No, I'm not talking about Vin Diesel. I'm talking about Volkswagen Golf TDI Clean Diesel.
This time last year, I'd been having all sorts of issues with a 13 year old VW Golf GLS that I bought with fewer than 50 miles. It wasn't a paragon of reliability at any time, but spending US$500-$1000 nearly every month was difficult.
I searched for several cars and the dealership which serviced my car had two 2012 Golf TDIs in stock at a discount since the 2013 models had been available for months.
Switching to diesel wasn't a huge problem. I knew enough that I wouldn't put gasoline in the tank. Apparently, some TDI owners aren't that aware and VW had a couple of safety precautions that they used to help remind people. My only issue was finding the diesel pump, as it wasn't always out in the open. At one station, it was in the back, in the dark. Their price was lower, I guess, because it wasn't for the faint of heart to fill up. Many times, I've had to search for the diesel pump but a few stations mark it nicely. It's always amusing how many customers will pass the gasoline-only pump to use the combined gasoline-diesel pump to get gasoline. I love waiting. I love sarcasm more.
Finding stations with diesel has been an issue. While I was traveling, I would have loved to use Waze to help me there, but it doesn't allow me to customize it for the type of fuel, but then, neither does Scout. If I'm in unfamiliar territory, it's easier to have GasBuddy at the ready and switch to that, and it already knows that I'm looking for diesel fuel.
The price of gasoline has swung madly through the year, while diesel fuel has stayed within 40 cents, never being very cheap at US$3.899, though US$4.299 seems rather expensive. In my world, when I'm getting over 40 miles per gallon, I suppose it doesn't matter, but during the winter months, I may have trouble reaching 30 mpg because of warming up and moving slowly, staying in lower gears. I've seen just higher than 50 mpg, which is rather a bit higher than the 42 mpg stated. On my trip to Philly, I had 48.8 mpg, if I recall correctly, giving me a range of 664 miles.
Since I got the car just past 5500 miles, the first free maintenance had been finished. I took it for the 10,000 mile maintenance at the same dealer where I bought it. However, for 20,000 miles, I was between California and Ohio, so when I stopped in Arkansas, I had the service there. The mechanic botched the service, pinching the fuel filter. I had a huge leak. The next day, they took care of it, but the mechanic refused to reimburse me the fuel, even though he was given a voucher to do so. My next service will certainly not be there, especially since it's 12 dry hours from home.
The car really hasn't given me a cause for concern. If I look back at the first 30,000 miles of other VWs, I had a vapor lock problem with the 1985 GTI, plus a bent wheel. The 1986 GTI had a missing weld and a bent wheel and both front brake rotors had to be replaced. The 1990 Corrado had a bent wheel but it was quite a bit more reliable. The 1999 Golf GLS had 30 or so trips to the dealer for the power window regulator clips, plus an appetite for daytime running lights, and various electrical problems including the central locking system.
The only serious problem I've had with it is that it's all grown up. I found myself driving 90 mph when it felt like 65 mph with the 1999. It is very stable, though not flawless. The electrically-powered steering took some acclimation, but it's quite reasonable, and I don't have Asphalt 8 (video game) moments with it.
You might ask why I'm already over 20,000 miles. I took a trip from here to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, plus a trip to San Jose, California. Those totaled 1884 and 5702 miles respectively. Obviously, that's not a lot of the travel. The rest is rather local within the tri-state area. In fact, January 31st and February 1st, I was in southern Ohio photographing three basketball games. The trip is about 4 hours each way. I'm getting an average of about 10 mpg better than the 1999 Golf GLS, which is a good improvement. If I could drive more slowly on the highway and avoid little towns on the state roads, I'd do better. (I'm just past a total of 30,000 miles, meaning that I've added nearly 25,000. The MFI shows that I have another 2000 miles until the final free service.)
This was also my first car with an automatic gearbox. Yes, they had a manual available but between white and red, I chose red--and the better discount on the demonstrator. I might do it differently given the choice again. For some reason, I was completely uncomfortable with the transmission during the test drive. I suppose that shouldn't be surprising. Every Volkswagen I've had, the gear change was radically different in feel and it took a while to acclimate myself. Not only that, but the clutch was usually different also. I didn't want to be troubled with gearbox and/or clutch problems.
