2002 Volkswagen Polo review from UK and Ireland

Ignition coil blew.

Rere wiper motor & pump blown.

Oil leaking from crank casing.

Camber on driver front tyre off, uneven wear.

The blown ignition coil, whilst an inconvenience was repaired rapidly by the Dealer.

Both the water tube to the front wiper and rere wiper were not pushed home fully on to the connector. In the case of the rere wiper this caused the water to spray on to the wiper motor and pump, which had to be replaced. This fault indicates that the quality of build from the factory is very poor indeed and means that after switching to Volkswagen because of their perceived build quality I now have to find another Car Manufacturer who can deliver a quality product ie a Toyota or Honda.

The oil has been leaking from the crank casing for some time now and is a known fault with the new model Polo, Volkswagen are aware of the problem and have issued a kit to dealers to rectify the problem. They have not informed Customers of the problem, obviously in the hope that the problem won't be discovered until after the two year warranty is up and the Customer will have to bear the full cost of the repairs. This situation means that you cannot trust Volkswagen.

The problem with the camber is still being investigated, the jury is still out. My overall conclusion is that Volkswagen is now suffering from the same malaise that Citreon, my previous car maker suffered from, i.e. poor build quality, poor design and poor quality components. When you consider that Irish Dealers charge 90 - 120euro per hour for working on your car this is tantamount to highway robbery.