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Volkswagen Rabbit

832 messages,  Last post on Oct 02, 2009 at 6:24 AM

You are in the Volkswagen Rabbit Forum.

What is this discussion about? Volkswagen Rabbit, Volkswagen Golf, Hatchback

Messages Page 22 of 84

#208 of 832 FISRT BATCH ARE ACTUALLY GERMAN MADE!!!! by zuma4

Jul 14, 2006 (11:09 pm)

Transmission came from Japan and all the rest are being assembled and made in Wolfsburg. 1 to 99 ratio. Why do I know this? friend of mine is actually a car salesman of VW. He helped me processed my application for Golf in 2004 and now I decided to trade it in for the rabbit.
 
Everytime I go visit the dealership I always examine the rabbit right even before the launhching date. most of the first batch are all coming from Germany and later edition will be coming from Brazil and Mexico. My freind literally showed me the inventory list of most modified Rabbit and they were all sold out!!! people already placed their reservation. That was why I was waiting 3 weeks for my rabbit because they had to order it from Germany! My car arrived at the dealership 2 days ago and I finally got it today!!
 
what can I say about the rabbit that now I am one of those first owners?? actually I am very speechless. i really don't know what to say because I am really overwhelmed by this car.
 
the total price of mine is 19890 dollars four door with sunroof and alloy wheels. original price is 21,310 but they gave me credits and bonuses because I only had 10k miles on my Golf Gls that I traded in plus I keep my payments on time.
 
as a matter of fact the Rabbit doesn't come with "ESP" but mine is actually came up with it as standard with no extra cost!! The interior looks great. It looks like a $30,000 dollar car on the inside. Everything was perfectly made and organized. very spacious it looks like 4 people can fit in the back seat. I am very impressed when I found out the the center part of the back seat is actually an arm-rest that can be folded so the 3rd or 4th person can lean back. You also have access to the compartment by folding it openly.
I really like the moldings that they added on every sides of the car. It makes the rabbit looks expensive! driver seat can be adjusted electronically which is very cool. The in-dash 6 disc cd changer is awesome!!! there are 10 speakers. Automatic Trans with Tipronic and Sports mode are f$#n cool. what I like the most is the 150 horses compare to the 115 old ones!
 
engine compartment is very neat,clean and organized. when I look underneath the car, I also notice that they have placed plastic covers so you don't see anything hanging!
 
it is a winderfull car. I think it will sell really good.
 
My freind from the dealership told me that next year VW will actually add a couple of thousand more to the current price tag because the current 14,999 and 16,999 dollars rabbit are too cheap to have those extra features as standards!!
 
I can say that the rabbit or golf is really cool and a car that has gone from a cute to sophisticated car! It is a true Grman engineering

#209 of 832 Re: FISRT BATCH ARE ACTUALLY GERMAN MADE!!!! [zuma4] by backy

Jul 15, 2006 (8:41 am)

Replying to: zuma4 (Jul 14, 2006 11:09 pm)
At $17.6-19.6k starting prices (assuming your friend is correct about the $2000 increase in 2007), the Rabbit will be overpriced IMO--considering that you can get a Fit or Versa for under $15k or a well-appointed Mazda3s for under $18k. If VW wants to stay competitive in this hatchback market, I think they are going to need to leave the pricing about where it is.

#210 of 832 Re: FISRT BATCH ARE ACTUALLY GERMAN MADE!!!! [zuma4] by bpeachee1

Jul 15, 2006 (12:01 pm)

Replying to: zuma4 (Jul 14, 2006 11:09 pm)
I believe your friend is not correct about next years pricing, as VW already announced that pricing for 07 Rabbits is the same, and slightly lower on the entry level Jetta.

#211 of 832 Rabbit Reliability & MPG by lary999

Jul 15, 2006 (2:17 pm)

The 2007 Rabbit is ideal for my needs; I've paid a deposit and my Rabbit is on its way. Here's a comparison with my 1990 Honda Civic hatchback.
 
