Well, so for all my claims of practicality, I, too have been hijacked by my senses and I am less convinced than ever that I'm going to be able to hold out and buy a nice boring sensible car after all. I have spent today embodying covetousness and greedy wanting. Somebody throw a bucket of ice water on me.
Cold water: the VWs, cute as they are, are horribly unreliable. I retract my previous endorsement. Consumer Reports listed them as a "worst bet" for a used car when I was thinking about buying one...
Posted by: Jenny | February 25, 2004 at 05:17 PM
There is a lot of variation among Volkswagens these days. Many of them are built on this side of the Atlantic, mostly in Mexico, and have been known to be iffy investments. I believe the Passat is still being built in Germany, with all the engineering and manufacturing quality that that implies. We recently acquired a 2003 Passat wagon, and it is a fine, purring machine.
Posted by: George Wallace | February 25, 2004 at 07:31 PM
I suppose that last comment wasn't really helpful, was it?
Posted by: George Wallace | February 25, 2004 at 07:37 PM
It's been rather clear from my perch in cyberspace that Ms. Scheherazade is going to go with her heart rather than with her brain with regard to her auto purchase. So, just DO IT! Stop torturing yourself (not that you don't enjoy torturing yourself). The only reason not to go with the adprable VW would be if having an unreliable car will be really inconvenient and remorse-inducing on the days it won't get you to work. Otherwise, consider the risk of unreliability merely one additional cost for falling in love with a high-maintenance cutie.
p.s. Are you certain that you like your buns warmed?
Posted by: David Giacalone | February 25, 2004 at 10:20 PM
My sister has a New Beetle Turbo (1st gen, with the pop-up spoiler). It's a fine machine, IMHO, but the problem is cost of parts, as with all VWs. Those who are prone to get into car accidents should avoid one, because the cost of repair is astronomical.
Posted by: Scipio | February 26, 2004 at 11:29 AM