I was behind the bravest driver in MA today

3 year 36,000 mile warrenty and every VW dealer I know provides loaner cars. Where's the expense in the first year?
Yup, the VW dealer did provide loaner cars. They would call Enterprise. Enterprise opens at 8 AM. By the time the called Enterprise, it was 8:15 AM. They would show up by 8:45 AM. Then a ride to the Enterprise office, wait in line, get the keys and I'm finally on the road by 9 AM. Ever try driving from Wellesely to Cambridge at 9 AM?

And Enterprise closes at 6 PM, so you have to get back by then. So after burning up 2-3 hours of vacation just to get your car serviced, you get back to the VW dealer to have them say 1) could not duplicate, or 2) parts ordered, will call you when they get in so you can schedule another appointment, or 3) we fixed it (but they didn't).

IIRC, I had eleven service visits in the first year with my GTI.

In a recent statement, Adrian Hallmark, an executive at VW of America said: "The current customer satisfaction and dealer experience is as bad as it gets!"
 
Last edited:
Yet another reason to be glad that I am far away from Bahstun.

It has it's pluses and minuses just like every place. I've lived here for almost 10 years (including college) and the minuses are starting to out weigh the pluses as I get older and my priorities change. That's why I'm looking at business schools in places like NC, GA, VA, etc. Time for a change but I'm pretty sure I'll be back...eventually.
 
The whole coil pack thing on the 1.8 Turbos was a major fiasco.

Mine went while sitting on 95 in rush hour traffic.

Don't forget about the brake switch and window regulators too. Or the fact that the SMIC doubles as an oil catch can.
 
OK, that sucked. You needed to find another dealer.

And yea, VW did have some issues for a few years. The whole coil pack thing on the 1.8 Turbos was a major fiasco.
I tried 3 different dealers. They all sucked.

Actually, mine was the VR6, not the 1.8. Instead of separate coil packs like the 1.8, the 12-valve VR6 had a single coil pack for all six cylinders. And it was also notorious for going bad after a couple years. As was the starter motor -- when I described the sound the car was making on startup, my independent mechanic immediately said "oh, that's the starter motor -- they go bad early." The weak rear brakes on the Golf was also a known issue that VW ignored for many years. How many cars do you know that wear out the REAR brake rotors at 20,000 miles? And all this was after the 4th gen car had been sold in Europe for several years.

Btw, every try changing the headlight bulbs on a 4th Gen VR6? Changing the low-beams was hard, but doable. This was a good thing, since the Golf went through bulbs like Doritos. Changing the high-beams you had two choices: 1) remove the bumper cover so you could remove the entire headlight assembly or 2) if you had small hands, scrape the living poop out of them. I let my mechanic donate skin and blood to the cause.

Don't forget about the brake switch and window regulators too.
Brake switch? What problem was that? I must have missed it.

For some reason, I never had a problem with my window regulators. I heard some people claim that people with darker colored cars in hotter climates had more problems. Dunno if that was true. I am told that VW went through at least 3 designs before they got the regulator right.
 
Mine went on the a friday afternoon on mass pike. I had thought I had them all replaced under the recall at my last visit to the stealership. Nope they lied, put it on the work order as replaced but never changed them out.

Mine went while sitting on 95 in rush hour traffic.

Don't forget about the brake switch and window regulators too. Or the fact that the SMIC doubles as an oil catch can.
 
1979 VW Rabbits (diesel -
Father of a buddy of mine had one with well over 300K on it when it failed inspection because of all the rust. Thing wasn't too fast but it would pull like a mule. He loved it and was disappointed when he found out they stopped making them because he wanted another one. FWIW, My next Toyota will be the Tacoma Diesel coming out in a year or two.
 
Another good concept that will not be available to us in MA... Probably some EOPS list that diesels are or are not on... I was interested in the Jeep Liberty Diesel, but you can't get one in MA.


Chris
Does that mean you can't register one in MA? Because we have other states to choose from [wink] Besides, things are cheaper up north.
 
Hey, I sold my '79 Diesel Rabbit FTF to a resident of NH (back in '87) and I bought my '99 Honda Civic from Majestic Motors in Lincoln, RI in '03. In neither case did the AG intercede, so I guess interstate sales of cars/trucks is still legal to MA residents.

Give it a try! Easy with the Internet to contact dealers in other states and arrange a purchase of what YOU WANT, regardless of whether MA dealers sell it or not. Just beware of where you might have to take it for service if anything breaks.
 
I believe that you are prohibited from registering a diesel vehicle less than 8600 GVW in Massachusetts that is less than six months old. I apologize for not citing the exact statute. Check this article out on interesting information on diesel technology and a bit more about the Massachusetts law. The state web site is not helpful. https://www.gabelli.com/Gab_pdf/res_reports/diesel121604.pdf


Chris
 
Last edited:
I believe that you are prohibited from registering a diesel vehicle less than 8600 GVW in Massachusetts that is less than six months old. I apologize for not citing the exact statute. Check this article out on interesting information on diesel technology and a bit more about the Massachusetts law. The state web site is not helpful. https://www.gabelli.com/Gab_pdf/res_reports/diesel121604.pdf


Chris


This sounds like another MA "fairytale law" like that form people are supposedly
supposed to fill out when they file their taxes so they can pay
the missing sales tax on all the stuff they bought from NH. Sure.... Even
the politicians have made fun of that one.

