Happy Owners vs. Unhappy Owners Ponderings...

I just got through reading through a few of the old posts that our old "East Texan" friend had wrote concerning his unhappiness with his 2001 NB. I must admit that although many people were bashing him about his ranting and raving about his NB being crap, I can semi-relate to his feelings. I'm sorry if most of you all don't agree, but I consider the NB to be in the same class as the Focus, Echo, Civic, Cavalier, etc... and I also think that for the price of the NB, some things could/should surely be improved quality wise. I pretty much did the same thing ol' ET did...I traded in my 99 F-150 with the gas-guzzlin' tire-shreddin' big V-8 in on my 2001 NB. I had an epiphany so to speak, and figured that I needed economy more than I needed any amount of hauling capability and size right now in my life. I have always thought the NB was a cool looking ride, and the fuel mileage really attracted me. I've had experience with diesels before and a very close family friend had a VW diesel pickup that he put over 300,000 miles on, which he loved to death. I thought the NB was a great fit for me. Now don't get me wrong...I feel in no way as harshly as ET did. I do feel though, at just now over 3500 miles, that an average of just over 41 MPG is not too hot for a car that advertises 42 and 49. And before some of the smaller minded members of this forum hop on me about dogging my car like it was my old truck...I have never had my NB over 3200 on the tach...ever. I shift quickly, before or very close to 2000. I try not to attempt "Jack Rabbit" starts. I average a pretty steady 70/30 mix of highway to city driving. I always use the vent trick during filling. I try to use the best diesel I can find, not always the cheapest. I use PS Diesel Supplement with every fillup. I always let the car coast in gear up to every stop I make. In no uncertain terms, I baby my car...yet I still cannot get the average up higher than it sits so far. I have had some good tanks...53.5 on a trip to Tyler, TX from here in Seabrook, TX. But I have had plenty of bad tanks as well...I believe the worst I've seen out of it has been about 34.9. Maybe things will get better as the car ages fuel-wise. But I have also had what I consider livable small quality problems as well. I had the seat puller for the lower rear seat fall off in my hand after only two weeks. The chime in the instrument cluster is on crack...working sometimes...not working others...often times sounding like an old rotten busted up speaker. Little things...things that could be easily fixed by VW for the price of these vehicles. I love my car...I always smile when I walk out to my vehicle to get into it. I can honestly say that I've never felt that way about any other vehicle I've owned. I like the way the car handles...I don't have a problem with NVH in the NB...I haven't hit any mobile obstacles yet in my NB like ET did. I do think that some of the NB owner's around here need to accept the fact that not all NB's are created equally...and while many of you all are enjoying record mileage etc. immediately from your NB's, the simple fact of the matter is that some of us are not. Are we all "dogging" our vehicles? I don't think so...I just think that some us are luckier than others...and I think that VW quality control in both manufacture and dealership behavior is seriously lacking in many areas. Don't dog everyone that's unhappy with their NB...if the dice had landed differently, you may very well one of them. Ok...I'm done.

Think you are alone or East Texan is alone. No there are many people that have problems with the car. I won't complain if the car starts to have defective parts that can be easily solved by replacing them. But I will if the problem can't be resolved. I am talking about the same problem.

The day I brought home my first TDI back in Feb. '99, was a nice ride. But it also dripped oil under the engine. The next day we took it back and they replaced the turbocharger. Didn't complain. Two weeks later and every week since that, the engine light was malfunctioning. It would come on and beep three times 80 percent of the time when you start the car. It also comes on but no beeps while you are driving especially when slowing down about 40 percent of the time. Gee, obviously something is wrong. I started to complain. They finally bought back the car in May '99 after 5 attempts and car was in shop for a total of 18 days. MN Lemon Law is 4 attempts and a max of 30 days in shop during the first 12 months. There was one time that the engine light never went off, quickly took it to the dealership, it turns out to be a glow relay. There is a TSB for that. I didn't complain on that one.

You just have to be smart and have balls to do something. You can put your nose in there and f*ck them up. It took me one sentence to tell the service manager to get his as* together. He did as I got a call the next day from the VW regional manager. Within a week we traded, a check for the car.

Now two days ago, I picked up my second TDI. Think I am not a proud owner. I am.

I am happy to have a TDI especially when it is a New Beetle since I love so many things about it that you don't find in other cars.

