Interesting. I guess I've been lucky with cars. No lemons so far for the most part. The biggest issue I've had with VW is the same issue that I've had with Honda for the last decade or so...their dealerships SUCK! I've been quite impressed with the fit and finish and reliability of VW, though, and almost bought a Golf back in college instead of my Accord except that I ran across the Accord first in my search.

To be honest, we had more trouble with our Mercedes when I was growing up than we have had with any of our VWs...

 

I should factor in that my VW's and all that I am referring to were Mexican built.

My wifes family has had good luck (with just a few little issues) with their European built Polo's...

-Steve (who backed one of the afformentioned polo's into a tree branch this summer and put a nice crease in the roof .. oh well it's a city car anyway and thus alread dinged all over).

 

When I was living in Germany in high school my girlfriend had a little Polo. It was quite old and on it's last legs, so she let me drive it into the ground. That was a tough little car to kill...

 

This is my post from another thread.

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Originally posted by steve c
I agree with the 4runner.
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So do I. I just bought a '99 4Runner Limited with 4wd. It is a great truck. Leather, climate control, etc... And, most importantly, BOTH CENTRAL AND REAR LOCKING DIFFERENTIALS. This thing could go anywhere and at the same time it drives like a Cadillac. I am 110% pleased. Plus, I know that when I get to wherever I am going, I know this truck will bring me back home. That is a lot more than I could say for any General Motors or Range Rover product.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jason B
[B]Found this on another forum:

"well I have 12000 miles on a 03' 4Runner Sport and here is the list of problems:

 

wow. that's definitely rare. all the 4runner owners that i've ever met have rarely had any problems with anything on it. i wonder if the sunroof was a dealer install?

 

After driving both, if you are leaning toward the Pilot, try the Toyota Highlander also. This car is very similar to the pilot in construction, ride, handleing and styleing. You can also get heated leather seats and a sun roof in the Highlander. 4Runner is the way to go if you like fire roads though.

 

Thanks guys. How about the Lincoln Aviator? I know they're more expensive than the 4-Runners, but they're having some crazy end of the year clearance right now! They can be bought for under Invoice and 0% APR. However, are the Aviators nice? Has anyone ever test driven one?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rich5842
[B]Thanks guys.

 

I wonder if you got my used 4runner. A common theft attempt is through the sunroof which ends up bending the running rods; ours suffered that fate.

If not repaired by a competent shop or not entirely replaced (I fixed mine myself and pocketed the insurance money) the sunroof will never operate correctly 100 percent of the time.

Ours was traded in on a rainy day.