Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryland
It's not hard for a single repair like a broken timing belt, to cost more then the value of a VW and VW are one of the most expensive vehicles to own, but still repair costs hardly ever end up costing more then the payment on a new car, so that part of the math does not add up.
I would opt out of owning a VW because I like cars that are not in need of expensive repairs every few months, the friends of mine who still own VW's are pouring money in to them all the time, if you buy a new car you don't have that issue unless you look at your monthly payment.
|
While I agree a broken timing belt can be a fairly expensive repair on a VW, with proper maintenance that's something that shouldn't happen unless there's an internal problem wearing the belt prematurely... the timing belt is supposed to be replaced every 100K miles, which is a fairly long service interval (longer than on some other makes of cars)... having it replaced isn't all that expensive, nor is it a unique VW thing.
When I bought my Jetta, it was one of the first things I had done, even though the previous owner said the timing belt had been done within the past 30K miles. Knowing the potential for damage, I didn't want to risk that the previous owner did a cut-rate job knowing the car was going to be sold relatively soon.
I would disagree that the VWs are one of the most expensive vehicles to own... I'd like to see the data on that. According to
Kelley Blue Book, the Mid-size Car class 5 year cost of ownership for the "Best in Class" has the 2012 Hyundai Sonata as the "worst" of the top 5 at $36,099. A 2012 VW Jetta 2.0 gasoline sedan comes in at $33,266 (not sure why it's not in the "Best in Class" list also) and a 2012 VW Jetta 2.0 TDI comes in at $36,325. A Chevy Malibu, Ford Fusion, and BMW 328i all came in with a higher 5 year cost to own.
I can't vouch for the accuracy of the site, so if you have a better source, please share.
Since you didn't provide any info on your friend's VWs, I can't really guess why they'd be pouring so much money into them.