One thing is still certain. The car was certified as meeting ULEV II standards, so I can move to California without giving up the car, and that's a plus. It also means that it's not polluting as much as the old car, nor does it have a load of batteries to be recycled as a hybrid or fully electrically-driven vehicle would have. I can be concerned about the environment without being an activist.
Am I in love with my car on Valentine's Day? Not exactly, but I am satisfied. It's all dressed in red--maybe I should take it for a car wash.
Update 2014.05.06: I took my car for its 30,000 mile service a week ago Monday. I made an appointment, but they were so quick with it that I'd almost think that they didn't do anything. Supposedly, the change the oil and filter, rotate the tires, and other maintenance-type things. I suspect that they changed the fuel filter again, since the disaster at the previous VW dealer in Arkansas and my 20,000 mile service.
I'm heading toward California once the sale of my house is complete. While I was uncertain at the time I bought the car, I'm glad I settled on this certain model because it is a 50-states certified model. It's just too bad it's not much bigger in the back. I'm still not sure how I got to Florida in my 1985 Mazda RX-7 with my Japanese futon in the back and various things crammed in the front. I know that I had many things crammed into my 1999 Golf GLS when I moved up here. That Jetta Sportwagen looked like a winner but I bet it doesn't have all that much extra room.
Update 2015.11.24: At just over 80,000 miles, I've been busy.
When I sold my house in June 2014, I took a trip to New Jersey, to stay at the shore several days. It rained most of those days. As I wouldn't be on the east coast again, most likely, I took a weekend trip to Orlando to visit friends. That was 1100 miles each way. Returning to New Jersey, I had a nice day, picked up my things and started for California.
How did I put on 40,000 miles in just over a year, especially when I drove a lot of short trips? I really don't know. I'm about 70 miles from San Jose, California and I go there often. I've been to San Diego once, on one tank with some to spare. I've been to Orange County a couple of times. It is a big state. I haven't got as much fuel economy as I might have. 90 miles per hour is too easily achieved. Still, 35 miles per gallon and change is good. If I told it down to 60 mph, I'd see 42 mpg, probably, but traffic doesn't work that way in general.
The car has been good. Despite the emissions scandal, I still like the car. I'm disappointed in the company, but I suspect that they're not the only company to cheat. Apparently, Renault is being investigated at the moment, but it's difficult to believe that any company has not cheated.
I haven't had any major repairs, though the windshield had to be replaced once. About two weeks after having tint installed on the rear windows and colorless film on the front windows and windshield, a pebble propelled at the windshield started a crack that took over half of the glass. It couldn't have happened before the extra cost film, could it have?
As the year is ending soon, I'm wondering about so many things. Hopefully, the car will continue to be good, even after VW makes their modifications to the emissions control hardware and software. I don't need a car that coughs and sputters.
Showing posts with label 50 states. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 50 states. Show all posts
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Volkswagen service
I'm on my fourth VW, a 1999 Golf GLS with just over 140,000 miles. It's been through the wringer, so to speak. I spent over 30 visits because the power window regulator clips failed and the window would not close. I have a new hatch in the back because of someone's carelessness when she ran into my car at a stop light. Inside, things just fell apart. Recently, the sunroof drains clogged and water was exiting through the door trim. The center armrest door fell apart. It continues.
On the 12th of November, I had the car serviced. I was late for a major service, which was at 120,000 miles. Many things needed to be handled. When I made the appointment, I had requested that the forward side marker light be repaired, as it had been hanging. King's VW of Loveland, Ohio missed the hanging light in their several walk-around inspections, but they noticed the missing radio antenna--a huge safety risk.
When the survey arrived and I completed it, the manager replied at how that side marker light had been repaired--as if they'd done exactly as they should have. If they had, it would have been repaired on my initial visit, instead of focusing on the missing radio antenna. I actually travel past another VW dealer to go there because the closer one is not as highly rated. If haphazard care is what you get, why not go to the closer one, unless they really don't care about anything?
