Faults:

Everything was wrong with this car. it was abused. I paid $300 Canadian for it. I sunk in another $1000 and almost a year of work,New front trans axle, new rear seat, new paint, etc, and a complete overhaul of the engine.

General Comments:

I Bought this car to work on it. It was the best $1300 I ever spent. I had fun fixing it and I love driving it.

Faults:

A two dollar shift linkage.

Volkswagen door handles.

General Comments:

I have owned several diesels and cannot endorse these old cars enough.

If you need a cheap to buy, own, and operate car you will not find a better choice.

Faults:

Compared to my other cars, the Jetta was very hard on brakes; I warped 4 rotors in the course of owning it and rarely did OE pads last longer than about 20,000 miles.

The OE exhausts only lasted one or two years before rotting out.

The car consumed electrical components at an alarming rate; 3 idle control valves, 6 oil pressure switches, 2 radiator fan switches, a resistor pack, both the turn signal and wiper stalk contacts, and an ECU.

One of the lower A-arms broke shortly after I bought the car.

The head gasket failed at around 241,000 miles.

The clutch cable broke at 191,000 miles.

General Comments:

The Jetta GL made a solid commuter car. While it rarely left you stranded, it also rarely didn't have one or two nagging problems going on.

The car felt much peppier than its 85 horsepower rating.

It handled well and was very stable at highway speeds.

Faults:

A/C switch had only one speed, as the fuse was faulty.

Sunroof leaks a little water in heavy rain.

Oil leaked in multiple places.

General Comments:

This car is quick and makes city driving a breeze.

The dealership replaced the defective A/C switch after we paid for it the first time - free of charge on both parts and labor, giving Volkswagen wonderful customer service.

The heating and cooling systems are magnificently made, as this car can heat up and cool down in a very short time period.

The trunk on this car is very spacious; surprising amount of space for such a small car.

Everything is easy to replace.

Faults:

The first things that went out were the master cylinder, and the timing belt. I've owned this car for over five years and have replaced the clutch and flywheel twice. Also, the strut shocks don't last more than 2 1/2 years.

General Comments:

Along with the very good handling, the basic drive train of this car has held up for years, and it still doesn't burn oil! The odometer doesn't work, but I'm sure I have well over 200,000 on it. Except for the occasional repairs, the car has held up well, gets great gas mileage, and is fun to drive.

Faults:

Struts were shot when I got the car, so I replaced them.

New wheel bearings all around (the weren't bad, just preventative maintenence.)

Clutch just went (204000 miles.)

Spindle snapped @ 199000miles, replaced.

Pedal bracket cracked which left me without the use of the clutch, previous owners fault...

General Comments:

The car is fantastic, I love the car like an addiction. I don't know why I love these cars so much, its quick and handles like its on rails. 32 miles per gallon combined city/highway. The only bad things about these cars is parts are expensive, you can get good deals especially if you are buddy-buddy with the service dept. at the dealer.