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Date:         Sun, 23 Feb 2003 19:33:11 +1300
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: OT - soliciting Jetta TDI reviews
In-Reply-To:  <OE19CvlwBxQeIb61LF100003f3c@hotmail.com>
Content-type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=us-ascii

> > If you don't mind an utterly dull-handling car, get a new VW. >> Probably unreliable too. If you want something utterly reliable, get >> a Toyota. > >Personal opinion or fact?

Ask the guys at "Wheels": "Wheels" <wheels@acp.com.au>

>Based on my experience with a brand new 1.9 Jetta >TDI the handling is fine and the suspension is well composed and absorbs >potholes with aplomb. The body is solid. Car magazines tend to interpret >the car's compliant suspension as bad handling.

US magazines perhaps. But plowing understeer is bad handling. Modern VWs & Audis suffer from it.

>Toss in a few potholes and >speed bumps and it works just fine. I used to own an '87 Jetta GLI and >spent quite a bit of time in an '84 GTI. I think my comparison was fair. > >> US ones are far worse. > >Really.

Yes. The US market gets soft springs and little rebound damping... on virtually every imported model. Including the Golf GTi. "Wheels" was MOST critical of the 80s GTis.

> >The mags do say that manufacturing quality and fit & finish are very good >> (another turnaround; however VW's plastics record is unbelievably >> bad, so time will tell whether the new dashboards will shrink, sag >> and break in half and window winder handles snap off), approaching >> Toyota levels. > >So, are you just paraphrasing car magazines or can you very this information >from personal experience?

Personal experience!!

>Yes, the early 80's VW's plastics leave something >to be desired. (Shrinking dashboards? Breaking in half? Where do you get >this stuff?)

Where? From nearly every 70s Golf, Scirocco or Passat (Audi 80) I have owned or seen. Split down the middle, then sag. And window winders which inevitably break off.

> Based on my observations the plastics and the interiors on the >new batch of VWs, such as the B5 passats, hold up rather well in the >southern Alabama furnace.

How about in 5 years' time... will the dash skins be shrinking? Hopefully not, but time will tell whether VW has really gotten its quality act together.

>Look at the Passat resale values and compare to >the perrenial American-Joe favorite, the Honda Accord. I'd say people are >voting with their wallets and the resale value challenges the Honda.

I admit that Hondas RUST. Even Japanese-assembed ones. I love Honda bikes but its cars' long-term quality sucks. -- Andrew Grebneff 165 Evans St, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand <andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz> Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut


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