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Thread: Volkswagon...in serious trouble

  1. #21
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    those best car surveys can be skewed , look at the Hyundai fiasco some time back . Skoda , now there is a bad quality brand , along with Audi. common parent company - VW.
    Audi diesels are a shocker , most are traded in before the soft piston rings need replacing.

    stick with Japanese , that way you know the car will still be reliable years down the track. my Pajero - 15 years and still no major repairs besides the timing belt replacement , which i did myself anyway.



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    Quote Originally Posted by VroomVroom View Post
    stick with Japanese , that way you know the car will still be reliable years down the track.
    Yep. My current car is Japanese... it's old enough to vote and in the ten years I've owned it, the car has ALWAYS got me where I'm going. "It just goes". It's economical, yet has enough get up and go that it felt quick after years of driving 6 cyl Commodores.

    At one stage, my mechanic had a near new VW Golf sitting in his yard. He said it had been there for weeks: waiting on a new water pump. The car had overheated (I didn't ask what caused it) and the plastic impeller in the water pump had got too hot and deformed. VW did not have stock of a replacement water pump (WTF?) so there it sat... for weeks. The cost for the new pump (parts only) was around $600 at the time. I'm sure these cars can be really fun to drive, but I don't want to own one.

  • #23
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    {tongue firmly planted in cheek} Are you sure the mechanic wasn't pulling your leg after all "everyone" knows that volksies don't have a radiator which is why the engine lives in the boot.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    So...

    Arnold Schwarzenegger became Governor of California, then admitted to using steroids
    Lance Armstrong won a bunch of Tour de France races, then admitted to using EPO's, Steroids, etc
    VW became one of North Americas most popular small cars, then admitted to cheating on the emissions test.

    Come on America, why the big reaction?
    And seriously, who really cares???
    The cars still go and operate fine, there is no safety issue...
    And if the Environment is their concern, just take a look at the 6.7Ltr diesel Ford F150/250 or any number of their Pick Ups and 4WD's that are far more polluting per vehicle

    Anyway, the CEO of Porsche has now been elected as the CEO of VW ag.
    Last edited by ol' boy; 26-09-15 at 09:38 PM.
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    Just google "VW bribes 2009" to get a feeling for the company. Then remember Hyundai paid something like $350k fine when their vehicles did not meet stated emission levels in the US and GM paid close to $900k when they failed to recall dangerous vehicles.

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    Quote Originally Posted by lsemmens View Post
    {tongue firmly planted in cheek} Are you sure the mechanic wasn't pulling your leg after all "everyone" knows that volksies don't have a radiator which is why the engine lives in the boot.
    Ahh, the long lost golden days of the VW. My second car was a VW 1500, it was about 20 y/o when I bought it and never had to fix anything on it.
    It neither had a motor in the front or the back boot. They not only successfully managed to hide the emission ratings but the whole motor.

    Jap cars break too. I have a Nissan SUV but it is 18 y/o and constructed in such a way that I can still fix it myself, which in a sort of a way is good because I keep learning more about fixing cars but when I read above the issues with modern VWs, DIY looks way out of my league. It is probably similar with all modern cars.

    I dread the day when I have to replace the old Nissan. Hopefully it lasts so long until I can afford a second hand EV or am allowed to construct one or can convert an old VW Kombi into full electric
    Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
    Compatibility: A word soon to be deleted from our dictionaries as it is outdated.
    Humans: Entities that are not only outdated but broken... AI-self-learning-update-error...terminate...terminate...

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    A good show to watch is the UK Motoring program called 'Wheeler Dealer' and while some of the vehicles and fittings may not apply to Australia, watching mechanic Ed China trying to remove and replace various parts highlights how hard some makes are compared to others.
    Also a bit like Top Gear, while they dont rubbish the vehicle they are featuring for that show, they do ask for and tell of any 'known' problems specific to it that have become apparent over time.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    Yep, exactly nomeat.

    I also have a few mates that are Anti Euro cars, call them heaps of junk (VW, Audi, BMW, Volvo, etc).
    That coming from mechanics that work for Ford in Geelong.... Like Ford is some kind of world beating vehicle FFS.
    When did the Holden Commodore get independent rear suspension again?? About 15 years after European cars did.

    I remember when it was all the rage for young women to own a Honda Civic , especially in red.
    Great little japenesse car, engine revved to the moon and was as smooth as silk.
    Then the trend for this demographic was to own a VW Golf.
    My ex had both cars, and i was really impressed with her VW Golf convertible, it was rock solid compared to the Honda Civic.
    The doors closed solid and sealed well, Sound deadening was in a league of its own compared to the Civic.
    Road Handling and confidence in corners far out stripped the Civic, which felt like a thin tin can by comparison.
    Fit and finish was more luxury and well appointed.
    Engine noise was sublime in the VW Golf, where the Civic sounded like a road bike engine.

    It was just an allround better car.
    It had no known problems (was a 2.0 Petrol, Man 5spd)

    As nomeat said, all vehicles can have problems, Jap cars are no different, just ask Leroy about his Nissan.
    Or a Land Rover owner, or a Toyota Kluger owner, or an XD Ford owner
    Last edited by ol' boy; 26-09-15 at 02:08 PM.
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    Lets keep it in perspective....and fact. I am not a Volkswagen fan. However, in general they are pretty decent car. As are almost all modern cars. Ask yourself this...how many cars do you see broken down on the side of the road now verses what you saw 20 years ago? The fact is you hardly see modern cars broken down. Probably the only exception is Jeep....they have had some very well known faults and have suffered huge backlash, which is why you see Jeep ads every night

    Their only major recent failing was to do with DSG transmissions and the way they handled it. They did however come to the party and fix the problem but took a hit to their reputation over how slow they were to deal with it.

