SEC=UGA Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I just want to warn everyone here, one final time, with regard to this POS automobile and hope to inspire you to never purchase one... Well, the VW started acting up on Saturday. Took it in to the VW dealer to get to the bottome of the problem. THey called me on Monday... VW - It appears that there is a coolant migration that is coming through the main wiring harness for the engine and getting into the ECM and the coil packs. The harness must be replaced and the car probably needs a new ECM, we can't tell right now. The Wiring harness is $2,975 excluding tax and the new ECM will be $1,845 excluding tax. Me - What? How is coolant getting into the wiring harness and migrating to the Coils and ECM? Can we fix the coolant leak and see what happens when it dries out? VW - It's not that simple. The harness runs through the coolant temperature sensor and sometimes this happens. The wiring harness must be replaced. Me - Sounds like a stupid design. Ok, with all of the issues I've had with this car I'm not inclined to dump $5,000 into repairing it. Will you guys buy the car? It bluebooks for about $11,000 and your cost to repair will be much lower than what you are charging me. VW - let me connect you with Bill, our buyer. Me - Ok. Bill - My I help you? Me - (I tell him the story of what is wrong with the car and ask if they'll buy it) Bill - No we wouldn't touch it. We don't want to be saddled with a problemed car. Me - Bill, what is wholesale on this thing when it is running? Bill - about $9500. Me - Okay, I'll sell it to you for $3,000. YOur cost to repair it should be minimal compared to what you're charging me. I looked up the harness on line and can get it for $253 and then all you have is your labor. Say, at 50 bucks an hour and it takes 40 hours to fix, that's $2,500 you have in it and with the $3,000 you're getting a $9,500 car for $5,500. Bill - We don't want a problem car. Well, I go to Toyota and talk with them. Tell them the story about needing a new car and the need to unload the Touareg. I buy a Sienna for the wife and they give me $3,000 trade in for the VW. I went back to VW at one point to clean out the Touareg prior to it being towed to Toyota and to pay them the $55 diagnostic fee to tell me what was wrong with my car (I still can't believe they charge $55 for a diagnostic.) The man in front of me had just pulled up in his Touareg in order to have some continuing issue resolved, he was not happy. Next in was a 65+ yo lady who I over heard saying, "It has 8,000 miles and this is my 4th trip in here for repairs", she drove what appeared to be a one or two year old jetta. This VW TOuareg has been, by FAR, the worst automobile I have ever owned. It cost me about $3,500 a year to keep it on the road. Here are the issues I've had: - Throttle body has been replaced 3 times. - Electrical system has completely gone out once ( After they claimed to have fixed the electrical system, and charged me a small fortune, the sunroof and the alarm system were still inoperable. They proceeded to tell me that these were on a different system than what they had fixed and could fix the sunroof for $800 and the alarm for $950, as best I remember.) - Other parts of the electrical system have gone out on two other occassions. -The drains for the sunroof like to clog leading to water in the cabin. This effectively flooded the back of the car while we were out of the country for two weeks leading to us having to replace the padding, carpet, side wall carpet and headliner in the car. They actually sent a letter out telling people of this problem that they would clean them for free... about two years after my car flooded. - Interior control dials, door lock and window buttons: These are painted black over white molded plastic, you find that out real quickly as the paint deteriorates at an exceptionally fast pace. Same goes for the controls on the steering wheel. - The heads up display/in dash computer that displays all the diagnostics, gas mileage, trip time, etc... Is a nightmare. The tire pressure light and warning never ceases to tell you that your tire pressure is low and to fix the sensors is $600 per sensor (and since all 4 are typically out that means $2,400 per year, if they last that long.) One time the computer told my wife she had a flat, causing her to pull over at a very dangerous place on a highway connecting ramp and to call me, who was 15 miles away in rush hour traffic, to come and change the tire. No tire was flat, or even low. - Head lamps go out at least anually. - I have had to repair the AC system 3 times. - Oil sensor has gone out once - Brake repairs cost $$$, VW wants damn near $1,7000. THe VW repair place I take it to gets $950. - The engine box plastic cowlings and covers have all either cracked or the brackets that hold them on the engine have failed. - The front skid plate has been removed from my car because it has come unlatched from the back and drags the ground. This had happened MANY times before I finally removed it. - Due to the leaky sunroof drains I could never get the moldy smell outta the car and question whether they really replaced the padding in the car. - The passenger side windshield wiper arm loosed from it's housing causing it to lose contact with the windshield. This repair was $600. - Theres more, but your probably bored by now.... Don't get me wrong, when this car runs it is one of the finest automobiles on the road, but I WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER VW PRODUCT AS LONG AS I LIVE DUE TO MY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS POS.... Go on the internet and type in "Touareg Problems", you'll quickly see that I'm not the only one out there having issues and not the only one that seemingly got a lemon. As a matter of fact, most of the VW products have had serious issues on a wide scale as best I can tell and from my experience at the dealership. Further, repairs are going to cost you $$$$. When I was purchasing the Toyota yesterday the guy in the business office that was working on all the paper work )and trying to sell me an extended warranty on the Toy, saw that I was selling them my Touareg. He said, I used to work at VW, Touareg is an nice car.... I looked at him funny... He said, well aside from the repairs. He told me that the extended warranty for the Touareg was $6,000. The same warranty for the Sienna, $800. That tells you what the actuaries think of the potential for problems on the VW. I obviously hate VW and the Touareg in particular. But, please, do a lot of research before ever buying a VW and I would say that you should probably never buy one then, even if you think your gonna be ok. And if you do buy one, buy the extended warranty, it'll pay for itself very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 SEC . . did you do research on VWs before buying? I seem to remember that Consumer Reports routinely slams them for cost of ownership due to repairs . . . . Sorry ya got stuck with such a lemon . