tsxconvert

Vws suck - My wife and I know this for a fact.

1.) Owned 2000 Jetta Lemon - we forced vw of america to buy it back under california lemon law (the car was in for service about 3 times a month - mostly for the same problems)

2.) Owned 2002 Passat 1.8T - car was plagued with problems - 1.8t engine coils all bad, dashboard creaked and popped as loud as a gunshot, had to replace entire radio, air conditioning didn't drain properly so it smelled of rotten eggs every time you turned it on, monsoon stereo sounded average at best and multiple speakers blown after using stereo at average level (around 3), multiple recalls - not just coils - wheel well by gas tank, etc.

3.) This should raise your attention --- The Dealers all suck - at least all in Los Angeles.

We took our car in for a routine oil change to the Santa Monica, CA VW dealer (owned by an !@# named Mike Sullivan - he owns several dealers luckily not Acura) - they called us 2 hours later to let us know that their security guard let a thief walk in off the street and the guard opened the electronic gate for him as he stole our car (the guard said he thought he recognized the theif as a vw employee - nice huh)

so our car was stolen because the vw dealership's policy is to leave the keys in our unlocked cars and they aren't guarded properly (no cameras - nothing) - the dealer won't take responsibility (under the law of mutaul bailment they are liable - but we're thinking of just settling it with our insurance because we can't afford a lawyer) think about that the next time you consider how high car insurance premiums are today...

Anyway, after many sleepless nights, full of rage, we have decided to move on and decided our next car will be the TSX - even if it has rattles and mirrors that aren't heated - the reliabilty of the engine and beautiful design will do just fine.

Any questions?? If anyone has a similiar story about a car manufacturer or dealer/s feel free to vent here.

oh and thanks for listening.

accsuperstar

fed up with VW huh?

welcome to the honda/acura family! (in due time)

biker

These "bash VW/Audi" threads seem to pop up more often. :ripped:

bob shiftright

If you buy an '05, it may have the heated mirrors. And my old Saabs had heated seats but not mirrors. Or if they had heated mirrors, they never worked. Anyway, I lived without them. As for the rattles, mine has none and that's even since I've had the dashboard all apart. And the timing chain instead of a belt and the fact that all the Honda recommended service procedures a "piece of cake" up until 110,000 miles are definite pluses!

jcg878

Man that sucks - sorry to hear it. I know my Acura dealer doesn't do that, since I've walked around their lot at night trying to open car doors

I can vouch that VW dealerships are awful. The one we've dealt the most with (Southern States VW, Durham, NC) is absolutely horrendous from sales to service! We haven't used our dealer up here much thus far (Cherry Hill Imports - knock on wood).

FWIW, one Passat to TSX tip I can give you - make sure you like the seats. My skinny little wife (our Passat driver) does not like the seats in the TSX because they push her shoulders forward. The Passat seat is less sporty, but comfortable in a different way. I personally prefer the TSX seat, since the cushion is longer.

AcuraFan

Sorry to hear that. I've never been a big fan of VW but I've had two coworkers that have both bought two Jettas from the same dealer and haven't really complained at all.

But wait...you're in LA? What does it matter that TSX doesn't have heated mirrors? I can understand if you were north and needed to de-ice the mirrors in the winter...but in SoCal? Just curious.

tsxconvert

Ah good point. Thank you.

We noticed the TSX seats were a little different to get used to. We thought it was mainly because of the side bolstering which is narrower than the passats. I've read a bit about seats and I think the ones in the TSX are probably better on the back for the long run - but at first it seems there is a break in/get use to phase. During our test drive, my wife had a little more trouble than I finding a comfortable position but we thought that had to do with the 8-way power seat and its many options(we had a basic manual seat in her old car). Since we've decided to wait for the '05 (mainly because off depreciation value) we have some time to test drive the TSX a few more times so we'll be sure to take some extra time adjusting the seat to make sure it feels alright.

tsxconvert

i just mentioned the mirrors at the end of my post because it happened to be a late night posting and I just wanted to make the point that despite the small points - the TSX still kicks bootie. You're right - we live in la so the heated mirrors - not such a concern --probably should have said something a little more appropriate maybe the lack of seat memory or trip computer feature - but these points are so small in comparison to the enormous list of problems we had with our passat - we actually feel liberated from the weight of our lemon of a vw and can't wait to purchase our next car which will be the 05 TSX.

