my first question is, how is volkswagen of america still in business??? they build the biggest heaps of shit that I have yet encountered. 3 years ago i felt otherwise and convinced my mom to skip the altima 3.5 liter for a 2003 1.8liter passat...i based this decision on no fewer than 10 reports both by major and obscure auto magazines and their evaluations...every single one stated that the passat blew away the competition. I drove the car and even though it doesn't suit me at all...aka it is FWD and has the associate understear even at low speed, and mega delay drive by wire throttle, it seemed great for my mother. And so it began.
the car's first flaw was...you guessed it ignition coils. they were recalled so we took the car in to have them replaced. the dealer wouldn't replace them untill there were problems though....so a week later she was running on 3 cyls and we took it back...at that time they would only replace the faulty one. this repeated untill they were all replaced...just when we thought that was cured...another failed...yes that is a replaced coil failed...a total of 6 visits to the dealer later the coils seem to have been fixed. Next various little things started failing...like lights and body trim falling off. the pannels around the fog lights fall off every 6 months or so...and althought the shop charges her no labor to replace them...(they just stap on) they are $150 a piece! the bulb in the vanity mirror...labor $150...tail lights fail intermittently, and the passenger's headlight has been replaced 5 times. Not to mention that the shitty little engine gets only about 25mpg on the highway. 3 times I have been driving when the throttle pedal has become pinned under the snap in style floor mats leaving the car at wide open throttle...once in traffic...(good thing it has stout brakes...even if they wore out after 25,000miles). the last issue occured this week. the dash displayed a message that read ..."shut off engine immediately...low oil pressure" she did so and had it towed to the dealer....a day later the diagnosis is a leaking head gasket...and massive sludge build-up in the pan..amongst other failed light bulbs...the damage is $2900 not covered by warrany. the car has an impecable service history as I drilled it into my mother that turbo cars are very hard on oil and that you simply must have the service done on them. all of the changes are documented so VW's claim that it is owner neglect are garbage. In short this thing has cost around 20% of the intial sale value in repairs alone! that is a record that I have only seen in the italian motorcycle world. what an absolute heap of crap...have any of you experienced the V-dub woes? I desperately want to trade this junker on a new G35 sedan or Legacy GT...sorry...i feel slightly better now....anyone need a 1.8liter boat anchor?