1999 Passat wagon - endless problems
Mark
the engine at 56,000 miles. I have religiously changed the oil at 3k,
but the dealer tells me I have used aftermarket filters, and that may
have contributed to crankshaft scoring. BTW, it is the 1.8 turbo. I've
always bought the best after market filter available, and needless to
say, I am extremely unhappy with this car.
Drives lovely, when it starts. It gave me electric problems for a while,
and I couldn't leave it undriven for 3 days without draining the
battery. I buy cars that I can drive for 200K or more, I don't like
updating my vehicles on a regular basis.
So, what's my question? I've looked everywhere for problems similar to
mine. I can find a lot of vw owners who are unhappy for mechanical
reasons, but not this particular combination of problems.
Does anybody else see this car as a mechanical abomination? The
underengine skid plate bolts, the unique anti-freeze formulation (can't
add anything other than VW af!), the transmission that ONLY VW can work
on, the battery that wears down (I've gone through 3) when it's not
driven, the engine compartment that leaks water into the rear passenger
seat through the a/c system, the oil filter with a non-standard bypass
pressure (VW parts ONLY!)?
I know that's a lot of stuff, and I really don't know what to ask -
because all I really want is a car that is reliable. When I bought this
car I researched it. I always do when I buy cars. If I knew about
Passats then what I know now, I wouldn't have bought it. I'm appalled
that NOBODY mentions these design quirks. I might expect them on some
other more expensive autos, but a VW?
Now every option I see is going to cost me $5k to fix. Trade it to the
dealer for a new model (different mfr!)? Costs, but maybe the best
option. Repair and sell? Expensive, and how can I honestly sell a car
that has been such a headache? Call VW? I have been calling them for a
year. No relief, and now the car is over warranty. Sue? God, what a lot
of headache, and probably no relief. Lemon law? We've checked, and the
car is again too old/too much mileage, etc.
Is there any other avenue of relief?
TIA
Mark
windmere
should post this to rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled where there are 1200
messages versus the 10 or 12 in these newsgroups.
I just didn't want you to think no one cares enough to reply. It's just that
no one's seen your message but me - since I read most of the car newsgroups.
I don't have a VW but was thinking of getting one after my bad experience
with Toyota. Now after further reading of the many problems I will also
avoid VW. I hardly know what to go with next - probably American. I don't
need to jump out of the frying pan into the fire, but there's nothing that
is 100% reliable. My feeling is that if I can't even count on the cars which
are highly rated by Consumer Reports and Car and Driver, etc., then I might
as well buy a crude, entry level car, or just anything used off the lot. I
spent months researching and it was all for nothing. When a problem happens,
the dealer will brush it aside as long as they can. Especially if it is a
bunch of problems as in your case - they cancel each other out (they can
only pay attention to one problem at a time).
I agree that it's not easy to decide what to do - if we sell the car back to
the dealer or trade it in somewhere else, either way they are going to
resell the car to someone else at top dollar without telling them what was
wrong with it. They cheat us, and someone else. And not just sleazy used car
lots - even the highly respected brands. All of them wanted to take 25%
depreciation off the cost of my brand new car, but are totally willing to
resell it to someone else. But this is the very reason we bought new cars -
so we wouldn't be getting someone else's hidden problems. There is no way to
force the dealer to put a sticker on it stating all the known problems with
the car. We are flying blind when we buy a new car. They are supposed to be
perfect and if they aren't they are supposed to keep fixing them under
warranty but if their fixes don't help, they should take the car back. They
usually don't, though. I wonder if any car dealer has ever bought back a car
that made the owner unhappy. I can't be Ralph Nader, no one cares, and I
don't have the stamina to crusade so I will just take the loss of thousands
of dollars. Until it happens to them, other owners of our fine models will
assume we are whining about nothing and caused our own problems.
You know it makes me just want to take the bus again and forget about owning
a car. The point of the car is that it's there when you want to use it and
doesn't add stress to your life. We pay hugely for the chance to experience
stress every day. Seems like a 1999 VW should be more reliable than a 1971
Datsun yet it doesn't sound like it is. I don't know if you are soured on VW
forever; I am certainly disillusioned about Toyota forever. (They were
supposed to be superior to the American companies in their philosophy of
excellence but their "I'm all right Jack" attitude is exactly the same).
