kennyc

TL - a month

Legend - 5 years



TL is virtually identical mechanically to the Accord. Of course, all makes and models have lemons. But the odds are the TL will be may more reliable than Any Audi.

cpurick

A month. Check back in when the honeymoon's over, okay?

Reliability's not everything. All modern cars are reliable, by historical standards.

kennyc

same to you!!

cpurick

Dude, I've owned a Scirocco, two A4s, two Passats and a Jetta. I think I know what I'm getting into. Your horror stories don't ring true here.

I paid the $30K+ that entitles me to voice an opinion when somebody asks for one. Why do you obliged to provide a rebuttal? It's really not called for.

cpurick

Dude, I've owned a Scirocco, two A4s, two Passats and a Jetta. I think I know what I'm getting into. Your horror stories don't ring true here.

I paid the $30K+ that entitles me to voice an opinion when somebody asks for one. Why do you feel obliged to provide a rebuttal? It's really not called for.

kennyc

This is getting stupid.

You are on a PUBLIC forum - I am doing exactly the same thing as you're doing - providing my own opinion.

Everyone has his/her own opinion. If you can't handle other people's opinions you might think about not post your own in the first place.

If you want to discuss this further I got all night.

TCMS

You're just as bad as an Acura guy claiming the TL is flawless.

Both cars have their share of problems, however I'll take my occasional rattles over the notorious electric demons that the audi's have. Period.

That said, my sister's 3.2TT is one hell of a machine, it rattles worse than my TL, but it makes up for it in its handling and enjoyment to drive.

6speedRUS

I wanted to get a Passat, but back in the day when I was getting the TL the new Passat wasn't out yet.
I just wanted the entry level model with a manual transmission.
While TL is a much higher more premium brand, the VW was only$23700 and the TL I got for $30500 (end of year deduction). I still owe 6500 on the TL. So do the math. Had I gotten the VW I would not have any payments left.
I opted for a better looking car/better build quality. I don't regret it. But I understand if someone would decide to save some $$$

cpurick

No, you're not. You're telling me my opinion's wrong. That's different.

And note that when you posted your opinion I did not follow behind with a post to tell you that you were wrong. Did I?

Believe me, that's obvious. I, however, have a life.

Brettg

How many other brands have so many 2 year old cars dead on the side of the road from worn out fuel pumps?

Last count (just on the vortex passat section) is 30 cars.


http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1982739

Ever hear of a honda product having the fuel pump wear out in 2 years?
Even if you think VW is fine, you can not really argue with the fact that
30 people just on one list have had their fuel pumps go between 14,000 miles and 60,000 miles.

The 1.8t coil pack problems, the sludge problems, the abs ecu problems, the front suspension problems, the sap pump problems, the water leaks inside the car problems, the premature water pump failures, the timing belt tensioner failures,
and all the other very common problems on not so old cars, VW/audi has a very poor record....

Brett

kennyc

Weak, please don't put words in my mouth.

Where did I say you're wrong?

Your rebuttals are the same as mine. If you think I am telling you your opinion is wrong, the same goes with you.

Hahaha!! you're posting as much as I am!! If you want to take it personally that's your problem.

You're 42, try to act a little more mature.

kennyc

Funny you mentioned that.

My audi had the ABS ECU problem, the front control arms problem, water pump failure, leaking radiator, leaking drive shaft seals, and excessive wear/torn CV boots.

I'm happy I traded her in.

youngTL

Suddenly falling headliners and rattles don't seem so serious now.

By the way I've owned a 96 2.5TL for a couple years and it's been nothing but reliable. I'm 400 clicks away from 200 000km, and the only problems I have had are slow windows, and a burnt out D4 light which the dealer replaced free, and cracked outer C/V boots ($200). Not bad. I have no rattles yet.

I'm pretty sure Hondas stand up to abuse the best. I drive the shit out of this car like I never drove my Toyota or Suzuki before it. I rev to the redline almost every chance I see a place to open up, which is multiple times daily. I corner hard too. And I only change the oil every 7000km.

youngTL

Oh yeah, and once I accidentally left the oil cover off and lost most of my oil. The oil wasn't even on the dipstick when I checked next, and it had been a couple weeks. Still runs fine.

