Hi Lou,
I own a 2009 Volkswagen EOS. It’s a lovely car that I bought in 2014 with only 18,000 kilometres. Today, I am up to 83,000 kilometres and aware this car must have a limited lifespan. I love the car, it’s great on gas, easy to park and has that 200 horsepower Volkswagen motor. However, the convertible hardtop is a sophisticated piece of mechanics. I worry that some day I might be looking at a large repair bill, should anything go wrong with this mechanism.
Given that it still has relatively low mileage (it hasn’t been winter driven and is in excellent shape), I wonder if you have any recommendations around how long I should keep this vehicle? I’m retired and don’t want to run into excessive repair fees at some point down the road and I presume it still has some pretty good resale value. Your thoughts about when I should be looking at selling?
– Ronald S.
I’m the parent of university aged children and in an attempt to control expenses I offered that if they opted to stay local for university I would make sure they all had a car to drive. My theory was that because I’m in the auto repair industry this would be cheaper than paying out-of-town residence expenses. Surprisingly, they were all only interested in the University of Toronto and all three took me up on my offer. So far, I have been reasonably successful at keeping them mobile for a decent cost, but that’s only because I own an auto repair business. I’m not so sure I’d be smiling if I had to pay full pop for the maintenance and repair of those vehicles. The cars are a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta, a 2008 Jeep Wrangler and a 2007 Volkswagen EOS. Out of the three cars, cost wise the Jetta has been the best, followed by the Jeep and then the EOS.
The EOS is a complicated vehicle as you have noted with a complex convertible hardtop. Our convertible top has been a bit of a pain, but I don’t believe it’s been the fault of the vehicle. It’s the shoes, clothes, handbags and all other manner of miscellaneous items strewn about the trunk and rear seat that seem to cause issues. The cargo cover in the trunk area is very sensitive to excess stored items. One can move this cover up and out of the way when the top is in the up position offering more trunk storage space. When the top is commanded to drop down, this cover must be in its lowered and seated position or else a sensor won’t allow for top operation, which has happened multiple times.
The top has also had a couple of other issues dealing with interior side panels coming off and jamming the lifting mechanisms, but once again, I’m not sure I can blame the car.
Mechanically the EOS has been reasonable, but electrically not so much, with a series of failures from check engine, air bag and antilock brake warning lights coming on and off frequently. The repairs have been adding up, but the daughter who drives this car loves it and doesn’t want to give it up. I might be tempted to do otherwise.
Ronald, your car has low mileage and I suspect is treated with shall I say, a touch more respect than my daughter’s. If you exercise care in the operation of the convertible top, I doubt it will ever be problematic for you. While older VWs can be expensive to keep on the road, I have found that accident free, low mileage examples that are well cared for can slip past the bad stuff and be enjoyable for many years. Given your mileage and that it is only used for half of the year, I say keep it for the time being until yearly repair costs start rising. Being a convertible, it will hold its value better and you will be able to find it a new home fairly easily when that time comes.
Lou Trottier is owner-operator of All About Imports in Mississauga. Have a question about maintenance and repair? E-mail globedrive@globeandmail.com, placing “Lou’s Garage” in the subject line.
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