Faults:

Lower radiator hose broke.

Water reserve is leaking on the top.

Thermostat issues (changed it 3 times in the past 4 months).

Fuel injectors are getting clogged.

Brake light and blinker fuses keep going out (they actually started smoking).

Glow plug light and E-brake lights are constantly on.

Master brake cylinder went out.

General Comments:

This car is extremely smokey, and I feel sorry for anyone who is driving behind me.

But on the plus side it gets excellent miles per gallon.

It's very slow to get up to speed, especially when entering the freeway.

The interior is descent for its age, although the driver seat is torn and I'm starting to sit on the springs.

It handles fairly well around corners, but it would be nice if it had power steering, especially when backing it up and driving in parking lots.

Faults:

Not really too much.

The electric fuel pump gave me some problems, but was fixed quickly.

The window crank for the front driver side door stripped and broke off.

But not too much more than that.

General Comments:

I love this car.

It is very quick and handles well, even at high speeds.

The fastest I ever had the car going was about 122 MPH, and it handled very well then, and I felt comfortable when going that fast.

It is a 5 speed. I wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't.

I bought the car off of an older lady that I know personally, and the car was owned by her since brand new so it was never beaten. (until I got it LOL).

I have done several modifications to it including:

17" BBS wheels (black)

Lowered 1 3/4".. looks great

Pioneer head unit with 2 12" Pioneer subs and 2 Pioneer 760 watt amplifiers (sounds excellent)

Painted black cherry metallic. Never seen another one the same color, so that's why it's that color.

Cold air intake

Performance chip

Full borla exhaust (2 1/2"). Sounds terrific

I really love the car, and don't plan on ever getting rid of it.

Faults:

Replaced the started.

Had oil pump replaced.

General Comments:

Looks great for 20 yr old car, body in great shape. engine is super clean for the miles, but makes a strange sound when it first starts until it warms up.

Odometer, and trip meter quit working at 211,000 miles.

Oil buzzer/light comes on after prolonged driving and deceleration, but goes off after you step on the gas, replaced the oil pump and sensor, but it still does it. (common among v dubs)

Surprisingly it doesn't use any oil.

Strange that this car is in such remarkable condition for it's age, which makes me think the miles are not correct and that the odometer isn't showing the correct mileage.

I'm inclined to think this car sat for an extended period of time.

Faults:

Minor, age-rated repairs at around 120, 000 kms. Some work on the brakes and some suspension. Bushings, tie rod ends and relatively low-cost repairs. At 160,000 km a leaky transmission seal caused some problems, but a very experienced mechanic was able to fix this without taking anything apart.

Poor thing was a little rusty when I got it. It spent about 5 years in Ontario (lots of salt on the roads) but I cleaned it up and did a little repainting and it's holding up fine (since 1997)

General Comments:

Very, reliable and economical to run. I hate breakdowns and this car does not let me down. Now that fuel is so expensive, I really appreciate the fact that it still gets good gas mileage.

Fun to drive and runs well at low and high speeds.

Heater is excellent is cold climates (-20 or -30 C). Starts fine up to -40 when the fuel injector starts to make a lot of noise.

I am short 5'2" and my husband is nearly a foot taller. We both drive this care comfortably.

Need to find a good mechanic that knows how to fix VWs. Most repairs can be very low cost if the mechanic knows exactly what to do. I had some very high repair quotes from chain-type garages.

It's almost 20 years old and it's still a great car. What else can anyone ask for?