internet.

In some ways I can agree with you, but you are not correct over all.

 

[Roger Boeken]

Inevitable , fora and the internet are a collection box for all problems people have with any product. Product are only praised in advertisements.
not purchasing immediately after launch is good advice, but if everyone follows this we will never know whether the new model has any errors.
Driving VW diesel cars for 40 years, I have never had any problems under warranty or suffered any major disappointments.
You are right about dealerships not knowing any more what they sell but that’s not VW related , there are too many car models changing every year..

 

[dspuk]

What @TripleBee said. Clearly you have had an unspecified issue as the 430 am sparks flying off your grinding axe are in full force, but the post is littered with inaccuracies, suppositions and half facts.

Maybe if you define the issue we can collectively assist?

For the record 4 VW's, Polo, Golf, Tiguan and Cali. Zero issues. Not a single one.

Now swapped the Tiguan for a Defender fully expecting I'll be in the garage for at least one catastrophe in the coming year....

 

[gatvol]

I have owned mine from new and faced far too many warranty issues back in the day - 4x new alloys, replacement entire roof mech under recall due to aluminium galvanic corrosion, new stereo, replacement instrument binnacle, replacement water gauge, failed electric window motor......

A pal with a top end Phaeton had awful galvanic corrosion. Another with a R8 needed 4x alloys as all were cracked at 30k miles

But the real kick in the face is that my California is a 2011 Bi Turbo. It has been carefully maintained from new, garaged for all but 1 year, as I tend to keep all my cars for 10 years plus. The Bi Turbo is the engine that folk are now terrified to buy as some of the early EGR coolers were defective so showered the pistons with aluminium filings destroying the top and later the bottom of the engine from the inside. A fault that often did not reveal itself until 60,000 miles plus ie many years after warranties expired.

Mine is below 80,000 miles and I'm sat on a 10 grand time bomb as when it goes off, it's new engine time. Whatever damage that wretched EGR cooler has done has been accumulating for many years. My old 25 year old 20v V70 had done 180k miles and used virtually no oil.

 

[WelshGas]

I have owned mine from new and faced far too many warranty issues back in the day - 4x new alloys, replacement entire roof mech under recall due to aluminium galvanic corrosion, new stereo, replacement instrument binnacle, replacement water gauge, failed electric window motor......

A pal with a top end Phaeton had awful galvanic corrosion. Another with a R8 needed 4x alloys as all were cracked at 30k miles

But the real kick in the face is that my California is a 2011 Bi Turbo. It has been carefully maintained from new, garaged for all but 1 year, as I tend to keep all my cars for 10 years plus. The Bi Turbo is the engine that folk are now terrified to buy as some of the early EGR coolers were defective so showered the pistons with aluminium filings destroying the top and later the bottom of the engine from the inside. A fault that often did not reveal itself until 60,000 miles plus ie many years after warranties expired.

Mine is below 80,000 miles and I'm sat on a 10 grand time bomb as when it goes off, it's new engine time. Whatever damage that wretched EGR cooler has done has been accumulating for many years. My old 25 year old 20v V70 had done 180k miles and used virtually no oil.

Are you sat on a Time Bomb?
Had my 2014 180 Biturbo for 10 yrs and 134,000 miles.
Never garaged. No roof corrosion and No Oil oil usage between annual services.
Apart from EGR changed at 2 weeks and 900 miles due to an electrical fault and 2 stuck ASB sensors at 100,000 miles just new front discs at 90,000 miles and brake pads all round.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Type 2 bay - Sorry I can’t write the full list of faults. Far too many…
T4 - Dual-mass flywheel, failed injectors.
T5 - Engine destroyed at 4 years old.
T5.1 - Roof corrosion
T6 - Bi turbo, turbo replacement at 48k miles, 4.5 years old.

Porsche Cayman S 2011, owned for 11.5 years.
1 fault, snapped gear linkage cable…

 

[The big K]

On to my 7th VW and bought increasingly quick cars (Tiguan - Manual Basic Golf - GTI 7 - GTI 8 - T-Roc R - T-Cross - Cali). Earlier cars had various minor warranty items/recalls that were dealt with quickly and satisfactorily under warranty. Then the GTI 8 and T-Roc R both suffered from the dinging warning light / faulty steering wheel issue that each took months and months to repair under warranty (due to a problem in supply of parts during/after Covid). I then disposed of my VWs due to lack of confidence in their ability to repair this issue in a timely way.

Next we found ourselves buying a 4Motion VW Cali T6.1 because (a) it was really the only new car offering of its type in the market in Australia (Marco Polos have run out now) and (b) the model had been around for 5 years with a strong following in places like the UK.

Have had a couple of minor things sorted under warranty (had it for around 6 months now). Took heart that the T6.1's Infotainment system still dated back to 2019 (with more tried and proven older software) and that its steering wheel having normal (not tactile) buttons and is not heated. I also avoided getting the Biturbo model due reading about possible issues arising as they get older. Also keeping a close eye on VW Cali forums like this one to ensure I'm aware of potential issues so I can quickly sort under warranty (which is 5 years here).

