What is the life expectancy of a Volkswagen?

Question

I'm looking into buying an '04 Volkswagen Jetta & I'm wondering how long Volkswagens usually last....??? I am usually a Toyota-girl & I am used to the legendary reliability of Toyotas.

Are Volkswagens as good as Toyotas?

Answer 1

Toyota is not as reliable as people think, my daughters got regular maintenance and still threw a rod at 65k miles :(

Answer 2

Volkswagens are solidly built but medium/long term statistics say that you are going to spend more time at the dealer getting things fixed on the Volkswagen.

I love Volkswagen, don't get me wrong, but the truth is they are not as reliable as Toyota. That is not an opinion. It's a measurable fact. Check Consumers Reports. Solid research data and surveys are worth more than anecodotes about 300,000 mile cars. Any car will last 300,000 miles if you maintain it religiously and fix whatever is wrong. Question is how much does reliability matter to you and how religious are you with your maintanence and how long are you really even going to keep your next car? All questions you need to ask yourself.

Unless you are hopelessly in love with that Jetta, I think you ought to be looking at a Corolla or a Matrix instead. The Jetta does have more personality than a Corolla, I'll be the first to admit. You just need to decide what you value most. If you were happy with Toyota's in the past, there is no reason not to expect you will continue to be.

Only compelling reason I can see to choose a Jetta over a Corolla as a daily driver would be VW's superb TDI diesel.

Answer 3

I have been a VW guy for over 30 years and it makes me sad to say but no VW is not as reliable as a Toyota. Both will last for years but the VW is going to need more work than a Toyota. What you need to look at is do you mind spending more on repair so you can drive the car you want. The Jetta will be a great car until it hits about 100,000 so if you keep it maintained at a good shop buy it. The Toyota's often go twice that.

Answer 4

I have owned a VW of some sort since 1986. They are not for the fainthearted, but the problems you will encounter are usually a result of not have the car maintained on schedule. I have ALWAYS been an avid non-supporter of Toyota and Honda cars because they are about as generic as you can get. Not to mention slow for something such as the Corolla or Civic.

If you want to look like every other "lost in the crowd commuter" then a Honda or Toyota is the way to go. If you want to experience some real get-up-and-go, go get yourself a v-dub. You'll never go back to that other stuff.

Answer 5

Pretty simple: Toyotas are more reliable than VWs, but the difference in performance and personality makes up for the difference. I have a 2004 GTI and the car has been flawless (except for warped from discs, which was also a problem with my Eclipse). My suggestion will be to make sure that the model you are looking at is NOT assembled in Puebla, Mexico which is where a lot of the problem cars were assembled in the past.
Other than that, you will love the way the car looks and handles!

Answer 6

They say that todays new cars have a life expectancy of 8 years.That is before they end up in the scrap metal pile.In the 60's that life expectancy was 12 years.
VW's are not nearly as reliable as toyotas.The newer VW's actually have a bad record concerning reliability.Actually the only vehicle I know of that has a worse reliability record than a VW is suzuki.Suzuki makes great fuel saver type cars, but the engines are worn out at about 100,000 kms.
VW's problems are not with engines wearing out quickly, but they have so many other "little" problems that it takes away from the fun of just having a reliable car that you just hop in and drive.I always read car, truck magazines and I regularily watch car test TV shows such as driving TV.The guy on that show is a VW fan but even he had to say that they were not as reliable as the cars of yesteryear, and it got low marks for reliability.On top of that VW's are german technology, they just designed engines and stuff different, so its not as simple for a regular mechanic to diagnose and repair them.In my humble opinion I would say stick with the toyotas, or possibly try honda.VW is not as reliable as you might like.

Answer 7

The reliability of VW has gone down greatly anything newer than 1990 I would try to avoid, VW reliability has always been different for the individual vehicle, this might sound silly but if this Jettas high miles with only regular maint. then chances are it will continue to maintain that reliability if it had several Major repairs than expect if to continue to be high maint. . And always remember that although VW is just your standard import it has an exotic car repair bill even for the most common issues

Answer 8

VW's are very reliable...you just have to keep up with the maint and you'll be fine. Right now I have a 97 Jetta GT..I've had it for almost 2 years and I've paid less than $500 on the car (much less). Not to mention there's 115,xxx miles on the car and it snows a lot here.

Answer 9

I'd avoid any modern VWs.

Having been through 2 Passats in 6 years, you're better off with another Toyota. If you're looking for something sport, you might want to consider a Mazda3.

VWs are near the bottom in terms of reliability.

Answer 10

No. Unless your current car is an Italian sportscar, you will probably find Volkswagens to be high-maintenance.

I mean, my partner's car won't power lock reliably, the dealer wasn't able to fix the driver's side window that won't roll up, and the starter's worn out after 40,000 miles. Like American cars used to be :(

It's too bad, because they're really cute. And often diesel :)

Consumer Reports has done a lot of research about reliability, and they publish a car buying guide.

Answer 11

No, but I enjoy my Jetta, a 97 with 208000 miles. Minimum repairs since owning. By the way, mine was manufactured on a Wednesday, which is supposedly the best day for a vehicle to have the fewest problems. So far, so good!