How do VW (and Audi) do it?
Discussion
toerag said:
my Audi has covered 800 miles, not a single problem...dunno what your talking about
Well I know French cars often seem to get slated on here, but our Pug 406 HDi now has 183,000 miles on the clock and I've found it to be very good. The only complaint I have is about having to spend more than I had expected on suspension joints, but I think a lot of that can be blamed on the disgraceful state of the roads.Having said that, although the car itself has been good, in my experience Peugeot as a company has a very bad attitude towards its customers.
The average punter doesn't care about JD Power Surveys or read any reports about which cars are reliable or not.
They have a vague notion about French/Italian cars being unreliable and German ones being made of stone because well...they're German. It's rough stereotyping re-inforced by what they've heard from their mates who watch Top Gear and think they know cars, etc.
They have a vague notion about French/Italian cars being unreliable and German ones being made of stone because well...they're German. It's rough stereotyping re-inforced by what they've heard from their mates who watch Top Gear and think they know cars, etc.
gvij said:
Well Audi were first to fully galvanised their vehicles before any volume produced car for a start(excepting Porsche). Chassis and body rust is fatal for cars. Parts can always be sourced from breakers/ aftermarket cheaply in years to come.
Their cars are superbly engineered, have great fit and finish as well as neat design touches. Yes there are silly engineering defects (like I suffered leaky rubber inner door card seals that allow water into cars like the MK4, dodgy TT dashpods, coilpacks, injectors on diesel 2ls) but these are mostly third party supplier issues rather than VAGs fault
VAG encompasses VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Lamborghini, Bugatti . They are constantly rolling out new highly desirable models with new engines and technologies to satisfy human non fidelity so they cant perfect anything perfectly as they are doing so much. Same at their suppliers. I think they are an amazing company, way ahead of Daimler , BMW, Toyota, Ford, GM , Renault , Mazda etc
My experience has been that the German brands build the important stuff (body, chassis structural elements, engines, trannys) to last. The replaceable stuff goes out sooner, but some of that also has to do with the fact that it is higher performance, which often equals shorter lifespan. I do think they have skimped a bit on electronics over the years, but with cheap replaceable parts, it is more an annoyance than anything else. Their cars are superbly engineered, have great fit and finish as well as neat design touches. Yes there are silly engineering defects (like I suffered leaky rubber inner door card seals that allow water into cars like the MK4, dodgy TT dashpods, coilpacks, injectors on diesel 2ls) but these are mostly third party supplier issues rather than VAGs fault
VAG encompasses VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Lamborghini, Bugatti . They are constantly rolling out new highly desirable models with new engines and technologies to satisfy human non fidelity so they cant perfect anything perfectly as they are doing so much. Same at their suppliers. I think they are an amazing company, way ahead of Daimler , BMW, Toyota, Ford, GM , Renault , Mazda etc
At the end of the day they make cars that look and feel 'nice'.
Yes they are trading on past reputation for reliability but that's just the way things go. On the flip side I doubt French cars will ever loose their reputation for poor reliability even if they are generally Ok these days.
I've had the delight of a 1.4 TSI suffering timing chain failure then blowing its turbo a couple of months later, but I'd still have another in a heartbeat. All its taught me is how valuable warranties are!
Also this shouldn't be VAG specific as I've found BMWs to be equally appalling for reliability recently.
Yes they are trading on past reputation for reliability but that's just the way things go. On the flip side I doubt French cars will ever loose their reputation for poor reliability even if they are generally Ok these days.
I've had the delight of a 1.4 TSI suffering timing chain failure then blowing its turbo a couple of months later, but I'd still have another in a heartbeat. All its taught me is how valuable warranties are!
Also this shouldn't be VAG specific as I've found BMWs to be equally appalling for reliability recently.
VonSenger said:
My R8 caused me no problems to speak of but my old q7 was the worsed car ive ever owned! £3500 for injectors that failed, £2600 for inlet manifolds due to plastic gears stripping, rear boot motor failed £400, alternator etc etc. All this at 60k miles. Unbelievably the main dealer said the replacement inlet manifolds also have plastic gears!!!
Never avain.
You got ripped off if you were charged £2600 for the manifolds - it's a £1k job fitted topsNever avain.
I work as a technician for Audi, and I love them!
Another one in the trade here, and like others anything VAG gives far more issues than anything else. They are generally driven by VAG type people who have driven nothing else and drive them because their dad had VAG etc etc, they like to feel the premium they have paid for the t
t tax (badge) is justified so seldom admit to others that their car is knackered again, its just "in for a service" at the main agent or specialist obviously........ Crap conformist unimaginative cars driven by the most uptight irritating people in society. It takes all sorts etc etc... 
t tax (badge) is justified so seldom admit to others that their car is knackered again, its just "in for a service" at the main agent or specialist obviously........ Crap conformist unimaginative cars driven by the most uptight irritating people in society. It takes all sorts etc etc... Grandfondo said:
Patrick Bateman said:
Grandfondo said:
Vorsprung Durch tecknik!
