New Car Dilemma!

[hammer]

I'm on my second VW Tiguan..
First one had an engine issue - which after a ton of investigation seemed to be a rarity.....
VW really helped me out to get a replacement car since it was out of warranty at 80k miles...

My current Tiguan gets 26mpg - has a bit more pep then the first..
Just passed the 10k mark with no issues...
thing is great in the snow... Made it almost all the way up the beginner slope at Hunter last winter...

I just couldnt afford the Audi and BMW at the same size...

Did you get any financial consideration on the replacement vehicle? Nowadays 80K is just getting broken in.

 

[wa-loaf]

I'm on my second VW Tiguan..
First one had an engine issue - which after a ton of investigation seemed to be a rarity.....
VW really helped me out to get a replacement car since it was out of warranty at 80k miles...

My current Tiguan gets 26mpg - has a bit more pep then the first..
Just passed the 10k mark with no issues...
thing is great in the snow... Made it almost all the way up the beginner slope at Hunter last winter...

I just couldnt afford the Audi and BMW at the same size...

Thought you had bailed and gone with a Subi?

 

[dmc]

I couldn't get a good trade in value on the car from other dealers... Because only half the engine(top part) was replaced...
I pushed VW into giving me full trade in value below the 80k miles on the car... Telling them to that they need to stand by their fix or I'm dumping the car and will be very public about it...

I was being a total pest on social media... They weren't so happy with me...
VW USA gave me a nice voucher for the car... AND the dealer gave me a good price under sticker to keep me from leaving... Plus the trade in...
I was working all angles... Basically reporting every move VW(dealer/VW USA) made on VW message boards and Social Media..
New car ended up being way less then the original with a better trim...

I really do love the car... Prefect for me...

 

[wa-loaf]

I couldn't get a good trade in value on the car from other dealers... Because only half the engine(top part) was replaced...
I pushed VW into giving me full trade in value below the 80k miles on the car... Telling them to that they need to stand by their fix or I'm dumping the car and will be very public about it...

I was being a total pest on social media... They weren't so happy with me...
VW USA gave me a nice voucher for the car... AND the dealer gave me a good price under sticker to keep me from leaving... Plus the trade in...
I was working all angles... Basically reporting every move VW(dealer/VW USA) made on VW message boards and Social Media..
New car ended up being way less then the original with a better trim...

I really do love the car... Prefect for me...

Seems social media shaming is the way to get things done these days. Was having trouble with the cable company until I posted to their facebook page.

 

[dmc]

I actually help companies integrate social media into marketing and CRM apps....

I was surprised how fast their ears picked up on this... I complained on the VW FB page and it was only an hour before someone contacted me... Was in touch with a regional manager that day.. Well done VW...

I also worked the bad communication between the dealer and VW USA... If one said something - i held them to it... Documented just abut the whole process...

 

[wa-loaf]

I actually help companies integrate social media into marketing and CRM apps....

Have you read this? http://outsidein.forrester.com/

 

[Bostonian]

So a brief update on the whole car search thing...

I have definitely ruled out the Jeep. After perusing through the jeep forums, there are tons of issues and major problems with the JGC. Which is s shame, since I did like the vehicle. So now I am down to the Audi Q5 (with loyalty bonus and etc) and looking back at the Subaru Outback. The allroad was also a choice, but to be honest with you, I want a little more ground clearance, and the allroad is lower to the ground and a little more expensive than the Q5.

 

[Geoff]

I'm on my second VW Tiguan..
First one had an engine issue - which after a ton of investigation seemed to be a rarity.....
VW really helped me out to get a replacement car since it was out of warranty at 80k miles...

My current Tiguan gets 26mpg - has a bit more pep then the first..
Just passed the 10k mark with no issues...
thing is great in the snow... Made it almost all the way up the beginner slope at Hunter last winter...

I just couldnt afford the Audi and BMW at the same size...

The 26 MPG on premium fuel is kind-a discouraging to me. Most gas stations around me now have a 50 cent spread between regular and premium. I have that 2.0T engine in my GTI and the 1.8T in my previous GTI. Premium was no big deal when the spread was 20 cents but it had a noticeable hit on total ownership cost when it's 50 cents. I was kind of surprised you had issues with your first one. VW's turbo 4's have been solid.

I may end up in a Tiguan eventually but I'd rather have an AWD DSG Golf/Jetta wagon with Xenons.

 

[o3jeff]

Most gas stations around me now have a 50 cent spread between regular and premium.

Thats a pretty big spread between the two, around here it's around 30 cents.

