VW to lose 10K jobs... Oh! boo! hoo!

 

Okay, so, let me be the first to throw my head back and let out a big, hearty laugh at Volkswagen's financial troubles: specifically, the fact that the company has announced it's probably going to have to cut 10,000 jobs in Germany in an attempt to stem its money woes.

 

"With sales lagging, Volkswagen's German factories are suffering from overcapacity. Mr. Dudenhöffer suggested that it close one of its most troubled factories, in Brussels, where the compact Golf is made, and move production to Wolfsburg, where it could be absorbed "overnight,'" according to the Times.

 

Waah-waah-waah!

 

Ha ha! Serves them right!!!!

 

I own a 2000 Golf, and let me tell you, my experiences with VW, which mirror those of many others, have been a nightmare. Ever since the German automaker decided to redesign its cars and flood the market, starting in 1999, owning one of their plastic junkmobiles has been nothing like I thought it would be. And I did my research. Sadly, the research was pre-'99.

 

Granted, the car's cute -- damn cute -- and fun to drive, but it's also made primarily of plastic, which means that shit just breaks.

 

The laundry-list of problems with the car started almost as soon as I drove it off the lot with a grand 14 miles on it:

 

New transmission at 24,000 miles, new air conditioner many, many times, four new gloveboxes (I've given up and let it hang), countless sets of new brakes, shocks and tires, a new side mirror, which corroded (forget the plastic knob that broke off, which turns them from inside the door -- I just push them now), new front cupholder ($60!!! Dude at the shop asked the VW agent, incredulously, "Does she at least get a cup with that?") -- I've no intention of fixing the rear one that nearly took out my eye when it snapped, window hinges, plastic, that caused my window to fall into the door, and many many more plastic doohickeys that I find littering the interior. Where they belong, I seriously do not know.

 

Now, not that cars aren't breakable objects, but the issue is that every time I've attempted to deal with VW, even on problems that are either under warranty, recall items or just plain crappy, they've steadfastly been rude, unhelpful, and have persisted in stonewalling me.

 

Thus, I have, for the past five years, told anyone and everyone who inquires about my car what a complete and total piece of shit it is, how expensive, rude and unhelpful VW dealers are, and then I tell the "customer service" horror stories I've lived through dealing with VW of America.

 

So, take it from me: Avoid VW of America if you don't want to regret your purchase, or you'll find yourself wondering, as the car continues to disentegrate, what to do with it (burn it? blow it up? park it in Newark?) because, as I and others saddled with these rolling mounds of debt have discovered, it's not worth a dime.