Golf Tdi Made in Germany? Sportswagen made in Mexico?

That was the original reason I bumped the thread.

Can anyone answer what the last production date/month was for JSWs out of Puebla?

tariq said:

Further, is it your understanding that while the factory in Mexico is being retooled for the next Golf (and that will first be produced before next gen JSW's), no current JSW's are being made? Seems like I read they made them until sometime last year when production stopped and will not begin again for a while.

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I remeber seeing that same article but have no idea what VW is really doing. Maybe Fred should invest in a couple of drones to do flyovers on the Mexican VW plant. We could get pictues to show what's coming out the doors.

Snatch Catch said:

That was the original reason I bumped the thread.

Can anyone answer what the last production date/month was for JSWs out of Puebla?

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No idea but it's at least as late as August 2012, which was the manufacturing date for my wife's 2013 (which we bought new last December).

other than concern for one's economy (so being american I try to buy american products when I can, I would do likewise if I lived elsewhere) all this talk is irrelevant to me as many excellent cars are built in mexico and other countries besides the US or Germany or Japan. Many companies have varied quality through the years as well. Korean cars used to be junk but are quite good now. US cars had a bad rep for awhile and now have been quite good I've owned a few mediocre and a few solid ones.

jdoll said:

other than concern for one's economy (so being american I try to buy american products when I can, I would do likewise if I lived elsewhere) all this talk is irrelevant to me as many excellent cars are built in mexico and other countries besides the US or Germany or Japan. Many companies have varied quality through the years as well. Korean cars used to be junk but are quite good now. US cars had a bad rep for awhile and now have been quite good I've owned a few mediocre and a few solid ones.

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It's also sort of irrelevant because now all Golfs, plus the Jetta and Beetle, are made in Mexico.

That said, my wife's Mexican wagon has been bulletproof, and my German hatch something of a lemon.

Interesting comparisons between the two build locations. In CR terms, I have owned three. Two Mexico built and one German built. I feel my German car is more solid....

With regards to the Puebla builds, my Mk7 Golf feels more solid then my Mk6 JSW.

All just my personal observations with driving all three a lot.

My sons and I all have '02 TDIs now, one Jetta Sedan (Mexico) one Golf (Brazil), one Wagon (Germany). I've driven all three and would be hard-pressed to tell a difference between them. Right now my Wagon probably feels the least solid because it's badly in need of control arm and rear axle bushings, and it has the highest mileage. But with those repairs I think they'd all feel the same. My son's Golf has 286K on it with the original drivetrain including the clutch and dual mass flywheel. Not much to argue with there.

Matt927 said:

Interesting comparisons between the two build locations. In CR terms, I have owned three. Two Mexico built and one German built. I feel my German car is more solid....

With regards to the Puebla builds, my Mk7 Golf feels more solid then my Mk6 JSW.

All just my personal observations with driving all three a lot.

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That could fall within the realm of natural variation. For me it's the opposite, my German Golf feels looser and has more rattles than my wife's Mexican wagon although the German has tighter handling. But that may be more chassis design.

However I'd expect the Mk 7 to feel tighter than the Mk 6, it's supposed to have a stiffer build. And in fact your JSW is a face-lifted Mk 5, not a Mk 6.

I'll soon know about Mk 7 vs 6 stiffness, I just ordered a 2016 Golf to replace my Mk 6

My German B5 Passat was probably the most solid build of any of my VWs to date though. At least initially. Now, approaching 11 years of age and 280k km, it's rather loosened up a bit.

I am talking about general build quality, not handling. Rattles, creaks, durability. The JSW is obviously at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to handling/stiffness. I prefer the way the Mk6 drives/road feel compared to the Mk7.

Matt927 said:

I am talking about general build quality, not handling. Rattles, creaks, durability. The JSW is obviously at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to handling/stiffness. I prefer the way the Mk6 drives/road feel compared to the Mk7.

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Well, the wagon will sure beat the handling of just about any other vehicle of equal utility out there, in its price range! The other choices being SUVs.

Interesting comment on the Mk VI vs VII. I'm soon trading my VI for a VII.

In terms of general build quality, my wife's Mk V Golf wagon has my Mk VI Golf hatch beat by a mile. More rattles and looseness in my German Golf than her Mexican wagon.