Jason

welcome to the board tsxconvert.

gilboman

good luck with your new TSX, it should likely be more reliable but dont expect too much from acura service though. VW builds damn nice cars but just poor reliability. the materials and build quality is very nice i must admit, but their reliability leaves lot to be desired.

jcg878

gilbo come on.... he's dealt with VW service!

ianS

VW/AUDI not just have reliability issues, they have really bad durability & aging issue!

AcuraFan

Cool. Welcome to the board and to Acura/Honda.

gilboman

what would the difference btwn durability and reliability be? i'm just interested in your point of view...i put reliability = durability= dependibilitiy

AcuraFan

I think what he's saying is
Reliability = Mechancial breakdown (Tanny going out, fuel pump breaking, etc)
Durability = Things wearing out (like maybe the seats wear quickly, dash starts to rattle, etc)
Dependability = Will it get you from point A to point B every time (at 20,000 miles or 200,000 miles, etc)

ianS

bad durability = aging so fast. Such as the 4yr old A4 2.8 from my next door: interior trim peeling off, squeak sound coming from suspension, brake, auto transmission...etc, every time it shift from R to D, the car just shake like a mofo and the engine sounds like engine from the bus! The whole car are drive like a 20 yr old civic more than a 4 yr old car. Also how many there is a Jetta run beside you and you thought it was a dissel truck run beside you! That is pure :shit:

YBA

Took you 2 cars to realize... Better late than never ;-)

On a more serious note, I know a load of people who have been deceived about VW's poor reliability... On the other hand, my friend has a Touareg.. He kicks the crap out of it and he hasn't got anything negative to say yet...

Welcome to the TSX board...

daniel1113

I've had a Jetta for 3 years now, and haven't had a single problem. It looks and drives as well as it did when I picked it up from the dealer. Perhaps I am just lucky, but I would buy another VW if Acura didn't make the TSX

tsxconvert

wow consider yourself extremely lucky...eveyone i know that has owned a recent vw (2000+) has had only horror stories to tell - my wife and I loved the design of our vws - it was the reliability and outright miserable experiences with every dealer we took our car to that forced us to wake up and realize that a car that costs more than anything we own shouldn't have problems every other week---and when our 2002 passat was stolen off the dealer's lot where we purchased the car, and they never even called to apologize - we knew that it was time to move on

tsxconvert

Just wanted to thank everyone who posted to this thread to welcome us and share their time and advice.

Honestly, the only experience I've had with another car forum has been with myvwlemon.com - where i learned how to navigate the rough waters of vw ownership --

but I never expected to feel the camaraderie that you all have shown in such a short time. I've been reading many of the posts on the site and have to say that this forum rocks!

Thanks.

biker

Now you know why so many folks (many non TSX owners) hang out here.

Mokos23

so much for a future S4 purchase

iTimmy

I had two 2001 VW's(both bought new) a GTi VR6(still have it) and a Jetta 1.8t both were/are huge piles of crap. Same problems happened to both of them and there is NO reason the things that break broke- window regulators, brake calipers, MAF sensors, Coil packs, gas caps(yes the freaking gas cap broke on one of them), MIL comes on in the rain. In short I would NEVER buy another VW product because the more I look into it they all have the same issues!!! This is not a issolated problem.

And I completely agree with whoever said they age like shit, cause there right. My GTi feels as loose as a 40 year old prostitute that has been doing tricks since she was 12. Yes it is THAT bad, I have driven automobiles with 200k miles on them that will put my GTi with under 35k miles on it to shame! I CAN NOT wait to get rid of this car. No wonder the W8 passat's didn't fly and the Phaeton is going to be the JOKE of the future. If they can't keep a cheap car on the road and the owners happy how are they suppose to maintain higher end clients?

Ok rant over.

pby

I cannot begin to describe how glad I am to have gotten rid of my GTI; I think mine started at an earlier age.

:pee: VW

:P

jcg878

man, ours isn't that bad yet - only came on once after not being driven for >1 week.

heyitsme

I like vw designs and their quality of materials, especailly on the new models, but I doubt I would end up buying one due to their rep. My brother and his wife both have one and they have nothing but good things to say.

