After my third VW, this will be my last. It has very little to do with the car. VW has better interior and exterior style than anything out there, and few cars if any in this price range can beat it in fun-factor. I've tried three different dealerships to buy and/or service my cars, and I've had nothing but unapologetic incompetence and rudeness (a sales rep "bought out my lease" to put me in my new 06, and lo and behold, VW Credit comes-a-callin' wanting the rest of their cash. Of course, the sales rep has moved on by this time (like a month after I bought the car). The sales manager was less than sympathetic. I could go on and on.
If you don't mind shitty service and being treated like you're less than human for what I'll admit is a good ride, then go VW. If you're like me and are ready to be treated like a customer they want to keep, go elsewhere. I've heard Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Mercedes and Lexus all treat their customers like they want them to be lifers. I'm certainly going to try one of them in a few years. If I'm spending 30k on a car and willingly getting wallet-raped to ensure proper service at the dealership, I think I'm entitled to (a) some goddamned proper service and (b) something more than an attitude like I just shit in the service manager's Wheaties.
If you don't mind shitty service and being treated like you're less than human for what I'll admit is a good ride, then go VW. If you're like me and are ready to be treated like a customer they want to keep, go elsewhere. I've heard Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Mercedes and Lexus all treat their customers like they want them to be lifers. I'm certainly going to try one of them in a few years. If I'm spending 30k on a car and willingly getting wallet-raped to ensure proper service at the dealership, I think I'm entitled to (a) some goddamned proper service and (b) something more than an attitude like I just shit in the service manager's Wheaties.