1995 Volkswagen Golf match review from UK and Ireland

The front axle had to be replaced at 10,000 miles.

The clutch had to be replaced at 25,000 miles.

The starter motor had to be replaced at 28,000 miles.

The ignition system had to be replaced at 42,000 miles.

The front axle has gone again again at 60,000 miles.

The wipers have never worked properly.

Volkswagen build quality and after sales service have deteriorated dramatically.

I bought this car for £7,000 pounds from my local VW dealership, when it was still under warranty in 1997.

I have spent several thousand pounds on it (replacing the front axle twice was not cheap; why it needed replacing remains mysterious). Today I have just had it towed away; I had to pay the scrap people to take it. The clutch had gone (again), and the front axle is going (again). I drive very sedately.

I have always bought VW. My dad always bought VW. My wife has always bought VW. All my brothers have always bought VW.

But never again. This car has cost me a fortune and has left me stranded on 5 occasions (most recently in the fast lane of the M25 with two small children in the back, when the axle bolts all suddenly fell out).

The local dealership are astonishingly expensive, unhelpful, unreliable, slow, unconcerned and complacent. Judging by the hundreds of negative reviews on this site, it seems as if I am not alone.

This looks like the sad end of a once great car company.