Volkswagen offers a range of passenger vehicles for the Malaysian buyer, whether it is the family-friendly Tiguan Allspace SUV or the high-performance duo that is the iconic Golf GTI and all-wheel-drive Golf R.
The German brand’s presence in Malaysia hasn’t been completely smooth-sailing, at least in the area of reliability and customer experience, which has led to apprehension among would-be buyers of car’s from the brand. Does it deserve that doubt, though?
Here at paultan.org, our very own Harvinder Singh and Paul Tan have been owners of Volkswagen vehicles for several years, and both happily report pleasant ownership experiences. Harvinder has owned his Sharan for over seven years and clocked more than 100,000 km in that time, while Paul has covered around 60,000 km in his Golf GTI in the past five years.
Where Volkswagen reliability is concerned, the much talked-about DSG transmission has not once failed or caused issues in the Sharan, said Harvinder. Minor issues encountered were of the electrical variety, and these were rectified within the warranty period.
As for Paul’s Mk7 Golf GTI, the prolific racking up of mileage in the hatchback comes from being daily-driven, and in fact of the 60,000 km accrued, 50,000 km of that had been done in the first three years, and its current tally would likely have been more if not for the pandemic and its associated lockdowns.
Reliability of his Golf GTI has been almost perfect, says Paul, with zero issues to report from its engine, DSG transmission, suspension in the past five years. The minor remedial attention required has so far been two minor top-ups of engine oil in the past year, and while some air-conditioning work required the removal of the car’s dashboard and which Paul feared would cause rattling afterwards, there was no such problem.
Other owners of Volkswagen vehicles have also reported a satisfying ownership experience. Datuk James Selvaraj and his family members have been serial Volkswagen owners, and for James himself, the Volkswagen experience began in 2008 when he bought a Golf GTI for his son – who seems very happy with it – and has bought a Passat for himself.
Meanwhile, Austin Wong owns a Passat and a Tiguan Allspace – and who had been eyeing the Volkswagen brand for a while – is happy with his purchase. In terms of the experience of reliability, Tiguan owner Samini Balakrishnan admitted to having at first putting off her Volkswagen purchase when reliability issues were already well-documented, though eventually made the jump when she had seen improvements in customer experience through her husband’s ownership of a Volkswagen a year prior to her own.
This upturn in customer experience would have come from the renewed focus on aftersales engagement, following the arrival of brand custodian Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia in 2016. Among the first moves by VPCM in Malaysia was the setting up of a training academy for dealer staff, from frontline, back office through to the technical divisions.
Customer satisfaction has improved by 80%, and repeat repairs have been reduced by 86%, says VPCM director of aftersales Deenan Nadar. What about your own vehicle ownership, Volkswagen owners? Have you experienced improved customer service and reliability of late?
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Oh well never own vw before. Heard bad stories, saw vw kaput 4 times on traffic jam, saw on news vw refuse warranty, gti gear oil change cost rm3k, passat wire harness rm80k, polo major service rm4k, . After read this article do you think i will consider.?
You heard? That means it’s not proven, right? I heard some people use what they heard to comment like it’s real. I heard lah, but it must be true because I heard. Did you hear me?
I heard, many people die young.
I even read news related to death everyday.
Does this means human beings has short life expectancies?
same goes with cars
Won’t even re-consider this brand after having really bad experience owning my “dream” Golf.
My Tiguan is now 2 years and 8 months and 12 days old having clocked 72500 kilometres. I have had on problems and am still using the same tyres (hancook) which can still be used for another 4 to 5 thousand kilometres. This is the best car I have ever driven and have never let me down. Thanks volkswagen for your engineering. Thanks to the service station for the meticulous services provided.
Interesting to quote both Harv & Paul’s VW cars that uses the 6spd WET type DSG which don’t face the same reliability complaints as the far more infamous 7spd DRY type DSG. Funny how most Golf GTI owners swear by the reliability of their DSG while the standard Golf owners curse the reliability of their DSG. A very polarising car.