I don't really even know how it'd be enforceable, unless they ran a full
blown VIN check on the vehicle to see when it was manufactured. (which
they might do as a matter of course).

So let me get this straight. One is an NH resident and buys one of these
new diesel cars/trucks. You lose your job, and are forced to take a job
in southern MA, and must reregister your vehicle. So the state is going
to tell you "no, you can't do that?" Methinks that probably violates
some "equal protection" thing somewhere. Sounds like an issue ripe for a good
lawsuit.

-Mike
 
Mike, no you do like most folks do (illegal, but what the hey) and you run out your NH plates. Then you register it in MA!

The way they know is to register a vehicle for the first time you need to produce one of two documents:

- Certificate of Origin (only given with new vehicles), OR
- A Title of Ownership from prior owner and traceable back to when vehicle was first sold (1st owner).

Thus the RMV KNOWS when the vehicle was mfd and when it was first registered anywhere in the US.
 
http://www.mass.gov/rmv/regs/index.htm

Rule one for new Massachusetts registration is that the (Light and Medium Duty) vehicle must meet California Emissions. NO DIESEL CURRENTLY AVAILABLE WILL MEET THIS REQUIREMENT. New diesel fuel on the way will burn cleaner and is planned to meet a modified version ot this emission requirement. "3/4ton" and larger trucks are considered Heavy Duty and as such are exempt. This is the 8600 GVW I mentioned in a prior post.


Chris
 
Yes, the triumphant Teutonic technology that almost conquored [sic][wink] the world in two successive wars....

Call and raise.[mg]

C'mon Scrivener, I don't mind defending your Jetta as a cool choice of transportation, but to your interpretation of German military technology borders on historical hyperbole. True, Germany did have many technological developments and built some incredibly sophisticated equipment, even by modern standards, but they never made it past North Africa to the south and (just outside) Moscow to the east. Europe conquering maybe, but hardly world conquering.

Chris
 
Damn, I guess that Reilly is protecting us!
No, blame this on the governor. One of the (might have been Weld) signed us up to follow the requirements of the CARB (California Air Resources Board). This could be fixed by a single signature from the governor.
 
My brother-in-law, said the best thing about his Jetta, is the factory purple windshield wiper fluid. He said the stuff works so well, it would take anything off your windshield. Bugs, tar pine sap... He tried to go back to the dealer and buy some more, but they told him they don't sell it, that it's put in at the factory.
 
Brake switch? What problem was that? I must have missed it.

The brake switch behind the pedal tends to give out. If you have an automatic, you won’t be able to get it out of park. Your brake light won’t work either.

The new ones tend to break while installing them. The new design, much like the coil pack deliema, has the same problems as the old one. So there will be a revised revised version soon.

For some reason, I never had a problem with my window regulators. I heard some people claim that people with darker colored cars in hotter climates had more problems. Dunno if that was true. I am told that VW went through at least 3 designs before they got the regulator right.


Mine broke in a wonderful storm in February. They used to be metal, then VW went with a plastic version. Those were then replaced with the metal ones. The dealer would only replace one at a time per VWoA. My drivers side window fell into the door, the dealer took it the next day and fixed it. The told me that VWoA only allows for the broken one to be replaced and that I would have to bring it back when the passenger side failed. It failed in the parking lot of said VW dealer before ever starting the car.


Mine went on the a friday afternoon on mass pike. I had thought I had them all replaced under the recall at my last visit to the stealership. Nope they lied, put it on the work order as replaced but never changed them out.

Well, they replaced all mine with the revised model. Those had the same problems. I had two go out in the middle of an autocross event. That wasn’t fun. They also had the tendency to pop up enough to where you would get misfires. I bought 4 of the latest revised model to carry as spares.

There is also the misfire problem attributed to the wiring going to the coil packs. The heat cycles tend to crack the insulation.

Then the timing belt/water pump problems began to surface. The water pump would seize and cause the timing belt to skip and you know what happens after that.
 
My brother-in-law had the same thing happen to his windows. I think he has had to have them replaced 4 times, and the second time, the window shattered when it fell into the door. He had to fight with VW, because they put in an aftermarket window, that had a blue tint to it!

His locks have failed 3 times as well, and I remember something wrong in the trunk that took almost a week for them to fix.
 
Would that be in the back seat of Bob Seeger's '60 Chevy ("Night Moves") or were you "red-haired girl" Billy Joel made in the back of his Chevrolet (Keepin' the Faith) ? [wink]
:::shaking head::: No, that would be using an engine hoist to pull out a 327 to rebuild it.

And you could only wish to have a girl in a backseat.

Any more questions?
 
Back
Top Bottom