Anyway, at least in the public forums like this we can let other potential
buyers who are doing research see the other side of the story. You might
also check the Edmunds town hall forums and read about other Passat owners'
experiences there, and post your experiences.
It's a big world - and there's a lot of hype - I don't know what the answer
is. People will still be buying Passats and Corollas and everything else no
matter how many defects are listed by other owners, because many people only
read one car review magazine or one newspaper article or hear from friends
that a certain car is good, and they will go with that. Anything negative
they read will be thought of as an anomaly and 'it won't happen to me.'
"Mark" <mark_...@myaddress.com> wrote in message
news:0af8fa2f65b9e5fc...@news.teranews.com...
Mark
I appreciate the response. I won't steer anyone in VWs direction.
However, I will say this: most of the problems I've had have been VW
quirkiness or characteristics. The antifreeze biz appears to be a change
across more than one mfr that I was not aware of. The VW news got worse
- as soon as the timing tensioner was fixed, before the car even got out
of the lot, the engine failed. Main and rod bearings, and oil pump gone.
I'm going to repair it and sell. I do think my problems are exceptional
- but not entirely. I've now heard a lot of others who are unhappy with
their VWs.
FYI: I now try to buy a car to last over 200k. This is the only way I
see to have a car and keep the burden down. A brief history of my cars
and my satisfaction w/ same.
Short version - I've owned Honda, Nissan, Toyota Camry, Mitsubishi Expo
till they were hi or very hi mileage and been very happy with the cars,
but not always the dealers or mechanics. None of the American cars I
owned years ago made it to a high mileage. I think that may have changed
some, but also appears to depend on model. My Mom has had a Lincoln and
a Cadillac that my kid bro helped her buy, both got lots of miles. What
happened to your Toyota?
The long version, but not complete, just the major models.
'63 Chevy Nova $300, and worth just that. A/C was rusted floorboards in
back. But while it ran, it ran.
'60s ? Ford Cortina, basic. Ran a long time and pretty reliable.
74 Mercury Capri - bought new, the worst car purchase I ever made. Sold
in 6 months.
70s Bonneville - had a broken leg in a cast, and needed an automatic.
Big gas guzzler, but it was ok. Ran while it ran. 100k car.
63 Triumph TR4 - loved it. Great fun, in good shape. I had to sell it as
it was becoming a 'Sunday" car, and I didn't have space or time.
68 Honda Accord. Bought new. Great car, great value. 215K, 18 years old,
it rusted through and I let it die. But Honda went the way of BMW -
expensive and complicated. I think 3 times before looking at them now.
70's Nissan Sentra - great car. Even more reliable than the Honda. 230k,
and totaled in an accident.
95 Mitsubishi Expo - great van, not as "finished" on the interior as
competition, but was very reliable, and showed great promise when it was
sideswiped by another driver and totaled.
95 Camry - bought at auction, and very soon thot we were ripped off, as
it had been in a major accident and "repaired". We had to redo the
repairs, but it has since been reliable as clockwork. A couple of
problems cropped up - leaking steering, and at 180k the suspension is
getting very soft. Both problems would be way too expensive to fix, but
neither is dangerous, and the car keeps going.
For business I've rented a lot of cars, and the ones I like are the
Nissan Altimas, and the PT Cruisers. I was very surprised at how well
the PT was laid out, and how well it drove, after more than 20 years of
avoiding American cars like the plague. BTW, I've driven several PTs
now, and I think the acceleration is fine.
Good luck;
Mark
In article <fBEOb.161755$JQ1.157301@pd7tw1no>, idnu...@notanaddress.com
says...
> Unfortunately these 3 newsgroups don't have very wide readership - you
> should post this to rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled where there are 1200
> messages versus the 10 or 12 in these newsgroups.
snip, snip
NA
mark_...@myaddress.com (Mark) wrote in message news:<f5b00d48d4a707e4...@news.teranews.com>...