TSX Hokie

Gilbo, you know from personal experience bringing all your Acuras in for service? An Acura dealership has the same chance of being bad as a BMW/MB dealer. I've been to BMW dealerships where the salesmen ask you your family income before they get your name. And then proceed to tell you how great the V6 (I6) in the AWD (4wd) 325xi is. Sure, they have more comforts in the service department, but thats because each customer spend hundreds of hours there.

Stick to what you know Gilbo. Even if it is just whacking off to that Chris Bangle poster on your wall.

jcg878

Can you feel... the love, tonight.... :P

gilboman

go look at customer satisfaction with dealership studies for last few years on jdpa.com

TSX Hokie

OK Gilbo, I did. The 2003 J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Index (CSI) Study for U.S. automotive dealers has Acura in 3rd place, behind Infiniti and Saturn. Lexus is in 4th, BMW in 10th, MB in 12th, Honda 19th, Toyota in 29th, and Nissan in 32nd.

Link here

Gilbo, does your boss at your job let you get away with making unsupported claims all day and then changing the subject every time someone brings up the facts?

EDIT: On topic, VW is 5th from last in that survey. Ick

xizor

in honor of gilbo's facts being as bad as the Laker's game

gilboman

i was looking at that.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

WTF does sales satisfaction have to do with the service department?

TSX Hokie

So Gilbo, knowing that you have been citing the wrong ranking for the past year, can you please shut up about how inferior Acura dealerships are? Because if they are inferior at 3rd place, then BMW at 10th place must be unbearably bad.

That ranking you posted shows Acura doing only above average with how satisifed people are with their car, which has nothing to do with the dealership experience.

AcuraFan

Wow, looking at that SSI chart...I'm amazed at how low Toyota is. And I find this funny...people like their Pontiacs better than their Acura, Honda or Toyota...weird.

calgary_tsx

i dont see much value in the heated mirrors of the tsx. mine has them, and ive only used them twice in the last year. if the cars covered in snow, you'll probably wipe the mirrors with the rest of the car. the only time i ever found them useful was when it was cool and really foggy, the heat kept them from fogging up.

...and you dont have to worry about snow in LA :P

pansuria

I agree with calgary_tsx. Here's what I would want, in order:

1) Fix Rattles!!!!
2) CD Player should play mp3 cds! And read the ID3 tag & display it!!! Come on car companies!
3) More Power.
4) CD Random Mode should occasionally change CD's and stay in random mode. It is annoying as hell to me to always hit the random button when going to a new CD. VWs have this as a dealer changable option.
5) Auto lock / unlock of doors when hitting 10 mph, and when taking the key out of the ignition. VWs have this as a dealer changable option.
6) Power Passenger Seat

stocker2000

I don't think that chart has nearly as much to do with the vehicle itself so much as the "sales experience" start to finish. You'll notice that Saturn is 5th overall before much nicer/reliable/posh brands, probably because they have a "no haggle" policy with their pricing. Maybe, as far as Toyota, Acura, Honda and the rest go, people didn't have a great time buying the car, but love the car itself.

I may be wrong of course. With my theory, all the GM brands and Chrysler brands should have scored wicked high what with those companies practically giving their vehicles away with incentives and low interest rates.

Still, that to me is a "sales exprience" chart, not "service dept. experience" and not a "me-likey this car" chart.

Back to the thread topic, I would love to get a Jetta VR6, but am also very leary of VW's reputation for quality and service.

AcuraFan

You're right...It's a sales satisfaction survey, not a vehicle satisfaction survey. My bad.

TSX Hokie

Yeah, having a good experience with the 2 hour car purchasing process is not quite the same as having a good opinion of the service department or the quality of the vehicle itself. I mean, look at the top few brands on the SSI survey. This is probably how the sales experiences for a few of those brands goes:

Cadillac
Salesman: "Welcome to Jimbo's Cadillac. How can I help you?"
Customer: "I'm 76 and don't have long to live. Sell me that big white DeVille over there."
Salesman: "Deal"

Porsche
Salesman: "Gutentag"
Customer: "Here is a large briefcase of unmarked $100 bills. I will take the black 911 over there."
Salesman: "Would you like the built-in espresso maker option for another $10,000?"
Customer: "Of course."

Saturn
Saleswoman: "Hi. I don't give a shit if you buy a car or not, I'm not on commission."
Customer: "Wow, what a fantastic no-pressure buying experience. I'll take the red plastic car over there."
Saleswoman: "Whatever."