1. Ergonomics. I'm 6'3", with long legs. In the Civic, I had to custom-modify the seat, moving the rails back 5"; my knees hit the steering wheel; the toes of my shoes (size 13) wouldn't even clear the bottom edge of the dash to fully release the clutch! By contrast, the Rabbit cabin is wonderfully spacious, with excellent ergonomics: an extended seat-track travel, tilt & telescoping steering wheel, and in general excellent clearance for my legs. All of this cabin space comes at a price, of course: the Rabbit is heavy.
 
The Rabbit has 2 big negatives:
 
2. Fuel economy. My Honda Civic gets 30/40 city/hiway, vs. the Rabbit's 23/30. This translates to an additional $2,500 per 100,000 miles, at $5 per gallon (a guess at future gas prices in the U.S.). I agree with previous posts, that the Rabbit is actually a mid-size car, heavier and therefore safer than my 1990 Civic. (I predict we'll see a 50+ MPG hybrid electric-diesel Rabbit within 3 years).
 
3. Reliability. My Honda Civic, after 16 years and 225,000 miles, has been stunningly reliable. Only one breakdown: a radiator leak. Total cost for repairs, beyond scheduled tune-ups, 2 timing belts, and normal wear (brakes, tires), has been less than $1,000. Difficult to believe, but true; even the clutch is original!
 
The Japanese Honda engineer is obsessed with reliability. As a consequence, the 1990 Civic (base model) uses "old" and "slowly-evolved" technology: a 4-speed manual transmission built on a 1980's production line; an engine that has slowly evolved from a 1973 design; a simple computer; heater cables & window cranks perfected over the past 50 years; nothing is power-assist or electronically controlled. Not exciting, but super reliable.
 
My 2007 Rabbit, in contrast, comes loaded with the latest engineering innovations and futuristic wonders: Triptronic AT, Bosch active steering, electronic keyless entry, power windows, electronic brake force distribution ... the list is endless. As a consequence, this brand new technology is still in the "prototype engineering development" stage, and it fails frequently. We've all heard stories from Golf owners where the driver's power window falls into the door well multiple times, the radio fails multiple times, and the transmission dumps its fluid, all while the car is still under warrantee. And we've all heard stories of "indifferent" VW service, where the dealer's technicians seem clueless. But this is a NATURAL CONSEQUENCE of the fact that the Golf/Rabbit is loaded with the latest technology: the VW engineers are so busy loading the 2008 vehicles with new technology (and shaking the bugs out of multiple new production lines scattered all over the planet), that they don't have time to evolve a reliable version of last year's technology.
 
As a consequence, I'm reserving $2,500 in a separate account, to pay for out-of-warranty Rabbit failures during the first 10 years and 100,000 miles.
 
In conclusion: With an estimated $5,000 excess operating cost, compared to the 1990 Honda Civic, the Rabbit is still a great bargain: just compare this to the cost of knee-replacement and hip-replacement surgery.

#212 of 832 Re: Rabbit Reliability & MPG [lary999] by jeffyscott

Jul 15, 2006 (4:33 pm)

Replying to: lary999 (Jul 15, 2006 2:17 pm)
In conclusion: With an estimated $5,000 excess operating cost, compared to the 1990 Honda Civic, the Rabbit is still a great bargain: just compare this to the cost of knee-replacement and hip-replacement surgery.
 
But the knee and hip replacements would not cost you anything, assuming you have health insurance.

#213 of 832 Re: Rabbit Reliability & MPG by lary999 by jpmccormac

Jul 15, 2006 (4:49 pm)

RE: "My 2007 Rabbit, in contrast, comes loaded with the latest engineering innovations... the list is endless. As a consequence, this brand new technology is still in the "prototype engineering development" stage..."
 
Since the Golf/Rabbit has been sold for 4 years now in Europe I'd hardly call it the "latest." Part of the problem with reliability lies with the NA dealer network and shoddy service, which lags European standards for VW.

Messages Page 22 of 84

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