Faults:

Antifreeze was leaking into the engine right after I bought it, but I have a feeling the mechanic I trusted didn't' tell me prior to me buying it in order to get the business.

I pretty much changed everything in the car except for engine and transmission.

General Comments:

When it drives, it drives like a dream, heavy German built automobile, I loved it. Don't trust anyone to repair your vw unless they are a dealer, I learned that the hard way, no one really knows vw's unless it's a dealer.

Too many glitches in the end before I gave it away.

Faults:

The alternator had to be replaced.

The front bumper continually gets caught on curb stops and pulls off.

The starter went bad at 117,000 miles.

The radiator had a leak in it at.

When it starts, it hesitates about three times and then surges.

General Comments:

The car rides very nicely, but the repairs are getting more and more expensive.

Faults:

Nothing went wrong in the four years, 35K I owned the car.

General Comments:

This car was the love of my automobile life and I get sad when I think about the day that I sold it a month ago. The second generation Jetta's were awesome machines hands down.

The 1.8 motor is much faster than 105 hp makes it sound; that 105 would really turn the heads of people who would look at the old car and instantly think slow. The 3-speed automatic could have used overdrive, which was the only reason that I sold it, but didn't run much worse on the highway than my new '01 Jetta's 5-speed manual.

The styling of these classic Jetta's is truly unique and timelessly appealing...boxy, but aerodynamic too; and how many cars have black plastic trim around the fenders that actually looks good? For 1991 the bumpers were enlarged and the bottom sections were painted; this gave the cars a visual advantage over the previous years of the same generation.

Everything about my old Jetta was solidly built although there were a few squeaks (which I attribute to some washboards on a gravel road). The seats were totally amazing... my sister spilled chili on the passenger seat which soaked in for a good twenty minutes, but every drop came out and you cannot tell that it ever happened. The interior of that car looks brand new--no joke. The stereo sounds excellent; look for a model with 6 speakers (2 extra being in the front doors). The rear speakers often decay in the sun, but can be easily replaced.

This Jetta handled like it was on rails... I took all turns far too fast because that's what my '91 Jetta was made for. While my '01 Jetta handles very well, the 91's body doesn't roll on turns like its replacement.

The '91 Jetta never broke down and never gave me any hassles. I commuted 5-days a week 30 minutes to class for the last year that I owned the car and even lacking overdrive it never had any problems. The car was amazing in the snow too; it was a champ, a truly amazing machine. Don't let anyone talk you out of buying a Volkswagen, especially these second generation Jetta's.

Faults:

First off my Jetta was made in Mexico. I wanted a quality German made auto, but I guess VW thinks cheap labor is more important than a quality product.

Here is the list of things that have gone wrong or broke:

Headliner has peeled off and it will never go back up; I've tried.

Entire exhaust rusted and rattled itself to pieces. The whole exhaust system was just garbage.

Shifter is stiff and sloppy. It was fine when I got it, but it just seems to slowly get worse.

Radiator is deteriorating.

Exterior door handles are junk. They are hard to open and are slowly coming off.

Something clunks in the suspension when I go over bumps. And the rear struts had to be replaced.

Steering wheel seems a little crooked.

Starting get a bit of a rough idle.

...and countless other annoying things. Replacing anything is expensive. I take very good care of this car (my Dad is a mechanic) and I baby it, yet it continues to break itself.

General Comments:

I do love the look and feel of my Jetta though. It handles great and gets excellent gas mileage, although the gas mileage seems to be going down a tad.

The trunk is HUGE!

Its comfortable.

The heater can turn the car into an oven!

Pretty easy to work on.

Worst seatbelt design ever! There are two separate belts, the shoulder and lap. The shoulder belt has to be buckled in or the car will not start, I by-passed mine because it was too much trouble just to start the dang car.

I love just about everything on this car. I bet if it was German made, instead of Mexican, the quality would be much greater and there would be nothing to complain about.