Brettg

I personaly do not mind a few problems with a car I really like, before the Passat, I had a 1990 Jaguar XJ6, it was getting old, and had 145,000 miles on it, and needed a bit of restoration, but it never left me on the side of the road.
I put 80,000 of the miles on it in 5 years, and it was much better then the passat was.

Since my passat fuel pump went at 27,000 miles, I had no idea how long the 2nd pump was going to last...the replacement was the same VDO fuel pump.
So I sort of figured, if I wanted a reliable car, I would need to replace the pump every 30,000 miles, the average failure is at 37,000 miles last count I think.

Think about all the bad places you could be in when the car dies...
I was lucky, mine failed just before my vacation, and although it ruined part of my vacation, it did not happen on my vacation 500 miles from home.

Besides the fuel pump, I had so many problems at the same time, the dash
was always lit up with alarms.

Brett

gainful

1. Acura reliability is still much better than VW, althogh it is not as good as it was before.

2. VW is now paying more attention to mechanical refinement of the car than Acura. Acura used to be good at fine tuning the mechanics of their car, but now is trying to take a shortcut to allure customer by fancy interior and tech gadgets.

Fair enough? ANybody wants to add?

Brettg

I dont know, Acura seems to be offering what people want with bluetooth and the voice command stuff, and a good navi system. People SEEM to want that stuff.

I dont, I do not want to talk on a phone while driving my car, I dislike having to talk on the phone while driving the work van, and the last thing i am going to do is yak on the phone while enjoying my TL.
I do not need navi, or the voice command, and did not get them.

Its a shame you cant order some thing that the VW/Audi's have, like rain sensing wipers, 8 way power passengers seat, auto headlights or daytime running lights,
and its 2005, time for a remote built into the key.

Brett

Greg-ster

It is a shame, because at least in a Honda product those features would always work...

gainful

When we are buying a car, mechanical performance is more important than electronics, right?

although I agree that Acura electronics are far more reliable than VW, but it is a shame to see Acura now try to dazzle customers using those tech shit bundled with car, instead of refining their mechanical design to excellence, as they did in the past.

Greg-ster

If it was, then the camry would not be the best selling car for the past how many years.

mlionel

[QUOTE=cpurick]



Congratulations. You just tied with the Honda Civic. Maybe you should trade in your TL.
QUOTE]

Not even attempting to be negative: Audi A4 is just as WV Jetta, as TL is Civic (oops, rather Accord).

racezx9

my Honda S2000 out handle any Audi, The TL is perfect for the day to drives. The next car will be Corvette Z06. Handling is a subjective arguement, and I don't know if anyone here has the ability take a car to it's limit on a consistent basis to argue handling.

kennyc

I think offering bluetooth was a great idea for Acura. You know there will always be people talking on their cell while driving. Might as well do it safest way possible.

We call it the switchblade key. I really missed that.

kennyc

In my opinion Honda is already pretty far ahead when it comes to engines and tranmissions development that shifting focus to their weaker attributes is not a bad idea.

Just a thought...

priggly

In Canada the new Passat is de-contented compared to the U.S. iteration and grossly overpriced. It does not have the highly vaunted Dynaudio available, even as an option. The colors are drab and dull, no Arctic Blue Silver or Candy White. The brand's reliability reputation is horrendous. I have not yet seen even one new Passat on the road.

The TL on the other hand is reliable, exceedingly well equipped, has a better interior, a profoundly better audio system, comes standard with Bi-Xenon headlamps, has a better choice of exterior colors and is a lot of car for the money.

I would say there is really no comparison between the two. The TL wins hands down.

Peters

From a Canadian perspective its difficult to compare the two as the TL is a very well optioned car at a base price level compared to the Passat. In Canada you pay more for a VW with Bi-Xenon lights, NAVI, leather seats with sports steering wheel etc. as compared to the Acura - by about $5,000. Driving the two side by side may change your mind, since I have not, but after driving my TL for a few years the one attribute I still think is an Acura weakness is that road feel/steering attributes could be better - too light for my taste.

