My sister owns a Toyota Prius and I own an R.
Her cost of maintenance has been dirt cheap, and ownership experience has been way easier. In her ownership outside of maintenance she's had to visit the dealership exactly 1 time when her CEL went on because her gas cap broke. Other than them treating her like an idiot she got the new cap and hasn't had any issues since. She treats her car like an appliance and does/spends the absolute bare minimum to keep her warranty valid.
Me I've had a whole bunch of warranty problems (im stock). Was at the dealership monthly for unfixable CEL startup misfires (took over a year of complaining to get a software ecu update from VW that fixed the issue) - so I had a CEL on for basically the entire first year of ownership. They also treated me like an idiot saying I put in 87 gas and any interaction with corporate VW was useless and frustrating. Cracked headlight (not a rock chip - had to fight VW to get it "goodwilled"). Thermostat housing leaked/replaced. Both front wheel bearings died at 40,000km and warrantied. Intermittent ACC errors that I gave up trying to get fixed. I baby the crap out of my car and go way above and beyond the scheduled maintenance.
Anyone that tells me VW is just as reliable as Toyota is either delusional or incompetent. I would still rather be driving the VW but that's a different debate lol.
Her cost of maintenance has been dirt cheap, and ownership experience has been way easier. In her ownership outside of maintenance she's had to visit the dealership exactly 1 time when her CEL went on because her gas cap broke. Other than them treating her like an idiot she got the new cap and hasn't had any issues since. She treats her car like an appliance and does/spends the absolute bare minimum to keep her warranty valid.
Me I've had a whole bunch of warranty problems (im stock). Was at the dealership monthly for unfixable CEL startup misfires (took over a year of complaining to get a software ecu update from VW that fixed the issue) - so I had a CEL on for basically the entire first year of ownership. They also treated me like an idiot saying I put in 87 gas and any interaction with corporate VW was useless and frustrating. Cracked headlight (not a rock chip - had to fight VW to get it "goodwilled"). Thermostat housing leaked/replaced. Both front wheel bearings died at 40,000km and warrantied. Intermittent ACC errors that I gave up trying to get fixed. I baby the crap out of my car and go way above and beyond the scheduled maintenance.
Anyone that tells me VW is just as reliable as Toyota is either delusional or incompetent. I would still rather be driving the VW but that's a different debate lol.
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