VW takes action to stem sales slide; aging product line blamed

Zombie

Platinum Member
Dec 8, 1999
2,359
1
71
VW is way to expensive and their quality sucks. Jetta which is same size as honda civic is so much more expensive. Same with Passat same size as accord if not smaller costs about 3-4 grand more.
 

Thegonagle

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2000
9,773
0
71
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
It's not an ageing product line, ITS PRODUCT QUALITY VW, CAN YOU HEAR ME!?

I have to agree with you guys. When VW's getting "pWned" by the big three in Consumer Reports surveys (especially GM!), it doesn't mean good things for their business. Consumer Reports has a hell of a lot of influence on car buying patterns in the US. (Way too much for any automaker selling in the US to ignore.)
 

Doggiedog

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
12,780
5
81
Lee added that he is examining his operation with an eye to cutting costs, and is counting on other profit centers such as parts and service to weather the sales slump. "That's how we're surviving," Lee said.

I'm sure they are doing more than surviving with their service department.
 

BigSmooth

Lifer
Aug 18, 2000
10,483
7
81
Finally, they realize US buyers are demanding incentives these days. They HAD to do this, residual values be damned, because their sales have been in the toilet lately.
 

Aharami

Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
21,294
148
106
dangit!! 1.9% APR on certified vehicles?!? :|

im paying 4.9% :(:(

although, when i bought my car, the VW standard was 6% on pre-owned cars.

but still :(:(
 

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
13
81
i know i'll get flamed for this, but man NFS4, you loooove posting every negative article you can find about VW. i don't mean negative as just a negative spin, but any article you can find that includes bad news. i just don't see you doing this as much for other manufacturers.

i mean, does this thread really need an "ALERT!!" icon?

But dealers didn't get everything they wanted. VW refused to accelerate the U.S. introductions of the redesigned Jetta and Passat, scheduled for 2005. VW plans to launch the Passat in Germany this year.

That's probably a good thing. Delayed launch so they can work more bugs out. Plus launching early in Europe means they should have data on what to fix before a US launch. Theoretically.
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
8
0
Originally posted by: Triumph
i know i'll get flamed for this, but man NFS4, you loooove posting every negative article you can find about VW. i don't mean negative as just a negative spin, but any article you can find that includes bad news. i just don't see you doing this as much for other manufacturers.

i mean, does this thread really need an "ALERT!!" icon?

As a mechanic I have seen first hand how bad VW/Audi is. In fact there was a recall on Audis the other day for them cathing on fire. Take a guess what, one of my customers audis caught on fire.

If YOU find any thing good about them then post it.
 

BornStar

Diamond Member
Oct 30, 2001
4,052
1
0
Originally posted by: ElFenix
passat looks bigger than an accord to me
An Accord is bigger than a Passat in almost every single dimension.

I really don't understand their pricing either.
 

Thegonagle

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2000
9,773
0
71
Originally posted by: Aharami
dangit!! 1.9% APR on certified vehicles?!? :|

im paying 4.9% :(:(

although, when i bought my car, the VW standard was 6% on pre-owned cars.

but still :(:(

You got any buddies who work in the finance office of a VW dealership? See if you can get your car "certified" and refinanced through VW. ;)

It might not be worth it though, because you'll probably need to pay title transfer fees and sales tax again, and possibly pay for the certification inspection in case VW needs a paper-trial on vehicles sold as certified used vehicles.

Or join a credit union and refinance there. (But that's a good rate already, my credit union gave me 4.78% on a 2001 vehicle last September, which I consider pretty decent.)
 

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
13
81
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: Triumph
i know i'll get flamed for this, but man NFS4, you loooove posting every negative article you can find about VW. i don't mean negative as just a negative spin, but any article you can find that includes bad news. i just don't see you doing this as much for other manufacturers.

i mean, does this thread really need an "ALERT!!" icon?

As a mechanic I have seen first hand how bad VW/Audi is. In fact there was a recall on Audis the other day for them cathing on fire. Take a guess what, one of my customers audis caught on fire.

If YOU find any thing good about them then post it.

