Cars cost more than we think....(Vent)

[Ken's MKV]

venting: car repair

Rant:

Hey, so I just need to vent. In the past week I have spent over $3k on my 2006 VW Jetta MKV (2.5L with 63k on the clock to be specific). First i got some new summer tires because my old ones were showing the wear indicator. Okay, done!

Then a few days later I noticed my car was idling a little rough but otherwise ran okay. Took it to my local guy who looked at it and came to the conclusion that I needed to feed it better gas; as in higher octane. He also replaced the fuel filter since it was due.

I picked it up the next day and it immediately experienced a loss of power and a nice scraping sound. I took it back so he could look at it again. The next day he told me to take it to the dealer because he did not know what to do with it. I made it about 2 miles until the check engine light was flashing. Pulled over and called AAA for a tow. At this point it was saturday and the car had to sit over the weekend. Now for you VW people you may know that this sophisticated engine used to be in Audi's a few years back. Instead of a timing belt it has a timing chain that is supposed to have less service intervals. Well, that is exactly what broke so it took the VW mechanic about 14 hours to fix it as the chain, pulleys and tensioners had to replaced. The mechanic said that this is something that does not really fail so he does not see many come in at all.

All in all I got my VW back and it purrs like a kitteh. Parts replaced: timing chain, tensioners, VW sparkplugs, fuel filer (from the other guy) and new tires. Total cost: $3500 total and one week without a car. Outch! And as a nursing student it was very hard paying this. At least I love this car and I get a lot of enjoyment out of it so I hope it lasts. Pics below of my saturday morning.

Cliffs notes: cars can be a pita. Thanks for listening

Cheers
Ken

 

[Smersh]

Ouch. sorry to hear that, man. That really sucks. I especially hate going to dealership, cuz they just see a dollar bill walking through the door.

 

[skooter65]

I think we all feel your pain.

My Nissan Frontier had a similar issue. Chain didn't completely fail but needed to be replaced due to some faulty (Nissan Manufacturing issue) chain tensioners. $1700 out of pocket later...


No warranty on yours??

 

[Ken's MKV]

No warranty.....63k on the clock

Cheers
Ken

 

[skooter65]

Car Companies!!! Can't live with em', can't live without....wait...maybe we can

 

[Erci]

That really sucks. Hopefully it'll go for a while now before next issue.

I'd look for a new mechanic too. Going to higher grade gas for rough idle is a bogus advice.

 

[wolfc70]

Huh, I wonder if VW is having timing chain issues on the 2.5l I5? Co-workers 2006 Rabbit also lost the timing chain. 74K miles. I guess it needs a new engine as some valves hit pistons and actually broke off and lodged in the head. She said it was going to be around $6k After hearing all the latest VW horror stories, I'm glad I did not by a 2007 Passat.

 

[616ah]

Last I checked "Fahrvergnügen" translated means "bring your wallet".

 

[The Toecutter]

Ouch. sorry to hear that, man. That really sucks. I especially hate going to dealership, cuz they just see a dollar bill walking through the door.

Now come on man.... we see a dollar bill with arms and legs !! :BLAA: We will give a cold bottle of water with our logo on it and luxurious waiting room with leather easy chairs and a huge 50" lcd tv to watch CNN news on , and once we have finished replacing every part we can possibly talk you into paying for, you get a choclate candy with your receipt showing you that we just drained your checking acount , and you get into your freshly washed and repaired vehicle and have a very polite service writer see you happily on your way to the pawn shop so you can pay your electric bill next week... :BLAA: :rockon:

 

[Pimpson]

No warranty.....63k on the clock

Cheers
Ken

Does that car have the 5year 60kmile powertrain warranty? If so, i would have called up VW Customer Service and asked for some kind of assistance since 3K miles is so close to being covered.

 

[lazamus69]

Anything but a NEW VW is garbage. When your warranty runs out SELL because these cars have nothing but issues. EVERYONE that I know that has owned/owns one of these things has problems(more than they should imo), and 80% time big ones.


ps..I am also waiting for my Frontier tensioner to start whining..F'n Nissan...:Flip:

 

[Hoshiko]

Anything but a NEW VW is garbage. When your warranty runs out SELL because these cars have nothing but issues. EVERYONE that I know that has owned/owns one of these things has problems(more than they should imo), and 80% time big ones.
:

My first car was a 1990 Golf GL, I drove it almost 350,000 kilometers, that is 220,000 miles before I finally totaled it on a rainy night. Also understand that I learned to drive in that car and I was really young, I abused it lots of times. My dad had to be pushing me to send the poor car to the services since I didn't want it to be car-less for a weekend. It never failed me.

