Regarding the car, it's mostly been pretty reliable, except on the two occasions when it really, really hasn't. One was the lambda probe failing, the other was an electrical thingummy that came and went - it took the garage three or four days of trying to make it fail. Oh, and both window motors have needed replacing over the course of time.

For thirteen years, that's not bad. Though that electrical failure could have been a dangerous one.

In terms of the engine's reliability, I have no complaints. Other repairs have been to do with wear and tear and age. But VW parts are expensive.

In Europe, VW have the reputation of being reliable, incidentally.