Topic: I hate cars. So much.

[Quemaqua]

Our VW Golf is a giant pile of crap.  Never, ever buy one.  I'm not going to enumerate the number of issues we've had, but the latest is the car alarm.  Went out to lunch with mom today, then went back to the car.  I try to unlock all the doors by flicking the key in the lock twice, like always, and they won't go.  Odd.  So I open the driver's side door and the alarm goes off.  Try using the buttons on the door to unlock the car, no dice.  Eventually the alarm shuts off.  Somebody opens their door (which finally unlocked somehow) to get in, and the alarm goes off again.  It also goes off when I *start* the car.  Turns off after about 20 seconds.  We drive home, the locks seem to start working again... then we drop mom off, and the alarm goes off when she gets out.  Does the same thing when we get out to go home.

Fuck I hate this car.  I don't even want to know what they're going to charge me to ditch this thing.  I tried looking for a guide on how to disconnect it myself, and I can't seem to find anything.  Arg.

[sirean_syan]

Car alarms are so worthless. Has anyone even heard of them actually stopping anything?

[Quemaqua]

No.  I hate the fact the stupid thing even has one.  There've been plenty of times before when it wouldn't even arm.  I am so tired of spending money on this shit.

[Ghandi]

I've got a VW Jetta. I love it, but lately it hasn't been starting well and the temperature light on the dash comes on exactly every other time that I start the car. It may have a problem and it may not, the thing has always had shitty wiring in it. The thing is, though, I don't want to take it in because VW's are so damn expensive to repair. So I feel your pain with the VW thing.

[scottws]

I've always heard that Volkswagens are piles of shit.  Expensive piles of shit with expensive parts.

[WindAndConfusion]

I used to think police should give out tickets to people when their car alarms go off, especially at night. (They do the same thing for college parties, after all.) I later learned that most car alarms are included by the manufacturer, and cannot be disabled.* No matter how stupid, obnoxious, and ineffective they are.

*Sometimes they can be disabled, but anyway 99% of people never read the owner's manual and 99.9% of people can't even get their VCRs to stop blinking 12:00.

The car alarm has got to be among the stupidest ideas ever. Just ask the wiki.

The vast majority of car alarms which sound are accidental. They are caused by the passing of large trucks, the vibration of thunder or people coming into contact with the vehicle.

Since most car alarms are triggered accidentally, most people in American cities are numbed to the sound of alarms, and do nothing to prevent theft. The New York City Police Department claims that car alarms are actually making the crime problem worse (see their booklet called "Police Strategy No. 5: Reclaiming the Public Spaces of New York," City of New York, New York, 1994) because since nothing is done about the alarms, the general impression is that no one cares about the neighborhood.

[Quemaqua]

Volkswagens, in my experience, are actually very good cars on a fundamental mechanical level... at least most of the time.  Where they fail miserably is with minor stuff, electrical, security, etc.  And yes, fixing them is expensive as fuck.  But this car has been really good to us in most respects, it just has had a billion recalls for stupid shit, and we've had to pay to fix lots of dumb crap that your average car wouldn't have any issues with.  My friend also had a Jetta that he never took to the shop for like... anything.  Ever.  Of course, this was an older one.  It seems newer ones don't have the same quality level, although that probably goes for cars in general.  The newer they get, the more you'll fucking regret buying it, seems like.  These things used to be simple.  A big metal box with a motor in it.  Now everything is convenience, and really all you're paying for is more crap that can potentially break.

[angrykeebler]

You guys know Nazi's came up with the Volkswagon? True story.

[Pugnate]

Our VW Golf is a giant pile of crap.  Never, ever buy one.  I'm not going to enumerate the number of issues we've had, but the latest is the car alarm.  Went out to lunch with mom today, then went back to the car.  I try to unlock all the doors by flicking the key in the lock twice, like always, and they won't go.  Odd.  So I open the driver's side door and the alarm goes off.  Try using the buttons on the door to unlock the car, no dice.  Eventually the alarm shuts off.  Somebody opens their door (which finally unlocked somehow) to get in, and the alarm goes off again.  It also goes off when I *start* the car.  Turns off after about 20 seconds.  We drive home, the locks seem to start working again... then we drop mom off, and the alarm goes off when she gets out.  Does the same thing when we get out to go home.

Fuck I hate this car.  I don't even want to know what they're going to charge me to ditch this thing.  I tried looking for a guide on how to disconnect it myself, and I can't seem to find anything.  Arg.

Just remove the car alarm fuses from under the steering. Well at least that's what my mechanic here did when I had the same frustrating problem as yourself.

Also Sirean is right. What the hell is the point?

You guys know Nazi's came up with the Volkswagon? True story.

That's right after they came with up you. False story.





or is it?