Easy enough:

Volkswagen is "The Most Trusted Brand" In Germany
 

Thegonagle

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2000
9,773
0
71
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: Triumph
i know i'll get flamed for this, but man NFS4, you loooove posting every negative article you can find about VW. i don't mean negative as just a negative spin, but any article you can find that includes bad news. i just don't see you doing this as much for other manufacturers.

i mean, does this thread really need an "ALERT!!" icon?

As a mechanic I have seen first hand how bad VW/Audi is. In fact there was a recall on Audis the other day for them cathing on fire. Take a guess what, one of my customers audis caught on fire.

If YOU find any thing good about them then post it.

The mechanics (and tow truck drivers) KNOW which cars are duds. ;)

Marlin, you're a good man!
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,647
26
91
Originally posted by: Triumph
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: Triumph
i know i'll get flamed for this, but man NFS4, you loooove posting every negative article you can find about VW. i don't mean negative as just a negative spin, but any article you can find that includes bad news. i just don't see you doing this as much for other manufacturers.

i mean, does this thread really need an "ALERT!!" icon?

As a mechanic I have seen first hand how bad VW/Audi is. In fact there was a recall on Audis the other day for them cathing on fire. Take a guess what, one of my customers audis caught on fire.

If YOU find any thing good about them then post it.

Easy enough:

Volkswagen is "The Most Trusted Brand" In Germany

GERMANY: German drivers rank German car brands bottom of customer satisfaction league

Dangit, article is gone...but VW was dead last
 

N8Magic

Lifer
Dec 12, 2000
11,624
1
81
HA HA! VW sucks and now they're paying the price.

They can blame the aging product lines all they want, but i'd be willing to bet that at least SOME of their dropping sales figures can be attributed to negative sentiment held by former VW owners. Word of mouth goes a long way, and I for one don't have a lot of good things to say about my former VW. :disgust:
 

Buttzilla

Platinum Member
Oct 12, 2000
2,676
1
81
Originally posted by: NFS4
Originally posted by: Triumph
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: Triumph
i know i'll get flamed for this, but man NFS4, you loooove posting every negative article you can find about VW. i don't mean negative as just a negative spin, but any article you can find that includes bad news. i just don't see you doing this as much for other manufacturers.

i mean, does this thread really need an "ALERT!!" icon?

As a mechanic I have seen first hand how bad VW/Audi is. In fact there was a recall on Audis the other day for them cathing on fire. Take a guess what, one of my customers audis caught on fire.

If YOU find any thing good about them then post it.

Easy enough:

Volkswagen is "The Most Trusted Brand" In Germany

GERMANY: German drivers rank German car brands bottom of customer satisfaction league

Dangit, article is gone...but VW was dead last


is that suprising? where do we rank our domestic cars?
 

Thegonagle

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2000
9,773
0
71
Originally posted by: N8Magic
HA HA! VW sucks and now they're paying the price.

They can blame the aging product lines all they want, but i'd be willing to bet that at least SOME of their dropping sales figures can be attributed to negative sentiment held by former VW owners. Word of mouth goes a long way, and I for one don't have a lot of good things to say about my former VW. :disgust:

Didn't you once give me (Garfang) a user rating of 1 because I said I didn't like VW and called the cars "really pretty pieces of sh!t?"

Oh well. Opinions sway over time. ;)
 

MrBond

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2000
9,911
0
76
I bet if VW hadn't been included in the group with Eurpoean cars, the American automakers wouldn't have beat them on quality.

My old boss wanted to replace his Jetta with a new model (300,000miles was enough on the odometer of his old one apparently), I warned him about the quality but he bought anyaway. I sent him a list of helpful VW websites (TDIclub/VWVortex/etc) and he called a couple weeks after to thank me because he had a bunch of problems (electrical) that the websites helped pinpoint.

Luckily the guy he bought it from was sort of an "unofficial" VW dealer and has taken care of most of the problems he's had with his car.
 

NutBucket

Lifer
Aug 30, 2000
27,034
546
126
Originally posted by: Buttzilla
Originally posted by: NFS4
Originally posted by: Triumph
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: Triumph
i know i'll get flamed for this, but man NFS4, you loooove posting every negative article you can find about VW. i don't mean negative as just a negative spin, but any article you can find that includes bad news. i just don't see you doing this as much for other manufacturers.

i mean, does this thread really need an "ALERT!!" icon?