On the 17th of November, I was with friends in the Orlando, Florida area. As I was leaving their house, the low beam headlight on the driver's side was out. One of those had died about the same time four years earlier. Unfortunately, there is one that is easy to replace and the other requires removing things to get to it. (Volkswagen must think like GM or Ford.)
I really didn't want to mess too much, and I went to an Advance Auto Parts, thinking that their people might know immediately or be able to help me. "We don't do that!" I was told in a most rude tone. They replace wiper blades and batteries but not headlight bulbs. Okay, fine, but rudeness, really?
I went down the road to David Maus VW. They were new in 2008 when I was leaving the area. I had been dealing with Aristocrat VW from buying the car through service for it. At one point, they replaced their entire service department and they were no longer trustworthy. However, David Maus dealerships were an unknown. He was on tv telling people "whatever it takes" and I thought that he was just another one who couldn't be trusted.
So, I walked into the service department a few minutes early on Sunday morning. The service advisor was quite pleasant, and patient as I explained things. He quoted $59.95 for the bulb and labor. If it was on the easy side, that was overpriced. I also mentioned that my radio antenna was falling apart and I needed a replacement. He would ask parts about that.
Quite a while later, he told me that they were close to finishing and the radio antenna would be $79.95 (I expected $39.99 - $49.99) and they didn't have it in stock. He suggested eBay. That sounded better. I had bought a universal kit for $9.99 and I couldn't fit the pieces together. I am able to do IKEA or other do-it-yourself furniture but I'm not mechanically-inclined.
On checkout, he said that he went "to the back" and found "old antennas" and replaced mine for free. I'm sure I thanked him, but my cynicism kicked in and I thought that it was some sort of gimmick to get my trust. It was certainly better than Jimmy Bryan Mazda breaking something on my car so I'd have to return.
In the end, it worked out quite nicely because the radio antenna balanced the bulb being on the easy side. If it wasn't, then, I really do owe the dealership some loyalty but they'd have that already for not being rude, and doing a good job.
Strangely, I got a call the next morning from a salesperson. I say strangely because I was about 1000 miles from home. Do people keep their car titles with them? If I was buying a car locally, it would make sense. I would go home, retrieve it and make progress in the sale. I suppose I could just abandon my car 1000 miles from home, or give it to strangers. In any case, I thought that it was amusing that they would attempt a sale from someone visiting the state.
Thinking back to my first two VWs, I used to get a lot of smart ass remarks from the dealerships. Al Holbert, who raced Audi cars, had a Porsche/Audi/VW dealership in Warrington, PA. I took my 1986 VW GTI there at around 30,000 miles for brake work. It needed the two front brake rotors replaced. I asked politely "What makes that happen?" and the service advisor answered "your foot". He had a long day? I had a long day! If VW was doing surveys at that point, he'd get the opposite of a "Truly Exceptional". I'd never had a car that needed rotors replaced at 30,000 miles. That was exceptional.
You'd think if you were paying exceptionally high prices for service--the rates were often the same no matter the manufacturer--that you'd be getting people working between you and the mechanics who knew how to not infuritate customers. Sure, Porsche hourly rates were nothing compared to Rolls-Royce but my car was about 25 % the price of the nearest Porsche model.
I'm guessing I'll be at a Subaru or Mazda dealer once I decide where I'm going to live next. I can't just buy a car any longer. There are no 50 state cars now, unless diesel cars fit that.
Update 2013.01.27: So, I just had the strangest experience this week. The car was overheating in 17 degrees Fahrenheit weather. I drove the car too far trying to get it home. I was going to put water in it, but the water bottles I kept in the car were frozen solid. The next morning, I had the car towed to Expert Tire, since 60 miles to a VW dealership was inconvenient. They pulled things apart and found a distribution point that had cracked. Why it was plastic is beyond me. Given the state of extremes in weather and coolant temperatures, I thought the parts would be made of metal. They received a replacement part, which wasn't correct, and later that day received the correct part since they could send it back and match it. The pressure test revealed no other issues. I had the oil changed due to the extraordinary heat--all those adverts about engine heat breaking down oil got to me.
I ended up with a rental car from Hertz--not recommended too much--and have definitely decided against a Toyota Corolla. My arms aren't long but the door was designed for someone with excessively short arms, as the controls and door handle were several inches back of what seemed natural. What's more, I'm half-Japanese, so the car should fit me fairly well.