    This however is deliberate cheating of emissions and will likely be the end of the company. Governments are increasingly demanding less and less emissions from cars (particularly diesels), to the point that its getting almost impossible to get new cars on the road in Europe and California.

    New diesels over there are required to use . Ad what you say ? You have a separate filler on the car next to the fuel one. You have to fill your car with adblue or it wont go. Its a liquid that reduces carbons in the exhaust. You need to watch it like your fuel, run out and your car wont go. Diesel Particulate Filters are what we usually see here, but our emission laws are nowhere near as severe as overseas.

    Here is some serious bullshitting from Volkswagen about it.


    A mate has a 1972 Corvette that came from California. You should see the pollution shit on it....amazing. It costs thousands to keep an old car on the road over there.

  • #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by oceanboy View Post
    When did the Holden Commodore get independent rear suspension again?? About 15 years after European cars did.
    My 1972 Datsun 1600 had it From memory it was Wheels Car of the year some time around then.

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    Quote Originally Posted by admin View Post

    This however is deliberate cheating of emissions and will likely be the end of the company.
    I'd be happy to place $1Mil that doesn't happen
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    Quote Originally Posted by oceanboy View Post
    I'd be happy to place $1Mil that doesn't happen
    Out of interest, why ?

    Its estimated fixes and fines will be over 40 billion dollars.

    Edit : I might low balling

    " a crisis that has now cost VW an estimated $77.4 billion dollars comprising fines (up to $25.7 billion), a loss in share price ($41.5 billion) and money set aside to cover costs in its third-quarter accounts ($10.38 billion)"

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    I agree with oceanboy that Volkswagen will live on to fight another day battered, bloodied and bruised simply because it is too big to allow to die.
    Here they are just a manufacturer but in Europe, they are the Life's blood of many communities as I heard said today on a news report.
    Here when Borgwarner gear box closed, a couple of hundred lost their jobs, in Europe that would be thousands along with all the other components.
    Here Mercedes Benz is considered a luxury car maker but I was staggered one time to hear that in Germany, they were used as Taxi's just as we used Holdens and Fords for here.
    No doubt there will be the usual 'Head Rolling' and new brooms and restructuring of the industry and promises of not being naughty again but, at the end of the day, Volkswagen will survive.

    2 Choices, find all those now made redundant by driving the company to the wall jobs or pay them welfare or 'suck it up' and keep manufacturing.........
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    Quote Originally Posted by admin View Post
    Out of interest, why ?
    Come on mate, never ask a gambler why

    But in all honesty, i don't see its as simple as the media are reporting it (in relation to VW ag's financial exposure)
    Then there is point of VW shares, they have only dropped to 2011 prices and are logically under valued.
    Then there is the bigger picture of sending a company like VW broke... The wider economic impact... Would the powers at be really let that happen?

    Honestly, i just cant see it happening, no matter how much some Aussie Motoring Journo found it great to write about.

    Saying its the end for VW is like saying the World is going to stop turning... Its just not going to happen.
    Last edited by ol' boy; 26-09-15 at 05:41 PM.
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  • #35
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    It doesnt matter how big or small you are, mess with the bull and you get the horns. They lied, got caught and will now pay the penalty.

    Most countries cant afford 77 billion dollars let alone a car company.

    Then there is the stigma that will kill them outright. Sales will plummet due to lack of confidence.

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    Well lets wait and see hey
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    Quote Originally Posted by oceanboy View Post
    Honestly, i just cant see it happening, no matter how much some Aussie Motoring Journo found it great to write about.
    Pick any a news story from anywhere in the world, opinion is pretty much the same everywhere.

    Saying its the end for VW is like saying the World is going to stop turning... Its just not going to happen.
    So how does a company continue to operate when no one buys the product ? They copped a dent to their reputation over the DSG saga, this is as bad as it gets.
    When your product name is poisoned, you are screwed. Seriously, who is going to buy a VW now ?

    No one. So bordering on bankruptcy, yet still afloat, they make cars that no one will buy in the most competitive car market in history ?

    Someone will buy them out and the name will die. Yes, they are the number 2 car maker in the world, but lets watch sales figures take a massive dump over this. The Greenies are going nuts over this.

    Edit : Lol @ VW removing all its ads from Youtube about how good their diesel technology is

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  • #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by admin View Post
    Pick any a news story from anywhere in the world, opinion is pretty much the same everywhere.
    Ok, here is one

    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    Quote Originally Posted by oceanboy View Post
    Ok, here is one

    How old is that article ? Martin Winterkorn is still the CEO in it, he resigned over the scandal about 4 days ago. Its undated so is definately older.The writer Issie Lapowsky is a staff writer covering business, tech policy, and the 2016 election season. I am not sure how much she knows about the automotive market.

    Things havent improved, they have got far worse in the last 4 days.

    They have admitted that they have been lying to the EPA for 8 months...blaming "technical issues" before coming clean and admitting they used software to fool testing standards.

    "Half of the company's sales in Europe - VW's biggest market - are for diesel cars"

    Ouch. Not to mention most of the world has suspended sales pending investigation.

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    Quote Originally Posted by admin View Post

    So how does a company continue to operate when no one buys the product ? They copped a dent to their reputation over the DSG saga, this is as bad as it gets.
    Why is it bad???
    All the cars are still going, nothing is breaking, owners would be none the wiser, unless they read some report in the news.
    No one is left standard, no one is having accidents, cars aren't failing costing owners money.

    I'd buy a VW probably more now, than i would have 2 weeks ago.
    This will blow over and just become a legal battle between law firms.
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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