HELP I need a reliable used car

-
I'm really surprised that there isn't a class action suit over this and there may have been. A lot of post with "I have 80k and owe $14k on a brick"
I totally agree. I’ve talked to a few Audi and Volkswagen mechanics who know longer work for those dealerships. They say that Volkswagen basically put a Band-Aid on that fraud claim against them. Fixed these cars knowing that they were going to fail later. Now when they do fail they can just say, sorry we did our part
 
I totally agree. I’ve talked to a few Audi and Volkswagen mechanics who know longer work for those dealerships. They say that Volkswagen basically put a Band-Aid on that fraud claim against them. Fixed these cars knowing that they were going to fail later. Now when they do fail they can just say, sorry we did our part

That sucks, and now do you put good money after bad just to do something with it. I say engine swap. Someone has to have figure out what to do with all these car carcasses.
 
Last edited:
Unfortunately its not just a bolt on: You need a bunch of special tools: injector sockets, crank and cam locks and then you got to flash the PCM for some reason. That 6K is no joke. Too bad, those old diesel rabbits ran forever, usually rusted around the working motors. Add $800 for core charges on that kit. What if they repossesed it? kill your credit but.....?
 
Unfortunately its not just a bolt on: You need a bunch of special tools: injector sockets, crank and cam locks and then you got to flash the PCM for some reason. That 6K is no joke. Too bad, those old diesel rabbits ran forever, usually rusted around the working motors. Add $800 for core charges on that kit. What if they repossesed it? kill your credit but.....?
Good idea. I’m in the house I plan on being in for awhile so I’d let them take it and my good credit to suffer a bit. I wonder if my USAA insurance would consider it totaled since the cost to fix is half the value of the car?
 
"Certified Pre-owned". What does that mean? I'm guessing very little.
"I 'only' owe 12k on it". I can't imagine owing $12,000 on a 8 year old car. (Or any car, for that matter. SAVE money!)
My wife and I bought an '07 Accord in '09. 17,000 miles. We paid $12,225. It now has 105,000 miles and I'd drive it anywhere. Other than a couple glitches in the power windows (fixed myself with a factory service manual), nothing but regular maintenance. We've been saving $220 per month since then if it gives us any serious trouble. (We paid cash for it because we were saving to buy a car back then, too.
I'm not beating you up. I'm trying to show you that there are ways to avoid your situation. Oh, btw, I love my old cars. But I wouldn't if I had to depend on them every day. An old vehicle may appear to be your answer. But I really hope you don't believe that.
 
"I 'only' owe 12k on it". I can't imagine owing $12,000 on a 8 year old car. (Or any car, for that matter. SAVE money!)
ya, n/s...best thing you can do, in your 20's or 50's, is get out of debt and stay that way
 
Pick up a Neon and have the timing belt replaced and water pump and drive the crap out of it.
 
Pick up a Neon and have the timing belt replaced and water pump and drive the crap out of it.
Better looking then a vw too

How many miles on the krautmobile?
There might be a service bulitin out on it?
 
"Certified Pre-owned". What does that mean? I'm guessing very little.
"I 'only' owe 12k on it". I can't imagine owing $12,000 on a 8 year old car. (Or any car, for that matter. SAVE money!)
My wife and I bought an '07 Accord in '09. 17,000 miles. We paid $12,225. It now has 105,000 miles and I'd drive it anywhere. Other than a couple glitches in the power windows (fixed myself with a factory service manual), nothing but regular maintenance. We've been saving $220 per month since then if it gives us any serious trouble. (We paid cash for it because we were saving to buy a car back then, too.
I'm not beating you up. I'm trying to show you that there are ways to avoid your situation. Oh, btw, I love my old cars. But I wouldn't if I had to depend on them every day. An old vehicle may appear to be your answer. But I really hope you don't believe that.
I appreciate your perspective. I drive about 40k miles a year for work. I chose the diesel because of that. Before the fix that Volkswagen did because of their fraud they actually worked very well. Is it even possible to live without debt in today’s world? Everything is so over priced and totally disposable.
 
Pick up a Neon and have the timing belt replaced and water pump and drive the crap out of it.
And the head gasket while your in there.....Get a 5sp if you can, the A/T is a PITA to fix. AT Leaks and almost impossible CA smog regulations here caused me to scrap a pretty nice condition 96 Breeze. Smog shop fixed it: had it for a week and put 90 miles on it and it just barely passed smog recert, by like 2 points? New cat installed after the first fail, then it failed 2nd time and off to the smog program test and fix site. Never found what they fixed but it was $2 short of the CA grant limit on fixing it before they had to buy it off me for cash for clunkers. You want a reliable truck, Id suggest (sic) an older >'84 22R Toyota. They just keep going and are super cheap to maintain.
 
