VAG might help itself if VW/Audi cars weren't in the bottom ten for worst reliability. What Car? Reliability Survey: Most and least reliable car brands | What Car?
However not wanting to spend gazillions on new I'd be more interested in the reliability of cars older than 5 yrs although I doubt such data exists and would, no doubt, be dependant on it's usage, storage, servicing schedule etc
They definitely are not what they used to be They used to be made to a standard Now they are made (shoddily) to a price
I have a 2004 A4 1.9tdi 100.000 miles (am 2nd owner) Very good on fuel, never misses a beat, it’s been regularly serviced from new Last weekend I investigated a wiper issue (very slow, stopped where they liked) I found the “pivots” to be tight, one practically seized During dissembling I found they had o-rings (one broken up, both replaced) to prevent water ingress. I wonder whether the current crop uses o-rings
Yeah o-rings. My theory is they last about 25 years. Think about all the push fit fittings used in cars nowadays that have o-rings. Then think about all the push fit fittings used in people’s household plumbing. They’ll all be coming to the end of their useful life and then letting go.
I have an old (2012) VW 1.6 Caddy van. It's been the least reliable vehicle I've ever owned. Evidence of cost-cutting is everywhere. I bought it at 70K miles and it has never had really heavy use but the problems began immediately with multiple injector failure, followed by EGR problems, fuel lift pump failure, pdf problems (a very expensive fix), broken suspension spring mounts and turbo actuator failure. A quick internet search reveals these are all common problems. I'm sure there's something else I've forgotten. And now at the last service they found swarf in the fuel filter, a sign that the injector pump is breaking down. Apparently they do that as well. When that packs up it won't be worth fixing. I wouldn't buy another VW.
But it's not meant to last. Most vans are company purchased from new and written down by the accountants over 3yrs, or at the most 5yrs, at which point they are sold on and owe the company nothing. But they've had their moneys worth from them, been thrashed by all and sundry, and survived on just enough maintenance to maintain the warranty. Or, like the company I work for, forsake the warranty to get them cheaper, extend the servicing to whenever you can spare the time, and simply pay for it to be fixed when it goes wrong because over a large fleet that’s actually cheaper overall. The same applies to insurance, a lot of company vehicles are legal minimum Third Party only, as with a fleet it’s cheaper to pay for those that need fixing than pay fully comp on them all. So all VW and other commercial vehicle manufacturers need to do to maintain a commercial reputation purely generated by customers accountants is to manufacture them to a cost that get's them through the first 3-5yrs without completely disintegrating. They don't even consider what use they are after that.
My initial thought is that somebody India based like Tata are prime candidate if Ducati was to be sold off. However, I'm also wondering if the flourishing manufacturers of EVs like Kia etc are looking for a way to buy credibility into the Bike EV market which I, and maybe they, believe is about to explode.
VAG's drive to electric is reducing profitability. Difficult to compete when your opposition can sell at less than cost.
I think it would have to be a large already profitable MoCo. that maybe fancies a little kudos? H.D. have history but maybe not finances at this time. Ducati are not a big enough volume trader to attract a non core business operator? Maybe a little short sighted to sell off a profitable business when you need profits. A bit like selling off and renting back, but then it does happen. i
Like Audi? Or Mercedes, who were actually in conversation to buy them before VW/Audi jumped in. Many reasons to want to buy them and money is not always that reason. Apparently for Audi it was a personal vanity project.
I drove a cupra a couple of weeks ago Not good on fuel, poor throttle response unless I dropped a couple of gears, felt like a 60’s Cadillac, like a boat, bulbous/bulky, air con was powerful though, fan was like a hurricane above halfway
