Gearbox issues; and problems at VW Service Centre

[Paddie]

since my wife does not like me fetching other ppl except family, a sedan is more practical.

 

Then why did you buy an MPV in the first place?

[Blackyv]

 

Then why did you buy an MPV in the first place?

More space at the back mah.. don't believe can ask Jack neo why he chose an alphard...Hehehe...

[Enye]

As an ex-VW owner who has "progressed" to a jap ride, I still miss the quality of my Touran now and then. Even one year on, I still miss it. The current jap ride simply cannot evoke that kind of feeling, when you are sitting in one and driving one, even when the new ride is as reliable as it is.

 

As I have mentioned on numerous postings, my VW ride underwent 2 MU change within the 2 yrs 8months of ownership (2011~2014), being towed only once and needing roadside assistance for a free battery replacement. Not very traumatic so to speak, just some inconveniences that need to be managed when the ride is in workshop. This seems to be the norm from my time in VW forum. Only very rarely there are more issues such as crack piston or door motor issues, with Keith's lemon car as the one and only classic case. Do not listen to all the hearsay and horror stories that serve to prove certain point only. But I accept that for some people, even one day downtime is too much. This kind better buy only a Toyota and nothing else.

 

At current price, VW cars are really a steal if you are to compare it to a jap equivalent. Go for a test-drive and you will understand. And I believe, the improvements that have been made in the last 4 years has improved the situation by a lot. Even their workshop servicing slots booking which has been a pain with 2 months lead time has been improved a lot.

 

For me, VW is still buyable only if you do it with eyes opened, accepting that it could be in workshop once or twice per year and you have backup plan to go about your daily errands. Having support from your spouse that it is worth the hassle is definitely necessary to prevent dispute subsequently.

 

Before I change to current 8-seater, I have thought of other options such as keeping the Touran and getting a jap ride as backup car, but that would mean having to jagar maintenance issues for 2 cars and parking would be very hassle over weekends with sister-in-law family staying over, as my carporch can accommodate access for 2 cars only, though can park 4 easily. I would have considered getting Sharan instead of a 8-seater very carefully if it is priced around $160k.

 

But I would definitely give VW another chance when a suitable ride comes along when it is time to replace current ride, such is the feeling that a VW ride can evoke if you own one before, with not very negative past ownership experience. So, weigh carefully. There is no right or wrong here. You live only once.

Sharan at 160k?

 

Coe price needs to be 20k at most

[Heartlander]

Sharan at 160k?

 

Coe price needs to be 20k at most

That is why not really keen as not willing to spend so much, would get Alphard if to stretch to that extend. But really powerful for its class and feature-packed.

[Detach8]

Well, one of my friend just asked me today if the Jetta is good? She's upgrading from a Nissan Sylpy. Guess what's my advise?

 

Don't buy.

 

Why?

 

She don't know much about cars, cares more for features thaN "drive", and that will be the only car in the family so a downtime would be troublesome.

 

Told her to check out Mazda.

 

I'm not out here to defend VW but I think the lot of you who have never owned one need to just stop regurgitating your "hearsay" nonsense and let the real owners tell you what they are experiencing. I'm glad two ex-owners with multi-year experience came out. Maybe please share with us your mileage and driving style.

Edited April 11, 2015 by Detach8

[Detach8]

ur point noted. bro, i didnt know Mz2 handles that well cos i only test driven gen 1 & 2 only - impression was quite zippy; gen 1 was somewhat spacious wc was smthg i prefer over gen 2.

 

if i'd the $ to own ferrari, buyin the car itself would be like buying a toy car to me by then. agree that i'll care less about reliability but more on liking, fun & performance.

 

knowing what to expect from b&b car, i agree i wouldn't even bring it to track or even mod it, just like i wouldn't install performance brake pads w stock disc rotor or upgrade to bbk but not the entire braking system.

 

since u wanted a ride that minimally handles better than Mz2, is it not possible to look out a similar jap ride? or u mean not many jap rides handle as well as Mz2?

