Date:         Thu, 9 Nov 1995 12:55:00 -0500 
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "david (d.) o'heare" <oheare@bnr.ca>
Subject:      RE: Volkswagen 'quality' 

(This is a wee bit long, and kind of a tirade.  Forgive me, or skip this 
message if you want.  I gotta vent....)

In message " Volkswagen 'quality'", tcasey@hdrinc.com writes:

>I must have missed the note that this is responding to, so please bear with 
>me.  Hopefully I won't start another insulting exchange on the list...

[And somebody else said:]

>>The history of Volkswagen 'improvements' is more an example of how to
>>maximize profits by substituting shoddy goods for the real thing, replacing
>>bronze with zinc die-castings, galvanized steel with cardboard (windscreen
>>heater ducts) and so on.  At the same time a number of quality and safety
>>items were compromised in order to cater to the market's demand for more
>>speed and bettery 'style'.

Sigh, too true.  I bought a VW Fox wagon (my first new car), owned it for 26 
months, and in that time it was in the shop *28* times -- once for a week, 
once for almost three.  Major problem was that the heater didn't work properly 
-- when it was cold out, you'd get either a blast of frigid air, or a *tiny* 
amount of *unbelievably hot* air.  (They finally discovered that the glue 
which held a pad on the flap controlling the airfow hardened and separated in 
the cold, leaving the pad blocking the heater core.  When the car went into 
the shop, the whole thing warmed up, and the problem disappeared.)

Other things -- every single light bulb and fuse was replaced, along with most 
of the rest of the electrical system.  The entire cooling system -- rad, 
heater core, water pump, thermostat (never had a thermostat fail before or 
since).  Two wheel bearings.  The windshield stress-fractured.  Half the side 
rub-strip fell off.  The lock on the glovebox broke *closed*, so that you 
couldn't open it (and of course you have to open the door to disassemble the 
dash to take the glovebox out (and I'd just put a fragile Christmas present in 
the glovebox)).  The speedometer cable seized. Yadda yadda.

The dealership was fine -- loaned me a car every time.  Most stuff was under 
warranty (they wouldn't cover the windshield, one bearing went out of 
warranty).  They never had to fix the same thing twice (except the buggy 
heater).  I tried to escalate through the chain of command; talked to a 
regional service person who tried to tell me that I should expect this stuff, 
'cause the Fox was an entry-level car.

I voted with my influence.  My parents had a VW Golf and a Jetta at the time, 
both bought new, both dealer-maintained.  Now they've moved to Hondas.  Other 
relatives and friends had assorted VW products -- *not one* does now (except 
my '71 Westy that VW isn't making anything off of anyway).  I figure that that 
Fox, and the way that VW Canada's representative treated me, cost VWCan over a 
hundred thousand dollars.

In the time I owned it, I put 40,000 kilometers on it -- not that much; I 
didn't wear it out.  Before that car, I'd owned a number of vehicles, 
including a Super Beetle, a '71 bus, and a '67 Type III.  My parents had had a 
Beetle, a couple of Rabbits, and the Jetta.  I *liked* VWs.  I really wanted 
to like that Fox.  VW fought me every step of the way.

My apologies for the rant -- I figure the more people that know, the better.


>Also, as a vintage guitar fan...

Tim, this (vintage guitars) is something we should discuss off-list.

Dave O'Heare
oheare@bnr.ca