die Worte un' Scheisse

Nothing we didn't know, then.

 

Yet another survey confirming VW's indifferent record on reliability, and yet in the UK their name continues to be synonymous with bulletproof build quality. Why is that? Do our motoring press fawn over them and look the other way when things go wrong ... ?

 

"German reliability" comes from the 70s when it was compared to "British reliability".

Then came something called "build quality", which is not the same as reliability, it's something to do with using nice plastics and the motoring journalist tapping he top of the dash and saying "that feels nice".

Germans are very good at "build quality", not so much "reliability".

Then again, they and their EU stooges have done everything they can to stifle competition, what with quotas on Japanese cars, and then the whole "carbon" scandal that means dirty diesels (which Germans and Frenches had more expertise in) get preference in terms of tax breaks over cleaner petrol cars (which the Japanese are rather good at, as we well know).

Add in the usual "marketing jollies and inducements to journos, as well as confirmed bias and you get to where we are today.

 

I can vouch that Audi has poor design , poor customer care , poor dealers , no ability to fault find , and don't give a toss for there customers .

 

I wonder what degree these statistics are a result of brand positioning and consumer expectation rather than absolute, like-for-like issues?

Given that all VAG products share many, many components and most issues consumers have today are a result of component problems as opposed to build quality, then I would expect the same component failures would affect Skoda as VW. I suspect failures are more 'acceptable' with a budget brand than premium, and this 'acceptability' is what skews the results.

 

If that were true VW would outperform Audi. Never Mind Volvo, Mercedes, BMW & Porsche.

 

I think your right Pole regarding VAG , I have been lurking on some Audi forums and it's amazing how many of them think Audi cars are designed and built differently from the rest of the group when in fact they share huge numbers of components and underlying design . Ultimately it will be a problem for Audi where they claim to be a up market brand , but the economies of scale and cost engineering dictate that components will be common across the range and designed and manufactured to suit the spread of the market positions and not for the premium brand
Nick got a link for that info , I feel I need to wide up some Audi acolytes
Although soon I might black balled from Pistonheads. !

 

The delusion seems to be common across all VAG forums - I read something on a SEAT website bemoaning the fact that people couldn't get close to the claimed MPG figures, but justifying it as the price to pay for the quality of the car because VAG cars were "built heavy", and that's what separated them from the 'lesser' brands.

As far as I can tell, they're no heavier than any other comparable car, and if they were, that would just mean crappy engineering and cheaply made components. What I think they were getting confused with was what VAG are very good at - 'engineering in' a feel of solidity to the controls that people perceive to be a mark of quality, despite the fact those soft-touch controls fall apart a lot sooner than Korean no-frills stuff.

 

I'm not sure that the German "reputation" is there any more, simple things like coil packs for the 1.8T engine being redesigned 7 times (and still failing) + NOx sensors on newer models failing have been eroding goodwill for years !

I have a Mk4 Golf (V6 4motion MY01) and my Mrs has a 1.8T MY99 and I've needed to learn an awful lot about both cars to fix stuff myself but I've actually been lucky with both with pretty much service items/consuambles being replaced - they are a long way from perfect and it seems it's mostly sensors that seem to go more than they should.

 

It's mostly down to perceived build quality and a bit of a legacy of over engineering which ended in the 90's.

I have the debate with my TT owning friend all the time when he compares it to Japanese cars.

Simple fact is I'd rather R&D money and time be spent on actual quality than making sure the plastic 'feels' quality and that the door makes that perfect clunk when it shuts.