Development/advancement through technology, that isn't necessarily saying anything about reliability though, is it?I had a Mondeo ST200 years back, needed something more economical so plumped for a late MK4 Golf GT TDi. Wasnt a cheap one neither. However why VW insist on sticking that rubber textured crap over most of their trim I have no idea. It looks cheap an nasty when it wears. I can get bits of trim cheap so bought the car with a discounted price to counter for the trims.
Within a few days the armrest catch buggered up. Then the rear washer jet decided to leak its contents down the C pillar. Then the boot latch failed telling me the boot was always open. Then the door latch failed. Window decided then to bugger up. Brake light switch messed up. The carpet was terrible quality. Then what actually made me sell the car...
Went on 2 long drives, once to Stansted, once to London. Both times I had to turn round and get my dads car (MK1 2.0 Focus on 1400000) as it popped a boost pipe. Both times. Second time with a new pipe. Lost all boost and billowed black smoke everywhere. Guess what I drive now?
A MK1 2.0 Focus. Which is similar mileage to the Golf. And the interior is much better in terms of wear. Surely that means its better built as its less worn than the Golf. Only thinks I liked about the Golf where the power, 6 speed, spec and the stereo. For that it has the Focus pipped. But in terms of the actual drive the Focus nails it hands down.
Would I run another VAG vehicle? Doubtful.
Within a few days the armrest catch buggered up. Then the rear washer jet decided to leak its contents down the C pillar. Then the boot latch failed telling me the boot was always open. Then the door latch failed. Window decided then to bugger up. Brake light switch messed up. The carpet was terrible quality. Then what actually made me sell the car...
Went on 2 long drives, once to Stansted, once to London. Both times I had to turn round and get my dads car (MK1 2.0 Focus on 1400000) as it popped a boost pipe. Both times. Second time with a new pipe. Lost all boost and billowed black smoke everywhere. Guess what I drive now?
A MK1 2.0 Focus. Which is similar mileage to the Golf. And the interior is much better in terms of wear. Surely that means its better built as its less worn than the Golf. Only thinks I liked about the Golf where the power, 6 speed, spec and the stereo. For that it has the Focus pipped. But in terms of the actual drive the Focus nails it hands down.
Would I run another VAG vehicle? Doubtful.
nipsips said:
I had a Mondeo ST200 years back, needed something more economical so plumped for a late MK4 Golf GT TDi. Wasnt a cheap one neither. However why VW insist on sticking that rubber textured crap over most of their trim I have no idea. It looks cheap an nasty when it wears. I can get bits of trim cheap so bought the car with a discounted price to counter for the trims.
Within a few days the armrest catch buggered up. Then the rear washer jet decided to leak its contents down the C pillar. Then the boot latch failed telling me the boot was always open. Then the door latch failed. Window decided then to bugger up. Brake light switch messed up. The carpet was terrible quality. Then what actually made me sell the car...
Went on 2 long drives, once to Stansted, once to London. Both times I had to turn round and get my dads car (MK1 2.0 Focus on 1400000) as it popped a boost pipe. Both times. Second time with a new pipe. Lost all boost and billowed black smoke everywhere. Guess what I drive now?
A MK1 2.0 Focus. Which is similar mileage to the Golf. And the interior is much better in terms of wear. Surely that means its better built as its less worn than the Golf. Only thinks I liked about the Golf where the power, 6 speed, spec and the stereo. For that it has the Focus pipped. But in terms of the actual drive the Focus nails it hands down.
Would I run another VAG vehicle? Doubtful.
The 'quality' soft trim on our Passat decided to slough itself off like peeling skin after a few years - turned the interior to sWithin a few days the armrest catch buggered up. Then the rear washer jet decided to leak its contents down the C pillar. Then the boot latch failed telling me the boot was always open. Then the door latch failed. Window decided then to bugger up. Brake light switch messed up. The carpet was terrible quality. Then what actually made me sell the car...
Went on 2 long drives, once to Stansted, once to London. Both times I had to turn round and get my dads car (MK1 2.0 Focus on 1400000) as it popped a boost pipe. Both times. Second time with a new pipe. Lost all boost and billowed black smoke everywhere. Guess what I drive now?
A MK1 2.0 Focus. Which is similar mileage to the Golf. And the interior is much better in terms of wear. Surely that means its better built as its less worn than the Golf. Only thinks I liked about the Golf where the power, 6 speed, spec and the stereo. For that it has the Focus pipped. But in terms of the actual drive the Focus nails it hands down.
Would I run another VAG vehicle? Doubtful.
te.AnotherClarkey said:
It is a puzzle. Most of the VAG brands languish in the very average to poor sections of reliability surveys and are often outperformed by brands like Citroen (which in my personal experience were far more reliable than VW's I owned) yet the image persists. I can only agree that it must be a triumph of marketing.
I've had a few unreliable cars;
Renault 19 16V
VW Golf VR6
Skoda Octavia
Scirroco DSG GT
Ford Mondeo ST TDCi
330d Sport
V8 Vantage
Reliable cars?
3 Pugs
Ford Focus
Ford Orion
Legacy
Saab 93 turbo
Forester
3 Honda S2000
So not what you'd expect
Edited by mikey k on Saturday 25th January 19:44
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