Maybe the Caliber is good, but I'm not shopping Wagons.
Your German car statement is ubiquitous, please clarify.
German cars are expensive to buy parts for, and expensive to repair. Flat out. I've worked on Porsche, Audi, VW, Mercedes and BMW. The design of the cars are just not very tech friendly, help of the internet is a good thing, but some challenges would make the average mopar man's head spin. Which usually requires a fair amount of extensive labor times when it comes fixing times. In general, rotors are not turned. They are replaced. Can be every brake job on some certain cars. Maintenance is expensive (I believe VW has a half decent 'free maintenance'. Oil changes and tire rotations?). Tires? 20" factory replacement tires on a 7-series are $550 a tire. 16" replacement run-flat tires are $300-400 per tire, most places also do not patch/plug them (due to when they are run on a flat, the sidewall is severely compromised). Consider what tires come on the VW and what it is when it comes replacement time.
BMW does have true maintenance; pads and rotors, oil services, oil changes between oil services, microfilters, air filters, etc, etc etc. Now I don't have nearly the VW experience in comparison to my BMW experience, so take it with a grain of salt.
They are in general, plain expensive. That needs to be taken into consideration with anyone that buys one. Many people see a 2003 7series, for $25,000 and may think 'what a deal, that is a $80,000 car'. Well sure it is, it's also a $80,000 car to repair as well. I've seen many people get buried in a fancy car, that they literally couldn't afford to drive. Since you would be buying the VW new, you'd probably have a better idea on it.
There is much more to a car than mpg figures, cost and looks. It will break, the warranty will end, can you afford to maintain it? Just trying to elaborate on what I see everyday.
btw the shop labor rate at my dealership is $170per HOUR (after shop supplies/tax).
