Should I be Worried About My Daughter's Volkswagen Golf?
QUESTION
Hello John,
I heard you on 2UE talking about a lady that had her Golf off the road for 14 weeks and having a dispute with VW Aust and her insurance company.
Volkswagen Golf - a curious combination of first-rate styling and third-world reliability
Just wondering what has happened as I bought my daughter a VW Golf 2011 TSI and it is now being taken to VW Group for 1 month to try and fix a problem re fuel injectors...they think??? and will also fix the gearbox re: the recall.
Do you think that there maybe a connection with the two cars? Would appreciate our opinion.
Enjoy your show on 2UE at the weekends......and Gazza.
Kind regards,
Victoria
ANSWER
Hi Victoria,
Volkswagen has two problems - the first is the culture of denial surrounding their astounding run of defects. The second is their appalling treatment of customers with defective cars. Typical corporate arrogance and hubris out of control, stemming from a record increase in popularity over the past several years both here and overseas.
I've written about that extensively, click the link for more information on both of these Volkswagen problems. More information on the Volkswagen problems here as well.
Unfortunately it's very common for Volkswagen not to be able to fix customers' defective cars. You are not alone, but I know that's not much consolation. It's got me stuffed how a car company can be so bad at that - especially as Volkswagen is one of the biggest car companies on earth, owning multiple brands including Audi, Skoda and Lamborghini.
I'd be very careful if I were you to look into the insurance excess (which is often over the top) when the dealer lends you a replacement car (if they offer you one) to cover the inconvenience of your daughter's car being off the road - just make sure it's not going to cost you several thousand dollars if you have to make a claim.
It sounds to me like they don't really know what the problem is. Unfortunately, this is common at Volkswagen. If it were me I would endure this Keystone Cops fiasco as they attempt to rectify the problems with your daughter's car. Then, once it's fixed, I'd just sell it ASAP and buy a car you can count on instead - like a low-kilometre Hyundai i30, a Mazda3 or a Toyota Corolla. (Or a new one.)
Reliable Alternatives
Hyundai i30
Mazda3
Toyota Corolla
Try to get one with a year's warranty or more remaining, if you buy used. You never hear about those kinds of 'un-fixable' problems with these three very popular small cars. (As a parent, you want to ensure your daughter is driving around in a car that is unlikely to let her down. A Volkswagen Golf is not that car, sadly. A young girl stranded at the roadside in south-western Sydney at 1am ... unthinkable. Likewise an engine failure with a truck following closely on the freeway.)
Volkswagen should hang its head in shame over a) getting the product so wrong, and b) treating its customers so incredibly badly during the rectification. It's a huge dent in the company's reputation.
In my view, Volkswagen is a 'don't buy' proposition for the foreseeable future. Currently the company is a customer satisfaction dog with fleas - despite the fact that some of its cars look great.
Sincerely,
JC