For all that, my wife and I are thoroughly enjoying the life options that the Cali has opened up for us in Oz, as well as reading about other people's stories/pictures in their van set ups!

 

[calicasas]

I am a VW lifer. My father and grandfather both had Beetles which I remember from the 70s.

i have had Mk1 Golf x2, Audi 80 x2, Mk2 Jetta, Mk3 Golf VR6, Audi S5, California.

Plus a 2004 Nissan 350z, 2002 Range Rover p38, 94 Merc Sl500, 99 Volvo V70.

in terms of build integrity, my 94 Merc Sl500 (designed in the 1980s) is from another planet compared to every 90s onwards car I have owned.

During this time I have seen relative build VW quality basically decline model on model. This is clearly a deliberate VW strategy. VW/ Merc/ Porsche/ BMW generally finish in the 20s in reliability surveys of the top 35 or so manufacturers nowadays.

After all the warranty period problems with my 2007 Audi S5 and 2011 California - I vowed never to buy a VW product again.

But I did, a brand new VW Up! Gti in 2023. Like the California it is a superbly designed thing that packs a huge amount into a tiny package. Unlike the California, my Up! is approaching its second birthday and has had zero warranty fixes.

The Up! is a very reliable platform made from 2011 to 2023. The Gtis were made 2018 to 2023. Internet research revealed that there were very few issues with them.

What I now appreciate is that buying ANY recently issued vehicle/ engine represents a huge risk. Whether its the Ford Ecoboost engines, Land Rover 2.0 Ingenium engines, VW 2.0 Biturbos, any wet cam shaft engine.....

Anyone buying a California more than a year or so after model launch could read about the massive list of issues these vehicles face.

It saddens me when I read on here (again and again over 13 years !!!!!) the generic tale of "spent a fortune, went wrong in days, had trouble with dealership".

My life lessons are:

1. German car reliability is now a myth. The 60s, 70s and 80s are over.
2. Don't be an innovator - never buy a fresh platform or engine - wait until they have been around a few years for the problems to reveal themselves
3. Petrol gives a lot less aggro than diesel
4. The warning flags are all over the Internet and can be found in minutes

Sad to say, but couldn’t agree more… i have a 2011 Bi-Turbo Cali from new, always serviced at VW. Have the well known dreaded problem with this engine & VW were not interested… needless to say we never replaced our Passat or Jetta with a VW again… on principle..

 

[Snowy Hills]

I am a VW lifer. My father and grandfather both had Beetles which I remember from the 70s.

i have had Mk1 Golf x2, Audi 80 x2, Mk2 Jetta, Mk3 Golf VR6, Audi S5, California.

Plus a 2004 Nissan 350z, 2002 Range Rover p38, 94 Merc Sl500, 99 Volvo V70.

in terms of build integrity, my 94 Merc Sl500 (designed in the 1980s) is from another planet compared to every 90s onwards car I have owned.

During this time I have seen relative build VW quality basically decline model on model. This is clearly a deliberate VW strategy. VW/ Merc/ Porsche/ BMW generally finish in the 20s in reliability surveys of the top 35 or so manufacturers nowadays.

After all the warranty period problems with my 2007 Audi S5 and 2011 California - I vowed never to buy a VW product again.

But I did, a brand new VW Up! Gti in 2023. Like the California it is a superbly designed thing that packs a huge amount into a tiny package. Unlike the California, my Up! is approaching its second birthday and has had zero warranty fixes.

The Up! is a very reliable platform made from 2011 to 2023. The Gtis were made 2018 to 2023. Internet research revealed that there were very few issues with them.

What I now appreciate is that buying ANY recently issued vehicle/ engine represents a huge risk. Whether its the Ford Ecoboost engines, Land Rover 2.0 Ingenium engines, VW 2.0 Biturbos, any wet cam shaft engine.....

Anyone buying a California more than a year or so after model launch could read about the massive list of issues these vehicles face.

It saddens me when I read on here (again and again over 13 years !!!!!) the generic tale of "spent a fortune, went wrong in days, had trouble with dealership".

My life lessons are:

1. German car reliability is now a myth. The 60s, 70s and 80s are over.
2. Don't be an innovator - never buy a fresh platform or engine - wait until they have been around a few years for the problems to reveal themselves
3. Petrol gives a lot less aggro than diesel
4. The warning flags are all over the Internet and can be found in minutes

Golf R estate 2018 model which I owned for 3 years and purchased when it was 3 years old was faultless. I regret selling it but I found it was like owning a race horse and keeping it in the back garden, nowhere really to enjoy it the UK,
sold to help pay for the Cali.
It was a joy going back to petrol after a long run of Diesel cars. My Skoda superb 170 Diesel 4x4 estate was an awesome vehicle but eventually became plagued with exhaust management system issues.
I vowed to never go near a modern Diesel again but purchased the Cali end of 2024.
So far so good but it seems to smell quite strongly when doing a regen, at least it’s doing them.
First sign of trouble I will sell it though despite being a dream to own a Cali ocean and a retirement present to myself.

