Front brake rotors right after I purchased it.
3 oxygen sensors over the years at around $500 a pop.
Ball joint in steering assembly.
Rear left quarter panel is rusting very badly even though I had it ground out and repainted about 3 years ago.
Clutch is going (understandable, though).
Driver's side power window motor died. Had that replaced. Now the passenger side window motor is starting to act up.
Later the window whole track assembly chewed itself up. That was fun figuring out a way to keep my window up.
The check engine light comes on intermittently. I ignore it at this point.
The antilock braking system has given out.
The electrical system in the dash is acting up. On a recent road trip it just died. The needles all zeroed out and then came back on a few minutes later.
The AC system has a leak.
The funny thing is that this car has never died in traffic or on the highway and it gets great mileage for a 6 cylinder engine (30 on the highway with a K&N air filter).
It is fun to drive. The first and second gears are very powerful in the low end and fifth gear pulls like crazy. I can blow by a tractor trailer on the highway at 90mph without even batting an eye.
Space-wise it is huge. I have fit desks, hardware supplies, 5 people, etc. in.
But I've been really disappointed with the little things that are hard to ignore (like windows that won't go UP and engine hesitation due to yet another dead oxygen sensor). I have owned the car nearly 6 years and the maintenance costs averages out to around $110 per month that I've owned. And that doesn't include payments on the car!
Great review, VW is generally piece of junk. The TOC is way too high. I really hate how to protrait happy VW owner on TV, but in reality most VW owners are not happy with the maintaince cost.
You say that maintenance cost you $110 per month over six years. So that's $7920? Doesn't sound right! Surely you can't have spent that much in repairs on a mass production car? Why didn't you return it to the dealer when the warranty ran out?
You have to appreciate vw to love vw, don't rage on a company you know nothing about. vw is an excellent company, if you don't beat on them they will last forever, its the only vw you have owned so you can't say anything about vw.
I had one of these from 1996 until 1998. Lots of small problems - keys sticking in locks, trim falling off, dead window regulators on both doors. But the VR6 engine never let me down and the car never left me stranded. I sold it at 60,000 miles... Seems like a good time to sell a VW...
I have had this car for 3 years now, and it runs fine, 13 years old.
The only repair I needed to do is the clutch, which is great, for any old car.
The moon roof is broken, and the dash lights are out, but other than that, this car runs like a beaut.
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