I'll echo what most people are saying, problems with a car are usually down to poor maintenance. My mk4 has been on the island all it's life and came with full service history and a folder full of receipts when I bought it off my mate. It had always had anything replaced when it needed it and I think that's the problem with a lot of owners, they leave things broken for a while which in turn affects other parts.
The only parts I've replaced on mine are service items, general wear and tear items (I bought the car with low mileage so bushes etc were needing sorting) and faults from the factory (window regulator clips) or parts I've upgraded/modified.
I'm not just saying this is a mk4 thing, any car that has been maintained properly will usually be fine. A mate of mine had a mk3 valver for years and it never let him down either
