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Agree with most of the above re reliability image and costs, but the Golf MK4 & present A3 intereior are a fair bit nicer than any recent offering from Ford, Vauxhall et al.
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>>Why am I classed as being a snob badge by so many back roomers because I buy VW? <<
Because you can buy exactly the same car cheaper with a Skoda badge on it - so you are paying more just for the badge. You would get better value with a Skoda Superb.
>>I see no difference between a Ford, Vauxhall, Toyota and Honda. <<
Maybe that is because you do not understand the virtues of the different brands - again it seems that if they are all the same to you why pay over the odds for a passat.
So why am I classed as a badge snob?<<
See above.
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I've just done 107,000 miles, from new, in my 2001 Passat 100ps.
Never done that kind of mileage or kept a car that long. It feels as good as new to drive.
Lots of bills for replacement parts but no breakdowns.
Count me as a VW fan.
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>>>why pay over the odds for a passat
I don't think a Passat is more expensive than a Honda Accord.
I have driven a Skoda Octavia and did not like the interior, not a patch on the VW. The Skoda is not exactly the same.
I don't understand the virtues bit. Surely one can buy a car one likes without being ridiculed.
Of course the cars are not the same, it is the brand which is in a similar class.
I never buy clothes with the designer logos, I know that all the clothes are made in the same sweatshop.
If people who drive a VW are snobs, what would you say to Bentley/Ferrari/Aston/Porshe/Merc/BMW etc owners, are they snobs? Good luck to them I say.
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why am i classed as a badge snob?
reason 1, the fact that you bought attention to yourself with the question in the first place
reason 2, you bought a VW cause you thought you would look better amongt your working class peers
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Milkyjoe,
bhoy wonder did rather lead with his chin but there's no need to sneer.
He's already told you he chose the VW for its expected better resale value.
Any car you drive says something about you whether that's true or not. Question is, if VW suggests badge snob, why is that?
I have no real idea myself, I have the impression though that they appeal to people who are not particularly interested in or knowledgeable about cars who see VW as a 'safe' brand with quality associations, an image which VW takes pains to maintain with its advertising - but there, I've just created another stereotype.
One thing for sure - it's a different decision making process when it's your own brass.
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>>>you bought a VW cause you thought you would look better amongt your working >>>class peers
Pathetic, how do you know whether he is working class and who the dickens cares anyway.
Grow up sonny boy.
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Pathetic how do you know whether he is working class and who the dickens cares anyway. Grow up sonny boy.
Oooooh ....handbags at dawn
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why am i classed as a badge snob? reason 1 the fact that you bought attention to yourself with the question in the first place
Is this not a forum for getting discussion going. And I am always interested in what people views are.
reason 2 you bought a VW cause you thought you would look better amongt your working class peers
Pathetic.
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If you own a VW and think your persecuted, spare just a thought for the MG/Rover owners here. People assume that any Rover is automatically rubbish which is just not the case and also that the K-series is reason to dismiss every other engine they produced.
Thing is though, I honestly couldnt care less what anyone thinks of my car choice - I used to drive a Reliant Rialto - thats requires a huge dose of character to deal with the often childish comments.
VW suffers from having a reputation that doesnt always match its products, thats the reason why most people look down on them. It wont be forever though as these things can be reversed as is happening with Mercedes, finally. VW seem to be on the right track too so it wont be forever.
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...and consequently if this thread goes down the usual anti-Rover road and associated nastiness severe cutting and account reviews will result. Again not being stroppy just hate this childishness.
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Dont mind me asking lads but why has this turned into a bickering match.
We all have various reasons why we have bought the cars we drive, some may not agree with the choice and some may feel strongly that the owner may have been mistaken for some reason.
I'm glad we are all different and i enjoy reading the quips and good natured leg pulling that goes on, but this thread seems to be taking a nasty turn.
If it carry's on it will have to be handbags at dawn, and she's only just getting over the last pasting.
I dont think anyone is a snob for their choice of car.
Theyve paid their money and made their choice and probably like the rest of us hoping and praying that they havent got a lemon.
I want all enthusiastic car buyers to feel free to tell us of their good and bad experiences with their motors, you never know we may just learn something and it may just save us from making a pigs ear of our own purchases.
Rant over will lie down in darkened room.
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To me it only seems like a throw away comment on the Tech forum anyway. Its not personalised.
A strong stimuli often elicits a strong response... Where`s Hyacinth Bucket when you need her ;) Did she drive an...erm........;)
Regards
Edited by oilrag on 01/12/2007 at 20:15
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HB would never drive, thats so working class. Richard drove her around in "the rover"
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< Ulla>
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And what a fine japanese Rover it was to. Good enough for our HB, good enough for me :-)
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And what a fine japanese Rover it was to. Good enough for our HB good enough for me :-)
would that be the 213 or the 216 with the honda engine?