Proud to own 2001 white/gray New Beelte TDI automatic, sunroof, alloy wheels, heated seats, mud flaps, CD changer. It is only two days old and almost 100 miles.

Was also proud that I once had 1999 white/gray New Beelte TDI manual, alloy wheels and CD changer. Drove it for 7,563 miles in 3 1/2 months. (Mileage in this car was averaging 42mpg.)

Brad

Hi folks,

I can see both sides of this debate. When I first got my 2000 NB I had no problems. Then after 11,500 on the speedo the driver's window switch broke and fell out at 18k. For 2000 miles I had come to the realization that I live for the drive-thru window. I Pi**ed and moaned for a few weeks. Then this past week it got cold and wet enough in lower Alabama to turn on the rear window defogger, and lo and behold my driver's side mirror did not defog. Pain in the A**! I could and almost did get really mad, but realized that the Bug is under warranty and my 20K tuneup was on the way. Two hours of waiting at the dealer and the mirror was fixed, window switch replaced and my bug was washed and returned.

My conclusion from all of this is that everything manufactured has the possibility of having some defects. Some vehicles will be perfect while others will have one or two things wrong, and others will have the unlucky fate of having many items wrong. With this in mind, maybe we should hold off complaints until we give the dealer a chance to fix the problem(s).

Hey, I was so proud of my NB that I got a TDI badge from parts and put it on the trunk, threw in a Kid Rock tape and blew back from Atlanta at 80 with some 90MPH passes. All while getting over 40MPG. What a great ride!

Just some thoughts.

Tim

Deafbug, you hit the nail on the head. The vast majority of people are simply not patient. Sure, our cars should have zero problems. But we forget, they are an assembliage of thousands of other parts, a machine.
I have owned several VW's, and have been impressed with their reliability. My first was an early 98 beetle. It had a rattle in the seat track, and the coating came off the inside door handle, a typical early bug problem. Thats it! A 99 nb tdi followed it, and it was just as good. It needed a wheel alignment. I (unfortunately) bought a 99 nb for my (now) ex, but it was a good car too. It had a broken air selector knob and a loose dash trim piece, all fixed. I recently bought a 2000 nb tdi and totalled it a week later. It had a bad airbag sensor, luckily fixed a few days before the accident. One of my friends was so impressed with the nb's crash worthiness that he bought one, a tdi to boot! The nb replacement since the accident has been flawless, and its now at 11k miles.
I am a very very picky person with cars and yet have had such good luck with vw's. I think all these people moaning on about their "lemons" and simply not patient and understanding enough, and want every thing perfect right now. The american way. Why work yourself up and get all stressed over a machine!?! Deafbug now has a wonderful new car he loves, and in spite of the previous problem car I bet he has no ulcers or psycho-medication problems as a result. Congrats!!

If you look at the REALLY early entries in this section, you'll find that I had a long list of teething issues associated with my early production '98, which just about put me around the bend. Not only did I have a lot of issues to resolve in the first 18 months, but my dealer couldn't seem to fix them the first time (crooked steering wheel took 14 visits before the regional guy finally came in and fixed it first try). Some things, like the stereo had to be replace three times, so all of this really got me worried. Now, low and behold, all the teething issues are resolved and the car is tight, rattle-free, and I'm very happy with it.

For the record, mcsenerd, I average 43mpg without the roofrack, and 41 with. Same general driving habits as you (though I love to goose 3rd gear in town). You'll find some highway tanks will climb above the 49 that VW quotes. And if your car gets 1mpg less than the low end, I'd say you still have some breaking in to do. It should gradually inch up during the first 10k miles. But I think most NBers get about 43, while the same exact engine on the more aerodynamic Golf and Jetta tends to give you more like 45-47 on average. It's the price of style and that smile you mention, I guess.

That still translates into awefully close to 700 miles on a vented tank in a normal mix of driving.

Hope your car settles down into a long, trouble-free life.

Me? I'm driving this one into the ground (or sell it in family if it's just a case of new car itch) and will look very closely at customer satisfaction scores before buying another VW. As a number of you mention above, if it were just a case of swapping out the odd failed piece, no problemo. But I'm not so sure that was my experience.

I for one could be sorely tempted by a Daimler fuel cell something or other. Fuel cell technology is really close, and I wouldn't have a problem driving a C-class with one in it, or the bigger A-class I've seen hinted at. We'll see.