I've been considering a new car more and more, especially since my mum's house sold and I have the cash. A reasonably local, highly-rated Subaru dealer has some Impreza Sport models at a reasonable price. I also found a couple of 2012 VW Golf TDI leftovers at the dealership that does my service. The discounts put them at almost acceptable prices. They're all over $20,000--a line I'd never crossed in the past. I also wanted to look at Mazda 3, but given the dealerships wanting to charge extra or play games, I'm not likely to bother. Plus, I want a car I can keep in California and the diesels are ULEV II-compliant, and that's huge. Will they last 14 years as my current Golf is approaching that age? Will they be as shabby? I'm concerned. The Subaru Impreza is a more reliable choice, but will it have an emotional resonance?
Update 2013.07.17: I bought the VW Golf TDI and I've even been through the 10,000 mile service. Since there wasn't anything really wrong with the car, it went smoothly and it was inexpensive for them and at no cost to me. There is another service at 20,000 miles and I'm only about 4000 miles from that now. I might have to have that done while I'm on a trip somewhere else.
Update 2014.11.14: I'm over 40,000 miles now, and it's been relatively fine, except for a botched 20,000 mile service (pinched the fuel filter--didn't reimburse me for the fuel) when I was on the road back in August 2013.
Now that I'm living in Northern California, I'm happy to have found a great service department within 15 miles or so. There are three VW dealers within that distance, but only one is great. They mentioned that they have customers from the San Francisco Bay Area. That seems impressive. You would think that they'd have great dealerships in a large metropolitan area but this one is in a small city of 200,000 people.
On the 12th of November, I had the car serviced. I was late for a major service, which was at 120,000 miles. Many things needed to be handled. When I made the appointment, I had requested that the forward side marker light be repaired, as it had been hanging. King's VW of Loveland, Ohio missed the hanging light in their several walk-around inspections, but they noticed the missing radio antenna--a huge safety risk.
When the survey arrived and I completed it, the manager replied at how that side marker light had been repaired--as if they'd done exactly as they should have. If they had, it would have been repaired on my initial visit, instead of focusing on the missing radio antenna. I actually travel past another VW dealer to go there because the closer one is not as highly rated. If haphazard care is what you get, why not go to the closer one, unless they really don't care about anything?
On the 17th of November, I was with friends in the Orlando, Florida area. As I was leaving their house, the low beam headlight on the driver's side was out. One of those had died about the same time four years earlier. Unfortunately, there is one that is easy to replace and the other requires removing things to get to it. (Volkswagen must think like GM or Ford.)
I really didn't want to mess too much, and I went to an Advance Auto Parts, thinking that their people might know immediately or be able to help me. "We don't do that!" I was told in a most rude tone. They replace wiper blades and batteries but not headlight bulbs. Okay, fine, but rudeness, really?
I went down the road to David Maus VW. They were new in 2008 when I was leaving the area. I had been dealing with Aristocrat VW from buying the car through service for it. At one point, they replaced their entire service department and they were no longer trustworthy. However, David Maus dealerships were an unknown. He was on tv telling people "whatever it takes" and I thought that he was just another one who couldn't be trusted.
So, I walked into the service department a few minutes early on Sunday morning. The service advisor was quite pleasant, and patient as I explained things. He quoted $59.95 for the bulb and labor. If it was on the easy side, that was overpriced. I also mentioned that my radio antenna was falling apart and I needed a replacement. He would ask parts about that.
Quite a while later, he told me that they were close to finishing and the radio antenna would be $79.95 (I expected $39.99 - $49.99) and they didn't have it in stock. He suggested eBay. That sounded better. I had bought a universal kit for $9.99 and I couldn't fit the pieces together. I am able to do IKEA or other do-it-yourself furniture but I'm not mechanically-inclined.
On checkout, he said that he went "to the back" and found "old antennas" and replaced mine for free. I'm sure I thanked him, but my cynicism kicked in and I thought that it was some sort of gimmick to get my trust. It was certainly better than Jimmy Bryan Mazda breaking something on my car so I'd have to return.