 

[24OCEAN]

1. 4 VW's, and I think the reliability isn't a myth.
2. I bought one of the first common rail T5.1's. Engine has been faultless (EGR, temp sensor in DPF is exhaust).
3. My dad has a petrol Multivan: also hasn't got any engine problems.
4. You will only read the bad stuff on the internet. The millions of good ones, will not be posted on the internet.

In some ways I can agree with you, but you are not correct over all.

Time for a Cali survey?

 

[DJ315]

I've had many VW's, including 2 California's, never any issues. So your bad experience may be exceptional.

 

[PeteS]

Like someone on here said you only get to hear of the problems on the internet. I have owned a Mini, VWs, Audis and a Mercedes. I sold the Mercedes when the warranty had 9 months to go as I would not have been able to afford it once out of warranty. I think the problem is that in my early days of motoring in 1985 it was easy to repair cars.
Generally I think cars are more reliable on the whole but when they do go wrong they are expensive to fix requiring diagnostic tools to local the fault and the specialist tools to repair the fault.

 

[briwy]

I have owned mine from new and faced far too many warranty issues back in the day - 4x new alloys, replacement entire roof mech under recall due to aluminium galvanic corrosion, new stereo, replacement instrument binnacle, replacement water gauge, failed electric window motor......

A pal with a top end Phaeton had awful galvanic corrosion. Another with a R8 needed 4x alloys as all were cracked at 30k miles

But the real kick in the face is that my California is a 2011 Bi Turbo. It has been carefully maintained from new, garaged for all but 1 year, as I tend to keep all my cars for 10 years plus. The Bi Turbo is the engine that folk are now terrified to buy as some of the early EGR coolers were defective so showered the pistons with aluminium filings destroying the top and later the bottom of the engine from the inside. A fault that often did not reveal itself until 60,000 miles plus ie many years after warranties expired.

Mine is below 80,000 miles and I'm sat on a 10 grand time bomb as when it goes off, it's new engine time. Whatever damage that wretched EGR cooler has done has been accumulating for many years. My old 25 year old 20v V70 had done 180k miles and used virtually no oil.

Exactly the situation we were in last year. 2014 180 Biturbo bought new, dealer service every year. Van going OK, using a slight amount of oil but basically OK. So, an oil test showed loads of nasties and a compression test showed all four cylinders well down. So based on the fact that the engine was only going to get worse and one day go bang, possibly while we were away, we decided to fit a new engine. VW of course didn't want to know despite hundreds of well documented failures and this what has really pissed me off. The attitude of tough luck, not taking any responsibility for a poor design fault which wrecks an excellent engine. Unlike some people who have/ are suffering this problem we were financially able to get the work done. Four months later after having the work done by Retro Resus the van is pulling far better, using less fuel and we have peace of mind.
It just seems that nowadays Big companies refuse to take responsibility for their cock ups. Thank god I've still got my MGB. No tax, hundred quid a year insurance.

 

[Dave Wickham]

1. 4 VW's, and I think the reliability isn't a myth.
2. I bought one of the first common rail T5.1's. Engine has been faultless (EGR, temp sensor in DPF is exhaust).
3. My dad has a petrol Multivan: also hasn't got any engine problems.
4. You will only read the bad stuff on the internet. The millions of good ones, will not be posted on the internet.

In some ways I can agree with you, but you are not correct over all.

 

[Dave Wickham]

I agree TripleBee, it depends on how 'lucky' you are. I bought an ex-demo Golf GTD and whilst its a nice car its had its share of problems (new clutch, new AC/heating manifold) but the missus has a VW UP that has given no issues and I also have a 2019 VW Cali Ocean which also has been trouble free (thus far, 35k on the clock)

 

[TripleBee]

I agree TripleBee, it depends on how 'lucky' you are. I bought an ex-demo Golf GTD and whilst its a nice car its had its share of problems (new clutch, new AC/heating manifold) but the missus has a VW UP that has given no issues and I also have a 2019 VW Cali Ocean which also has been trouble free (thus far, 35k on the clock)

My brother in law had an Audi A5 Sportback. 2.0 TDI, 150hp, multitronic.
He had the car for 7 years, 270000km. Not a single wrench has been put on that car, except for regular service.
First set of front brake pads and rotors: 210000km.
My California had a few issues, but nothing too bad.
Yes, there are cars with problems, and sometimes you can't help it, but the way of driving and taking care of your cars can do a lot too.
And everyone can read horrorstories on the internet, but those are only a few on a total of millions of cars.
And sometimes there is a bad batch of faulty components, and luckily I have been spared of those (except of my EGR, that was a faulty part from factory).

 

[pjm-84]

I had an new Audi....it was piece of rubbish that near enough fell apart after 5years and 67k miles........ so I was hesitant buying the VW California......haven't looked at an Audi since

On the Cali..... not really had any issues apart from the heater, a slight weeping crankshaft seal that seems to have cured itself (not mentioned under the last VW health check), an ABS sensor, an exhaust, bushes at 65k and a DSG sump cover..............