Team-BHP - Would you buy a VW badged Chrysler?

VW are launching their first mini-van in North America in 2009. Nothing wrong with that except that the Routan is a VW badged Chrysler Town&Country. The Routan will be manufactured by Chrysler, Canada and final quality will be inspected on site by VW employees. Engines, doors and roof is common to the Routan and Town&Country with the front and rear design, interiors and suspension being different. From the pictures though, the two van's don't look that much different. The interiors are quite similar and anyone can tell that the two cars are related.

Question is, would you buy a VW badged Chrysler?

Test Drive and Pictures: Chrysler Town&Country.

First Drive: VW Routan.

Pictures and story source: canadiandriver.

The VW dosen't look bad. The Chrysler has some wood (or fake wood, whatever it is) that looks out of place. If the Germans are serious about the quality control, then it will be worth it.
Not much into MPVs, but, I remember, VW used to have a pretty good and acclaimed vehicle called the Sharan (Ford Galaxy). Don't know if it's sold in the US.

Yes I would. The town and country is the world's largest selling minivan and for good reason. (it is also popular in Europe) It had everything you had in a minivan except for the sophisticated Euro style and hi-fi interiors. The Routan rectifies that problem in one go. This is an example of taking a great product and making a killer product.

Sharan was considered too small for American customers plus it was shared with Ford I think.

Yes and No.

Yes, if VW was in charge if Quality Control during the entire production process, and if the end-product met VW's QC standards*.

No, if they didn't.

I know the post said that it would be 'inspected' by VW employees post-production, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

* - the irony is that VW's QC specs aren't that great to begin with. Anyone who's ever owned a Jetta, Passat or Touraeg will tell you that all VW products begin to develop niggling quality faults very soon after you buy them. A colleague of mine when I worked in the US had a recent model Passat, and while the car was great (very comfortable, handled well, and because he bought the V6, it was powerful too), it began to develop niggling issues 12 months after he'd bought it.
The rubber beading on the doors needed to be replaced in 12 months, the car would only use premium fuel, the oil and the filters (oil, air, and fuel) needed to be changed more frequently than say, in a Honda or a Toyota), the fuel gauge went kaput in fifteen months.

No serious faults, but not faults you'd see in a Honda or Toyota, or even a Hyundai. VW products just aren't as hassle-free as you'd like them to be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mpower (Post 1030340)

The town and country is the world's largest selling minivan and for good reason.

Sure the T&C is a flexible and proven product but how much of an improvement the Routan is over the T&C? Being a VW, it will be priced higher then the T&C, maybe substantially higher. What do we get for the extra $? Seems like VW just gave a bit of nip and tuck to clear up the interiors. The suspension would be better then the T&C for sure but is that enough justification for the higher cost?

Quote:

Anyone who's ever owned a Jetta, Passat or Touraeg will tell you that all VW products begin to develop niggling quality faults very soon after you buy them.

Most of the problems are electrical ones. I remember talking to a guy that had the Mark IV Jetta a few years back and he said that on a bitingly cold January night in Toronto while driving back home the left windows of his car rolled down and refused to go back up! It took VW 4 weeks to send replacement parts despite the VW Canada HQ being about 30 kms from the dealership where his car was laid up for repairs. Ironically, after the repairs were done, someone from VW called up and asked him how satisfied he was with the dealer. The guy told the caller that she was asking the wrong question. The correct question should be how satisfied are you with VW?!

Todays age you really should not be bothered what badge you are getting, you should just make sure what product you are buying, i mean today, with the vauhaul badging you actually buy a Monaro, In India, with the chevy badging we actually buy a Daewoo :).

So the answer is Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superleggera (Post 1032476)

Very true. Most of the problems are electrical ones.In US, while night driving I have noticed that 2 out of the three cars coming with single head light on will be either a Jetta or a Passat.

Bad Service network in the US i believe:Frustrati, when are they going to up their standards to maintain a german car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM (Post 1032480)

Bad Service network in the US i believe:Frustrati, when are they going to up their standards to maintain a german car.

Poor QC is more like it. VW has had a really bad reputation as far as quality goes. Agreed there are people (like you) who would still buy a VW no matter what but overall, VW/Audi have had a pretty bad reputation when it comes to electricals.

Somehow I think the Skoda owners fair a lot better than the Jetta ones when it comes to basic quality - never owned either so going by comments on the internet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superleggera (Post 1032476)

Very true. Most of the problems are electrical ones.In US, while night driving I have noticed that 2 out of the three cars coming with single head light on will be either a Jetta or a Passat.

My neighbor sold his Passat for an Accura. The Japs have the best electricals, hands down. Too many electrical issues (power windows, locks, lamps break down way too frequently) with VWs.

Bad service network or not, gremlins notwithstanding, VW is the only carmaker to post a single digit loss in sales(% wise) in this tumultous market. While all other carmakers(including Honda and Toyota) have exhausted store space hanging "SALE' and "XXX $$ off", VW is sitting pretty and offering little or no discount. What might be the reason?