Preparing to use the spare wheel

[wolfie]

Oddly my previous car was Polo 9N 2002MY (1.9Tdi, 100bhp) It was one of the most reliable cars I've owned in the past 30 years. The only thing that actually broke in 10 years of ownership was a front spring, and I put that down to the local councils love of traffic calming bumps. In the first couple of weeks of ownership it had a couple of niggles. One was the brake light switch, followed by a warning light caused by a poor earth, after that it was all good. Generally I would say build quality was better than the 6R, with more attention to detail and better seats.

I must admit forums are a two edged sword. They are great for picking up information, tips and help. But it's also easy to think some models are riddled with problems which in reality means just a few cars. That said I would never consider a 1.4 GTi. Turning out a new model that likes oil more than Shell or BP can't be right. IMO 15-20 years back VW quality stood head and shoulders above the competition. I don't feel that is still true. I'm not sure whether that's due to the competition getting better or Vdub taking their eye off the ball or altering their strategy???

[RUM4MO]

I'd reckon dropping quality has a lot to do with European, and maybe other areas general attitude to cut costs at all costs especially when it comes to selling products to the small man in the street.

For what it is worth, a friend where I worked, always kept BMWs and he gets all the servicing/repair work done by a "German only" indie, of the premium brands, the indie guy places them from best to worst as Audi > BMW > MB. So VAG is not alone with slipping standards.

I also had an least three broken springs with the 2002 9N Polo, always when moving slowly out of the garage and always in winter I think - first one broke at half height making the car completely undrivable . That is not a uniquely VAG failure though, I'd reckon that one of two spring manufacturers must be covering most of the European market and the material they are using and the surface finish they apply have a lot to do with this - industry claim it is micro pitting/cracking that causes the sudden breaking, in my experience normally at a missing paint/rusty point.

Edit:- that car had to get a new brake pedal switch twice, both times used latest version from VW.

[wolfie]

I also had an least three broken springs with the 2002 9N Polo, always when moving slowly out of the garage and always in winter I think - first one broke at half height making the car completely undrivable .

Edit:- that car had to get a new brake pedal switch twice, both times used latest version from VW.

My spring also failed in the dead of winter when reversing out of the garage. Anecdotally, when I was taking to the chap in the garage, he said as soon as they start seeing frosts in a morning the spring count rises. (on all makes) Likewise traffic calming humps are good for business.

[RUM4MO]

We had what was an "illegal" speed bump at the car park at work, though that car hardy ever felt that one. Rear spring changing I could complete in 30 minutes and re-submit the car for MOT - the 6J Ibiza also had one fail an MOT but I could not source any springs for that age of car at ECP, so I had to let the MOT place do that change (both sides), I asked for the still okay spring back as a spare, only to discover a month later that I had been given the one with a bit missing back instead! Luckily I kept the "good" one from the 9N Polo, so it went back on when the it had its second rear spring failure. So as the Polo's replacements were Sachs from ECP, they did not seem to last much longer than VAG CZ sourced ones originally on the Polo 9N or Ibiza 6J.