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216 VDP I should have thought ;-)
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Residual values are surely driven by snob value, rather than the "real" value of secondhand cars.
Ignoring Bentley, Bugatti and SEAT, VAG produce three brands Skoda, VW and Audi using many common components - modern Skodas seem to have no problem holding their own against volume manufacturers like Ford and Opel/Vauxhall - those who buy VW and Audi are buying "brand image", if that doesn't define badge snob, what does?.
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The point is though, that even someone who buys a car with a snobbish badge isnt automatically a snob as that may not be their reason for buying the car.
If however, they boast about the brand etc rather than the car itself, then you have a snob.
Bugatti is the ultimate VAG badge, but I would buy one because the car is amazing, not on account of the badge as would most people if they were that lucky.
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Bell boy wrote:
" dont see most vw buyers as snobs but oh yes they do exist and are usually primary school teachers oh and their husbands wear shorts"
BB - I worry about you. Frequent references to 'men in shorts' in your posts and now a derogatory reference to primary school teacher with husband who wears shorts. Some unpleasant experience in your past perhaps? Have you sought counselling?
I don't see many men in shorts, expecially not at this time of year, still less who are looking to buy a car...
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I don't see many men in shorts expecially not at this time of year >>
It's obvious you haven't visited a Tesco or Asda in Liverpool -;)
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We all buy brand values, if not brand image, more or less. Brands are useful, the well known ones are (or should be) amongst the most useful information you can have about what you are buying. You can't see inside the engine, but you can see the badge, and if you associate it with whatever is most important to you, be it looking fashionable, reliability, quality, durability, comfort, or whatever, then you are more likely to buy it.
And to suggest that buying a car because you expect low depreciation, makes you a badge snob, whether that results from others' 'badge snobbery' or not, is just illogical.
Edited by Manatee on 01/12/2007 at 22:57
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And to suggest that buying a car because you expect low depreciation makes you abadge snob whether that results from others' 'badge snobbery' or not is just illogical.
Why does that make me badge snob? Does it not make good financial sense or am I missing something.
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bhoy wonder I'm trying to agree with you...it doesn't make you a badge snob (whatever that is).
Edited by Manatee on 01/12/2007 at 23:05
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Sorry one to many lagers I think hic ; ).
I going for a lie down.
Edited by bhoy wonder on 01/12/2007 at 23:07
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Agree with you one of my best cars I had was a montego estate. I had the car for 3 years returned it with 110,000 miles on the clock. Never missed a beat. Great car. Although the 3 years i had it I was constantly asked why did I ever chose it. Because it was a great workhorse.
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I have driven a Skoda Octavia and did not like the interior not a patch on the VW. The Skoda is not exactly the same.
if you're comparing an Octavia with a Passat, you're not comparing like with like. The Octavia is a Golf (or Leon or Audi A3) with a different body; the Superb is a slightly lengthened Passat.
I have a Skoda that's only developed one fault (a seized up rear washer) in nearly five years. I like to think I'm not influenced by branding, but who's to say the reverse snobbery (not to mention the sneers of the Clarksons of this world) didn't influence my decision?
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To all those who have any kind of angst over badge snobbery ( in either direction ), house/address snobbery or any other tribal identity insecurities. Remember this little phrase and do you know what ? Suddenly it all goes away !
Those who mind don't matter...those who matter don't mind.
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I've read this really purely out of moderating interest. I'm up in Wales at the moment (think rain) and needed to pop to the local Halfords. In the car-park was a recent reg Passat, the driver was wearing....................SHORTS !!!!!
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PU, how dare you.
I'll drive a Passat, but in this country I never ever wear shorts.
Wales, rain, shorts, no,no, are you telling us that a Passat owner wears shorts, goes to Halfords lives in Wales, in the winter, NO, NO.!!!
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I may be in trouble here.But I am just back from the gym. Drove back up wearing my shorts. Oh blimey! . What have I said. : ) lol
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 02/12/2007 at 18:28
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So now we know who is letting the side down. I hope it was a posh gym.
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Reverse snobbery - interesting point actually - I would guess that would cover those of us who love to cash in on cheaper cars that badge snobs wont touch and get ourselves a bargin car that can often be just as good as the snobs car.
Im def guilty of this - Ive owned Daewoo, Rover and Reliant, none of which have a very positive image yet some of the best cars ive ever owned. Thats the pleasure of reverse snobbery I guess.
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Better to be a water pump impeller snob..plastic anyone? sniff.....;)
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My postman is macho. He wears shorts when its snowing. The motoring link? theres a bit of macho & testosterone in the badge snobbery thing
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< Ulla>
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AE..Funny but in my very small town at least three postmen wear shorts throughout the year. Is it some kind of cult thing.
wemyss
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Oh Dear ! :(
I feel that I have to put my hands up here....
