Also for reference, check out Consumer Reports' yearly car issue. They rate all car manufacturers and their models, and list reliability...

All you see are black dots with all VW's (bad)

 

What if you had both hotchkis sways installed on the tc?
Now who wins both?

 

tC has some weird handling quirk that I havn't managed to sort out yet. Rabbits, even from the freakin' 1970s have pretty darn amazing handling.

I don't know why, but the Germans, and Honda have handling sorted out. Toyota doesn't. Actually, Mercedes isn't that great either. BMW and Porsche are unreal they are so good. Audi/VW is just a notch below BMW. Saab is a notch under Audi/VW. Volvos are not so great (boring), but usually so neutral that it's hard to screw up in one, even an old 240. Honda is only recently good. The older 90s integras were very weird at extremely high speed.


Somehow find a way to take a Boxter out for a hard ride. Sell your soul if you have too. Then you will *KNOW*

 

I also heard vw's are terrible in reliability.

well your opinion doesnt mean much until you have owned/drive one. i had 4 VWs with 3 with over 150k miles and not a single problem. my dad has a 00 Jetta and the only unscheduled service it needed was a new motor for the wipers. my mom has an 04 Touarge and it has been problem free since it was brand new save for a tire pressure sensor that acts up every now and then. the interior of the Rabbit is way nicer then the TC. The Rabbit is also a killer highway ride.

Consumer reports is useless, it asks ppl what they THINK is a design flaw IE…if I get in my car and I think the stereo isn’t up to snuff I can send that in as a design flaw. Where as if my dad gets in, and he thinks the stereo is more then enough he wont report it. there is no actual scientific method to how the make those colored dots. if you buy a car using the dots in consumer reports then don’t call yourself an enthusiasts.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=1719 - read this, its why CR is useless

 

Your anecdotal evidence is lacking. Your sample size is 6 VWs. That doesnt mean anything.

You dont have to believe CR.

But how about JD Powers? Their surveys also show that VW has short term and long term quality/reliability problems. They ranked Scion pretty low also, but Lexus and Toyota were ranked very high.

 

"They ranked Scion pretty low also, but Lexus and Toyota were ranked very high." so explain that to me then??? how can a car that is a Toyota everywhere else be ranked at the bottom? Because the drivers are more critical of it. There is no scientific data in these surveys. its what ppl THINK. Your opinion of brake pads wearing out to fast is diff then mine. Lets say we both buy Car A…a piece of the interior trim pops off. your able to fix it yourself. I on the other hand take it to the dealer and report it as a defect. The best brand, Lexus, has 0.42 problems per car, while the worst, Isuzu, has 1.10: a best-to-worst difference of 0.68 problems per car. Also dealer relations is a huge part of what a customer thinks of the car. These surveys have no basis in fact and are used to keep the sheep that are 99% of our society from having to do there own research.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=1592 - all about the JD Power BS

 

YourNameHere -- agree with you on the JD Power thing. However, at some point people can discount any automotive survey. Who do you listen to and who don't you listen to?

 

i went and test drove all the cars i liked. then made my decision. Price, Gas Mileage and Insurance where my three biggest factors in what car I picked. My top picks where the Cobalt SS s/c, VW GTI MK5, Mazda 3 5dr, Neon SRT, Scion tC, and the xB. (I also looked at the 300 and Magnum but didn’t even test drive them cause they don’t have a manual tranny) The Cobalt was a really fun car and I nearly bought it, until I got the quote from my insurance company. Had that been lower (or myself older, im 21) I would be driving that car no questions. Go drive one it will surprise you. VW GTI- I fell in love with this car but it was a little out of my price range and the insurance was a high. Mazda 3- was going to by one, in fact I had a down payment on one but they couldn’t find a White 5dr 5spd without a sunroof. Neon SRT- just felt cheap. tC, just didn’t like the way it acted on the local crappy roads. and I picked the xB cause it was the cheapest (even the RS3) had the best gas mileage and compared to the others was at the bottom of the insurance premiums. list Plus out of all my choices it was the least likely to blend in to the rest of the car in the parking lot and I have an RS3 so I have that added exclusivity to boot. I couldn’t be happier with my purchased and I didn’t look at a single Consumer Reports or JD Power survey. If I had, I may not have picked the xB…what a mistake that would have been (thanks JD Power). My advice to everyone that asks me for advice when car shopping, go test drive anything you are interested in. all cars now a days are reliable, you buy what ever car you make a connection with and fits your lifestyle.

 

Yup, test driving is the way to go.

I drove a Honda Civic, tC, Mazda3, xB, Corolla, and Matrix....ended up with the xB because it was most fun to drive, and it handled riugh roads well.