 

I have a 2006 Mazda 2 "DY". It handles very well, and for its price segment it was quite a well featured car. There's not many cars that drove like the M2. When I first test drove it I fell in love with it, and even more so after I got wheels aligned and proper tyres on it. It's so nimble and precise, and not surprisingly because it shares the same platform as the famed Ford Fiesta. It was also doing a very nice 12~13km/L, unlike the "hearsay" that Mazda is bad at FC...

 

So as an upgrade, wife was looking for a hot hatch that's not only nice to drive, equally spacious, has power, decent FC, is quiet/silent, and has the modern features she wants. It's hard to find an equiv. car around that age and price (~5 years old). Take for example a Honda Jazz. It drives like crap, is noisy, engine/gearbox is not inspiring especially those 1.3L models, has very little features -- does not even have steering controls that the M2 had. The Golf is going for almost that same depre at the 5 year mark as a Jazz. The only benefit of the Jazz over the Golf is probably FC (and reliability).

Edited April 11, 2015 by Detach8

[Fuelsaver]

 

I have a 2006 Mazda 2 "DY". It handles very well, and for its price segment it was quite a well featured car. There's not many cars that drove like the M2. When I first test drove it I fell in love with it, and even more so after I got wheels aligned and proper tyres on it. It's so nimble and precise, and not surprisingly because it shares the same platform as the famed Ford Fiesta. It was also doing a very nice 12~13km/L, unlike the "hearsay" that Mazda is bad at FC...

 

So as an upgrade, wife was looking for a hot hatch that's not only nice to drive, equally spacious, has power, decent FC, is quiet/silent, and has the modern features she wants. It's hard to find an equiv. car around that age and price (~5 years old). Take for example a Honda Jazz. It drives like crap, is noisy, engine/gearbox is not inspiring especially those 1.3L models, has very little features -- does not even have steering controls that the M2 had. The Golf is going for almost that same depre at the 5 year mark as a Jazz. The only benefit of the Jazz over the Golf is probably FC (and reliability).

i like the older mz2 headroom n legroom for its compact size n also pickup; almost bot it previously. too bad later mz revised to really compact hatch wc far from my liking.

 

looked like u kinda fixated on gettin golf liao. hope u get the ok one. i also quite like it; vw car interior is a notch up if we compare to jap, sound system also fairly competent, not to mention the handling n comfort balance. all being said, i'm just very wary of the unpredictable drive train.

[Vega]

 

I have a 2006 Mazda 2 "DY". It handles very well, and for its price segment it was quite a well featured car. There's not many cars that drove like the M2. When I first test drove it I fell in love with it, and even more so after I got wheels aligned and proper tyres on it. It's so nimble and precise, and not surprisingly because it shares the same platform as the famed Ford Fiesta. It was also doing a very nice 12~13km/L, unlike the "hearsay" that Mazda is bad at FC...

 

So as an upgrade, wife was looking for a hot hatch that's not only nice to drive, equally spacious, has power, decent FC, is quiet/silent, and has the modern features she wants. It's hard to find an equiv. car around that age and price (~5 years old). Take for example a Honda Jazz. It drives like crap, is noisy, engine/gearbox is not inspiring especially those 1.3L models, has very little features -- does not even have steering controls that the M2 had. The Golf is going for almost that same depre at the 5 year mark as a Jazz. The only benefit of the Jazz over the Golf is probably FC (and reliability).

 

Get the Golf GTI. very practical, decent power. my group of friends still driving them after 7 yrs. no major problem beside the normal wear and tear.

one of them is already on his 4th 6 speed DSG VW.

[Eyke]

...but I think the lot of you who have never owned one need to just stop regurgitating your "hearsay" nonsense and let the real owners tell you what they are experiencing. I'm glad two ex-owners with multi-year experience came out. Maybe please share with us your mileage and driving style.

I think you go over and stay at vagsg forum better since there most are vw owners and thus should have less nonsense than here.

 

bye!

Edited April 12, 2015 by Eyke

[Nissan833]

Just sharing:

 

Previous ride was VW Scirocco 1.4TSI (Twincharged version). Had it for 4.5 years before selling it. In total, my MU failed twice, around the 2 yr to 2.5 yr mark, both very close to each other and IIRC it was 2 months apart. Failed in the morning, cannot start, tow truck came, no charges. Collected the car the next working day evening.

