1993 Volkswagen Cabrio review from North America

I was excited to get one of the first Cabrios of this model year in the U.S.

Things went well for about 6 months and then the cruise control would not work. The dealer lent me a new Honda for most of the 6 weeks they had my car apart. My dealerships calls to VW Technical services did not seem to help. Finally someone diagnosed and fixed a small vacuum leak.

I later noticed one of the tires had been repaired in the sidewall with a tire-puncture repair plug. I swear to God I did not have it fixed and it had only been in the dealer and my possession the entire time... except for being in VW's possession while being shipped to the U.S. My service manager said it must have come in to them that way; VW stood by it's "12-point Qulaity Control System" which would have caught it sooner. They refused to budge, but did offer me a key chain and a T-shirt (which I returned to them and suggested they store out of the sun).

Then the heating system began to emit a foul odor which could only be avoided by using the recirculation feature which would have been OK, but in many weather conditions this causes condensation inside the car on the windows. Three different service managers promised a fix; none delivered. When the car was out of warranty, the 4th service manager suggested a new heater at my expense.

The fine leather seats quickly tore on their sides, not where anyone would sit.

The multi-layer convertible roof came apart at a seam.

The airbags needed to be replaced.

I got rid of it.

VW refused to fix anything on this car or even share in the responsibility for the repairs.