As a mechanic I have seen first hand how bad VW/Audi is. In fact there was a recall on Audis the other day for them cathing on fire. Take a guess what, one of my customers audis caught on fire.

If YOU find any thing good about them then post it.

Easy enough:

Volkswagen is "The Most Trusted Brand" In Germany

GERMANY: German drivers rank German car brands bottom of customer satisfaction league

Dangit, article is gone...but VW was dead last


is that suprising? where do we rank our domestic cars?

Ahead of VW;)
 

N8Magic

Lifer
Dec 12, 2000
11,624
1
81
Originally posted by: Thegonagle
Originally posted by: N8Magic
HA HA! VW sucks and now they're paying the price.

They can blame the aging product lines all they want, but i'd be willing to bet that at least SOME of their dropping sales figures can be attributed to negative sentiment held by former VW owners. Word of mouth goes a long way, and I for one don't have a lot of good things to say about my former VW. :disgust:

Didn't you once give me (Garfang) a user rating of 1 because I said I didn't like VW and called the cars "really pretty pieces of sh!t?"

Oh well. Opinions sway over time. ;)

It's quite likely that I did at one point, but back then my car was trouble free. Since then, i've gone through multiple problems with the car that my incompetent dealer seems uninterested in fixing. To say the least, my opinion of VW has changed greatly. :)

I guess you could consider me a rotary zealot now. :p
 

Aharami

Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
21,294
148
106
Originally posted by: Thegonagle
Originally posted by: Aharami
dangit!! 1.9% APR on certified vehicles?!? :|

im paying 4.9% :(:(

although, when i bought my car, the VW standard was 6% on pre-owned cars.

but still :(:(

You got any buddies who work in the finance office of a VW dealership? See if you can get your car "certified" and refinanced through VW. ;)

It might not be worth it though, because you'll probably need to pay title transfer fees and sales tax again, and possibly pay for the certification inspection in case VW needs a paper-trial on vehicles sold as certified used vehicles.

Or join a credit union and refinance there. (But that's a good rate already, my credit union gave me 4.78% on a 2001 vehicle last September, which I consider pretty decent.)

no, no buddies. just being firm in my position. i told them my mom works at a bank and can get me much lower than 6% and if they didnt lower it any more i'd be back in a week with the money from a car loan (this is after i paid the down payment for the car...so they couldnt sell it to anyone else).

i guess the combination of losing the extra interest money to a bank and having a sold car take up space in their lot prompted them to give me a lower rate.

hehe it worked out good too cuz the lowest my mom could've gotten me is 5.5% ;)

i was happy at that time getting a 15.9K car for 14.5K and getting a lower interest rate than their standard. but now with the advent of their 1.9% rate, im not so happy anymore :(
 

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
13
81
Originally posted by: NFS4
Originally posted by: Triumph
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: Triumph
i know i'll get flamed for this, but man NFS4, you loooove posting every negative article you can find about VW. i don't mean negative as just a negative spin, but any article you can find that includes bad news. i just don't see you doing this as much for other manufacturers.

i mean, does this thread really need an "ALERT!!" icon?

As a mechanic I have seen first hand how bad VW/Audi is. In fact there was a recall on Audis the other day for them cathing on fire. Take a guess what, one of my customers audis caught on fire.

If YOU find any thing good about them then post it.

Easy enough:

Volkswagen is "The Most Trusted Brand" In Germany

GERMANY: German drivers rank German car brands bottom of customer satisfaction league

Dangit, article is gone...but VW was dead last

Exactly my point, NFS4. The article says, "German drivers rank Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen among the three worst brands in customer satisfaction, Automotive News Europe reported." MB right now is having quality issues as bad as, if not worse, than VW. The reputation of MB is leap years above any other manufacturer, making their issues all the more important. There are plenty of articles out there about MB's horrible reliability, overloaded service departments, the loss of their traditional "build like a tank" design philosphy...Yet I haven't seen any posts from you linking to these articles. You have some sort of axe to grind regarding VW's problems, and I'm curious why.