Is he joking?

haha sorry I've just been going through the first season of Family Guy. That death episode with Norm Macdonald is hilarious.

But back to cars. I always heard people say VWs are well manufactured, but quite expensive.

[Ghandi]

I've always heard that Volkswagens are piles of shit.  Expensive piles of shit with expensive parts.

They aren't all piles of shit. My Jetta is actually quite nice- good engine, good handling, etc. It's just that whoever did the wiring was either really stupid or on drugs.

[scottws]

Volkswagens, in my experience, are actually very good cars on a fundamental mechanical level... at least most of the time.  Where they fail miserably is with minor stuff, electrical, security, etc.  And yes, fixing them is expensive as fuck.  But this car has been really good to us in most respects, it just has had a billion recalls for stupid shit, and we've had to pay to fix lots of dumb crap that your average car wouldn't have any issues with.

This reminds me of my friend who defended Mitsubishi's reputation as building hunks of junk by saying "They aren't pieces of crap.  They just require a lot of maintenance."

Isn't that the same thing?

I don't mean to knock you VW fans or owners.  It's just that three of my close friends all drive or have driven Volkswagens and they've all told me on numerous occasions: "Never buy a Volkswagen.  They are pieces of shit."  Another friend of mine that hasn't owned a Volkswagen but is a vehicle mechanic who has worked on every brand other the sun save for the exotic also feels the same way.

[Cobra951]

Hitler was behind the original VW Beetle.  "Volkswagen" is "the people's car".  I think it was part of his plan to get Germans into high spirits, and Ferdinand Porsche went along?  Hell, I need to stop trying to piece together partial bits I've learned, and go look for something more accurate . . .

Edit:  Here we go.

Edit 2:  Que, I'm really sorry about your car troubles.  That sucks.  You know, some VWs are assembled in Mexico while others are built altogether in Germany.  There was a stink about that some years ago, and VW responded by boosting their warranty to an unprecedented 10 years/100,000 miles.  Don't know where yours falls into all this.

Cars from any manufacturer can be either trouble free or lemons.  Some models get better engineering than others.  Sorry about the lousy luck.  Been there myself, though not with my current car.

[NatchDan]

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/regarding_mussolini.png

[scottws]

I had to look up Godwin's Law, but good stuff.

[NatchDan]

Godwin's Law is terrifyingly true.

[angrykeebler]

Sounds like bullshit to me. What is the point? You guys are just being Nazi's.





oh shit! 

[NatchDan]

Ah-HA!

[Cobra951]

Oh, crap.  At first I thought NatchDan's post was in the wrong thread.  I never heard of Godwin's Law, and thought maybe it had something to do with evolution-vs-God arguments (Darwin, Godwin).  Hahaha!

[gpw11]

Everytime one of my friends is looking at buying a VW I tell them not to (unless it's a van...because then you're in a very small niche there), and every time they end up buying one.  VW cars are fucked because they're notoriously hit or miss from year to year, regardless of design changes or where they were manufactured, and if anything goes wrong at all you're totally fucked because they're way too expensive to fix compaired to any other cars in the same class.  Best to avoid them, it's just not worth it when there are other cars for less money that are equally or more mechanically sound and a lot cheaper to fix.

I know it's kind of a dick thing to say when you're having problems with it, but just be happy it's not something like a broken timing belt.

[Ghandi]

gpw loses. Wrong thread.

Also, I find it funny that we were talking about Hitler in the VW thread. Godwin's Law FTW.

[Cobra951]

   Huh?  Godwin's law has been mentioned.  And we're not talking about Hitler, but about the history of VW.

[scottws]

Yeah, I feel like it is Ghandi posting in the wrong thread, unless I'm missing something.  Good to know it wasn't just me.

[Pugnate]

What Scottws and Cobra said.

[Ghandi]

Oh. Haha. I'm gonna go hide in a corner now.

[Pugnate]

You better!

[Quemaqua]

So today I just wasted $500 on getting a new door sensor which supposedly caused the alarm thing, and from what I've read I'm pretty sure that wont' even fix it.  However, hopefully it'll fix it long enough for us to sell this piece of shit and get something else.

But come on, five hundred clams for a fucking door sensor?  I'm like raging out right now.  I'd probably have killed somebody if it weren't for all the good stuff that I got done today.

[shock]

Get a motorcycle.

[Quemaqua]

*I* don't even need a car, let alone a motorcycle.  I walk and take the subway everywhere.  Though that'll change when they finally close my building and give me a nice fucking extra 45 minutes to my commute.  It's really just my wife who needs it.  For errands and for all her doctor's appointments and stuff.  Plus we need it for family crap and weekends.

[Antares]

Get a motorcycle. With a sidecar.