# Fucking Volkswagen **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 20, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-volkswagen/255930 "2004-07-20T02:27:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-volkswagen/255930/81 "2004-07-23T06:17:31Z")
> [@Coldfire](#): > > but normal oil consumption should be reached after about 7,000 miles or so. Again, I’m not disagreeing with you. If that car actually gets all the way down to where the oil doesn’t even register on the dipstick in 800 miles, that’s seriously, seriously, wrong. No need to belabor that point, because I totally agree with you. Even if it’s 2000 miles, that’s still not good. VWs _do_ tend to consume a little more oil than other cars, but not _that_ much. BTW, the recommended interval is 5,000, at least on my 2001 Jetta. Mine goes through about a quart in that amount of time; sometimes I have to add a little oil between changes. > [@](#): > > I’m guessing SolGrundy’s car has done more than that. Also, I’m aware that the oil indicator light means “Your oil is dangerously low”, not “Your oil is rather old”. Oh, o.k. - when you said “idiot light my ass”, it sounded like you were dismissing what I had said. Usually, when you say “[something] my ass”, it means you don’t believe [something]. Sorry if I misunderstood you. > [@](#): > > I think SG may have been a tad hyperbolic when she said the light came on “at every street corner”, indicating her frustration with a car that burns oil almost as fast as it does fuel. Perhaps, but the point I was trying to make wasn’t in any way contingent on _how many times_ the oil light comes on. My point was that if the oil light _ever_ comes on, _even once_, your engine is already potentially damaged. My dad’s a pretty smart guy, and the first thing he taught me when I got my first car was, “Always check your fluids.” An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You want to check your oil, coolant, brake fluid, ps fluid, etc. _before_ they get too low. > [@](#): > > Incidently, I’m no stranger to regularly topping off oil myself - I ride a Yamaha. Fellow Yammie owners will know what I mean. 🙂 Well then we agree. Sorry I ruffled people’s feathers. I guess I just feel very strongly about preventive maintenance and understanding what your warning lights mean. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-volkswagen/255930/82 "2004-07-23T06:43:29Z")
(bolding mine) > [@Coldfire](#): > > I’m guessing SolGrundy’s car has done more than that. Also, I’m aware that the oil indicator light means “Your oil is dangerously low”, not “Your oil is rather old”. I think SG may have been a tad hyperbolic when **she** said the light came on “at every street corner”, indicating **her** frustration with a car that burns oil almost as fast as it does fuel. Okay, _ **okay** _! I get it. I don’t understand cars and don’t follow routine maintenance. I will try to remember to check my oil more frequently. Could I have my balls back now, please? ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-volkswagen/255930/83 "2004-07-23T07:07:58Z")
Ha, ha. I was thinking you were a guy all along, although I’m not sure how I knew that. Anyway, sorry for trying to bust your balls. I’ll shut up now. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-volkswagen/255930/84 "2004-07-23T09:56:53Z")
My apologies, SolGrundy. You can collect your testicles at the Volkswagen dealer that confiscated them when you bought that POS Jetta. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-volkswagen/255930/85 "2004-08-10T12:27:51Z")
Hope this thread isn’t completely dead. I **was** the owner of a fully loaded 1998 Volkswagen Passat. Gawd, I loved that car … heated leather seats, V6, sunroof, trip computer, the works. Solid as hell; one of those vehicles where you look down at the speedo, see it reading 110 MPH, and back off thinking “Oh shit! Didn’t realize I was going that fast!” What happened this year? Oh, $1,200 to replace a timing chain and take care of a few other inor problems. $1,500 for tie rods and the accompanying alignment. Last wek, when I was given an estimate of $2,500 to replace a faulty ABS control module – the car would sometimes think there was a foot of snow on the goround, even though the pavement was dry – I said “screw it.” After my warranty expired, I never had a repair that cost less than $600 or $700. A lot of good all that preventative maintenance did, huh? I traded in the Passat, and yesterday became the proud owner of a 2001 Subaru Forester. It doesn’t have the same level of luxury and refinement as the Passat, but it’s well-engineered, and should last me more than 200,000 miles with proper maintenance. Repairs, if they’re needed, shouldn’t cost the same as a week long trip to Europe, three HDTV sets, or the closing costs on a nice house. Still, I love Volkswagens … the way they drive, the way they feel. I just hate the expense of them; they’re money sinks. Maybe, if I happen across one, I’ll pick up an old diesel Golf. So, is there such a thing as a reliable, low-cost water-cooled Dub? ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-volkswagen/255930/86 "2004-08-10T12:53:15Z")
Nope. I’m afraid low-cost VW’s went out with the Golf II. Congrats on the Forrester, though. That’s a solid car for you. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-volkswagen/255930/87 "2004-08-10T21:58:06Z")
Since we’re taking watercooled here: I had a 1984 Jetta (I got in 1994). The missus and I spent about $1500 to get it back into a safe running condition (a/c, new brakes, tires, and other assorted items). We took it to Atlanta and got tapped in the rear by an 18-wheeler changing lanes. We were zipping along at about 75mph at the time. The truck sent us into a wicked spin. In retrospect, we should have been sent flipping end over end, but the car held it’s ground. Ended up with just a slight sent in the rear quarter panel and a cracked tail light. We got $1600 from the insurance company. At 190,000 miles I coughed up a head gasket. Had the engine rebuilt and kept it another year and sold it to a co-worker. He kept for about two more years before going over some huge hole in the road and cracked the firewall. He then sold it to someone for about $200. It was spotted about 2 years ago, still running. I am convinced the car was part cockroach. On the flipside, I had a 1988 Fox. This car was the worst vehicle I have ever owned. I believe it was scraped from Satan’s colon. In the past, I have had 3 Beetles (73 standard, 74 standard and super) and a 1970 bus (part of my 10 weeks in hell when I lived in Tampa). I still have a soft spot for VWs and would love to have a Karmann Ghia convertible. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-volkswagen/255930/88 "2004-08-10T23:16:29Z")
> [@minty green](#): > > My '02 Passat has been almost entirely trouble-free. Damn good car, as a matter of fact. Same here! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-volkswagen/255930/89 "2004-08-11T14:02:13Z")
Back in the early '60s, my father’s '57 Beetle had the wiper motor quit on him. His mechanic told him that the price of a single-speed VW wiper motor and the price of a 3-speed motor for a Cadillac were equal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-volkswagen/255930.md?page=4)