Would you still buy a Volkswagen?...
Discussion
I wouldn't buy another VW but not because of the emissions scandal. As far as I'm concerned all the manufacturers are/were at it but it was VW who were caught.
Mrs Jim AK has a 2013 Polo & its a real step back in quality compared to the 2004 model it's replaced. Both front door locks replaced, drivers side twice, carpet pile coming adrift after 20k & a somewhat indifferent attitude from both sales & service departments.
No better than the Fabia we looked at, for less money, & I was also impressed by the Micra & Yaris we saw too.
Mrs Jim AK is a self confessed badge snob but now agrees I was right & 1 of the others would have been at least as good.
Mrs Jim AK has a 2013 Polo & its a real step back in quality compared to the 2004 model it's replaced. Both front door locks replaced, drivers side twice, carpet pile coming adrift after 20k & a somewhat indifferent attitude from both sales & service departments.
No better than the Fabia we looked at, for less money, & I was also impressed by the Micra & Yaris we saw too.
Mrs Jim AK is a self confessed badge snob but now agrees I was right & 1 of the others would have been at least as good.
Pan Pan Pan said:
Don't forget that it was the UK which revived VW after WW2, so it has to take some of the blame. Not so sure about the Nazism bit though.
The German people were duped into a weekly savings scheme for a new Beetle. Of course, nobody ever received their car and the money was never seen again. There was a court case which was finally settled in the 1960's and the people who still had their savings book, did get some money back from Volkswagen, who did their utmost to wriggle out of their moral responsibility.Volkswagen simply can't be trusted.
mp3manager said:
Pan Pan Pan said:
Don't forget that it was the UK which revived VW after WW2, so it has to take some of the blame. Not so sure about the Nazism bit though.
The German people were duped into a weekly savings scheme for a new Beetle. Of course, nobody ever received their car and the money was never seen again. There was a court case which was finally settled in the 1960's and the people who still had their savings book, did get some money back from Volkswagen, who did their utmost to wriggle out of their moral responsibility.Volkswagen simply can't be trusted.
But it was the UK which revived the VW plant after WW2 to re commence the construction of VW beetles. Perhaps they should have produced the first cars for those who had contributed to the buy a VW scheme , and did not get what they had paid for? but they did not.
mp3manager said:
Nope, if you buy German you're funding Nazism and Volkswagen do have history in that department.
Right, VW based on good old Ferdinand Porsche stealing the Tatra T97 design for his chummy Adolf. Cheating and killing people are in the DNA of this company, but the diesel scam can give them a chance to put their dark past and ICE trash behind and go clean literally and figuratively with nice electric cars.Skoda in my case. No I won't be buying another. Our Yeti 2.0 desiel PCP ends in 8 months, and we won't be getting another. I don't believe other manufacturers were cheating to the extent that VW where - they would have been found out by now.
The bare faced lies from those at the top of VW group were shameful and the lack of remorse and concern from our local dealer didn't help. "Oh don't worry about it, all the manufacturers do it."
When the PCP was taken out it was suggested that at the end of the 3 years there would be about £1k equity to put down as a deposit against a new PCP scheme. Well when I checked the other week, the trade in value was below the final payment on the finance already with best part of year still to run. So in my view the residuals have been hit by the scandal.
The car has been totally reliable otherwise, totally dull to drive and own (but that was expected). But I will for sure be looking at a non VW Group manufacturer next.
The bare faced lies from those at the top of VW group were shameful and the lack of remorse and concern from our local dealer didn't help. "Oh don't worry about it, all the manufacturers do it."
When the PCP was taken out it was suggested that at the end of the 3 years there would be about £1k equity to put down as a deposit against a new PCP scheme. Well when I checked the other week, the trade in value was below the final payment on the finance already with best part of year still to run. So in my view the residuals have been hit by the scandal.
The car has been totally reliable otherwise, totally dull to drive and own (but that was expected). But I will for sure be looking at a non VW Group manufacturer next.
Personally no I wouldn't buy a Volkswagen and for two reasons:
1. 'Dieselgate' Scandal: Unacceptable lack of respect for not just their customers, but the automotive industry as a whole. When they got caught, a spotlight is then thrown on every other manufacturer with people asking if they too are lying and eroding the public's trust.
2. I probably wouldn't have brought one before either. I appreciate that VWs have their upsides (interior quality for one) however I have always found their styling to be not just super-conservative but boring, uninspirational and completely lacking in character. I'd much rather have a Focus ST than a Golf GTI any day for that reason, character. I may be completely alone on this as VW beat Toyota at the end of 2016 to be the biggest automaker in the world, but that's the way I see it.