SouthernBoy

Good point about handling and the driver's abilities.

Look at it this way. If the car exceeds your driving needs and style say by 75 to 80% of the time, then most likely you're going to be fine with that car. If, however, you plan to road race or autocross your car, then that's an entirely different matter, though I would imagine anyone doing such would want to install a serious dose of suspension and braking mods in any car.

I also love the new Z06 Corvette. Now there's a serious steet machine. We have a few Ford GT's out in my area, too. Between the new Z06 and the Ford GT, I'd go with the Z06. Not because I like the Chevy over the Ford, but for other reasons.

soljc

I've owned 2 VW GTIs, and both were mechanical nightmares, as was my cousin's '99 Jetta. It'll be a while before I go back to VW.

youngTL

I totally agree. And that Passat front end!

I did however enjoy the steering on the TSX better than the TL by a large margin. The 2006 will be my next car (you know, fuel efficiency and overall value and all that jazz).

mio

AUDI is good, don't blame it, I own a 02+ A4 full options (from 2002 to now), with no problem... anyway, this is just my experience...

cpurick

The A4 and Jetta lineups have shared one common engine. Other than that they share no common components. The Jetta shares the same platform as the A3. It's the only platform currently used by both brands.

The B5 Passat adopted the old B5 A4 platform. The A4 hasn't been on a VW-shared platform since MY2001.

mlionel

It is common knowledge that VW owns Audi. BTW, where did it miss that TL is built off Civic (on Civic (platform)?

cpurick

Nobody ever said it is; you're taking the original post out of context.

TL'n IT UP

This is getting good.

joed40

People passionate about cars always have strong opinions, we're all the same here. We love our cars, whatever they are, and as anyone can see, we all possess a powerful urge to debate our beliefs. Gotta love the debate.

Phil B

My true story of VW products. I recommended (resulting in purchases) to three close friends and family members to buy a new Passat (vintage 2001-2003). My wife's 2000 Passat 2.0T GLS however blew up with 13.5 K on the ODO. It was barely 4 years old and VW said, it was "our problem." 13.5 K frickin' miles and the timing belt snaps (interference engine with 20V), and it's "our problem"? The AM Antenna wire replacement cost me over $750.00, not under warranty; also screwed up the headliner in the car. VW service locally sucks. No parts, poorly trained staff, and a manufacturer that apparently doesn't care enough about its customers [who could afford a Phaeton or a W-8], to give them the courtesy to fix the timing belt caused problems. My niece's 2.0T had the coil pack problem which got remedied on a piece meal basis because of the poor planning and communication of the corporation. VW needs work! The products, I like a lot. The people in the front office could not care less about customer satisfaction. Buy the TL and don't look back.

Phil B. '05 TL AT NAVI SILVER

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

Compare em.....simply put....I wouldnt.

Stay away from the Jokeswagon!

Just my !

mkell33

OK - So I'm the new guy here - picked up the '06 at w/nav yesterday - What a car! All I can say about the VWs is that the stories about their lack of reliability are just too numerous to get me to even compare them to the TL. I had two VWs and the electrics were terrible. In my last one I finally figured out that I couldn't run the AC in max mode and beep the horn without blowing the fuses. Seems like every Passat owner I know has had trouble and can't stand the car while every TL owner I have come across worships the car. For me - there is no comparison.

XtraKrispy

STAY AWAY FROM VOLKSWAGON! (even Audi's). I love the Audi's but I can't believe how many issues my friends have had with them. If you want to become best buddies with your mechanic then buy them. They always seem to have some electrical problem with them!

kennyc

Kinda funny when you mentioned that.

When I had the audi and when I have a problem. All I need to do is call my mechanic and say, "this is Kenny, I have a problem, call me back" I intentionally left out my last name and my phone number and sure enough, they call me back everytime.

Even on my cell phone!