In the end, it worked out quite nicely because the radio antenna balanced the bulb being on the easy side. If it wasn't, then, I really do owe the dealership some loyalty but they'd have that already for not being rude, and doing a good job.
Strangely, I got a call the next morning from a salesperson. I say strangely because I was about 1000 miles from home. Do people keep their car titles with them? If I was buying a car locally, it would make sense. I would go home, retrieve it and make progress in the sale. I suppose I could just abandon my car 1000 miles from home, or give it to strangers. In any case, I thought that it was amusing that they would attempt a sale from someone visiting the state.
Thinking back to my first two VWs, I used to get a lot of smart ass remarks from the dealerships. Al Holbert, who raced Audi cars, had a Porsche/Audi/VW dealership in Warrington, PA. I took my 1986 VW GTI there at around 30,000 miles for brake work. It needed the two front brake rotors replaced. I asked politely "What makes that happen?" and the service advisor answered "your foot". He had a long day? I had a long day! If VW was doing surveys at that point, he'd get the opposite of a "Truly Exceptional". I'd never had a car that needed rotors replaced at 30,000 miles. That was exceptional.
You'd think if you were paying exceptionally high prices for service--the rates were often the same no matter the manufacturer--that you'd be getting people working between you and the mechanics who knew how to not infuritate customers. Sure, Porsche hourly rates were nothing compared to Rolls-Royce but my car was about 25 % the price of the nearest Porsche model.
I'm guessing I'll be at a Subaru or Mazda dealer once I decide where I'm going to live next. I can't just buy a car any longer. There are no 50 state cars now, unless diesel cars fit that.
Update 2013.01.27: So, I just had the strangest experience this week. The car was overheating in 17 degrees Fahrenheit weather. I drove the car too far trying to get it home. I was going to put water in it, but the water bottles I kept in the car were frozen solid. The next morning, I had the car towed to Expert Tire, since 60 miles to a VW dealership was inconvenient. They pulled things apart and found a distribution point that had cracked. Why it was plastic is beyond me. Given the state of extremes in weather and coolant temperatures, I thought the parts would be made of metal. They received a replacement part, which wasn't correct, and later that day received the correct part since they could send it back and match it. The pressure test revealed no other issues. I had the oil changed due to the extraordinary heat--all those adverts about engine heat breaking down oil got to me.
I ended up with a rental car from Hertz--not recommended too much--and have definitely decided against a Toyota Corolla. My arms aren't long but the door was designed for someone with excessively short arms, as the controls and door handle were several inches back of what seemed natural. What's more, I'm half-Japanese, so the car should fit me fairly well.
I've been considering a new car more and more, especially since my mum's house sold and I have the cash. A reasonably local, highly-rated Subaru dealer has some Impreza Sport models at a reasonable price. I also found a couple of 2012 VW Golf TDI leftovers at the dealership that does my service. The discounts put them at almost acceptable prices. They're all over $20,000--a line I'd never crossed in the past. I also wanted to look at Mazda 3, but given the dealerships wanting to charge extra or play games, I'm not likely to bother. Plus, I want a car I can keep in California and the diesels are ULEV II-compliant, and that's huge. Will they last 14 years as my current Golf is approaching that age? Will they be as shabby? I'm concerned. The Subaru Impreza is a more reliable choice, but will it have an emotional resonance?
Update 2013.07.17: I bought the VW Golf TDI and I've even been through the 10,000 mile service. Since there wasn't anything really wrong with the car, it went smoothly and it was inexpensive for them and at no cost to me. There is another service at 20,000 miles and I'm only about 4000 miles from that now. I might have to have that done while I'm on a trip somewhere else.
Update 2014.11.14: I'm over 40,000 miles now, and it's been relatively fine, except for a botched 20,000 mile service (pinched the fuel filter--didn't reimburse me for the fuel) when I was on the road back in August 2013.
Now that I'm living in Northern California, I'm happy to have found a great service department within 15 miles or so. There are three VW dealers within that distance, but only one is great. They mentioned that they have customers from the San Francisco Bay Area. That seems impressive. You would think that they'd have great dealerships in a large metropolitan area but this one is in a small city of 200,000 people.
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