Jalopnik should just shut down the FP.

"PotbellyJoe and 42 others" (potbellyjoe) 02/01/2016 at 16:37 • Filed to: Venting, Front Page Problems

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It can’t just be me who feels like they took crazy pills every time they get replies to a comment.

I care, but I don’t. So I guess that is my quandry, but seriously I have been called to defend things that i never thought I would have to defend on the FP of Jalopnik.

TIL not everyone thinks VW has a history of unreliable cars (1997-2008 specifically cited) and for some reason I am unreasonable to feel like they did because I am biased in my thinking that my case is not different from other ownership experiences.

Two days ago I had to defend that the new Defender replacement was not really a Series Defender.

Last week I had to actually argue that cyclists shouldn’t be run off of the road.

This place. I love this place. It’s the people I hate.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 02/01/2016 at 16:39

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But then this would become the FP.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 02/01/2016 at 16:40

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If the FP goes away and then every place becomes the FP, then nowhere is the FP.

DrJohannVegas > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 02/01/2016 at 16:41

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Everything is nothing.

Eat Arbys.

Leon711 > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 02/01/2016 at 16:42

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Real talk though, I only ever hear about VW reliability issues on here from people in the US. Something something maybe Mexican VWs aren't as good as European manufactured ones.

Future next gen S2000 owner > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 02/01/2016 at 16:42

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To be fair, some cyclists should be run off the road. Not all, just the assholes who ride abreast and don’t use the shoulder.

HammerheadFistpunch > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 02/01/2016 at 16:43

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bob and john > Leon711 02/01/2016 at 16:44

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they dont pass through NEARLY as tight a QC as the euro ones.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Leon711 02/01/2016 at 16:45

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The 3-code VINs were bad, but the other side to it is that there are vastly different expectations in ownership experience between Americans and Europeans.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Future next gen S2000 owner 02/01/2016 at 16:46

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Don’t, just don’t. The problem also is that many more drivers should be off the road as well, but it isn’t as potentially lethal to cut them off.

Leon711 > bob and john 02/01/2016 at 16:48

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I’ve owned 3 VWs over the years but not had any major issues, I have so far never had a CEL either. The first was built in West Germany, second was Spain and the current was Germany. That’s not to say that they are beacons of reliability, but they are no worse than the comparable euro Ford.

Leon711 > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 02/01/2016 at 16:53

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I mean I’m not flat out saying they are dead reliable just not that bad (in my personal experience, I’ve not come into contact with any USDM ones) they aren’t the best but by no means the worst.

The most trouble free in terms of not leaving me stranded was my 1988 VW Polo, it cost £300 and just kept going no matter what.

bob and john > Leon711 02/01/2016 at 16:59

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our A3 was built in Germany. 2 EGR cleaning and a emissons sensor in 105k miles. AND it sits outside in canada. so salt and no warmth. for 6 years. and the total cost off all those ‘repairs’ was 500$. OMG THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END ARRGGG.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Leon711 02/01/2016 at 17:01

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And here they are among the worst for a few reasons. The dealer network is smaller, parts are imported and more expensive because of it, and they are over-engineered compared to other cars in their price point, so you wind up with more hours of labor taking them apart and then putting them back together. This adds up to a more expensive ownership experience for American buyers.

Say you are a $25k budget buyer, You can get a Passat, Accord, Camry, Fusion, Mazda6 and not be laughed off of the planet for your decision. That Passat has ridiculously more complicated contraptions in it than the other options and (apart from the 6) the others are mostly USDM market cars, so parts are made and sourced for the US market first.

It’s just a difference.

Tripper > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 02/01/2016 at 17:07

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It’s pretty damn dangerous to comment anywhere in the kinjaverse outside of Oppo and the other smaller subs.

duurtlang > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 02/01/2016 at 17:10

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The Passat is as USDM as they come, bad example. The Passat we get in Europe is a totally different vehicle (not as big, more expensive).

duurtlang > Leon711 02/01/2016 at 17:14

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You haven’t been listening that well then. Americans whine about the mk4 Golf era, but I believe that the mk4 was the last generation of VW cockroaches in Europe. Lots of half a million km mk4s to be found. It’s the TSI/DSG era VWs that have gotten a bad name in Europe. Not among people who know little about cars, but those that know.

VWs public image has been changing in Europe, rightly so, and this started long before the diesel fraud.

Chariotoflove > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 02/01/2016 at 17:20

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When you get into a discussion on the internet, you have to discern whether the person with whom you are communicating is interested in a two-way discussion or is only intent on advancing his point of view. If the former, then continue the discussion for as long as it stays entertaining or it’s time for dinner. If the later, then ditch because your time is too valuable to waste.

Remember, discussion boards are only for entertainment or helping people who ask for it.

Leon711 > duurtlang 02/01/2016 at 17:21

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I have had no issues with my DSG or my TFSI, my car has early versions of both and with good preventative maintenance they are reliable, for the distances I cover (20000km a year).

haveacarortwoorthree2 > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 02/01/2016 at 17:23

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Just stay in the greys like me — no one will ever read your comments!

duurtlang > Leon711 02/01/2016 at 17:26

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I’m obviously in no position to disagree with your personal experience, but both those engines and those transmissions (and the rest of the package) have gotten a relatively bad name.

Leon711 > duurtlang 02/01/2016 at 17:37

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I knew this before buying mine, but I kept telling myself it’s gonna be more reliable than an RX-8, I made sure I changed the DSG’s oil was and it was serviced and taken off the problematic “long life service plan”, up to 32,000 km without and oil change? no thanks.

My first car was a 1988 Polo and that was amazing in terms of reliability, I mean it was shabby (it did cost £300) but it just kept going on and on, it was a great car.

I’ve had cars that I thought were fragile and worried about driving hard but this Golf GTI I now have feels solid. I’ll stop talking about it now as I’m tempting fate, it’ll break tomorrow.

duurtlang > Leon711 02/01/2016 at 17:54

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My first car was (is, I still own it, somewhere) a mk2 1991 Golf, with a 1.3i engine. That car just kept on going as well. Rather slow, but it was reliable and comically simple and cheap to maintain. VW has changed since then.

Matt Nichelson > HammerheadFistpunch 02/01/2016 at 18:14

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Loved that movie. Controversial? Yes. Funny? Absolutely.

Leon711 > duurtlang 02/01/2016 at 18:14

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I bet it was the same 1272cc MH engine, The only thing I changed was the Pierburg 2e3 carb for a slightly larger manual choke Weber 32/34 DTML, for more speed, of course it went from 0-100 in 13 or so to 12.5ish with the carb upgrade, it was good fun though and not fast enough to get me in any real trouble.

duurtlang > Leon711 02/01/2016 at 18:45

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Mine was fuel injected, but the same otherwise I believe. 54 hp. Slower than your Polo, both weigh next to nothing but the smaller Polo weighed even less than the Golf.

I still have a faster camshaft for that engine, from the 75 hp Polo GT. Never got around to install it.

wiffleballtony > PotbellyJoe and 42 others 02/01/2016 at 22:25

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Let’s not let facts get in the way of a good argument.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > duurtlang 02/01/2016 at 22:45

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The Euro model is on the B8, the NAMS is a decontented B7.

I wasn’t nec. implying the current generation so yes, it’s not the best example. In the years where VW was clearly troubled, the B5.5 and B6 Passat years here that example would have played out for the NA market.