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Marion Jaenike has owned her VW Golf for 30 years - and is not thinking of selling it: "If everyone did that, the automakers would be bankrupt quickly."
Photo: Autohaus Warncke
The assistance systems used to be simple, but functional.
When Marion Jaenike is in her 1989 VW Golf 2 for some fresh air, she winds the windows down by hand.
It uses the large windows as a parking aid - thanks to good all-round visibility, no electronic sensors are required.
The white Volkswagen doesn't even have power steering.
"Yes, I have to do it while driving," says the retired nurse from Bremen.
"My prince drives a little rougher."
"Prince" is what Marion Jaenike calls her automobile companion.
For more than 30 years he has accompanied the woman from Bremen.
The car was first registered in the spring of 1990.
At that time the wall had just come down, but the Golf was still a product from "West Germany".
SPD chancellor candidate Oskar Lafontaine only barely survived a knife attack.
And Matthias Reims was playing the hit song "Damn I love you" on the radio.
Yes, love.
At that time, Marion Jaenike bought a new car for the first time after she had saved up on the Golf 2 for a long time: as a 1.6 variant with 72 hp at the time.
She didn't choose any extras, but four doors and a sunroof were important to her.
The color less.
"White was just there," says the now 72-year-old.
No major defects
Over the years she grew fond of the car.
Scrapping and environmental bonuses or not - at some point it was no longer possible to part with a more modern car.
So it came about that the honest Golf has been in the first hand, namely Marion Jaenike, since it was first registered.
This is an unusually long bond in Germany, where a stylish new car is a status symbol.
After two or three years, when the first major repairs are due, many part with their vehicle - and buy a new model.
Marion Jaenike also paid for a lot of repairs to her VW.
"But there were never any major defects, and no rust either," remembers the North German.
Wear parts like brakes, V-belts or a new starter battery were more affected - and many, many oil changes.
Once a year Jaenike treats her Golf to a major inspection in the workshop she trusts, as the bulging service booklet shows.
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Best seller from Wolfsburg: The Golf 2 is considered a success car, unlike its successor
Photo:
Warncke dealership
The attribute "full service history" is a seal of approval for used cars.
In Marion Jaenike's VW Golf, the term “checkbook blown” is more appropriate - the service book now has so many entries, says Wolf Warncke and laughs.
Marion Jaenike takes care of her old Volkswagen at the Warncke dealership in Tarmstedt.
In 2020, in addition to another entry in the checkbook, the pensioner was given a colorful bouquet of flowers - for the H license plate.
With the special plate for historic vehicles, your "Prince" is now officially ennobled as a classic car.
That wouldn't really have been necessary.
A catalytic converter has been retrofitted to the Golf 2, with a green sticker Marion Jaenike can drive into the Bremen environmental zone even without an H license plate.
Golf 2 - a bestseller from VW
They are now the eighth generation to sell the Golf at the Warncke dealership.
It is worlds apart from the Golf 2: Today there is a digital cockpit, hybrid engine and assistance systems up to semi-autonomous driving.
Nonetheless, the 2 Series Golf (1983 to 1991) is a highlight in the history of Volkswagen.
With more than six million units built, it is one of the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer's bestsellers.
Thanks to galvanized sheet metal and good conservation, the compact rolled off the line with excellent rust protection.
The engines also usually proved to be durable.
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A rev counter was still a luxury in 1989, and the Golf 1.6 couldn't reach a top speed of 220 km / h even with a tailwind.
Photo: Autohaus Warncke
"From today's perspective, this is an astonishing quality that was delivered back then - of course everything was at the technical level of the time," says VW expert Warncke.
The Golf 3 (1991 to 1997) was then less good: "In the nineties, there was increasing cost pressure in the carmaker's production, which here and there was poor quality."
The question arises as to whether current vehicles such as the VW Golf 8, the new Opel Astra L, a Tesla or the Polestar 2 have what it takes to become classics of the future.
Modern cars are less likely to die of rust.
In return, multiple defects in the increasingly complex electronics could mean the death.
Some even whisper that modern cars are disposable products.
The control units are a sticking point.
Automotive mechatronics can read them out.
Fixing them is another matter.
How long will today's cars last?
The technical testing organizations are more optimistic.
"Every generation certainly has its weak points," explains a spokesman for TÜV Rheinland.
"In the past it was maybe the body, today it might be the electronics or the complex systems." However, especially with driver assistance systems, people are already working intensively on test methods for aging systems and components as well as the testability of on-board diagnostics (OBD) .
"From the point of view of the main inspection, it will be possible to say retrospectively in 10 or 15 years whether these vehicles were disposable or not," says TÜV Rheinland.
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The new Golf may be more modern - the old one looks friendlier.
Photo: Autohaus Warncke
According to the Dekra expert organization in Stuttgart, it is impossible to compare HU data from today and 20 or 30 years ago.
This fails due to data protection regulations, explains a Dekra spokesman.
In principle, the complexity of modern vehicles is of course higher than a few decades ago, especially in the electronics sector.
This tends to increase the repair costs.
However, in recent years both the average age and the mileage of cars in Germany have risen steadily, adds Dekra.
“This initially speaks against the thesis that vehicles used to be more robust and durable.
If the current vehicles were worse than in the past, they would have to run shorter rather than longer. "
When it comes to used cars, the most important thing is the state of care.
Marion Jaenike grants her "Prince" an underground parking space.
There the car is protected from wind and weather.
Less from car thieves.
Her car has been broken into four times over the years - "each time through the small, rear side window," complains Jaenike.
In the meantime it was not so easy to find a replacement.
Today Volkswagen Classic Parts offers door panels for the Golf 2.
For other classic cars, the spare parts supply looks much worse, as old Audi or old Opel drivers know.
In the city always by bus and train
The low mileage that Marion Jaenike expected of her VW Golf 2 is also extraordinary.
Until the anniversary of the H license plate, the woman from Bremen covered just 103,000 kilometers with the car.
It is mainly used as a recreational vehicle, for example for trips to hiking in the green surroundings.
The Golf 2 consumes moderate 7 to 8 liters of fuel. In Bremen city center, Jaenike has always traveled by bus and train, even when she was still working as a nurse and had to go to the clinic for the early shift.
"I don't drive a car in town," says the 72-year-old.
"I think that's superfluous."
103,000 kilometers on the clock - that is impressive evidence of how "sustainable" a car can be, they praise the Warncke dealership.
There they have probably long since given up trying to convince regular customer Jaenike of the advantages of a modern VW model.
The pensioner has no plans to part with her old Golf - electric windows and air conditioning may also be comfortable.
“You don't have to have a new car every year,” says Marion Jaenike.
"I think it would be good if more people handle it that way."
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