 

Other than the above, no issues at all. Very nice car with decent performance at this price bracket. Good fuel consumption no matter how you drive it. Very sleek looking - Even after 4 years, I still steal second glances when walking away from my car. In fact, every morning I look forward to driving it. Quite a bit of attention on the roads, both positive and negative, negative ones being the ricer cars keep wanting to race with me. Very difficult to drive in peace. I decided to ditch the boy-racer appearance of the Scirocco and I needed more space for my work.

 

Considering how long I had it and the 2 times that it failed on me, I never regretted my purchase.

 

4.5 years owner ship from new, mileage during sale of car was 120,000km as I was a high mileage user.

 

Driving style: Occasional sprints, never tracked or brought to Malaysia, usually get around 12km/L with ESSO98

 

Modifications: ECU remap stage 1, air filter and Ambipur perfume

 

If you let me choose again, I'd still buy the same car.. it was only 105k then

[Detach8]

 

Get the Golf GTI. very practical, decent power. my group of friends still driving them after 7 yrs. no major problem beside the normal wear and tear.

one of them is already on his 4th 6 speed DSG VW.

 

At the price point of the GTI we would have many other choices, including the BMW 1 series, Merc A class and Audi A3. I think the wife would pick the BMW 1er over a VW Golf GTI anytime. She's not a racer. And needless to say, the brand BMW > VW.

[Acemundo]

in an internet forum, we should not go in with the attitude that

 

1) only people who owned the same cars before are qualified to talk about the car

2) sharing should not be based on hearsay or regurgitation of cases reported online and in any other medium

 

reason being, many people that are interested in such discussions would have some interest in buying the car and would welcome whatever information about the car that can be found.

 

I am one such example. I rather hear all sides of the story and let myself sieve out which information can be trusted rather than rely on information shared only by car owners which can be skewed because the population sampled is biased. it is also harder to find directly people who owned vw cars to share their experience directly with me. with a limited population of real car owners to based my research on, I can be sure it is statistically unreliable to rely on a small sample population to base our research findings.

 

like yesterday, I went to look at audi q5 and q3. one of my buddy who haven't owned a vw before did suggest I get a 1.4 q3 but with the proviso that I am game enough to take on the risk of owning a car with the 7 speed dry clutch.

 

I do appreciate his pointing that out to me, notwithstanding he is not a vw car owner.

Edited April 13, 2015 by Acemundo

[Keithchue]

As an ex-VW owner who has "progressed" to a jap ride, I still miss the quality of my Touran now and then. Even one year on, I still miss it. The current jap ride simply cannot evoke that kind of feeling, when you are sitting in one and driving one, even when the new ride is as reliable as it is.

 

As I have mentioned on numerous postings, my VW ride underwent 2 MU change within the 2 yrs 8months of ownership (2011~2014), being towed only once and needing roadside assistance for a free battery replacement. Not very traumatic so to speak, just some inconveniences that need to be managed when the ride is in workshop. This seems to be the norm from my time in VW forum. Only very rarely there are more issues such as crack piston or door motor issues, with Keith's lemon car as the one and only classic case. Do not listen to all the hearsay and horror stories that serve to prove certain point only. But I accept that for some people, even one day downtime is too much. This kind better buy only a Toyota and nothing else.

 

At current price, VW cars are really a steal if you are to compare it to a jap equivalent. Go for a test-drive and you will understand. And I believe, the improvements that have been made in the last 4 years has improved the situation by a lot. Even their workshop servicing slots booking which has been a pain with 2 months lead time has been improved a lot.

 

For me, VW is still buyable only if you do it with eyes opened, accepting that it could be in workshop once or twice per year and you have backup plan to go about your daily errands. Having support from your spouse that it is worth the hassle is definitely necessary to prevent dispute subsequently.

 

Before I change to current 8-seater, I have thought of other options such as keeping the Touran and getting a jap ride as backup car, but that would mean having to jagar maintenance issues for 2 cars and parking would be very hassle over weekends with sister-in-law family staying over, as my carporch can accommodate access for 2 cars only, though can park 4 easily. I would have considered getting Sharan instead of a 8-seater very carefully if it is priced around $160k.

