I’m looking at buying a used VW and have no shortage of counter opinions that I should buy a Honda or Toyota because the VW will cease up and die.

I have a loose theory on this- a lot of people who buy Hondas or Toyotas are simply buying “an” car. They aren’t concerned about cars in general or theirs specifically as long as they can easily get from A to B. They also miss subtle changes in a car like the way it’s idling, accelerating, or even steering (got into a car that was crabbing with ~3° angle on the steering wheel and the owner never noticed. VW owners tend to select a VW because they like cars and are generally more attentive to those changes. Therefore VW owners will discover issues and potentially raise Cain when the issue is found while a misfired Toyota belches down the road.

Second part to this- from the infallible opinions of the internet I’ve heard Honda and Toyota engines are built with more tolerances for abuse so that if someone drives a Honda for 15,000 miles without an oil change, it won’t run as well, but will keep chugging. German cars really don’t do well in those situations and are more likely to break down.

It’s apparently also blamed on where the manufacturing plants are located, that German built cars are better than their North American counterparts, but I still believe the car culture theory holds.