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BeetleGo, "whoa!"
White 1998 NB 5-sp
Pretty much bone stock
Mud Flaps/Stone Guards/winter/fogs
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"You said this was a DIESEL?!"

Tim,

You are right on the dot. I did get a number of people telling me about the new NB that I got becoming a lemon. I told them it would not be a lemon but it can have defective parts. I am not complaining about defective parts as long as it solves the problem when it gets replaced.

Think about it. A factory makes thousands of parts. For every 1,000 parts made, how many are bad? It has to be a low number or it would become something we call what? ... a recall!!! Companies want a low percentage of defective parts per 1,000 made. It costs them $$ to replace them.

I am not going to complain if I get 20 defective parts during my first year with my NB as long as each part is resolved upon replacement. I will complain if they can't resolve it!

That's the difference. Some people don't have the tolerance or patience. That's their problem not VW or anyone's if someone like East Texan doesn't have a small amount of patience.

Think about the stores. How many people go back to return or exchange products since they are defective? All companies that make products want low percentage of defective parts or the be out of business.

The exception is that some products can't have defective parts. Know someone with a heart running on battery? Defective pumps and they die. Americans say not acceptable.

Problems are a part of life, especialy for some folks. I liked what mcsenerd said: "Don't dog everyone that's unhappy with their NB."
How about just "don't dog anyone." Some of us are driving our New Beetles hard -- mine is 1 year old this week and has over 42,000 miles with zero problems. Mileage depends on how I drive. Mine is an auto. Average has been 43 MPG --range has been from 34 MPG to 59 MPG. I'm happier with this than any other car I've driven in 37 years of driving. The solid, stable feel of this car is incredible -- unlike any car in its class.

I think they gear em higher in Europe.

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00 Yellow NB: Stock + Gauges

VWs and German Cars in general will have a few teething pains, but once they are sorted out you can hammer the crap out of them forever and enjoy every second of it. I think the "happy" and "unhappy" camps come down to people who like to drive and people who don't. For some people a car is a major source of fun and they understand motoring, for most people a car is just a PIA they have to have to fetch groceries and go to work. The latter group will easily get bent when a couple things break, the former group just fixes it and goes for a drive.

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couple of Rabbits, a Golf and a Passat TDI

I own a '98 Beetle w/32,000 miles on it. I had glow plug relay problems in the beginning but were resolved. I also broke one of the power window switches. Those are a real weak point but I now know how to press them so as not to break them. Other than that I love the car. I always average low to mid 40's but I do mostly suburb driving. That means I average 30-45 mph. with moderate stop and go. I drive the hell out of my car however. I never shift before 3,000 and am always 10 car lengths ahead after a green light. A diesel is totally different than a gas engine and low rpm and heavy throttle doesnt equal better mileage like it does in a gas engine. The reason you want low rpm and heavy throttle with the gas engine is due to the fact that light throttle and higher rpm means lower compression ratio due to the throttle plate being closed down causing a vacuum in the cylinders. Lower compression means less efficent combustion. A diesel doesn't have a throttle plate so we always have at least 20/1 compression. If you use low rpm and heavier throttle you are just injecting that much more fuel to compensate for a bogged engine. Let the engine cruse at 2,000 rpm min. down shift if you can't maintain 1,800 rpm, and you will get great mileage.

RabbitGTI, you said it.

I tend to be very involved with my cars and enjoy not only the cosmetic aspect of taking care of it, but also the maintenance.

When you drive a machine as solid feeling and well-planted as this one, and can goose the bejesus out of it all day long, all the while consistently returning over 40mpg - well, it puts a grin on my face. It's worth caring for.

I've been smacked good by a taxi before (Chevy Caprice). It slammed into my rear bumper and no damage. Zilch. Dada. How many cars in this class (or larger!) would take that kind of impact and shrug it off?

I don't think anybody has gotten into my car and NOT made the following two observations:

1) This door feels really solid! (unlike pretty much anything else in this class - japanese cars in particular)
2) It's HUGE in here!!

Uh-huh. Small cars are miserable, clausterfobia-inducing (sp?), tinny death-traps that can't keep up with traffic.

Until now.

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BeetleGo, "whoa!"
White 1998 NB 5-sp
Pretty much bone stock
Mud Flaps/Stone Guards/winter/fogs
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"You said this was a DIESEL?!"

[This message has been edited by BeetleGo (edited December 05, 2000).]