1. 'Dieselgate' Scandal: Unacceptable lack of respect for not just their customers, but the automotive industry as a whole. When they got caught, a spotlight is then thrown on every other manufacturer with people asking if they too are lying and eroding the public's trust.
2. I probably wouldn't have brought one before either. I appreciate that VWs have their upsides (interior quality for one) however I have always found their styling to be not just super-conservative but boring, uninspirational and completely lacking in character. I'd much rather have a Focus ST than a Golf GTI any day for that reason, character. I may be completely alone on this as VW beat Toyota at the end of 2016 to be the biggest automaker in the world, but that's the way I see it.
alfabeat said:
I don't believe other manufacturers were cheating to the extent that VW where - they would have been found out by now.
They weren't, VW and VW owned companies were the only ones cheating in this way. Every car company posts unrealistic figures, but this is because testing is done in a laboratory environment with every possible variable controlled to provide the optimum environment for the car, a scenario you will never replicate in the real world. However VW went a whole lot further. The reason we know that the other manufacturers weren't doing the same is the way in which VW was discovered. A university was looking at the gap between these real world emissions and the laboratory manufacturer ones, they took two VWs and a BMW, fitted sensors to the exhausts and drove them around, the BMW was a little off, but to be expected. In some areas, the VWs were nearly 40 times higher than the advertised emissions. All other car manufacturers have thousands to millions of their products on the road, any of which could be and have been tested in the same way yet no other cases have been found.
On a side note: VW have always been a bit lenient with their specs on cars, take towing weights for example, the higher the altitude the less your car can tow as engine performance is hampered. Most car manufacturers will state the weights their cars can tow up to let's say 3km above sea level, VW however don't. They instead show how much their cars can tow at a very low height above sea level in order to be able to show a higher figure on their specs sheet, but if you try and tow something near this limit in a higher altitude area, your car won't pull it. Nice and honest advertising VW...
My first VW was a brand new Golf GTi in 1988 and after a succession of crappy Ford's it was a revelation in build quality and reliability I drove the brand for years after, that was until I started to have niggling problems and rust appearing on three year old cars, the final straw was a brand new Scirocco blowing its engine up shorty after taking delivery.
But there is still something very appealing about the brand they are nice looking things, take a plain Golf GTi it just looks so right.
Unfortunately I can't see me buying another VW anytime soon the cost is one factor they are not worth the money (Audi taking the piss even more) and after several years of utter reliability from Japanese cars (Suzuki Swift) its hard to give up running cars that don't seem to have problems.
But there is still something very appealing about the brand they are nice looking things, take a plain Golf GTi it just looks so right.
Unfortunately I can't see me buying another VW anytime soon the cost is one factor they are not worth the money (Audi taking the piss even more) and after several years of utter reliability from Japanese cars (Suzuki Swift) its hard to give up running cars that don't seem to have problems.
Jim AK said:
I wouldn't buy another VW but not because of the emissions scandal. As far as I'm concerned all the manufacturers are/were at it but it was VW who were caught.
Mrs Jim AK has a 2013 Polo & its a real step back in quality compared to the 2004 model it's replaced. Both front door locks replaced, drivers side twice, carpet pile coming adrift after 20k & a somewhat indifferent attitude from both sales & service departments.
No better than the Fabia we looked at, for less money, & I was also impressed by the Micra & Yaris we saw too.
Mrs Jim AK is a self confessed badge snob but now agrees I was right & 1 of the others would have been at least as good.
?Mrs Jim AK has a 2013 Polo & its a real step back in quality compared to the 2004 model it's replaced. Both front door locks replaced, drivers side twice, carpet pile coming adrift after 20k & a somewhat indifferent attitude from both sales & service departments.
No better than the Fabia we looked at, for less money, & I was also impressed by the Micra & Yaris we saw too.
Mrs Jim AK is a self confessed badge snob but now agrees I was right & 1 of the others would have been at least as good.
I've got a 2014 6c polo and it's fine. No problems at all. Comfy, surprisingly frugal, fast enough for its role.
We also have a 2002 9N polo and the new one is much better (Eg its not on the drive having a new timing chain due to a defect with the tensioner), we also had a 6n and that had the most appaling brakes I have ever had on.a car.
So yes I would buy a VW.
Edit - should read appalling brakes, not appealing as they certainly weren't.
Edited by Gary C on Sunday 19th February 09:17
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