 

But I would definitely give VW another chance when a suitable ride comes along when it is time to replace current ride, such is the feeling that a VW ride can evoke if you own one before, with not very negative past ownership experience. So, weigh carefully. There is no right or wrong here. You live only once.

someone mentioning me

[Munhua]

There are other cars out there that drives better than VW. Keep your options open heartlander. Of course u can't compare continental with jap or Korean. I am one of the touran ex owner too. I rather go for other cars that are more reliable and better to drive. Test drive more cars bro and u definitely agree with me.

[Detach8]

There are other cars out there that drives better than VW. Keep your options open heartlander. Of course u can't compare continental with jap or Korean. I am one of the touran ex owner too. I rather go for other cars that are more reliable and better to drive. Test drive more cars bro and u definitely agree with me.

 

No doubt the new Mazdas are quite good. Unfortunately we aren't looking for a new car when we bought the golf. If you look at hatchbacks in 2009-2010, not many are on par with the Golf at the same price point.

[Lala81]

in an internet forum, we should not go in with the attitude that

 

1) only people who owned the same cars before are qualified to talk about the car

2) sharing should not be based on hearsay or regurgitation of cases reported online and in any other medium

 

reason being, many people that are interested in such discussions would have some interest in buying the car and would welcome whatever information about the car that can be found.

 

I am one such example. I rather hear all sides of the story and let myself sieve out which information can be trusted rather than rely on information shared only by car owners which can be skewed because the population sampled is biased. it is also harder to find directly people who owned vw cars to share their experience directly with me. with a limited population of real car owners to based my research on, I can be sure it is statistically unreliable to rely on a small sample population to base our research findings.

 

like yesterday, I went to look at audi q5 and q3. one of my buddy who haven't owned a vw before did suggest I get a 1.4 q3 but with the proviso that I am game enough to take on the risk of owning a car with the 7 speed dry clutch.

 

I do appreciate his pointing that out to me, notwithstanding he is not a vw car owner.

 

Yup, agreed.

I think first hand (friend owner) or 2nd hand anecdotal information (WS mechanic) is still within limits of sharing/discussion.

No doubt the new Mazdas are quite good. Unfortunately we aren't looking for a new car when we bought the golf. If you look at hatchbacks in 2009-2010, not many are on par with the Golf at the same price point.

 

My colleague who owns a mz2, when i was looking at a mz6.

He says don't want lah, MZ soundproofing is dam laoya. He says his car is noisier than those old taxis

[Voodooman]

There are other cars out there that drives better than VW. Keep your options open heartlander. Of course u can't compare continental with jap or Korean. I am one of the touran ex owner too. I rather go for other cars that are more reliable and better to drive. Test drive more cars bro and u definitely agree with me.

So what did you buy? Better drive with reliability, please share so that some of the suffering VW and ex owners here can be cured of their stockholm syndrome.

[Heartlander]

There are other cars out there that drives better than VW. Keep your options open heartlander. Of course u can't compare continental with jap or Korean. I am one of the touran ex owner too. I rather go for other cars that are more reliable and better to drive. Test drive more cars bro and u definitely agree with me.

Personally I have not had better cars than Touran, thus my benchmark is that. There are definitely better cars but also more costly. There are not many cars in that price bracket that can do a 9.5sec century sprint, agree? Couple with the solid heavy body feel, I am afraid my current one-year old jap tin can lose out by a mile. Of course, it is more reliable but my point has been that my previous Touran was also livable and not giving me much headache. If it had been a lemon like some have, surely you will not see me singing this tune lah.

 

But frankly I do not like test-driving car veery much. Reason being new car take abit of time to acclimatised, and I always worry about getting into accidents though it is abit far fetched. Moreover the test route is always very short, and I do not want to take a long one due to reason cited before. To me, functionality and features are of higher priority. I rather spend more time in showroom molesting the car. If the car has a century sprint of less than 12sec, it would be alright with me.

 

Anyway, I have move on. But I am always open minded when it comes to car, having owned jap and Korean and conti rides before, haha. So long as it is within budget and can serve the needs of the family, can already. Cheers.

Edited April 13, 2015 by Heartlander