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 SEC . . did you do research on VWs before buying? I seem to remember that Consumer Reports routinely slams them for cost of ownership due to repairs . . . . Sorry ya got stuck with such a lemon . . Not really as my wife had her heart set on this car. I did look at an article in Car and Driver where they named the Touareg the 2003 Luxury SUV of the year and that is about all that stuck with me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peepinmofo Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Ive always had Nissan and never really had any major problems. I think my next purchase will be a US car. I will certainly never buy a VW based on stories like this one that I have heard multiplt times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 My field owns one and absolutely hates it. My other friend bough a used Jetta and sold it within 6 months. I stay far away from VW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billay Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I love my 2002 Jetta. 135,000 miles, purrs like a kitten, had little to no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 i have heard both horror and love stories about vw. wife is talking about getting a jetta wagon..... will start the research when i get to SF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 i have heard both horror and love stories about vw. wife is talking about getting a jetta wagon..... will start the research when i get to SF I wouldn't. The love stories are far and few inbetween and its probably from people who don't know any better. VW is up there with JEEP as being POS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I wouldn't. The love stories are far and few inbetween and its probably from people who don't know any better. VW is up there with JEEP as being POS And DMD has a Jeep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I just got done sending a customer off to get an engine replaced on a 2006 Jetta with 40k on it. All maintenance was done correctly on this car and the engine just let loose. I feel sorry for anyone who owns or buys a VW product. They are garbage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 German engineering hasn't been good since 1942. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I own a touraeg - pricey to maintain but haven't had as near as many problems as you had. I'm pretty happy with mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 And DMD has a Jeep. I hope I didn't get this thread gunned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slambo Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 VW's ---> Hitler's revenge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 And DMD has a Jeep. I have owned my Wrangler for 5 years and the only thing that has ever happened to it was when it suddenly would not shift at all and it cost me $160 to have them fix some cable. Then again I only have 19,000 miles on it I think. This all illustrates why I bought it. It has no electric anything and therefore never breaks. It has the same inline 6-cylinder that Jeep used for 20 or 30 years. I had cars with electric windows and all the other bells and whistles and got tired of them breaking down. My Wrangler has no such problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I have owned my Wrangler for 5 years and the only thing that has ever happened to it was when it suddenly would not shift at all and it cost me $160 to have them fix some cable. Then again I only have 19,000 miles on it I think. This all illustrates why I bought it. It has no electric anything and therefore never breaks. It has the same inline 6-cylinder that Jeep used for 20 or 30 years. I had cars with electric windows and all the other bells and whistles and got tired of them breaking down. My Wrangler has no such problems. But then again . . you have to deal with the problem of actually driving a Wrangler. Whole others et of issues . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 I've found over time at the shop and on the VW boards that people who own them, despite having to dole out large sums of money, generally love the cars. A lady behind me while I was waiting to pay for the first electrical system repair is a good example of this. She overheard the guy in front of me and I talking about our problems with our cars, she chimed in, stating that she has never had any problems with her car and absolutely loved it and could not understand why we were speaking so badly about VWs. I inquired as to why she was in line at the service department... Her alternator had gone out on a two year old jetta with 22K on it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 But then again . . you have to deal with the problem of actually driving a Wrangler. Whole others et of issues . . Helped win a war... trail rated from the showroom floor... is there a "black ops edition" of your car? Nothing like a jeep with the top dropped on a spring day out in the countryside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Nothing like a jeep with the top dropped on a spring day out in the countryside. 18 YO Czech Hooker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 You did right by the Toyota - I have a 2002 Corolla, and it has failed to start once, when the original battery died after 8 1/2 years of use (I had decided after it hit five to use it until it died as an experiment). Other than that oil/fluid and brake maintenance and you're set. I'm now going to check on my car since I've jinxed it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I have owned my Wrangler for 5 years and the only thing that has ever happened to it was when it suddenly would not shift at all and it cost me $160 to have them fix some cable. Then again I only have 19,000 miles on it I think. 19K miles? That's like a little over one year of regular usage for most people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 19K miles? That's like a little over one year of regular usage for most people. He only drives in the drive way. kinda like rain man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 19K miles? That's like a little over one year of regular usage for most people. He works at home, so he doesn't need to drive it as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billay Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I love my 2002 Jetta. 135,000 miles, purrs like a kitten, had little to no problems. The love stories are ... probably from people who don't know any better. I take exception to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 is there a "black ops edition" of your car? yeah, some corny cross-marketing with a video game really inspires confidence in a vehicle. me, I got a crappy old monte carlo that chevy put a "3" on. hey, if it's good enough for dale earnhardt, it's good enough for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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