 Not a bad car overall. But I guess some lucky few (including me) have experienced defective brakes. I had to replace the rear pads and rotors at 21,000 miles and now again 9,000 miles later! VW claims this is normal wear and tear. I've owned and driven many cars and never had to replace pads, let alone rotors before 40,000 miles. There is no brake wear indicator light for the rear brakes, only for the front. The rotors are designed so that they have to also be replaced every time the pads are replaced. Very expensive!