Volkswagens are awesome
My car alarm won't stop going off and when I put the key in the door handle to disable it, it still won't shut off and I was wondering if anyone knows how to totally disable the alarm system.
It's a very nice car and its sad that a problem like this keeps it from running.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 13th November, 2005
A good car if you provide divine treatment
Front Disk Brakes at 90,000 Mile Service.
New Clutch at 85,000 Miles.
New Wiring, Computer Temperature Sensor (contributed too many problems) at 85,000 Miles.
New Exhaust at 91,000 Miles.
The car was very fun to drive, with responsive handling and quick acceleration.
Amazing on gas.
I learned manual shift on this car and found it very forgiving if I was slow to clutch.
The paint and wheels always looked shiny and new. Even after ten years, the car smelled fresh from the plant.
The stock Clarion speakers were more than enough to satisfy my sound needs.
However, these cars cannot sit for long periods of time. I went through two sets of front disc brakes in eight months because the first set had simply rusted to the wheels (not fun).
In addition, rain water got to some computer components of the car and shorted out the temperature sensor. It took a local garage three attempts and nearly $1700 to finally send for diagnostics and finger this $18 part.
I drove on a cracked tailpipe for almost 4,000 miles before it finally melted on I-40.
A good buy IF you can garage it and you know a reputable mechanic.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 18th March, 2005
Never again
Brake drum blew while I was bringing it home for the first time 114,000km.
Moldings on driver side fell off 117,000km.
Antenna on top of car fell off 118,000km.
Dash lights were not working when I bought the car.
Glove box broke (no abuse) 118,000km.
Button to pop rear hatch snapped 117,000km.
Engine seal blew at 125,000km, the resulting oil contamination meant the timing belt needed replacing. (timing belt was replaced just before purchase at 112,000km)
Power sun roof stopped working 120,000km.
Interior moldings fell off frequently the whole time I owned the car.
Rear wiper switch was not working properly when I purchased the car at 114,000. Wiper would turn on, but took lots of fiddling to turn off.
Exhaust started to leak 130,000km.
This car always started. That is the only good thing I can say about it. I purchased it for $6000 and put over $2000 into it before I sold it.
For a car with only 114000km's on it at purchase, I was significantly disappointed at how easily moldings and other plastic pieces of the car would just break off.
Also, although you can expect to start replacing mechanical parts of a car of its age, the cost of parts in some cases was double that of my Honda. I put the money into it to get it to nearly 100% and sold it. I sincerely hope it treats its new owner better, but for me it was enough to turn me off Volkswagen's forever.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 6th October, 2004
I have a 1994 volkswagen cl, I hope that these problems don't occur with it. the only problem so far is a bit of rust on the tail gate, but not much either. good car for the money.
To me it sounds as if the car wasn't looked after. I've got a 1994 golf and don't have any of the problems that you have had with it.
13th Nov 2009, 10:47
This is the original poster. I felt I should clarify something about this review.
I was barely 18 when I wrote this, I had no idea about cars before I bought this POS Golf.
This car is unequivocally one of the WORST heaps on the road today. The last time I was overseas, I rented a Chinese compact car that I found more reliable and seemingly better built. I totaled the Golf doing less than 10 MPH! I slid on sand into the back of a Silverado and bent the frame on both sides.
I now know that the garage that worked on the Golf was so crooked, the Feds shut them down last year. So I know I lost more money than I should have anyway. But nobody... NOBODY in the US or Canada should buy one of these Mexican-built buckets. The UK, Ireland, Europe...they've got the real deal (Company HQ) there.