I bought a new VW Passat in 2000 and sold it in 2003, long before my usual seven year car ownership period.  The car was sleek and fun to drive, but what good is a car whose engine light comes on every one  to four weeks?  From 15K to 40K miles, Southern States of Durham, with VW's "assistance", was unable to fix a persistent check engine light situation.  VW should have offered to replace the car given the history of repairs, but instead they started charging me for repairing this ongoing condition.   VW customer service exists merely to give people the initial impression that they can help, when in fact they are powerless.  I surmise that they exist merely to pacify people long enough to get them out of the lemon law period.

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