I had a Volkswagen Touareg diesel. Tons of problems. Yet, mostly nice people. It tells you about the situation that I got to know the service staff.

Volkswagen engines are better than the Japanese alternative if my experience. Check consumer reports. Some years of the atlas rate higher than others.

We have a 2019 Atlas that was traded in at the VW dealership. We went for the extended warranty. We previously had a certified Volvo and the cpo warranty paid off big time when we had to get a $$$$ repair under warranty. We have no regrets on the Volvo though as it protected my husband in what could have been a devastating accident. I feel like an extended warranty is almost a requirement on any make now with all of the advanced electronics and safety systems in cars today. We would have bought an extended warranty on a Honda, Toyota, or Subaru. May as well get the extended warranty and go for the comfortable, safe, and spacious Atlas.

We had a Touareg with lots of mechanical issues. It looked nice and was comfortable, though. I won’t buy another VW.

Is your Jetta a manual transmission? That will also last longer.

Subarus are notoriously reliable, and VWs are not.

-daughter of an auto mechanic

German cars are known for many things. Reliability coupled with low maintenance is not one of them. I had an Audi than never left me stuck once in a dozen years. I was on a first name basis with the service writer, who smiled that “gonna make bank” smile every time he saw me. German cars require things like brake discs to replaced as compared to merely being remachined to be smooth.

I would never buy a used German car without service records and a thorough inspection. Even then, if you’re looking for what Honda/Toyota (used to) offer, you’ll probably be disappointed. German cars perform and handle extremely well. The trade offs to get that are pretty large.

We have 2019 VW Golf Alltrack for almost 3 years. No problems so far. Oh, and VW offered 72 month warranty at the time we bough on all of it's car, not sure it's transferable though.

And on Subaru vs VW reliability. We happened to buy 2 cars in the row - 2019 Subaru Impreza and couple month later 2019 WV Alltrack. Guess what - Subaru had 3+ recalls for repair, WV had none over the course of the last 3 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only VWs that used to last were the diesel ones, because Diesel engines last forever, or at least, longer than gas.

VW is not known for reliability. Stick w Subaru, Honda, Toyota for that.

I cannot fathom the concept of dumping on VW for reliability and then recommending a Subaru with a straight face.

Well, so you don't know cars. You are forgiven.

Ha! From the self-destructing head gaskets of the early-aughts to the papier-mâché CVTs of today, Subaru's reputation for reliability is completely unearned and utterly perplexing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only VWs that used to last were the diesel ones, because Diesel engines last forever, or at least, longer than gas.

VW is not known for reliability. Stick w Subaru, Honda, Toyota for that.

I cannot fathom the concept of dumping on VW for reliability and then recommending a Subaru with a straight face.

Well, so you don't know cars. You are forgiven.

Anonymous wrote:The only VWs that used to last were the diesel ones, because Diesel engines last forever, or at least, longer than gas.

VW is not known for reliability. Stick w Subaru, Honda, Toyota for that.

I cannot fathom the concept of dumping on VW for reliability and then recommending a Subaru with a straight face.

Junk junk junk junk junk.

Our second car is a "new" (2004) VW Beetle. I love it bc it's cute and fun to drive, but I would never take it on the highway or out of town. We use it exclusively for around-town trips and even then try not to have our kid in the VW. The electrical stuff is just always going bonkers. And it's not predictable. One day, it will be the windows that act funny, another day the lights, etc. The check engine light is perpetually on and nobody really knows how to fix any of it.

I have a 14 year old Jetta with 150k miles and it's still going strong

Anonymous wrote:The only VWs that used to last were the diesel ones, because Diesel engines last forever, or at least, longer than gas.

VW is not known for reliability. Stick w Subaru, Honda, Toyota for that.

But they were spewing toxins into the air, while VW was claiming it was clean diesel. I will never buy a car from them again. Don’t people on this board love to say once a cheat, always a cheat. I’m not taking my chances.

Have had a good experience with our tiguan, now about 7 years old.

Had a vw and it had all sorts of electrical issues especially if it rained. Had to get rid of it when the engine fell off its mounts when I put the car in reverse in a parking lot. Loved the car but it was a pos that I would never have trusted with a family or driving out of town.