 

[Nick]

We got a Ford Edge SEL and I am very pleasantly surprised with it. Looks great, drives nice, and is very good in the snow. AWD 6-cyl. The only downside I think is slightly choppy shifting on it for some reason. We were also looking at Grand Cherokee.

 

[o3jeff]

We got a Ford Edge SEL and I am very pleasantly surprised with it. Looks great, drives nice, and is very good in the snow. AWD 6-cyl. The only downside I think is slightly choppy shifting on it for some reason. We were also looking at Grand Cherokee.

What are you getting for gas mileage with it?

 

[Bostonian]

We got a Ford Edge SEL and I am very pleasantly surprised with it. Looks great, drives nice, and is very good in the snow. AWD 6-cyl. The only downside I think is slightly choppy shifting on it for some reason. We were also looking at Grand Cherokee.

Careful with the Grand Cherokees, the 2014's have had many problems with it according to the jeep forum I am following. It's too bad, since that is the type of vehicle I want. According to one person, they had their jeep for 6 weeks, of which 4 were in the shop for a new vehicle.

 

[hammer]

Careful with the Grand Cherokees, the 2014's have had many problems with it according to the jeep forum I am following. It's too bad, since that is the type of vehicle I want. According to one person, they had their jeep for 6 weeks, of which 4 were in the shop for a new vehicle.

As mentioned, we have a 2011 early build now at around 42K miles and fortunately we have not had a lot of issues with it (knock on wood). Not saying the Jeeps are trouble free but ours has been OK so far. Could we have gone with a Toyota Highlander? Sure...but we test drove one of those and it was not anywhere near as nice as the Jeep.

I also follow the Jeep forums and the best way that I can describe reliability is hit or miss. Some folks have had few or no problems and others have had nightmares. That's why we sprung for the lifetime service contract.

It all depends on what you are looking for. When we bought, we wanted an SUV with more towing capability (5000 lb or more)...if that wasn't a factor then we would have been looking at some of the 5-passenger crossover style vehicles.

One other note...not sure what all the experiences are but I've read about a lot of issues with the Ford MyTouch system. Makes the quirkiness of Chrysler's UConnect sound like no problem at all.

 

[Geoff]

I also follow the Jeep forums and the best way that I can describe reliability is hit or miss. Some folks have had few or no problems and others have had nightmares. That's why we sprung for the lifetime service contract.

I've bought lots of 100K mile extended warranties over the years. What is a lifetime service contract?

 

[marcski]

I've bought lots of 100K mile extended warranties over the years. What is a lifetime service contract?

Lifetime service contract for a Jeep is to buy a different vehicle. Lol. I love the look and ride of the GC..we had one a while back and while it had pretty good reliability for a few years...once we hit about 75 k we started having issues ...got rid of it at about 100-110k. Have had 2 MDX's since and they have been stellar as far as reliability. I like driving cars better than trucks or suv's. The wife drives the suv midweek. I am behind the wheel on longer trips and weekends.

 

[marcski]

Randomly, this was emailed to me today:

https://www.change.org/petitions/do...campaign=25282&alert_id=ZRutVrvLsX_wakqMcBLgh

 

[Nick]

What are you getting for gas mileage with it?

About 20

Sent from my SCH-I545 using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[hammer]

I've bought lots of 100K mile extended warranties over the years. What is a lifetime service contract?

From what I have read we are covered until the cost of a covered repair exceeds the value of the vehicle. Think the repair cost issue may come into play at/over 200K miles but at that point we'd be looking into another vehicle.

Can't say we don't have concerns long-term but we just decided to change things up and take a chance on a Jeep. In all honesty it was the nicest vehicle we test drove and from a driveability standpoint I still have no regrets.

 

[hammer]

Randomly, this was emailed to me today:

https://www.change.org/petitions/do...campaign=25282&alert_id=ZRutVrvLsX_wakqMcBLgh

Guess that makes me glad we don't have that platform...

 

[Glenn]

I'm surprised you're cross shopping the Q5 and the Grand. The Q5 is quite a bit smaller. I'm a died in the wool German car guy. But now that I don't have as much time to wrench, I'm a little bit (Timothy) leary of the German mobiles. Wonderfully cars, but you need a mechanics who knows their stuff. And I'm not a fan of dealers. If you are leasing, or just planning to keep it for the warrantee period, it's not a huge deal.

I've got and 03 Grand. I'm sure Consumer Reports and the other sites have it labeled somewhere between "bad" and "turd sandwich". I just hit 135,500 today. Hasn't needed all that much; radiator, wheel bearings and a pinion seal.