David Fritzinger
In article <bmf0bmFpq0aU1@mid.individual.net>, Lloyd E Parsons <lloydp21@live.com>wrote:

Lloyd E Parsons
On 2014-02-17 17:39:27 +0000, ed said:

ed
On Monday, February 17, 2014 9:25:32 AM UTC-8, Lloyd Parsons wrote: ...

Lloyd E Parsons
Interestingly, up through 97,500 miles, total cost for all services> wouldn't come to $750 on the Buick. So what the hell is up with such> poor build quality in those German cars that they need so much> expensive service??

ed
the build quality is actually pretty freakin' outstanding (we have a 2010, so before they cheapened it a bit to meet a lower base price)- the car is tight and still drives like new at 115k. the main problems are some design decisions - like the dpf being one piece and not serviceable- and the cost of the freakin' fluids. i've done most of the routine maintenance myself, and it's $50 in fluids for oil changes, and something like $120 for the dsg. that's just the freakin' fluids. and the 40k frequency on that dsg is rough.

...

Lloyd E Parsons
I knew that, it was just a little troll... :)

Nasty hasn't bit yet, but he will.

I was looking at lots of things as I researched and drove different cars. The Buick won because: 1. I've had many Buicks over the years and nary a problem with any of them, including the Riviera I had that I sold with 170K or so on it. That's back when I drove a lot obviously.

2. Buick's Verano w/Convenience matches up pretty well with VW Jetta SEL (non-TDI) model but the upfront cost of that Jetta is about $4-5K more money and still feels cheap inside. That last was a big disappointment to me. I understand why the early VW's that came to the states felt cheap inside and that was that they were cheap cars. But now, not so cheap in comparison to others.

David Fritzinger
From what I have read, the Jetta is really the only VW that has a cheap looking and feeling interior. What is worse is that when this model Jetta came out, the interior was even cheaper. Other VWs, especially those built in Germany, tend to have very nice interiors for their price. Tests on Golfs and GTIs are always talking about how their interiors feel like those from much more expensive cars. My sources in this are tests from Car and Driver, and from the British auto magazine, Car, both of which I consider to be pretty reputable.