We owned a 2000 (W) reg Passat until it was smashed up in a head-on accident about 2 years ago -It was the FIRST VW I (we) had ever owned, and we (or more like me) were hooked.
After the smash, I started to consider the skoda superb and test drove one, No difference to driving a Passat, but I felt different ?
Having serious back problems, I decided to buy another Passat, and we now have another passat (05) as I have always found them to be comfortable cars, unlike some after a long journey....
(even though the Superb was the same comfort, I still opted for the VW badge.)
SNOB ? (well, its not really a snobbish car, but in my own circumstances) yes, I think so !
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My Passat is 12 years old so it doesn't really count!
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Strange, I had shortlisted the Passat due to the availability of its PD diesel engine, galvanised body and proliferation of pattern spares/diagnostic software. If the design cock-ups such as rainwater ingress and seized front suspension pinch bolts can be kept under control it would make a vehicle with low operating costs and good long term prospects.
The Skoda Superb was just too good to miss - much more legroom than the Passat and better equipped per unit cost. The residuals are so poor that a good 2 year old was a cheap purchase.
One year on, I'm still pleased with it. VAG have a cheek to re badge a car and not fix ANY of the cock ups but it does exactly what I want. I wish Skoda had been allowed a design input with this car though.
659.
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All these postings about "image" and "snobbery" serve to prove one thing: that marketing works.
There is an artificially created and maintained hierarchy of cars - go for a drive down an Autobahn and you will see, Porsches are the kings, other marques follow in order, with Mercedes not far behind (except in Bavaria, BMW-land).VW is seen as "ahead" of Ford, probably because it is a national rather than foreign- owned brand.
When I was at school in the 1980s, Renaults were middle class teachers' cars. When I lived in South Africa a decade later, a Passat was a workhorse, no better or worse than a Sierra or Toyoto Cressida.
It's all about image. I imagine blind people are not so concerned about the transport they are driven around in...
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I have had some 'quality' conversations over the years, re my choice of car. I decided to treat myself and had fond memories from my childhood of Jaguar Cars. I had decided long ago that 'one day' i'd have a Jag.......and post divorce decided this was the time.
Not being naturally well off...(or hard up, for that matter..just average)......it was a wrench to part with that much money... but eventually bought a very low mileage 2.75 yr old S Type from a main dealer, with a load of goodies on it....big deal.
...and then the comments started. I have been, apparently:
- 'trying to prove i'm something i'm not'
-'making up for my small appendage'
- 'trying to pull the women'
-' got delusions of grandeur'
why on earth can't people accept things at face value.........i wanted a nice car, British and with the history of that marque........that's it.... Now that it's 8 yrs old and only worth about 5 grand, presumably i'm now in the clear.
If someone else wants a VW...good luck to them, what's it got to do with anyone else. Same with all the rot on here about BMWs or 4x4's etc, etc. Live and let live.
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My father in law will not drive anything other than a VW. When their Golf was destroyed in an accident this year, and despite that car being less than perfect reliability wise, he took the insurance money and went and bought the same again. Point blank refused to even look at the market and see if there was anything else that he preferred.
Logically this makes no sense whatsoever - it has to be an emotional response. Sheer weight of odds suggests that someone who last surveyed the car market impartially nearly 30 years ago, and has stuck with the same make since is not going to be driving the best car for their needs. Yet, in my father in law's case, and with the greatest of respect, VW could put their badge on a lightly polished dog turd and he would be first in the queue to buy one.
To VWs credit, I don't know of any other manufacturer that can foster such incredible brand loyalty in people. As I said, the Golf they replaced had by no means been a bad car, but it was certainly no better than average in reliability terms, and way below what I would expect from a Japanese car. Yet he keeps on about how well engineered they are, and how much better they are than Fords (when my old Focus clicked over 100k with just one minor fault at the same time his Golf was off the road with a central locking fault). Logic does not come into this at all.
I personally think he's a nut, but at the end of the day it's his money and his choice. It doesn't affect me one jot, I still have a huge amount of respect for the guy, and as Westpig says it's a case of agree to differ, and live and let live.
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
Edited by DP on 05/12/2007 at 09:58
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I bought a Megane 1.6 over an older Golf 1.6 that was slightly more expensive. Big mistake. Wish I'd bought the Golf now.
I've had a few VWs, Fords, Vauxhalls and found overall the VWs were longer between failures. I'm no badge snob, I quite fancy another Mk II Focus over the new Golf as my next car but my experiences have been better with VWs
Renaults, however, are a different matter! Built to last about one year (if you're lucky)
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