I appreciate your perspective. I drive about 40k miles a year for work. I chose the diesel because of that. Before the fix that Volkswagen did because of their fraud they actually worked very well. Is it even possible to live without debt in today’s world? Everything is so over priced and totally disposable.
No debt? Yes, it takes self discipline and personal responsibility. We even paid off our mortgage. Most would agree that it's understandable to have a mortgage, though. If you can pay for it (whatever it is) monthly, plus interest, you can save for it monthly and have cash when needed. Google, "Dave Ramsey". Very helpful guy.
It doesn't help you now, but I learned years ago that getting good mileage is only part of the game. It has to be cheap and (preferably) easy to fix yourself. I knew a guy in the mid 80's who had a Ford Fiesta. He bragged about the 30 mpg while I got about 16-17 with my slant. He needed an alternator and it cost him some outrageous amount of money. Luckily, his BIL installed it for him! Savings on gas right out the window for the alternator! I only did auto mechanics when I was young, but what I learned has saved me THOUSANDS (there's that "SAVE" word again) over the years. A man I work with had to get rotors and pads. He said something like $5-600. I told him I just bought the same parts and did the job myself for about $90. Maybe you do stuff like that yourself, too. Point is there's a lot of ways to save money without being cheap.
 
In my post I actually said car or truck. Ultimately I’d like something I can tow with and haul as well. But I’ve also heard that some older Subarus are really reliable and last a long time. I just want something that’s going to be durable and last a long time and then I can actually work on. Something that’s not totally computer controlled

How often will you need to tow or haul stuff? If it’s the odd time each year, rent a truck for that. Why pay that premium in higher fuel costs and parking a truck in grocery store parking lots when it’s only needed a few times a year? Heck, even paying for stuff to be delivered the odd time (soil, sod or whatever else you might need if you own a house) will be cheaper than driving a truck around all year for the odd time you ‘need it’.

Do you have a family? How big a vehicle do you need? As others have suggested, consider an import like a Toyota or a Honda. Civic/Corolla if it’s just you or a Camry/Accord if you have a family. Very reliable cars that will eat up the annual miles with generally normal maintenance of oil and brake pads. Perhaps the odd O2 sender and CV joints which is nothing over many years of ownership.

What was the thought process behind buying the VW and what year did you buy it?
 
How often will you need to tow or haul stuff? If it’s the odd time each year, rent a truck for that. Why pay that premium in higher fuel costs and parking a truck in grocery store parking lots when it’s only needed a few times a year? Heck, even paying for stuff to be delivered the odd time (soil, sod or whatever else you might need if you own a house) will be cheaper than driving a truck around all year for the odd time you ‘need it’.

Do you have a family? How big a vehicle do you need? As others have suggested, consider an import like a Toyota or a Honda. Civic/Corolla if it’s just you or a Camry/Accord if you have a family. Very reliable cars that will eat up the annual miles with generally normal maintenance of oil and brake pads. Perhaps the odd O2 sender and CV joints which is nothing over many years of ownership.

What was the thought process behind buying the VW and what year did you buy it?
I do have a family. We also have a Toyota sienna van which fits all eight of us. The thought with the Volkswagen was a diesel would last a lot longer, manual because I drive a lot of mountain roads and that was easier to use and although the golf is a smaller car it actually fit me well since I’m 6’2”I sat in a few other cars and they just didn’t feel like i fit very well for the amount of driving and the amount of time I’m going to be in the car.
 
I do have a family. We also have a Toyota sienna van which fits all eight of us. The thought with the Volkswagen was a diesel would last a lot longer, manual because I drive a lot of mountain roads and that was easier to use and although the golf is a smaller car it actually fit me well since I’m 6’2”I sat in a few other cars and they just didn’t feel like i fit very well for the amount of driving and the amount of time I’m going to be in the car.

How many miles will you be putting on the vehicle annually?
 
How many miles will you be putting on the vehicle annually?
Probably less than that now. Maybe 20,000. We also have a Toyota sienna that’s paid off. Instead of getting another vehicle were possibly thinking about a lease for my wife to drive and I can drive our sienna
 
Probably less than that now. Maybe 20,000. We also have a Toyota sienna that’s paid off. Instead of getting another vehicle were possibly thinking about a lease for my wife to drive and I can drive our sienna
a lot of people think that's just a car payment where you're left with nothing to show for it
 
VW should be paying for those pumps and they know it! Those diesels are junk and they know it!

I'd press the issue over and over until they pay for it. I'd contact the bank you have the loan at and see what options you have as far as deferring the payments while an investigation is being done. Banks like communication and are willing to work with you if you communicate with them. **** I'd get my local news investigation hounds to look into it. Force VW to buy it from you at the cost of paying off your loan. Then just walk away. No company wants a scandal and VW has had too many already.

Sucks you have to even go through all of this.
 
Was just talking to one of my patients. I mentioned looking for a reliable used car. They have a 1993 Toyota Camry wagon that they bought brand new. They stopped using it because their dad got too old. They said $500 and I could have it. Looks like all the ratings on those are great. I’m going to take it to the local shop I use and have them run all the tests on it.
 
-
Back
Top