I bought my Jetta with twin turbo in 2014, the 2013 batch that couldn’t sell and had huge discount. It has 7 speed dry DSG. Up till now haven’t failed though. Love the twin turbos. Will keep it till the engine fails one day.
new passat hnggghhhh
Currently owned a passat B8 1.8tsi (dry clutch dsg) since feb 2018. So far no issues wt the car. When i send the car for its 3rd service (45k) , VW changed the clutch pack which i dont notice anything wrong wt it . Now almost 4th yrs ownership, no problem at all. Previously owned the cross touran from 2013 to 2018. VW changed it clutch pack at 70k km. And other stuff replace foc under warranty (roof lining/sun roof mechanism/piston) during ownership. Wife had a mk6 tsi…VW changed its clutch pack & the whole engine under warranty due to piston issues. What i like about VW is that as long as its within the 5 yrs warranty period, any issues will be replaced foc….currently waiting for new mk8 golf to replace my wife’s current car. As long as VW take care of its warranty promise, i will keep buying another VW. In my opinion, at this price range, a VW is the best handling car.
Resale value still the lowest, yes?
Tell me where to buy a GTI with low resale value pls.
Buy used myvi for 10k then slap gti badge
currently owned a 2018 B8 CL wt dry clutch. so far now issues, they replaced the clutch during the 3rd year service which i actually dont notice any problem wt it but they computer reading says other wise. As usual, everything are FOC as long its within the 5 years warranty. my previous Mk6 & cross touran also the same, any issues are replaced under warranty FOC. which is the reasons i keep buying another vw since they honor their warranty. Currently eyeing the new golf mk8…..hehehe, might get another vw. For me, as long they honor their warranty i will keep upgarding to new model when warranty are over since in my opinion at this price range, nothing drives as good as a VW. U will need to spend more on an audi/bmw/merc. for me since i’m not a brand snob,i’ll get a vw for as a bargain audi.The service centre have improved a lot lately since most buyer are scared to buy a vw which is a GOOD THING for me. since they have more time to entertain current owner compared during the 2011-2013 period. Hahahahaha….dont buy a vw, i want to keep the SC for myself!
Would be interesting to know where Paul and harvinder send their cars for service
Pokok Cherry?
While I don’t own a vw, the need for such an article speaks for itself. A clap doesn’t happen with one hand. VW’s reputation isn’t any better here in the UK especially with its desperate and haste move towards electric to “rebrand” itself from its diesel past. A move that currently offers cheap interiors and immature software on their electric range.
The best way to find out is if JD power makes a return to survey on customer satisfaction index again.
Perhaps paultan team would like to run a similar survey on annual basis.
I own tiguan launch model 2017 and my parents own 2015 twincharger jetta.well for my tiguan i do not have any major issue so far at 70k km now..but i do have small issue that is rectified by the sc..same cannot be said about my parents jetta..clocked currently at 50k km..it takes 3times before the speed sensor issue completely resolved(under warranty) and mechatronic conked out just after warranty at around 45k km..under goodwill warranty manage to change the unit with only need to bear the labour cost..so take that as u will in regards to reliability..service i will say im satisfied and i think there are merits when they say aftersales service had been improved..spare parts service cost other than oil change,i dont agree that is on par with japanese counterpart and certainly not cheap..if u ask me wether i like my vw,i surely do and enjoy my time with my car
I’ve been using Jetta since 2016 until now. 210,000km on mileage. Have problem on the turbo charger only right now.
Enjoy your time….at sc
I have been using a 2014 vw jetta tsi and i bought it brand new. Tis an old car clocking almost 240k km now. Issues? I changed my mechatronic at about 60k km and until now, it is perfoming as required and more….now, the only thing i need to do is my abs module and of course, the suspensions…
im looking for a retirement car, the car in which i want to use it forever before return back to meet almighty god. i try to reconsider VW especially tiguan allspace elegance but is so scary after read all feedbacks. I just want a peace life after retire would go back to either toyota or honda. easy to maintain laa…. thanks paul.
I heard, many people die young.
I even read news related to death everyday.
Does this means human beings has short life expectancies?
same goes with cars