Owning a German car is a very complicated relationship. When one is looking for a new vehicle, they take many factors into consideration. Styling, safety, reliability and performance are some common attributes prospective buyers think about. In the past, if one was looking at buying a German car, it was for their luxury and performance. Hence the brand presence that BMW and Mercedes still carry today. Flashforward to present day, I wouldn’t say that the German’s lost their thrown but there are more contenders in the performance luxury segment. Acura and Lexus have shown that a car can be luxurious while having the reliability of a Honda or Toyota respectably. Even though the market has more contenders I would beg to differ that Mercedes and BMW carry more brand respect than their Japanese counterparts due to the simple fact that they have just been around longer. If a buyer can look past that, they will have an excellent experience in a Lexus LS or Acura TLX.

 Then there are the brand loyalists.

People who are not a fan of change, they feel apart of the brands family and do not want leave. All German automakers; BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche and VW, have large communities committed to their brand. I would not consider Volkswagen a luxury brand but, they are a prominent German brand with the biggest community dedicated to it. Many German car enthusiasts start in a VW and eventually work their way up to a more prestigious brand. That was my intentions when I picked up my MK4. I was a huge fan of German automobiles and was used to the brand due to already owning a couple. I was also a big fan of their community, I found it extremely supportive and people who did not take stuff to seriously. I overlooked some of the downsides to owning a German car, ie the reliability. Especially with a car that is turning 18 this year. I have only owned my mk4 for one month and it has been a rocky relationship.

When I bought my Volkswagen, I thought I would have a somewhat easy ownership experience. I bought the nicest example I could find. A Jetta 1.8t, with only 74k on the clock and having spent most of its life in southern California, it was rust free. The car also had a clean car fax and service history. The major service that needs to be done on MK4’s is the timing belt and water pump around 75k. This car had it done 9 months prior. I thought it would be smooth sailing besides normal maintenance items. I was far from right. Driving my car home from the purchase, the check engine light came on. I cannot make it up. I didn’t worry too much in that moment, it couldn’t be anything major, the car was well maintained. I got the code ran the next day, Camshaft Position sensor. I had a feeling of somewhat relief, that was not a major issue. Fast forward a couple days, my mechanic had replaced the camshaft position sensor and I thought it would be set. Nope, the code came back almost instantly. Now we had an issue. If the sensor was working properly, that meant the engine’s timing somehow was off. By how much, we will have to see, hopefully not enough to cause internal damage. I get a call the next day from the mechanic, the timing was off about 3 degrees on the cam and 2 on the crank. The head was pulled to survey the condition of the engine internals. There was no internal damage but, they had to replace the timing belt, tensioner and water pump. How could this happen? I have receipts of it being done just last year. The timing belt is supposed to last 75,000 miles. Not 2,000. Doing more research into the shop that did the initial service. They had good reviews but, the car came from rural Wisconsin. Foreign automobile specialists are few and far between. This shop specialized in domestics and diesels. German cars are quite finicky to work on. They are not like a Chevy or Ford. The cars need to be worked on by somebody who specializes in their repairs. I have owned the car 2 weeks and was already in about 2k in repairs. Long story short, if you have a German car bring it to a German car specialist, it will hurt you in the long run.

On the Brightside, I have owned the car for 1 month today and I have not had anymore issues with it. Maybe I am finally in the clear. Next time I will talk about some of the adventures I have taken the car on so far.

See you next week,

Luke