Friends do not let friends buy Volkswagons

[user removed]

It was a 58, 6 volt, not much compression, so I put the techumseh spool under the generator nut, the one that you fiddled with the washers to get the belt tension adjusted. Set the points by eye and timing by ear listening for the spark as you turned the crank with the dist cap off.

Ignition on
blip throttle at carb
Wrap the rope around clockwise from behind
foot on right rear bumper guard
pull baby!!!!!!!!!

[vrmouseyd15b]

Too cool. That beats a push start any day! Now you've got me wanting to try it on one of my cars. ..

[user removed]

It had a nasty habit of not working when I had to park in a mud puddle.

regards
mech

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by vrmouseyd15b

For me, it would be tire changes ONLY. I don't trust the poorly tained "Lube Jabronies" to even look at my oil.

I'm with you on that. I only let the lube shops touch cars I don't care about. The Acura has only been serviced by me.

On the other hand, the 1998 Toyota Camry with 250,000 miles goes to Jiffy Lube for $20 oil changes. The car uses oil, so I'll get it topped off for free once or twice before going back in for another change. The convenience is worth it to me in this case.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by TedV

They all suck. Every manufacture has a turd in some way. I know 4 people in the last 6 months whose Honda's have lost motors. I've heard "Its common for the VTEC solenoid to get clogged with metal" wait? whut? after the oil filter the motor is making metal and clogging the VTEC solenoid?

I know several people with Toyota problems. Piston rings non existent (perfect oil change record),low compression, low power, doesn't leak oil because it burns it as fast as you pour it in. Transmission issues, etc.

Same for every make of car, they have models better than others. Some have extra suckage though. Do your research on the quirks of the particular car before you buy.

...

There a lot of truth in this.

Hondas are generally reliable, so I didn't worry much about buying my '01 Civic. It turns out, the early 2000's were not good for Honda trannys (Civic, Odyssey, and Accord) and lots of other issues with the Civic specifically. It has certainly not been as reliable as I expected.

Toyota's have had their problems too. My boss just lost the engine in his Highlander due to oil sludge, Tacomas are known for the frame failing, etc.

That said, the rates of failure, and the types of failures are important to look at. VW has had a high rate of failures, and they are often failures that leave you stranded on the side of the road or have very large costs associated with them. Because of that, I tend to steer people away from VW in general.

While I've personally had trouble with Toyotas and my latest Honda, I still see them as generally reliable brands. I also like GM (particularly anything with Ecotec, Atlas, or LS engines). While they have failures, most are not drivetrain or suspension related and tend to be inexpensive to repair.

[dirtydave]

My girl has a 2009 Jetta a 2.5L 5 cylinder gas 6spd auto. Best 36.8 MPG. (when I drove it) Low 20MPG AVG 27MPG She's got the expensive extra warranty (rental car ect.) and all that jazz. Its got 70000K miles on it now. Zero problems. YEA 0

Going for 350K. It loves neutral coasting, short shifting and WOT in sport mode.

[solarguy]

My '04 jetta tdi has 195,000 miles on it. It has been very very good to me.

Oil changes every 10,000 miles.

tires and brakes, everybody has that.

Had to do cv joints at 135k, not unreasonable I thought...

It still has the box stock full original exhaust.

I replaced the glow plugs at maybe 150K, but easy do it yourself operation


I had a fault in the turn signal/cruise stalk two years ago. I did it myself, and again, not expensive.

I had my indy mechanic replace the cam belt and water pump not too far past 100K.



The thing never gets below 42 mpg, and usually 46-47. Tows a trailer easily.

I literally paid for the car with biodiesel...

I'm out of the biodiesel business now, but that car has been a champ for me.

troy

[Flakbadger]

Originally Posted by mcrews

Just to be clear....they were going to charge $257 just for the belt... How much more for the labor??????
And you paid $18 for the belt and clicked your little Dorothy slippers three times and the belt was on.....right????


Or just maybe.....the truth is their quote included a couple of hours of labor and it took you all day????

They wanted to charge $257 to change a serpentine belt and clean "dust" out of the rear drums. Just the serpentine belt install would have been ~$140. It took me literally 5 minutes to install the new one. Loosen two bolts, push the alternator back, put the new belt on, pry the alternator forward for tension, tighten two bolts.

[gone-ot]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

It had a nasty habit of not working when I had to park in a mud puddle.

regards
mech

...which is *why* a buddy of mine always parked his VW'bug with one rear wheel 'on top' of a cement curb block at work, making it easier to crawl under (when necessary) to work on if/when it wouldn't start.

[Frank Lee]

^ I know what he had to do!!!

He had to crawl under there with a screwdriver or some such and short out between the starter and solenoid.

Been there; done that.

The problem was the long wire runs and/or ignition switch for the starter circuit. I put a heavy-duty push-button switch in the panel under the rear seat. No more crawling under the Bug! Good anti-theft measure too.