Sorry to hear that your jetta is giving you a hard time, hope after all that time and money, it will love you back as much as my old Golf did to me.

 

[iSteve]

Lazamus69, I think you're being a little harsh... not that I don't agree 100%. But no one wants to hear that after just paying their mechanic.

 

[LERecords]

im with laz.. i just sold my audi today because on the next service, i would have needed: tires, rotors, brakes, wipers, sun roof fixed, something called a cam follower, and a few other parts.. total would have been half of my new car...

 

[MoeDog]

sorry about the problem with the car. with that many miles nothing should had happened in the first place. there is a reason Japanese cars are on top tho, "justsaying"

 

[The Toecutter]

Anything but a NEW VW is garbage. When your warranty runs out SELL because these cars have nothing but issues. EVERYONE that I know that has owned/owns one of these things has problems(more than they should imo), and 80% time big ones.


ps..I am also waiting for my Frontier tensioner to start whining..F'n Nissan...:Flip:

Lazamus69, I think you're being a little harsh... not that I don't agree 100%. But no one wants to hear that after just paying their mechanic.

im with laz.. i just sold my audi today because on the next service, i would have needed: tires, rotors, brakes, wipers, sun roof fixed, something called a cam follower, and a few other parts.. total would have been half of my new car...

sorry about the problem with the car. with that many miles nothing should had happened in the first place. there is a reason Japanese cars are on top tho, "justsaying"

I totally agree with all of these opinions of the vw and as a professional mechanic with 19 years exp. I would suggest selling it now and buying a Toyota or a Honda. I personaly own a Tundra and an Acura Tl, dont get a corrola,or a civic either. go for the mid size and bigger vehicles they last FOREVER !! :thumbup:

 

[Ken's MKV]

You know I have not really ever had any problems with the car since I have owned it. Besides this I have not had any expensive repairs such as oil changes and spark plugs. Its fun to drive, good in the snow and starts in extreme cold without troubles. Having been born in raised in germany it was what i wanted. As it was in service I was thinking about just selling it but unfortunately I owe money on it so that was not an option. In the past I have owned subarus so I think I will be getting one again (not because of this fix). Overall this car has been a lot of fun. I so think that pretty much every car has its scar that is bad for the car. My Jeep had a stupid transmission seal and my Saab 9-3....lets not even get into that one. lol.

Cheers
Ken

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

I totally agree with all of these opinions of the vw and as a professional mechanic with 19 years exp. I would suggest selling it now and buying a Toyota or a Honda. I personaly own a Tundra and an Acura Tl, dont get a corrola,or a civic either. go for the mid size and bigger vehicles they last FOREVER !! :thumbup:

I absolutely agreed with you. Right up until you said don't get a Corolla or Civic! All I've ever owned are Toyotas, all bought used with decently low miles (25k-35k). 4 Corollas and my current 2005 Toyota Echo. I put well over 125,000 miles on each of the Corollas and I just recently turned 100k on the Echo. The ONLY problem I've had on any of those 5 cars? The alternator went bad on my first Corolla (1988 model). That's it. Not one single other issue.

I'll happily drive my Echo until the wheels fall off and continue to get my 40 MPG and smile the entire time. For me, the smaller more fuel-efficient cars are the way to go.

Hell, my entire family drives Toyotas. My parents own 3 (Tacoma, Camry, and Prius) and none of us could be happier. Yeah, they aren't the most stylish or cutting edge of vehicles, but they're freaking bulletproof and last forever. And yes, that includes the small cars. LOL.

 

[novaks47]

ALL cars have their niggles. Some minor, some major. It comes down to what to you want to roll the dice on, and what you can live with. It depends on how much you notice the little things though too. Most people don't notice the little stuff like I do. The instant either of my cars idles different, I notice it. The second there's a new interior rattle, I notice it. Heck, I can feel when ONE tire is 2 or more PSI low(commuting on mountain roads does amplify any tire issues though). Oh, and as far as timing chains, that's not sophisticated at all. The rest of the engine may very well be high tech, but a timing chain is nothing new. Heck, my Suzuki Aerio SX(econobox) has a timing chain. Not trying to be a d*** or anything, just clarifying. :thumbup:

Hey, look at it this way. Normally when a timing chain goes out, it takes the whole top end with it. Talk about money! There have been a few Aerios that had timing chains go, and the whole dang engines were toasted. So, it could've been much much worse!

 

[SovietRobot]

Audi/VW's and BMW's are notorious for timing chain and pulley problems. Nice cars but damn they have high incident rates.

Sucks man, sorry.